ABSTRACT

The Japanese army in December 1941 contained only 51 active divisions, although it possessed garrison troops and other unit's equivalent to 40 additional divisions. The Japanese army differed greatly from the German. It had no armored divisions and emphasized light tanks, small guns, and mortars. General led 31,000 regular troops, including 12,000 Filipinos, who served as part of the US Army, and the inadequately trained Philippine army of 102,000. The Dutch East Indies did not feel the sting of invasion until well after the initial assaults on the Philippines and Malaya. While Japan was overrunning Malaya, Singapore, the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, its forces were also engaged in the conquest of Burma. The campaigns in the Philippines and Malaya were clearly progressing toward victory, and the Japanese felt secure enough to strike at the East Indies and seize the long-coveted oil fields.