ABSTRACT
Overview Japan’s war in China after July 1937 expanded unexpectedly in its intensity, duration and geographic range. Raw material shortages quickly appeared, which made the development of Manchuria’s resource base a critical issue. Japan organized its government to plan and administer a war effort that involved mobilization on a scale unseen since the First World War in Europe. Shortages of munitions in Japan’s war with Russia in 1904-5 reinforced the lessons that the European general staffs learned in 1918: total mobilization would be essential if Japan were to be involved in a large-scale war.
