Author’s Note: As it will soon be the 11th of the 11th – I thought I would Remember the Sacrifice by discussing an odd episode that happened during WWII. Of course, the Bourgeois continues to tell us to be grateful for the sacrifices of past – whilst continuing to war-monger in the present! The US-backing of Neo-Nazi Ukraine and genocidal Israel! The fascist Trump might well extinguish the Ukraine regime but he is no lover of peace. ACW (10.11.2024)
Imperial Japan developed a number of innovative military devices designed primarily to prevail over enemies fought in the Asian theatres of combat. Asia was where Japan existed – and Asia was exactly where the Imperial Japanese Army intended to carve-out an Empire similar to that possessed by Great Britain. The Imperial Japanese also developed a form of “Spiritual Fascism” which implied that only the Japanese people possessed a correct doorway into the spirit realm – and that this ability to communicate with the spirit realm had granted the Japanese people a “superior” physicality that could be used (through martial expression) to project this dominance onto the material world.
The problems the Imperial Japanese had were three-fold:
a) A limitation of raw materials (and resources) that could be used to manufacture superior weaponry.
b) The typical (undulating, densely forested, and waterlogged) Asian terrain the Imperial Japanese had to fight upon.
c) The type of enemy troops the Imperial Japanese had to fight – this varied from the conventional (professional) soldiers of Great Britain, Holland, the United States – to the (amateur) Guerrilla Forces of all the Asian countries the Japanese had invaded.
The (interrupted) terrain was not conducive to the usual design (or deployment) of Western tanks and artillary. To meet these demands, the Imperial Japanese designers made tanks smaller, lighter, and more manoeuvrable in tight spaces. Such devises were effective against poorly deployed and lightly armed infantry. When confronted with US or Soviet battle-tanks, however, these Imperial Japanese tanks were easy to penetrate, crush, and destroy. It is all a matter of context. Part of this Imperial Japanese thinking was to provide the average Imperial Japanese Infantryman with a lightweight “Mortar” (Type 89) device that could be easily carried in a rucksack – together with ammunition. This could be easily transported and quickly constructed and deployed – giving every Imperial Japanese Infantry a small artillary component – that could just as easily be disassembled and carried away.
Theoretically, ten-thousand Imperial Japanese Infantrymen could take-up a position and simultaneously “fire” the Type 89 – causing a considerable damage to an enemy. This approach integrated a “Mortar” weapon into the Infantry – so that a separate Mortar Section did not have to accompany an Infantry Regiment – and be moved around facing extra danger whilst consuming valuable resources. The Type 89 was a distinctly “Japanese” invention that suited the circumstances the Imperial Japanese Army found itself fighting within. With this device (and similar), the Imperial Japanese Army took on the major armies of the world – and was winning up until around 1942-1943. Great victories had been achieved on the ground, in the air, and on the sea. When the Type 89 Mortar was captured, however, it is reported that US, Chinese, and even Soviet Troops found this weapon confusing.
I am not sure how true this story is – but it certainly seems to hold an element of truth. There are photographs depicting soldiers from foreign armies placing this weapon on the femur of kneeling-down leg. From what I have read, when “fired” in this position, the curved-base of the Mortar “smashed” the femur – such was the recoil associated with the firing mechanism! This happened because this Mortar, despite its “curved” base, was meant to be “fired” from the ground whilst the Imperial Japanese soldier was “kneeling” or “lying-down” – and NOT from a position placed on top of a slanted femur. The curved-base was designed to fit on flat or rugged ground – and NOT the rounded structure of the upper-leg. This being the case, is it true that the non-Japanese troops really believed a Mortar could be fired using the upper-leg as a platform? My doubt arises from the fact that the US pursued a rabid “racist” propaganda against the Japanese people during WWII – accusing this non-White ethnic group of being racially and psychologically “inferior”. The Japanese were portrayed as possessing poor eyesight, buck-teeth, deformed brains, and weak bodily structures. For the US anti-Japanese ideologues, it followed that the weaponry produced was as stupid as the deficient thinking that produced it.
I have seen Chinese (KMT) soldiers (and a mixture of US soldiers) photographed holding this weapon placed on their upper-thigh – but never any Soviet Red Army soldiers. This would imply this story originates in the US Army and was shared by its Chinese (KMT) Allies (now ensconced in Taiwan). The justifying explanation is that due to a “grammatical” error in the original Japanese language User Manual – it is suggested that the Type 89 Mortar should be fired from the upper-leg. Why would this be case? Who could “read” this manual? I doubt the average American or Soviet soldier could read Japanese text. Sometimes, and depending upon the type of Japanese text used, a Chinese person might be able to read some of the instructions, but even then this would be haphazard and unreliable. After-all, who bothers to read the text when there are clear instructional pictures available? As you can see from the above pictures, the Imperial Japanese soldier is shown clearly using the Type 89 Mortar whilst it is placed firmly upon the ground! Therefore, this story is either a racist myth – a product of misunderstanding – or perhaps an element of both.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 