5 - Japanese and British selection and maintenance of aim for the Malaya Campaign

The Principles of War - Lessons from Military History on Strategy, Tactics and Leadership.

We look at how the British and Japanese came about to select their aims and how they got to them.

What was the British mission and what did Churchill understand of the mission to be? How did Brooke Popham understand his mission and how did that impact the troops on the ground (and pilots in the air).

We have a slight diversion to look at the Whole of Government approach to defence and how the Australian Government undermined the Air Force and it's capabilities. Why would they do that? How effective was the Beaufort Bomber? Was a defence procurement decision influenced by political needs?

What role did the 'China incident' play with Japanese decision making processes? How did COL Tsuji influence the decision to go south and east as opposed to north and west.

The Imperial Japanese Navy was using 400 tonnes of oil an hour - how would they secure the resources they needed?

What were the similarities and differences between the Japanese and British thinking?

We look at Unity of Command in both the Japanese and British forces.

How did issues with command structure effect each of the forces?

What was the relationship between Bennett and Percival? Did Bennett's micromanagement of the Brigades limit their effectiveness. How would command issues effect 22nd and 27th Brigade.

What issues did LT GEN Yamashita have? What is Gekokujo and why was Charlie Chaplin nearly assassinated?

What was the May 15th incident and why did 350,000 people sign a petition in blood?