Collection: Japan

Japanese Army’s organisation and equipment varied massively – as they fought from the beginning of the war during their stalemate with China in Manchuria in 1931 – to the very end – with the dropping of the first atomic bomb in 1945.

Japanese forces became known for their fanatical fighting spirit – their soldiers having been subjected to years of indoctrination – they would rather take their own lives than risk the dishonour of being captured at the hands of the enemy. Their equipment wasn’t the best – however they developed an intimate knowledge of their surroundings and would often use guerrilla tactics and ambush to wage an intense psychological war upon the enemy before launching desperate assaults in which they’d throw wave-after-wave of fanatical troops upon the enemy’s guns.