You Can't Fight Tanks with Bayonets

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You Can't Fight Tanks with Bayonets

Psychological Warfare against the Japanese Army in the Southwest Pacific

Allison B. Gilmore

Studies in War, Society, and the Military Series

234 pages
Illus

Paperback

March 2000

978-0-8032-7089-3

$19.95 Add to Cart

About the Book

A startling omission from the extensive literature on the Pacific events of World War II is an analysis of Allied psychological operations. Allison B. Gilmore makes a strong case for the importance of psychological warfare in this theater, countering the usual view of fanatical resistance by Japanese units. Gilmore marshals evidence that Japanese military indoctrination did not produce soldiers who were invulnerable to demoralization and the survival instinct.

Author Bio

Allison B. Gilmore is an associate professor of history at The Ohio State University at Lima.

Praise

"Ironically, while Hollywood films and popular American stereotypes that persist to the present portray the Japanese soldiers as fanatics who would never surrender, the U.S. military . . . took a more realistic view and engaged in a sustained campaign to undermine the morale of the Japanese army. . . . This book helps fill a historiographic gap by studying how propaganda and psychological warfare were planned, implemented, and evaluated."—Choice

"Gilmore unravels the complex structure and missions of the Allied entities involved in psywar operations. . . . Convincing."—Journal of Military History

"A fresh look at a little known aspect of the Pacific War that will benefit any reader interested in the Japanese army or psychological warfare."—Military History of the West

Awards

History Book Club selection