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Hey guys, what you are about to listen to is basically a “what if” Japan performed Hokushin-ron instead of Nanshin-ron, ie: What if Japan invaded the USSR during WW2? Before I jump into it I just want to thank all of you that signed up for the patreon, you guys are awesome. Please leave a comment on this episode to let me know what more you want to hear about in the future. With all of that said and done lets jump right into it.   Part 1 The Geopolitical context   Ok so, one of the questions I get the most is, what if Japan invaded the USSR. I've actually already tackled this subject, albeit lightly with Cody from AlternatehistoryHub and once with my friend Eric. Its too complicated to give a real answer, a lot of this is guess work, though I really will try to provide hard numbers. I think off the bat something needs to be made clear since we are dealing with alternate history. I am not doing a “what if Japan developed completely different, or what if the IJA got their way in the early 1930's” no no, this is going to be as realistic as possible…even though this is batshit crazy.    Japan faced the decision of whether to go to war with the USSR in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa. They held meetings, made plans, and ultimately it was decided they would not engage the Soviets. Our scenario will follow exactly what they did to a T, but when the made the decision not to go to war, we will see them go to war.    Now before I jump into our this timeline, I think its very important to explain the actual situation Japan faced in 1941. There were two major strategies that emerged during the 1930's within the Japanese military. Many junior officers in the IJA favored the Hokushin-ron “northern strike” strategy against the USSR. Many officers in the IJN with some in the IJA favored the Nanshin-ron “southern strike” strategy, to seize the resource rich dutch east indies by invading Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The idea of Hokushin-ron was to perform an invasion into Southern Siberia and outer mongolia ending around Lake Baikal where they would set up defenses. They had already tried to establish this during the Russian civil war as part of the Siberian Intervention, but failed to create a buffer state. From 1935-1939 there were 108 border clashes between the USSR and Japan. In 1938 one of these border clashes turned into quite a catastrophe, it was called the battle of Lake Khasan.  The Soviets suffered nearly 800 deaths, more than 3000 wounded, perhaps nearly 50 tanks were destroyed with another 100 damaged. The Japanese suffered about 600 deaths with 2500 wounded. The result ultimately was a ceasefire, but for the Kwantung army it seemed to them like a victory. In May of 1939 they had a much larger and more famous battle known as the battle of Khalkhin Gol.  During the early part of the battle the IJA sent 80 tanks crossing over Khalkhin Gol, driving the Soviets back towards Baintsagan Hill. Zhukov was waiting for the attack and sent 450 tanks and armored cars unsupported by infantry to attack the IJA from three sides. The IJA were practically encircled and lost half their armored units as they struggled to fight back as it withdrew. The two armies spared for the next 2 weeks along the east bank of the Khalkhin Gol. Problem was the Japanese were having issues getting their supplies to the area as they lacked motor transport while Zhukov whose army was over 460 miles away from its base of supply had 2600 trucks supplying them. On july 23rd the Japanese launched attacks supported by artillery and within two days they had consumed half their ammunition stores. The situation was terrible, they suffered 5000 casualties and made little progress breaking the Soviet lines. Zhukov then unleashed an offensive on august 20th using over 4000 trucks to transport supplies from Chita base. He assembled around 500 tanks, 550 fighters and bombers and his 50,000 infantry supported by armored cars. This mechanized force attacked the Japanese first using artillery and the aircraft as his armor and infantry crossed the river. The IJA were quickly flanked by the fast moving Soviet armor and encircled by August 25th. The IJA made attempts to break out of the encirclement but failed. They refused to surrender despite overwhelming artillery and aerial bombardment; by the 31st the Japanese forces on the Mongolian side of the border were destroyed. The Japanese suffered nearly 20,000 casualties, the lost 162 aircraft, 29 tanks, 7 tankettes, 72 artillery pieces a large number of vehicles. The Soviets took a heavy hit also suffering almost 25,000 casualties, 250 aircraft, 250 tanks, 133 armored cars, almost 100 artillery pieces, hundreds of vehicles. While these numbers make it seem the Japanese did a great job, you need to consider what each party was bringing to this fight. The Japanese brought roughly 30,000 men, 80 tanks and tankettes, 400 aircraft, 300 artillery pieces, 1000 trucks. The Soviets brought nearly 75,000 men, 550 tanks, 900 aircraft, 634 artillery pieces, 4000 trucks. There are some sources that indicate the IJA brought as many artillery rounds as they could muster from Japan, Manchuria and Korea, roughly 100,000 rounds for the operation. The Soviets fired 100,000 rounds per day. A quick look at wikipedia numbers, yes I know its a no no, but sometimes its good for quick perspectives show: USSR: Bomber sorties 2,015, fighter sorties 18,509; 7.62 mm machine gun rounds fired 1,065,323; 20 mm (0.80 in) cannon rounds expended 57,979; bombs dropped 78,360 (1,200 tons). Japan: Fighter/bomber sorties 10,000 (estimated); 7.7 mm (0.30 in) machine gun rounds fired 1.6 million; bombs dropped 970 tons. What I am trying to say is there was an enormous disparity in military production. And this is not just limited to numbers but quality. After the battle the Japanese made significant reforms. They increased tank production from 500 annually to 1200. The Japanese funded research into new anti-tank guns, such as the Type 1 47 mm. They mounted this gun to their Type 97 Chi-Ha tanks, the new standard medium tank of the IJA. Because of the tremendous defeat to Soviet armor they send General Yamashita to Germany to learn everything he could about tank tactics. But they simply could not produce enough tanks to ever hope to match 10% of the USSR. The Soviets had mostly been using T-26's, BT-5's and BT-7's who were crudely made, but made en masse. The Japanese would find most of their tank models with less effective range, less armor and some with less penetration power. It took the Japanese a hell of a lot more time to produce tanks, they were simply not on par with the Soviets in quantity or quality. Their tank tactics, albeit improved via Yamashita after 1939, were still nothing compared to the Soviets.  The major outcome of the battle of Lake Khasan and Khalkhin Gol was the abandonment of the hokushin-ron strategy and adoption of the nanshin-ron strategy. But, that didnt mean Japan did not have a plan in case they had to go to war with the USSR. Part 2 Kantōgun Tokushu Enshū Kantōgun Tokushu Enshū or the Kwantung Army Special Maneuvers was an operational plan created by the General Staff of the IJA for an invasion of the Russian Far East to capitalize on Operation Barbarossa. Here our story truly begin. Between 1938-1939 the IJA General Staff and Kwantung Army formed two “Hachi-Go” plans. Variants A and B examined the possibility of an all out war with the USSR beginning in 1943. In both plans they expected to be facing 60 Soviet divisions, while they could deliver 50 divisions, delivered incrementally from China and Japan. Plan A called for attacks across the eastern and northern borders of Manchuria while maintaining a defensive stance in the west. Plan B, much more ambitious, called for striking into the vast steppe between the Great Khingan Mountains and Lake Baikal, hoping to cut off the trans-siberian railway. If this was done successfully it was believed the whole of European Russia would be doomed to be defeated in detail. Defeated in detail means to divide and conquer. This battle would take place over 5000 kilometers with Japan's final objective being to advance 1200 km into the USSR. That dwarves Operation Barbarossa in distance, let that sink in. Both plans faced impossible odds. First of all the railway networks in Manchuria were not sufficiently expanded for such far reaching offensives, especially for plan B. Furthermore the 50 divisions required for them would be impossible to come by, since 1937 Japan was bogged down in a war with China. When Japan went to war with the west in 1941 she had 51 divisions. She left the base minimum in China, 35 divisions and tossed nearly 20 into southeast asia and the pacific. On top of not having the men, the IJA estimated a fleet of 200,000 vehicles would be necessary to sustain an offensive to Lake Baikal. That was twice the number of military vehicles Japan had at any given time. After the battle of Khalkhin Gol, plan B was completely abandoned. Planning henceforth focused solely on the northern and eastern fronts with any western advance being limited in scope. Now Japan formed a neutrality pact with the USSR because of her defeat at Khalkhin Gol and Molotov Ribbentrop pact between Germany and the USSR. The Molotov Ribbentrop Pact came as a bitter and complete surprise to Japan. It pushed Japan to fully adopt the Nanshin-ron strategy and this began with her invasion of French IndoChina, which led the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and United States to embargo her. The Netherlands Dutch East Indies refused to sell oil to Japan, the UK refused to sell oil from Burma and the US gradually cut off selling oil to Japan, with her oil exports alone being 80% of Japans supply, the rest from the Dutch east indies. The United States also placed an embargo on scrap-metal shipments to Japan and closed the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping. 74.1% of Japan's scrap iron came from the United States in 1938, and 93% of Japan's copper in 1939. Other things like Rubber and tin were also off the table, as this was mostly acquired from British held Malaya and the Dutch East Indies.    Now the crux of everything is the China War. Japan was stuck, she needed to win, in order to win she needed the resources she was being denied. The only logical decision was to attack the places with these resources. Thus until 1941, Japan prepared to do just that, investing in the Navy primarily. Then in June of 1941, Hitler suddenly informs the Japanese that he is going to invade the USSR. The Japanese were shocked and extremely angry, they nearly left the Tripartite Pact over the issue. This unprecedented situation that ushered in the question, what should Japan do? There were those like Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka who argued they must abandon the neutrality pact and launch a simultaneous offensive with the Germans against the USSR. The IJA favored this idea….because obviously it would see them receiving more funding as the IJN was currently taking more and more of it for the Nanshin-ron plans. But this is not a game of hearts of Iron IV, the Japanese government had to discuss and plan if they would invade the USSR….and boy it took awhile. I think a lot of you will be very disappointed going forward, but there is no grand unleashing of a million Japanese across the borders into the Soviet Far East, in the real world there is something called logistics and politics.    The Japanese military abided by a flexible response policy, like many nations do today. Theres was specifically called the Junbi Jin Taisei or “preparatory formation setup”. Japan would only go to war with the USSR if favorable conditions were met. So in our timeline the Junbi Jin encountered its first test on June 24th when the IJA/IJN helped a conference in the wake of operation barbarossa. A compromise was made allowing the IJA to prepare an invasion plan if it did not impede on the nanshin-ron plans. There was those in the IJA who argued they should invade the USSR whether conditions were favorable or not, there were those who only wanted to invade if it looked like the USSR was on the verge of collapse. One thing agreed upon was if Japan unleashed a war with the USSR, the hostilities needed to be over by mid-October because the Siberian climate would hit winter and it would simply be impossible to continue. The IJA needed 60-7 days to complete operational preparations and 6-8 weeks to defeat the Soviets within the first phase of the offensive. Here is a breakdown of what they were thinking: 28 June: Decide on mobilization 5 July: Issue mobilization orders 20 July: Begin troop concentration 10 August: Decide on hostilities 24 August: Complete readiness stance 29 August: Concentrate two divisions from North China in Manchuria, bringing the total to 16 5 September: Concentrate four further divisions from the homeland, bringing the total to 22; complete combat stance 10 September (at latest): Commence combat operations 15 October: Complete first phase of war   The plan called for 22 divisions (might I add my own calculations of 20 divisions were pretty spot on), with roughly 850,000 men, including Manchukuo allies, supported by 800,000 tons of shipping. The Japanese hoped the Soviets would toss at least half their forces in the Far East, perhaps 2/3rd of their armor and aircraft against the Germans giving them a 2-1 superiority. Even the 22 divisions was questionable, many in the war ministry thought only 16 divisions could be spared for such a venture, something only suitable for mop up operations in the aftermath of a German victory along the eastern front. It was clear to all, Japan needed perfect conditions to even think about performing such a thing.    The War hawks who still sought to perform Hokushin-ron tried to persaude Hideki Tojo on july 5th to go through with a new plan using a total of 25 divisions. This plan designated “Kantogun Tokushu Enshu or Kantokuen” would involve 2 phases, a buildup and readiness phase and an offensive phase. On July 7th they went to Hirohito for his official sanction for the build up. Hirohito questioned everything, but gradually relented to it. The plan was nearly identical to the former plans, banking on the Soviets being unable to reinforce the Far East because of Germany's progress. The level of commitment was scaled down somewhat, but still enormous. Again a major looming issue was the Manchurian railways that would need to be expanded to accomodate the movement of men and supplies. This meant the construction of port facilities, military barracks, hospitals and such. Kantokuen would begin with a initial blow against the Ussuri front, targeting Primorye and would be followed up by a northern attack against Blagoveshchensk and Kuibyshevka. The 1st area army, 3rd and 20 armies with the 19th division of the Korean army would penetrade the border south of Lake Khanka to breach the main soviet defensive lines, thus threatening Vladivostok. The 5th army would strike south of Dalnerechensk to complete the isolation of the maritime province, sever the trans-sierian railway and block Soviet reinforcements. The 4th army would attack along the Amur river before helping out against Blagoveshchensk. Two reinofrced divisions would invade Sakhalin from land and sea. The second phase would see the capture of Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk, Skovorodino, Sovetskaya Gavan, and Nikolayevsk. Additionally, amphibious operations against Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and other parts of the Kamchatka Peninsula were contemplated.   It was agreed the operation could only afford 24 divisions, with 1,200,000 men, 35,000 vehicles, 500 tanks, 400,000 horses and 300,000 coolies. The deployment of thse forces would mean the western front facing Mongolia and the Trans-baikal region would be pretty much open, so delaying actions would have to be fought if the soviets performed a counter offensive there. Air forces were critical to the plan. They sought to dispatch up to roughly 2000 aircraft cooperating with 350 naval aircraft to launch a sudden strike against the Soviet Far East Air Force to knock them out early.    The Soviet Far East had two prominent weaknesses to be exploited. Number 1 was Mongolia's 4500 km long horeshoe shaped border. Number 2 was its 100% dependency on European Russia to deliver men, food and war materials via the trans-siberian railway. Any disruption of the trans-siberian railway would prove fatal to the Soviet Far East.    Now as for the Soviets. The 1930's and early 1940's saw the USSR take up a defensive policy, but retained offensive elecments as well. Even with the German invasion and well into 1942, the Soviets held a strategy of tossing back the IJA into Manchuria if attacked. The primary forces defending the Far east in 1941 were the Far Eastern and Trans-Baikal Fronts, under the command of Generals Iosif Apanasenko and Mikhail Kovalyov. The Trans-Baikal front held 9 divisions, including 2 armored, a mechanized brigade and a heavily fortified region west of the Oldoy River near Skovorodino had a garrison. The Far Eastern Front had 23 divisions including 3 armored, 4 brigades and 11 heavily fortified regions with garrisons including Vladivostok. Altogether they had 650,000 men, 5400 tanks, 3000 aircraft, 57,000 vehicles, 15,000 artillery pieces and nearly 100,000 horses. By 1942 the Vladivostok sector had 150 artillery pieces with 75 -356 mm calibers organized into 50 batteries. As you can imagine after Operation Barbarrosa was unleashed, things changed. From June to December, roughly 160,000 men, 3000 tanks, 2670 artillery pieces, 12,000 vehicles and perhaps 1800 aircraft were sent to deal with the Germans. Despite this, the Soviets also greatly expanded a buildup to match the apparent Japanese buildup in Manchuria. By July 22nd 1941 the Far Eastern and Trans-Baikal Fronts were to be raised by 1 million men for august. By December it was nearly 1.2 million. Even the Soviet Far East Navy saw an increase from 100,000 men to 170,000 led by Admiral Yumashev. The Soviet Mongolian allies were capable of manning about 80,000, though they lacked heavy equipment.    Thus if this war broke out in September the Soviets and Mongolians would have just over a million men, with 2/3rds of them manning the Amur-Ussuri-Sakhalin front, the rest would defend Mongolia and the Trans-Baikal region. Even though the war against the Germans was dire, the Soviets never really gave up their prewar planning for how to deal with the Japanese. There would be an all-out defense over the border to prevent any breach of Soviet territory. The main effort would see the 1st and 25th armies holding a north-south axis between the Pacific ocean and Lake Khanka; the 35th army would defend Iman; the 15th and 2nd Red Banner armies would repel the Japanese over the Amur River; and other forces would try to hold out on Sakhalin, Kamchatka and the Pacific coast. The Soviets had constructed hundreds of fortified positions known as Tochkas along the border. Most of these were hexagonal concrete bunkers contained machine gun nests and 76 mm guns. The fortified regions I mentioned were strategically placed forcing the Japanese to overcome them via frontal attacks. This would require heavy artillery to overcome. Despite the great defensive lines, the Soviets did not intend to be passive and would launch counteroffensives. The Soviet air force and Navy would play an active role in defeating a Japanese invasion as well. The air force's objetice would be to destroy the Japanese air force in the air and on the ground, requiring tactical ground attack mission. They would also destroy key railways, bridges and airfields within Manchuria and Korea alongside intercepting IJN shipping. Strategic bombing against the home islands would be limited to under 30 DB-3's who could attack Tokyo, Yokosuka, Maizuru and Ominato. The Soviet Navy would help around the mouth of the Amur River, mine the Tatar Strait and try to hit any IJN ships landing men or materials across the Pacific Coasts.    Japan would not be able to continue a land war with the USSR for very long. According to Japanese military records, in 1942 while at war they were required to produce 50 Kaisenbun. A Kaisenbun is a unit of measurement for ammunition needed for a single division to operate for 4 months. Annual production never surpassed 25 kaisenbun with 100 in reserve. General Shinichi Tanaka estimated for an operation against the USSR 3 Kaisenbun would be needed per divisions, thus a total of 72 would be assigned to 24 divisions. This effectively meant 2/3rds of Japans ammunition stockpile would be used on the initial strike against the USSR. Japan would have been extremely hard pressed to survive such a war cost for 2 years.    Now in terms of equipment Japan had a lot of problems. During the border battles, Japanese artillery often found itself outranged and grossly under supplied compared to the Soviet heavier guns. Despite moving a lot of men and equipment to face the Germans, the Red Army maintained a gross superiority in armor. The best tank the Kwantung Army had in late 1941 was the Type 97 Chi-Ha, holding 33mm armor with a low velocity 57 mm gun. There was also Ha-Go and Te-Ke's with 37 mm guns but they had an effective range less than 1 km.   The Soviet T-26, BT-5 and BT-7's had 45 mm guns more than capable of taking out the Japanese armor and the insult to injury was they were crudely made and very expendable. Every Japanese tank knocked out was far greater a loss, as Japan's production simply could not remotely match the USSR. For aircraft the Japanese were a lot better off. The Polikarpov I-16 was the best Soviet fighter in the Far East and performed alright against the Nakajima Ki-27 at Khalkhin Gol. The rest of the Soviet air arsenal were much older and would struggle. The Soviets would have no answer to the IJN's Zero fighter or the IJA's high speed KI-21 bomber that outraced the Soviet SB-2. Japanese pilots were battle hardened by China and vastly experienced.   Another thing the Japanese would have going for them was quality of troops. The Soviets drained their best men to fight the Germans, so the combat effectiveness in the far east would be less. Without the Pacific War breaking out, some of Japan's best Generals would be brought into this war, of course the first one that comes to mind for me is General Yamashita, probably the most armor competent Japanese general of ww2.    Come August of 1941 those who still sought the invasion of the USSR were facing major crunch time. The IJA planners had assumed the Soviets would transfer 50% or more of their power west to face the Germans, but this was not the case. By August 9th of 1941, facing impossible odds and with the western embargos in full motion, in our timeline the Japanese Hokushin-Ron backers gave up. But for the sake of our story, for some batshit insane reason, the Japanese military leadership and Hirohito give the greenlight for an invasion on August 10th.   Part 3 the catastrophe   So to reiterate the actual world plan had    10 August: Decide on hostilities 24 August: Complete readiness stance 29 August: Concentrate two divisions from North China in Manchuria, bringing the total to 16 5 September: Concentrate four further divisions from the homeland, bringing the total to 22; complete combat stance 10 September (at latest): Commence combat operations 15 October: Complete first phase of war   So what is key to think about here is the events of September. The Battle for Moscow is at the forefront, how does a Japanese invasion in the first week or two of September change things? This is going to probably piss off some of you, but Operation Typhoon would still fail for Germany.  In our time line the legendary spy Richard Sorge sent back information on Japan's decision to invade the USSR between August 25th to September 14th. On the 25th he informed Stalin the Japanese high command were still discussing whether to go to war or not with the USSR. On September 6th Stalin was informed the Japanese were beginning preparations for a war against the west. Then on September 14th, the most important message was relayed to Stalin "In the careful judgment of all of us here... the possibility of [Japan] launching an attack, which existed until recently, has disappeared...."[15]    With this information on hand from 23 June to 31 December 1941, Stalin transferred a total of 28 divisions west. This included 18 rifle divisions, 1 mountain rifle division, 3 tank divisions, 3 mechanized divisions and 3 mountain cavalry divisions. The transfers occurred mainly in June (11 divisions) and October (9 divisions).    Here we come to a crossroads and I am going to have to do some blunt predictions. Let's go from the most optimistic to the most pessimistic. Scenario 1) for some insane reason, Stalin abandons Moscow and moves his industry further east, something the Soviets were actively preparing during Operation Typhoon. This is not a defeat of the USSR, it certainly would prolong the war, but not a defeat. Now that seems rather silly. Scenario 2) Stalin attempts transferring half of what he did in our time line back to Moscow and the Germans fail to take it. The repercussions of course is a limited counteroffensive, it wont be as grand as in our timeline, but Moscow is saved. Scenario 3) and the most likely in my opinion, why would Stalin risk moscow for the Far East? Stalin might not transfer as many troops, but certainly he would have rather placed his chips in Moscow rather than an enemy literally 6000 km's away who have to cross a frozen desert to get to anything he cares about.  Even stating these scenarios, the idea the German army would have taken Moscow if some of the very first units from the far east arrived, because remember a lot of these units did not make it in time to defend moscow, rather they contributed to the grand counteroffensive after the Germans stalled. The German armies in front of Moscow were depleted, exhausted, unsupplied and freezing. Yes many of the Soviet armies at Moscow were hastily thrown together, inexperienced, poorly led and still struggling to regain their balance from the German onslaught. Yet from most sources, and by sources I mean armchair historian types argue, the Germans taking Moscow is pretty unlikely. And moscow was not even that important. What a real impact might have been was the loss of the Caucasus oil fields in early 1942, now that could have brought the USSR down, Moscow, not so much, again the Soviets had already pulled their industry further east, they could do it again.   So within the context of this Second Russo-Japanese War, figure the German's still grind to a halt, they don't take Moscow, perhaps Soviets dont push them back as hard, but the USSR is not collapsing by any means. Ok now before we talk about Japans invasion we actually need to look at some external players. The UK/US/Netherlands already began massive embargoes against Japan for oil, iron, rubber, tin, everything she needed to continue her war, not just against the USSR, but with over 35 divisions fighting in China. President Roosevelt was looking for any excuse to enter WW2 and was gradually increasing ways to aid Britain and the Soviets.  Now American's lend-lease program seriously aided the USSR during WW2, particularly the initial stages of the war. The delivery of lend-lease to the USSR came through three major routes: the Arctic Convoys, the Persian Corridor, and the Pacific Route. The Arctic route was the shortest and most direct route for lend-lease aid to the USSR, though it was also the most dangerous as it involved sailing past German-occupied Norway. Some 3,964,000 tons of goods were shipped by the Arctic route; 7% was lost, while 93% arrived safely. The Persian Corridor was the longest route, and was not fully operational until mid-1942. Thereafter it saw the passage of 4,160,000 tons of goods, 27% of the total. The most important was the Pacific Route which opened up in August of 1941, but became affected when Japan went to war with America. The major port was Vladivostok, where only Soviet ships could transport non-military goods some 8,244,000 tons of goods went by this route, 50% of the total. Vladivostok would almost certainly be captured by the Japanese in our scenario so it won't be viable after its capture. Here is the sticky part, Japan is not at war with the US, so the US is pretty much free to find different Pacific paths to get lend-lease to the Soviets, and to be honest there's always the Arctic or Persian corridors. Hell in this scenario America will be able to get supplies easily into China as there will be no war in Burma, hong kong, Malaya and such. America alone is going to really ruin Japans day by increasing lend-lease to the UK, China and the USSR. America wont be joining the war in 1941, but I would strongly wager by hook or by crook, FDR would pull them into a war against Germany, probably using the same tactic Woodrow Wilson did with WW1. This would only worsen things for Japan. Another player of course is China. Late 1941, China was absolutely battered by Japan. With Japan pulling perhaps even more troops than she did for the Pacific war to fight the USSR, Chiang Kai-Shek would do everything possible to aid his new found close ally Stalin. How this would work out is anyone's guess, but it would be significant as I believe America would be providing a lot more goodies.    Ok you've all been patient, what happens with the war? Japan has to deliver a decisive knock out blow in under 4-6 months, anything after this is simply comical as Japan's production has no resources. The oil in siberia is not even remotely on the table. The Japanese can't find it, would not be able to exploit it, let alone quick enough to use it for the war. Hell the Italians were sitting on oil in Libya and they never figured that out during WW2.   So Kantokuen is unleashed with an initial blow against the Primorye in the Ussuri Front followed by an assault against Blagoveshchensk and Kiubyshevka. The main soviet lines south of Lake Khanka are attacked by the Japanese 1st area army, 3rd and 20th armies and the 19th Korean division. This inturn threatens Vladivostok who is also being bombarded by IJA/IJN aircraft. The 5th Ija army attacks south of Dalnerechensk in an attempt to sever the trans-siberian railway, to block Soviet reinforcements and supplies. The 4th IJA army fords the Amur river to help with the assault of Blagoveshchensk. Meanwhile Sakhalin is being attacked from land and sea by two IJA divisions.  Despite the Soviets being undermanned the western front facing Mongolia and the Trans-Baikal region is wide up to an attack as its only defended by the 23rd IJA division, so a limited counteroffensive begins there. The Japanese quickly win air superiority, however the heavily fortified Tochkas are not being swept aside as the Japanese might have hoped. A major problem the Japanese are facing is Soviet artillery. The Japanese artillery already placed along the borders, initially performed well, crushing Tochkas in range, but when the Japanese begin advancing and deploying their artillery units they are outgunned perhaps 3-1, much of the Soviet artillery outranges them and the Soviets have a much larger stockpile of shells. Airpower is failing to knock out soviet artillery which is placed within Tochkas and other fortified positions with anti-aircraft guns. Without achieving proper neutralization or counter battery fire, the Japanese advance against the fortified Soviet positions. The Soviets respond shockingly with counterattacks. The 15th and 35th Soviet armies with the Amur Red Banner Military Flotilla toss limited counterattacks against both sides of the Sungari River, harassing the Japanese. While much of the soviet armor had been sent west, their light tanks which would be useless against the Germans have been retained in the far east and prove capable of countering the IJA tanks. The Soviets inflict tremendous casualties, however General Yamashita, obsessed with blitzkrieg style warfare he saw first hand in the west, eventually exploits a weak area in the line.Gradually a blitzkrieg punches through and begins to circle around hitting Soviet fortified positions from the rear. The Soviets knew this would be the outcome and had prepared to fight a defense in depth, somewhat managing the onslaught.  The trans-siberian railway has been severed in multiple locations close to the border area, however this is not as effective as it could be, the Japanese need to hook deeper to cut the line further away. In the course of weeks the Soviets are gradually dislodged from their fortified positions, fighting a defense in depth over great stretches of land. Vladivostok holds out surprisingly long until the IJN/IJA seize the city. Alongside this Sakhalin is taken with relative ease. The Soviet surface fleet is annihilated, but their large submarine force takes a heavy toll of the IJN who are attempting Pacific landings. Kantokuen phase 1 is meeting its objectives, but far later than expected with much more casualties than expected. The Japanese are shocked by the fuel consumption as they advance further inland. Each truck bearing fuel is using 50% of said fuel to get to the troops, something reminiscent of the north african campaign situation for Rommel. The terrain is terrible for their vehicles full of valleys, hills, forests and mountains. Infrastructure in the region is extremely underdeveloped and the Soviets are burning and destroying everything before the Japanese arrive. All key roads and cities are defended until the Japanese can encircle the Soviets, upon which they depart, similar to situations the Japanese face in China. It is tremendously slow progress. The IJA are finding it difficult to encircle and capture Soviet forces who have prepared a series of rear lines to keep falling back to while performing counterattacks against Japanese columns. As the Japanese advance further into the interior, the IJN are unable to continue supporting them with aircraft and much of the IJA aircraft are limited in operations because of the range. The second phase of Kantokuen calls for the capture of Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk, Skovorodino, Sovetskaya Gavan, and Nikolayevsk. Additionally, amphibious operations against Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and other parts of the Kamchatka Peninsula are on standby as the IJN fears risking shipping as a result of Soviet submarine operations. The sheer scope of the operation was seeing the tide sides stretching their forces over a front nearly 5000 km in length. At some points the Japanese were attempting to advance more than 1000 km's inland, wasting ungodly amounts of fuel and losing vehicles from wear and tear.  So what does Japan gain? Within the span of 4 months, max 6 months Japan could perhaps seized: Sakhalin, the Primorsye krai including Vladivostok, segments of the trans siberian railway, Blagoveshchensk, Kuibyshevka. If they are really lucky Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk, Skovorodino, Sovetskaya Gavan, Nikolayevsk. Additionally, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and other parts of the Kamchatka Peninsula. What does this mean? Really nothing. Pull out a map of manchuria during WW2, take a pencil and expand the manchurian border perhaps 1000 km if you really want to be generous, that's the new extent of the empire of the rising sun. The real purpose of attacking the USSR is not to perform some ludicrous dash across 6000 km's of frozen wasteland to whittle down and defeat the Soviets alongside the rest of the Axis. It was only to break them, in late 1941 at Moscow there was perhaps a fools chance, but it was a fool's chance for Japan.  Japan has run out of its stockpiles of Kaisenbun, oil, iron, rubber, tin, all types of resources necessary for making war. Unlike in our timeline where Japan began exporting resources from its conquests in southeast asia and the pacific, here Japan spent everything and now is relying on the trickles it has within its empire. The China war will be much more difficult to manage. The lend-lease will increase every day to China. The US/UK/Netherlands will only increase pressure upon Japan to stop being a nuisance, Japan can't do anything about this as the US Pacific Fleet is operating around the Philippines always a looming threat. The Japanese are holding for a lack of better words, useless ground in the far east. They will build a buffer area to defend against what can only be described as a Soviet Invasion of Manchuria x1000. The Allies will be directing all of their effort against Germany and Italy, providing a interesting alternate history concept in its own right. After Germany has been dealt with, Japan would face a existential threat against a very angry Stalin. Cody from Alternate History Hub actually made an episode on this scenario, he believed the Soviets would conquer most of Japan occupied Asia and even invade the home islands. It would certainly be something on the table, taking many years, but the US/UK would most likely interfere in some way. The outcome would be so much worse for Japan. Perhaps she is occupied and a communist government is installed. Perhaps like in our timeline the Americans come in to bolster Japan up for the looming coldwar.  But the question I sought to answer here was, Japan invading the USSR was a dumb idea. The few Japanese commanders who pushed it all the way until August 9th of 1941 simply had to give up because of how illogical it was. I honestly should not have even talked about military matters, this all came down to logistics and resources. You want to know how Japan could have secured itself a better deal in WW2? 1941, the China War is the number one problem Japan can't solve so they look north or south to acquire the means to solve the China problem? Negotiate a peace with China. That is the lackluster best deal right there.    Sorry if this episode did not match your wildest dreams. But if you want me to do some batshit crazy alternate history stuff, I am more than happy to jump into it and have fun. Again thank all of you guys who joined the patreon, you guys are awesome. Until next time this is the Pacific War channel over and out. 

The sparks before the ignition of war.By FinalStand. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.Time is not your enemy any more than breathing and your heartbeat are inconvenient."Aya, Why don't you go help Saku," I rechanneled Aya's boundless energy. "Back in the day, every noble was attended to by squires who took care of their gear and served that noble as body servants. In turn, she taught them the art of war." Sakuniyas shot me a nasty look.Aya poked her head between Pamela and Miyako."That sounds like fun," she met Saku's glacial chill with a warm spring breeze."I don't want their help," she grumbled."It sounds like free labor," Pamela smirked."I said I don't want their help," Saku snarled."Okay," I rolled my eyes. "Aya, Fatal Squirts, attention!" They all looked at me. "I command you, as your Celestial Potentate Poohbah, to stare at Sakuniyas until she gives you a task of a personal, to her, nature to do. Get at it."Four sets of precocious, will-eroding cuteness assaulted the Assyrian Queen, victor of a hundred battles and skirmishes."You are despicable," was Saku's chosen acidic barb."I second that motion," Pamela patted me on the back. "I keep finding myself being prouder and prouder of you, every day. Stop it," she teased me.None of those words dampened my mood, or my plan."How much longer is this flight going to take?" Saku groused."Four hours," I lied. It was way closer to two.To my way of thinking, it wasn't like she could get much angrier with me after she discovered my ruse. (I was wrong. She could and did. I'm an idiot.) Saku shook her head, and the task-mastering began. An hour and forty-five minutes later, the pilot alerted us that we were ten minutes from our final approach. Bits and pieces of her armor were all over the front seats and the floor of the exit-way space.Diligent little fingers were still polishing and checking straps for signs of excessive wear or fabric fatigue. Their 'noble' hovered over them, pointing out the right way to do things and what they were doing wrong. Her congratulating them for doing a good job was rather non-Amazon of her, but the kids ate it up.With the ten minute warning still hanging in the air, my duplicity inspired Saku to finally flip out. I was pretty sure she didn't think through what she was doing. She simply drew her 22cm/9in blade and threw it at my face. Miyako caught it between her hands, an effortless clap, fuck."Four hours!" Saku howled at me. "You said we had four hours, I could have held them off for two!""Why do you think I lied to you?" I kept my amusement out of my tone because I was rather attached to the idea of my wagging tongue not being cut out of my mouth.It wasn't lost on us that every member of my SD team was alert and had blades drawn (firefights on planes in mid-flight is severely frowned upon) and were staring at her. I wanted to tell Rachel to 'stand down', except that would be unfair. I wasn't 100% sure Saku was done being furious with me.Telling Rachel to set aside her instincts was something I tried to keep a minimum, only to be used when it I was forced to take in the bigger picture."What is going on here?" Rachel asked with professional calm. So, I told her the truth, the real truth."Oh," Rachel grunted. She gave a motion for her team to rest easy then came my way."Knife," she held out a hand to Miyako who instantly gave it over, pommel first. Rachel deftly flipped it over so she was holding the razor sharp blade then smacked me on the top of my head, hard."Ow, " I whined. "That hurt.""It was supposed to," Rachel glared. She walked down the aisle to Saku, returning her blade."Did you just smack him in the head?" Saku was trying to make sense of what she'd seen."Yes," Rachel nodded."He screwed up and I impressed upon him to not do it again. As you might guess, this is a fairly regular occurrence with him. We all take wicked-fine pleasure in that part of his education.""But you are his bodyguards, is he really the Head of House Ishara, or was that a lie as well?" Saku was still confused by her prideful arrogance and how I was misplacing my own."Sakuniyas, Cáel was not raised in our culture. He has only been a member of the Host for a few weeks. This is not to belittle his impressive education," Pamela intervened. "Both he, and those of the House who know him, agree that the occasional physical chastisement works better than words alone.""You could reward me with sex," I muttered. "Positive reinforcement, ""Forty-six days, Bitch," Rachel growled."You are ferocious in battle, fearless and clever," Saku turned back to me. "Why do you put up with this constant degradation?""Degradation? I'm not insulted by what Rachel did or said," I retorted. "She is trying to teach me things I need to know if I'm going to survive. I respect her superior knowledge in her professional capacity," I continued. "I don't get upset when people tease, taunt, or challenge Cáel 'Wakko' Ishara, that's me, if you are confused.I save my indignation for those who scorn Dot Ishara, Yakko Ishara and all members of House Ishara, past and present. Quite frankly, being disrespectful to me is actually rather difficult because I only care about the sensibilities of a handful of people.""How can any warriors follow a leader into battle if that person has no pride and never shies away from shame?And besides, what is this Wakko/Dot/Yakko nonsense," Saku persisted. "Fatal Squirts, start assembling my armor." Her attention was split between me and her panoply."Hello," I snickered. "I'm a male Amazon. The fact that I haven't run for my life way before now is all the heroic background check anyone should require.Doubting my common sense actually makes sense. Doubting my courage, or loyalty is idiotic in too many ways to count. As for revealing the hallowed and revered enigmatic occult appellations of my House, " I started."Get him!" Tiger Lily showed some faux-outrage."Shit!" I cried out as Delilah, Tiger Lily and the rest of the SD swarmed me. Pamela and Miyako were of no help whatsoever. I could not express my joy more at the resulting physical abuse and humiliation aimed my way. I was tickled. Yes, my Kick-Ass, full-blood, natural born killers pinned me down and tickled me until I nearly peed on myself.In a very short period of time, we'd shared some really nerve-racking moments. Dad dying, my showdown with Hayden, being mugged by Carrig and the rest of the crap that rained down blow after blow once I came out of my coma. They had taken me numerous times to the hospital and had to sit back helplessly while I suffered. Yet, I refused to be repressed by circumstance.I fought for our people, OUR people now, both with the Earth  and  Sky in shared counsel and the Seven Pillars on the battlefield. Rachel hadn't given me word-one of a reprimand for leaving Charlotte to raise the alarm while I rushed into danger. I was an Amazon in her eyes. Charlotte could fix the phone. Miyako and I could not. The bridge had to be secured immediately.We couldn't wait on Charlotte. I didn't even act as if what I did was all that brave. Rachel knew me far better now; she wouldn't make that mistake. Had I been able to fix the phone, I would have stayed and sent Charlotte. Had the whole team been there and Rachel told me to stay, I would have stayed while they ran into the fight.No. The situation hadn't allowed that, so I had killed a number of men and been wounded. The backside of my right thigh had merely been grazed (which my normally mangled left side found to be grossly unfair.) That was another scar to add to my 'sexy'. I had fought in my own insane manner and was alive solely because Saku had decided to shoot another man instead of me.Even after I knew who she was, I had allied with her and charged the rear of the enemy troop convoy. In the after-battle analysis, they weren't sure how many Seven Pillar Special Forces I had killed, both in the gulch and when I annihilated the back section of the attack column, and took my impromptu flying lesson.Credit for destroying the bridge jacks, thus making the BBQ a carnal cookout featuring Chinese 'Long-Pig', was still hanging out there as well. Rachel and company were still pissed with me despite all that. Why? On a purely personal level, they realized they would miss me if I got myself killed. They were not supposed to feel that way about their protectee.I certainly wasn't their first protective detail, though they were starting to believe I'd be their last. No, I had done everything right, by going into harm's way, and they were furious with the universe for placing us in that situation. Since the universe wasn't offering itself up to be punished, it fell on me to soak up their pique.Delilah was simply picking on me because she could get away with it this time."You are all embarrassments," Saku remarked bitterly once my screams began breathless pleas for mercy. "The Host has fallen a great way since my day." What a killjoy. I finally got my breath back."And the Queen on the floor of the Royal chambers, pushing around toy chariots with her two eldest sons and a child-playmate, was the height of decorum."Well, if looks could kill, I would have never made my nineteenth birthday, so Saku's glare was just another walk in the park."That was a personal moment with my family. It was a very private moment," she sizzled."My Mother's line is, it is what it is. My Father was murdered. My Father's sister and I were never close. These people are my family and my choice of kin.""English," Pamela chided us."Having no family to call your own, you welcome so many that 'family' has no meaning," Saku angrily mocked my words.There was a hushed moment then everyone but the three other Squirts and Saku started laughing. The three kids didn't know me either."By what metric do you measure family by?" I snickered."On his third day on the job, Fehér mén (Aya's pet name for me, White Stallion in the Magyar tongue, it is complicated) threw his body over my sisters and me to protect us," Aya said."He spared my foster-sister when she gravely insulted him," Mona volunteered. "He didn't know me. The Amazon, Constanza, would have died by anyone else's hand, except his. You may look down your nose at his mercy. As you do so, consider that it is his mercy that allows you to feel that way about him, and us right now." Whoa,"I have never seen him fight out of pride, or take joy in any combat," Rachel stared down Saku. "My only fear is that Cáel will get himself killed saving my life, or the life of any member of my team. He knows it is wrong. He knows I will be absolutely furious with him, and he accepts that. He is like no other Amazon I have ever known.We have limits. We follow orders. At our best, we put the welfare of the Host over our own survival. Not Ishara, Wakko Ishara. He follows the dictates of his house and those are to seek mercy and peace where appropriate. He is like no Amazon I have ever known, and I have zero doubt that he is one of the best Amazons I will ever know," she finished with a chuckle."I'm speaking my mind, aren't I?" she asked me."Afraid so, sorry about that," I apologized for corrupting her social skills."Saku, your mistake is that you confuse his caring about you and caring about your opinion of him," Pamela finished things up."Sakuniyas, I will work to honor my pledge to you. I will try to keep you alive because you can be a powerful ally of the Host, but also because it is the right thing to do," I enlightened her. "That doesn't make you all that special though. Personally I think you are a horrible, bitter bitch and lousy company for any non-masochist.I'm going to help you in the same way I'm going to help everyone else here. This is despite me feeling confident that not a single Amazon on this planet has a living father. They've never had brothers because their mothers murdered them. Your crappy attitude doesn't influence me one way, or the other. You are a horrible fucking person born to a horrible fucking race, my race, the Amazon Host.""You kill your fathers and sons," Delilah mumbled as she looked from face to face, finding not a single bit of denial, or shame. "I thought that was so much Greek bull's buttocks.""Nope," Aya shrugged. "Before I left for camp, Momma told me they put Daddy, my other Daddy, down when I was two." Kind of like Old Yeller, or Benji. "His name was Paul Twelve."Delilah looked at me with downright worrisome eyes."Yeah, I figured that out on day two on-the- job," I relayed to her. "For the past 2500 years, every male child of the Host has been tossed off a cliff to his death, or left out in the wilds for predators to devour. Every male they have kidnapped has been under a death sentence from the moment of capture.They tried to genetically breed their captive male population with Amazon females, but something went wrong. The males began passing on genetic defects that poisoned the race. In response, they have begun recruiting men, such as myself, and exterminating their old male breeding populace.Initially, I didn't run because I was sure they would hunt me down and kill me. Later, later I came to like enough of the Host to decide that knowing what was going on meant I couldn't let it slide. I couldn't leave this issue for someone else to tackle. I know I'm facing long odds, yet I'll never succeed if I don't try," I wrapped up my little my 'Cáel's Amazon Primer' lecture."Okay, okay, Cáel you are blood nuts, and hellishly brave. The rest of you are just hellish, killing your own kin as infants or if they get too old," Delilah sputtered. "That's plain wrong.""I had sons," Saku stated. "They grew into fine, strong warriors. My daughters married into the nobility.""Delilah, we don't expect you to understand our culture. Twice in our people's history, men have tried to eliminate our society, stealing our homes and property, and enslaving our children and sisters. We let down our guard once, and that nearly destroyed us, except we now have Cáel and a better understanding of what happened that second time," Tiger Lily educated Delilah."It turned out that not all males betrayed us. No, when we needed them the most, they sacrificed themselves for the welfare of our people and we repaid that loyalty with anger and barbarism. That is a burden we have carried all these centuries without understanding it. Only within the past month has the real truth about the Second Betrayal become known.Many of us are now re-evaluating the dictates of our faith concerning men and sons. After all, Cael is the descendent of Amazons of a First House, dating back to the Trojan Wars. He has been welcomed by his ancestors and his goddess, Dot Ishara," she completed."What is it with the Dot, Wakko and, ""Everyone buckle up," the pilot announced over the intercom. "We are on our final approach." Saku and the Squirts had her armor in some kind of order, we buckled up and let the plane coast on down to earth."Delilah and Cáel, since our 'vacation' was cut short, we haven't been able to bring your personal effects back from Africa yet," Rachel told us."Also, there will be four of Javiera's people meeting us in the hangar," she added. "We have been told to view them as non-hostiles.""Oh joy," Pamela muttered then, "There is nothing to worry about folks.""What? Me worry?" I goofy grinned her way.(Governments, horrendous enemies and ruthlessly evil friends)Four SUVs waited for us in the wide-open hangar. No sooner had the pilot given us the 'green light', than Rachel released the door/stairs mechanism and Charlotte began her decent. We had the camp FN P-90's, not the older Havenstone UMP 40's, so that was the weapon whose sights she was looking down as her eyes scanned the room. Five people. Four SUVs.Rachel went next with me right behind her. My SD's precautions turned our guests from a rather annoyed-casual to alert-angry. Standing with our two standard Mercedes GL550's was Wiesława of House Živa. A sole guardian indicated to me that an ass-kicking was in the offing elsewhere. The Golden Mare, Saint Marie was gathering the Havenstone Security Detail for some purpose, which meant she could only spare one more warrior for me.I was fine with that. Not only did I feel bad about denying her the four ladies I had, I knew we were going into this global conflict outnumbered and out-financed. The Seven Pillars had gotten at least one blow in by striking at the Amazon summer camp. I had every reason to believe other unexpected attacks had occurred all across the globe.In the closest black Tahoe SUV (didn't anyone use sedans anymore?) were two men in modestly tailored, off-the-rack suits. One with buzz-cut gray-white hair, was closer to fifty than forty, was as tall as me (a bit over six feet) and close to my weight and build. That guy was pissed off.His partner was smaller (5ft 10in.) and lighter. He was also cocky with that 'I know more than you schmucks' air about him. Beside the farther SUV, a Range Rover (black, of course, I swore in that moment that if I ever got to have my own fleet of House Ishara SUV's, I was going with baby blue, just to fuck with people's heads), were two other men, one cultured and the other a bad-ass.

Today, the Late Crew talks about Trump's NASA pick says military will inevitably put troops in space (10:23), DOD says that most girls do not think they could succeed in the military (20:33), the Air Force names first female SERE specialist as chief master sergeant (30:57), the Space Force wants its own boot camp (41:59), and on 16 Dec 1941 Admiral Nimitz takes command of the US Pacific Fleet (58:22).

This week's show features stories from France 24, NHK Japan, and Radio Havana Cuba. http://youthspeaksout.net/swr240419.mp3 (29:00) From FRANCE- This week France 24 had many important international press reviews and so half of todays SWR come from there. The first is about the proposed law in the UK that will ban anyone born in 2009 or later from ever buying cigarettes- it is very controversial but may be implemented. Of course the bigger story has been the retaliatory strikes on Israel that Iran attempted- first the Middle East press from Israel to Iran. Then the international press from the Guardian in the UK and the US. Next Zelensky criticized the West for directly defending Israel while treating Ukraine differently. The Washington Post reported on Ukraine bombing Russian oil refineries. Liz Truss who was the UK Prime Minister for 49 days is backing Donald Trump and would like to lead the Tory party again. The Jordan Times says they intercepted Iranian missiles to protect themselves not Israel. The UK based Middle East Eye points out that Jordan has the largest number of Palestinian refugees. Then several reports on the election for Prime Minister in India- the election will take about 2 months and Modi is generally considered a certain winner. Press reviews include how Modi made India a much larger international force, how human rights have diminished under his rule, and how he had the current opposition leaders arrested and prosecuted. From JAPAN- Japanese firm Nippon Steel is in the process of acquiring US Steel though Biden is opposed to it- the shareholders voted to complete the sale. A report on the process of determining where to bury nuclear waste in Japan. Australia has announced a new defense strategy including a much larger budget. An Israeli poll found 70% of the citizens oppose a counterstrike against Iran. The US Pacific Fleet provocatively flew through the Taiwan Strait. From CUBA- Venezuelan President Maduro says the US has not lifted the sanctions that it said would end a year ago. Americans demanding a ceasefire in Gaza blocked major roads in California, Illinois, New York, and Oregon. Police in Germany raided and shut down a pro-Palestinian conference in Berlin. Available in 3 forms- (new) HIGHEST QUALITY (160kb)(33MB), broadcast quality (13MB), and quickdownload or streaming form (6MB) (28:59) Links at outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml PODCAST!!!- https://feed.podbean.com/outFarpress/feed.xml (160kb Highest Quality) Website Page- < http://www.outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml ¡FurthuR! Dan Roberts "All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume." -Noam Chomsky Dan Roberts Shortwave Report- www.outfarpress.com YouthSpeaksOut!- www.youthspeaksout.net

On December 7, 1941, Japanese air and naval forces attacked the American naval and air base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing 2400 Americans and heavily damaging the US Pacific Fleet. Over the next 5 months, Japan conquered several European and American possessions in southeast Asia, including Guam, Malaya, Wake Island, Hong Kong, Burma, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, and the Philippines. In this episode, James and new cohost Dave Holland narrate this period of rapid Japanese expansion, including the famous “Doolittle Raid.”

A Morning News Update That Takes Into Account The News Stories You Deem 'Highly Conversational' Today's Sponsor: The Chess Storehttp://thisistheconversationproject.com/thechessstore Today's Rundown:Taylor Swift named Time's Person of the Yearhttps://www.news5cleveland.com/taylor-swift-named-time-s-person-of-the-year Las Vegas shooting suspect was a professor who recently applied for a job at UNLV, AP source sayshttps://www.yahoo.com/news/authorities-responding-reports-multiple-victims-201320923.html USGA, R&A formally announce rollback of golf ball for all players, starting in 2028https://www.yahoo.com/sports/usga-ra-formally-announce-rollback-of-golf-ball-for-all-players-starting-in-2028-162143448.html Brock Lesnar's Daughter Goes Viral Because She Looks Exactly Like Him & Is An Amazing Athletehttps://brobible.com/sports/article/brock-lesnars-daughter-mya-lynn-lesnar/ Sean 'Diddy' Combs accused of gang rape and sex trafficking in new lawsuithttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sean-diddy-combs-accused-gang-rape-sex-trafficking-new-lawsuit-rcna128361 Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the ousted speaker, announces he's leaving Congresshttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-kevin-mccarthy-ousted-speaker-announces-s-leaving-congress-rcna128139 Norman Lear, iconic TV sitcom and movie producer, dies at 101https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/norman-lear-dead-dies-tv-legend-all-in-the-family-1235823995/ Is 'Die Hard' a Christmas movie? Half of Americans say ho ho no, new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows.https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bruce-willis-die-hard-christmas-movie-yahoo-poll-100047565.html Website: http://thisistheconversationproject.com Facebook: http://facebook.com/thisistheconversationproject Twitter: http://twitter.com/th_conversation TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@theconversationproject YouTube: http://thisistheconversationproject.com/youtube Podcast: http://thisistheconversationproject.com/podcasts #yournewssidepiece #coffeechat #morningnews ONE DAY OLDER ON DECEMBER 7:Larry Bird (67)C. Thomas Howell (57)Lorde (27) WHAT HAPPENED TODAY:1787: Delaware became the first state to ratify the US Constitution.1941: Attack on Pearl Harbor. The Imperial Japanese Navy attacks the US Pacific Fleet and its defending Army Air Forces and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, causing a declaration of war to Japan by the USA.1998: Officials of Madame Toussaud's traveling wax museum in Sydney, Australia, finally sewed the zipper up on U.S. President Bill Clinton's pants because visitors kept unzipping it. PLUS, TODAY WE CLEBRATE: Chanuka (Begins At Nightfall)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah

On December 7, 1941, the bombs rained down on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Of the eight Battleships present that day, seven were put out of action. Two of those, Oklahoma, and Arizona, permanently. The other six Battleships were essentially obsolete. In fact, the very reason that the Battleships were in Pearl Harbor that day was because they were useless to accomplish the task the Navy needed done that week. But they were still fully manned and fully operational when Japan attacked. That said… the Navy saw value in the old ships, and decided to raise, repair and refit them to the standards of modern Battleships. In those roles, these six ships would serve through the rest of the Pacific War. One of them, the USS Nevada, found herself pounding the German defenses on D-Day and throughout the Normandy campaign. When General MacArthur landed with his troops in the Philippine Islands on October 20, 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy had no choice but to respond. Virtually the entire fleet sailed to the Philippines to face off with the US Navy in a do or die struggle. Over the course of the next five days, four major naval engagements would take place. While the most famous of these battles involved the US Navy's TAFFY 3 and its incredible stand, it was to the south that the Japanese were attempting to make that fight even more lopsided. But the Southern Force of the Japanese Fleet was headed straight into the teeth of Read Admiral Jesse Oldendorf's battle line of six US battleships. Five of those battleships were raised from the mud and muck of Pearl Harbor. And on this night, led by USS West Virginia, … they would have their revenge… --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plausibly-live/message

Since its first formation in 2007, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or "Quad" of the Australia, India, Japan and the United States of America has continued to evolve in to something that isn't a fully formed alliance, but is a bit more than just a talking shop as well. Encouraged by the changing nature of the People's Republic of China, it is evolving in to something with great potential for enhancing security and international norms at sea to the benefit of not just the Quad, but the other nations in the area.For the full hour today to discuss the Quad will be returning guest Blake Herzinger.The foundation for our discussion will be via the Unites States Study Centre, Bolstering the Quad: The case for a collective approach to maritime security.Blake is a Research Fellow in the Foreign Policy and Defence Program at the United States Studies Centre. His work is broadly focused on Indo-Pacific defence policy and US security cooperation, with emphasis on maritime security and sea power. Previously a Non-resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Blake also directed global security policy for Twitter, and was a Non-resident WSD-Handa Fellow and Young Leader at Pacific Forum. Prior to that, Blake was a civilian adviser to the US Pacific Fleet, focusing on maritime security cooperation in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the South Pacific. During that time, he and his team developed the Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative program, delivering assistance ranging from coursework to coast guard cutters to regional maritime law enforcement organisations. He is a serving US Navy Reserve foreign area officer and spent ten years in active service.His work can be found in Foreign Policy, War on the Rocks, The Diplomat, The Straits Times and Nikkei Asia, among other publications. His book, Carrier Killer, focuses on China's anti-ship ballistic missile program and its influence on the regional military balance. Blake holds an MSc in Strategic Studies from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University, and completed his BA in Political Science at Brigham Young University.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3270000/advertisement

After the devastating Japanese blows of December 1941, the Allies found themselves reeling with defeat everywhere in the Pacific. Although stripped of his battleships and outnumbered 10:3 in carriers, the US Navy commander-in-chief Admiral Ernest J. King decided to hit back at Japan's rapidly expanding Pacific empire immediately, in an effort to keep the Japanese off-balance.On February 1, 1942, Vice Admiral Bill Halsey led the US Pacific Fleet carriers on their first raid, using high-speed hit-and-run tactics to strike at the Japanese, at a time when most of the Japanese carrier fleet was in the Indian Ocean. Halsey's aggressive commitment inspired its American participants to invent the mythical “Haul Ass With Halsey” club. The last of the 1942 US carrier raids in March 1942 would form a defining moment in the Pacific War, prior to a new phase of high-seas battles between the opposing fleets.To discuss this overlooked era is Brian Herder, author of “Early Pacific Raids 1942: The American Carriers Strike Back.”This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3101278/advertisement

The Pacific Ocean, vast and seemingly limitless, conceals a history of bloodshed and courage within its azure depths. As the echoes of World War II continue to reverberate through time, tales of valor, sacrifice, and strategic genius rise from beneath the waves, forever etching their legacy onto the canvas of human history. One such tale is the Battle of Tarawa, a deadly contest of will and power that unfolded across the sun-scorched atoll of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands. This story, steeped in heroism and tragedy, is far more than a historical event. It's a testament to human spirit and endurance, a vivid snapshot of a world at war. In the heat of November 1943, the tranquil, palm-fringed beaches of Tarawa became the stage for one of the most ferocious battles of the Pacific Theatre. It was a confrontation where the indomitable forces of the United States faced the hardened defenses of the Imperial Japanese Army. Both sides, motivated by the strategic importance of the Pacific Islands, were locked in a desperate struggle that would forever alter the trajectory of the war. Behind each gun fired, each strategy devised, and each life lost, there were men of unwavering conviction. Men like Admiral Chester Nimitz, the audacious commander of the US Pacific Fleet, and Vice Admiral Keiji Shibasaki, the steadfast Japanese defender of Tarawa. Their decisions and actions, rippling out like waves in the Pacific, shaped the course of this dramatic battle. This is the story of the Battle of Tarawa, a tale of fire and fury, hope and heartbreak. It's a journey through the grueling days of combat, the costly triumph, and the enduring legacy of this pivotal moment in World War II. We dive into the depths of strategy, explore the heroism in the face of overwhelming odds, and pay tribute to the profound impact of this battle on the course of the war. In the shadow of these monumental events, we're reminded that history isn't merely a record of what has been, but a beacon illuminating the path ahead. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ww2-stories/support

MAJ John Burns talks about the evolution of Ghost Team at the National Training Center in California and why it matters for the future training of Civil Affairs forces. MAJ Burns is the Senior Civil-Military Operations Trainer and Operations Officer for Ghost Team at the National Training Center. MAJ Burns previous Civil Affairs assignments include serving as the G9 for the 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command at Fort Hood, TX, Commander of E Company, 83rd Civil Affairs BN, CMOC Chief for E Company, 83rd Civil Affairs BN, Team Chief for CAT 723, Bravo Company, 97th Civil Affairs BN, and Assistant Operations Officer for the 92nd Civil Affairs BN. MAJ Burns' Civil Affairs Deployments include Civil-Military Support Element Cambodia and supporting US Pacific Fleet in Pacific Partnership 2017 and 2018. The One CA Podcast is brought to you by the Civil Affairs Association. This episode is sponsored by Tesla Government and LC38 Brand.

(Bonus) The Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II, at the beginning of the Pacific War in December 1941, was the third most powerful navy in the world, and the naval air service was one of the most potent air forces in the world. During the first six months of the war, the Imperial Japanese Navy enjoyed spectacular success in inflicting heavy defeats on Allied forces, being undefeated in every battle. The attack on Pearl Harbor crippled the battleships of the US Pacific Fleet, while Allied navies were devastated during Japan's conquest of Southeast Asia. Japanese Navy aircraft operating from land bases were also responsible for the sinkings of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse which was the first time that capital ships were sunk by an aerial attack while underway. In April 1942, the Indian Ocean raid drove the Royal Navy from South East Asia. After these successes, the Japanese now concentrated on the elimination and neutralization of strategic points from where the Allies could launch counteroffensives against Japan's conquests. However, at the Coral Sea, the Japanese were forced to abandon their attempts to isolate Australia while the defeat at Midway saw them forced on the defensive. The campaign in the Solomon Islands, in which the Japanese lost the war of attrition, was the most decisive; they had failed to commit enough forces in sufficient time.

It's not often you get to meet your heroes. As an Operations Research major in college, I Idolized the Bletchley Park giants. Dr. Anthony Wells was trained by these greats like his mentor the cryptoanalyst Sir Harry Hinsley. Fifty years of working in the British intelligence community leaves Dr. Wells with plenty to talk about -- and quite a lot to be kept secret as well. We discuss his book BETWEEN FIVE EYES - Fifty Years Inside the Five Eyes Intelligence Community which reads like a historical witness of key events, and remains a lasting contribution to the institutional knowledge of the intelligence field. Anthony has another book to look out for --> Crossroads in Time: Philby and Angleton, The Story of Treachery. The first dedicated work to explore their treasonous relationship.From the author's Amazon page:Dr. Wells is the only living person to have worked for British Intelligence as a British citizen and U.S. Intelligence as an American citizen. He has worked in C4ISRT, counter terrorism, as well as asymmetric and irregular warfare. Dr. Wells has led programs in the U.S National Intelligence Community to mitigate the effects of terrorist and adversary attacks on personnel, infrastructure, political systems, and communities. He was trained in the 1960s by the most distinguished exponents of deception and other clandestine operations from the World War Two period. His mentors included Professor Sir Harry Hinsley, the Bletchley Park code breaker and operations specialist. Dr. Wells is a foremost expert in the science and art of modern Information and Deception Operations, in both the offensive and defensive modes. Dr. Wells while in the Royal Navy served in Washington DC with the US Navy and Intelligence Community, and at sea in the Third Fleet, US Pacific Fleet. He became Head of Special Programs in one of the lead British Intelligence Directorates and as a US citizen was the Technical Director of Fleet Battle Experiments Alpha and Bravo in the Pacific Fleet. He is a recognized expert on threats, strategy, and tactics in the INDOPACOM area of operations.Dr. Wells is the third Chairman of the Board of the USS Liberty Alliance. He succeeded the late Admiral Thomas Moorer, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chief of Naval Operations, and the late Rear Admiral Clarence “Mark” Hill, distinguished battle group commander and naval aviator. He was made an honorary crew member of the USS Liberty by surviving crew members. USS Liberty is the most highly decorated warship in the history of the US Navy for a single action. He is an acknowledged expert on the Middle East, and the 1967 June War.Enjoyed this ad-fee episode? Please consider a one time contribution to keep us operational --> https://www.paypal.me/thelivedrop Get bonus content on Patreon Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Today's Show: The attack by the Empire of Japan upon the US Pacific Fleet's anchorage at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was 80 years ago today. FDR's "Day of Infamy" speech - https://www.fdrlibrary.org/documents/356632/405112/afdr244.mp3/b37c9e47-9056-4932-b08b-d85cc22e586b  2022 Five Day Bible Reading Plan will be available the day after Christmas! - https://fivedaybiblereading.com/   Prayers from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Bible reading from the LSB - Today, we are in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, Chapter 16 The Christian Podcast Community website - https://podcasts.strivingforeternity.org/  Theme music: Enfield's recording of “Crown Him With Many Crowns” © 2010 by Resolved Music. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com 

Team:COACH GARY HERE. THIS IS EPISODE 19 OF THE ‘BRICK AND BLOCK PODCAST' AND                FEATURES THE AUDIO VERSION OF MY JANUARY 2020 COLUMN written for MASONRY MAGAZINE. YOU PROBABLY KNOW THE COLUMN AS ‘FULL CONTACT PROJECT MANAGER'. THE TITLE OF THE COLUMN YOU ARE ABOUT TO HEAR IS: Looking Forward by Knowing the Past                                                                  …Remembering the Rest of the Story Team— WARNING: THIS PODCAST RUNS COUNTER TO WHAT MANY COLLEGE PROFESSORS BELIEVE. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!NOTE: This article was originally written, a couple of years ago, to provide some history of December 7, 1941. It is even more important this year, as you should hear much talk about that date, now 80 years ago, this December. It's critical you get the whole story, as opponents of Western Civilization may be doing their best to tarnish, trample…and torpedo the reality of the 2nd World War.Look, as you can tell, I'm about fed up with the “Egghead” class, changing language, changing history, changing values, changing beliefs…heck, changing genders, making this stuff up as they go along. It's time for some sanity and perspective, which is what “Coach Gary” is about to deliver. Stand by!All things considered, in some respects, this might be one of the most important podcasts I've ever done. But, then again…all of my podcasts are important! So…dig in!We begin immediately,     and by immediately,   I mean once I remind everyone that you can find our podcast website at BRICK AND BLOCK PODCAST DOT COM (repeat). As I've said before, I'm a big proponent of having websites that support your business, and I've got an excellent example of one: Masonry Contractor Special Website. You'll see it there. That's what you're looking for. It's mobile friendly, modern, fast, bullet proof, BEAUTIFUL, cutting edge, DONE FOR YOU, and practically free! You'll love this one. Check it out.Of course, if you're not a masonry contractor, we have very similar websites, but in your specialty. So…check it out.OKAY, TEAM.    HANG ON, BUCKLE UP… LISTEN UP,  AND PREPARE TO MOVE UP. And now, Episode 19Looking Forward by Knowing the Past                                               …Remembering The Rest of the StoryBy Coach Gary Micheloni “Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” (Winston Churchill, 1948 and George Santayana, 1905)For absolute certainty, there will be no shortage of articles and messages this time of year about “20-20 vision” and that sort of thing! But I ask you to invest a few moments right now and look at my little offering, because it just might be super-significant for you in this uncertain world and industry we find ourselves. Stuff always happens but you need to hang in there because ‘the rest of the story' might just be right around the corner… to the part where the cavalry arrives and the good guys win. That's the theme for the New Year because that's my hope and expectation. Check it out.For the past 20+ years now I have been meeting for breakfast with the same group of guys the first Saturday of each month. It is amazing to me the amount of wisdom coming from them, on all sorts of subjects and ideas, and I hope you have the same kind of people in your life. They are among my most important mentors— my coaches.So, when “Coach Mark” approached me and said that our group of guys would be meeting on December 7th next and wondered if I might want to share something about the significance of that day. I agreed, provided we could go into the lessons learned and the leadership attached to that significant day. What does it all mean--for that time, and for ours, going forward?President Franklin D. Roosevelt summed up things this way: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan...I regret to tell you that many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu…”Pretty bad stuff, right? But let's not miss “the rest of the story.” Is the cavalry on its way? Is there going to be a ‘rest of the story?' Let's take a look.Those two sentences from FDR were the facts, and they are terrible. But those facts are only part of the story, which is far more profound, much larger, and more significant. The story does not end there. In fact, it doesn't even begin there! Because where it actually begins has everything to do with — not where it ends, but where it is heading. You knowing what that heading is, has everything to do with how your business, community, and family grow, We're talking about the history of our country because it is the driving force of your legacies, be it business, community or family going forward. Do not miss this!In your experience, you know that things often go wrong, “unsolvable” problems present themselves, seemingly impossible issues arise. Things are going along well and then, out of the blue, bad stuff happens. In this case, Pearl Harbor is attacked “out of the blue,” the enemy seeking to destroy the US Pacific Fleet. In fact, on that Sunday morning, 9 US battleships were in port. The enemy thought it had accomplished its mission, but it miscalculated — you'll learn why in a moment. But the lesson here is that life situations, which might cripple the unwitting, will not take you down— provided you understand your legacy, and how critical it is to pass this along to others and that they might do the same. So, let's go to the beginning of the story. What i0s this uniquely American legacy that redeems us from the bad and gets us to the good? Let's start here.America was settled by people seeking freedom of religion, the press, for the right to own property, and a desire to be governed by the rule of law— not ruled according to the dictations and might of kings. In this country, for the first time ever in the history of the world, we solemnly believed and resolved that the king was no longer to be the law. But that law, itself, was to be king. This turned civilization on its head!To make this happen, Americans picked a fight with the mightiest nation on earth at the time, to instill into its people and install into its government, the sanctity that these rights, held by most people, were ‘God-given.' A formal Declaration of Independence was written and then signed by 57 men each pledging, “Our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” It would cost many of them exactly that. In 1776 this Revolution, tenuous at first and unlikely to succeed, overcame the impossible and the miraculous came to pass. Tens of thousands of lives were taken, wounded, or captured to make this a reality. Never forget: this is our legacy.In 1861, a great Civil War was fought to decide the issue of slavery. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, freeing— on paper, at least the slaves in rebelling states. April 9, 1865, the south surrendered. April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated. Over four years, more than 620,000 soldiers from both sides cast ‘the ultimate vote,” as did President Lincoln. The law was settled. At great cost, the nation moved on. Our legacy of freedom was preserved.  Fast forward to 1941 and the specter of world war. The US and Japan had ongoing diplomatic negotiations and peace talks up through December 6, in Washington DC. With talks scheduled to continue the following week. Sunday was supposed to be an off day. This now brings us back to the events of December 7th, 1941:7:55 a.m, the first wave of 183 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo bombers attacked Pearl Harbor.8:10 a.m. a 1,800-pound bomb lands in the USS Arizona's forward ammunition magazine. The ship explodes and sinks with 1,000+ men trapped inside.Torpedoes hit the USS Oklahoma with about 400 sailors aboard; she loses balance, rolls to her side and sinks. 8:54 a.m. the second wave of 170 planes attacked. The battle was over before 10:00 a.m.In its wake, 2,403 service members were killed, 1,178 wounded, 169 US Army Air Corps and Navy planes destroyed. 19 vessels were damaged, nearly half of which were sunk, fully or partially. Every battleship in Pearl Harbor had sustained significant damage: the USS Arizona, Oklahoma, California, West Virginia, Utah, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Nevada. Pretty bad stuff, right? Do things get better?Know that all but the Arizona, Oklahoma, and Utah were eventually salvaged and repaired so that six battleships were returned to service.The Japanese ambassadors left town on December 8th!December 9, 1941, Americans begin to enlist in record numbers. During the course of the war, over 16 million Americans served, from a US population of 140 million — 11% of all Americans fought in WW2. (By comparison, 1% during the Iraq war.) Every family had a stake in this fight, either in the military or in support of it. (My mom and at least one of my aunts became welders in an aircraft plant!)February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9066, and 110,000 Japanese-Americans are forced to leave their homes and are interred in 10 detention camps until December 1944. April 2, 1942, USS Hornet steams from San Francisco with 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers lashed to her flight deck. The 80 crew members aboard had trained on land-based runways to get airborne within 467 ft (length of the Hornet flight deck). All were volunteers. It was considered to be a suicide mission.April 8, 1942, all 16 bombers, led by Lt. Col. James Doolittle, successfully launched from the Hornet for a surprise air attack on Tokyo by US bombers. All hit targets, doing little damage, but proving to the Japanese that their island was not invulnerable to attack by the U.S. — a huge, needed a psychological boost to the Allies, as the war was going badly. One plane landed in Russia, 15 toward Nationalist China. All ran short on fuel and either crash-landed or crew bailed out. Three crewmen killed, 8 captured, tortured and starved. This bravery is a part of the DNA in our legacy. April 19, 2019, Lt. Richard Cole, last surviving member of this raid, dies at age 103! 77 years plus one day.0May 1942. War going well for Japan, which wanted to get US into a fight for Midway Island in order to lure US aircraft carriers, defeat them, which would ultimately destroy the US Pacific Fleet. (Carriers were much more important to the Fleet than battleships.) May 28th, largest Japanese fleet ever leaves it bases and heads to sea, commanded by Admiral Yamamoto, who is confident of victory but does not know that the US has cracked their intelligence code and is aware of their plans of possible attack on Midway. June 1942, US Admiral Chester Nimitz puts a task force together. Desperately in need of carriers, has to allow USS Yorktown to go to Pearl Harbor for two+ weeks of emergency repairs. But Nimitz has a plan: 1400 shipyard workers move onto the ship, en masse, work around the clock and complete the repairs in 72 hours. She rejoins the task force! The Battle of Midway rages four days, June 4-June 7, 1942. Japan had 4 carriers, 3 cruisers, 12 destroyers, 248 carrier aircraft, and 16 floatplanes. The US had 3 carriers, 8 cruisers, 15 destroyers, 233 carrier aircraft, 127 land-based aircraft, and 16 subs.LOSSES: Japan— 4 carriers sunk; 1 cruiser sunk and 1 damaged; 248 aircraft destroyed, 3,057 KIA, 37 capturedUS— 1 carrier sunk (Yorktown); 1 destroyer sunk (Hammann), 150 aircraft destroyed; 307 service members KIA.Midway was widely considered the turning point of the war and the largest naval battle in history. Japan was unable to replenish its war materials easily, while the US industrial might could supply our needs.February 1, 1943, 442nd Regimental Combat Team created was composed entirely of Japanese-Americans, some of whom had family members in detention camps. Serving in Italy, France, and Germany, its motto was “Go for Broke.” By April 1943, it had a fighting complement of 4,000 men, with some 14,000 total serving overall. In less than two years, its members were awarded 9,486 purple hearts, 4,000 Bronze Stars, 21 of its members were awarded the Medal of Honor. It is the most decorated unit in US military history. A family friend of mine had a brother KIA while she and the rest of her family remained in a camp. Amazing. Sad. True. Part of our legacy as Americans of all stripes.While all of this is going on in the Pacific, the Allies simultaneously and successfully launch the largest amphibious landing in the history of warfare: Operation Overlor2d, also known as D-Day, the landing at Normandy (June 6-August 30, 1944). A few months later, the Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944 to Jan 25, 1945).May 8, 1945, VE Day (Victory in Europe) August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Pres. Truman calls for Japan to surrender, warning of further destruction. Japan rejects.August 9, 1945, the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced surrender. September 2, 1945, (VJ Day— Victory over Japan) Japan signs unconditional surrender aboard USS Missouri This is who we are. This is why when you get down you know you're going to get back up. It's in our DNA. It is the legacy of our country. More than that: it is your legacy, and that's ‘the rest of the story!' YOU CAN REACH OUT TO US BY EMAIL: BrickAndBlockPodcast@gmail.com (SPELL OUT THE WORD “AND”: A. N. D.)  Brick And BlockPodcast@gmail.comPodcast Website: BrickAndBlockPodcast.com Remember—I've got that website example there for you to check As a favor:BE SURE AND SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST. IT'S IMPORTANT.WE WANT YOU TO JOIN US FOR THE NEXT EPISODE. NOW…FOR THE BRICK AND BLOCK PODCAST…THIS IS COACH GARY… THANKS FOR STOPPING BY. 

A study published by Niklas Boers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research indicates that the Gulf Stream is on the verge of collapse. This would dramatically change the weather in North America and Europe - making it colder. Additionally there would be sea level rise, disruption of the monsoon patterns and impacts to the Amazon rainforest and Antarctic ice sheet. Do you miss Dive Training Magazine? Word from Catherine Castle Garcia is that they are hoping to be publishing again in the fourth quarter of 2021. Looking forward to a new edition coming soon. The Boston Sea Rovers annual show is still on track for October 2 and 3, 2021. Here is the latest update on Dutch Springs. Last week the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission reviewed the plans. They were not supportive of the plan but there may be little that can be done to stop the proposed warehouse development. PADI also has developed a white paper outlining the economic benefit that Dutch Springs generates as a diving venue. The developer is working with local officials to "offload" the quarry but not sure exactly how this would work. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, a team of Navy divers was tasked with the salvage efforts for the US Pacific Fleet. The book Descent Into Darkness by Commander Edward C. Raymer is a memoir of one of these divers who spent most of the war working on the salvage efforts on all of the battleships damaged at Pearl Harbor. Commander Raymer also spent about eight months in the South Pacific doing salvage operations in the Solomon Islands. This book provides a great insight into the courage and stamina that these men exhibited doing a very difficult task.

In this episode of The Director’s Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with Admiral Harry Harris, the former US commander and diplomat. Harry served as the Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and as President Trump’s Ambassador to South Korea. Harry discusses his military career, which took in postings from Guantanamo Bay to INDOPACOM headquarters in Honolulu, when he led nearly 400,000 military personnel. They also discuss his time as a diplomat, when he grappled with issues including Black Lives Matter and President Trump’s attempts to cut a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Harry recounts his ‘Sliding Doors’ moment, when he was meant to serve as Ambassador to Australia.

In this episode of The Director's Chair, Michael Fullilove speaks with Admiral Harry Harris, the former US commander and diplomat. Harry served as the Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and as President Trump's Ambassador to South Korea. Harry discusses his military career, which took in postings from Guantanamo Bay to INDOPACOM headquarters in Honolulu, when he led nearly 400,000 military personnel. They also discuss his time as a diplomat, when he grappled with issues including Black Lives Matter and President Trump's attempts to cut a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Harry recounts his ‘Sliding Doors' moment, when he was meant to serve as Ambassador to Australia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On December 7, 1941, Japanese air and naval forces launched a surprise attack on the American naval and air base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing 2400 Americans and heavily damaging the US Pacific Fleet. How did this happen? In this episode, James and Scott tell the gripping story of how Japan managed to keep the attack a secret, despite having to traverse several thousand miles of ocean. They also discuss the multiple American intelligence failures and the aftermath of the attack.

My guest this time is Fred S. Thomas. In his time in the US Navy, he worked as a Staff Briefer to the Commander-in-Chief of the US Pacific Fleet, a member of a special emergency response group Deployable Joint Task Force, and tons more. Fred received his Bachelor's while in Hawaii and his Master's of Organizational Change. Those degrees and his expansive corporate career led him to serve in other arenas, such as volunteering as a coach for several girl's athletics teams, Annual Fund School Site Council as the Parent Chair and the Chair of the African-American Parent Council. Fred served with Hawaii's Big Brothers Big Sisters one on one mentoring organization, something near and dear to my heart … since I have a partnership with a large Arizona chapter. He's always most passionate about bullying and racial / cultural topics! Especially because he is surrounded by women – his wife and three amazing daughters! I can't wait for you to hear his stories, especially the one about a racist act while in the Navy and the appropriate humor he used to defuse a very challenging hardship.

In this episode, History Hit's Rob Weinberg asks the big questions about Sunday 7 December 1941, the day Japanese aircraft attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The US Pacific Fleet was devastated and 2403 Americans were killed, but it was not the decisive strike Japan had hoped for. Instead, it awakened a sleeping giant that would turn into a nemesis. Professor Carl Bridge of Kings College London talks us through Japan's reasonings for attacking Pearl Harbor, and the American response. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Popular textbooks used by many American history classes often make tragic errors and important omissions when discussing President FDR's record during World War II. For example, did you know Roosevelt was warned by the Commander of the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor that the Japanese had the potential to attack? Or that Roosevelt was largely responsible for the internment of loyal Japanese-Americans? What about Roosevelt's attempts to appoint a member of the KKK to the Supreme Court? This episode dives into these critical instances in American history. This episode is based on Dr. Burt Folsom’s book, FDR Goes to War: How Expanded Executive Power, Spiraling National Debt, and Restricted Civil Liberties Shaped Wartime America. Learn more about YAF at www.yaf.org.

On 7 December 1941, Japan launched a surprise strike on the American naval base, Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. Thousands of American servicemen were killed or injured in the attack, which severely damaged the US Pacific Fleet. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt declared war on Japan and America entered World War II. Adolph Kuhn was a US Navy mechanic stationed at Pearl Harbor when the bombs began to fall. Photo: The USS Arizona sinking at Pearl Harbor. (Credit: Getty Images)

On Sunday 7 December 1941, Japanese aircraft attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The US Pacific Fleet was devastated and 2403 Americans were killed. But it was not the decisive strike Japan had hoped for, and it awakened a sleeping giant that would turn into a nemesis. So why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor and how did America respond? History Hit’s Rob Weinberg asks the big questions on this seminal event to Professor Carl Bridge of Kings College London.Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit.tv to subscribe. Use code 'pod1' at checkout for your first month free and the following month for just £/€/$1. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Leadership. Character. Commitment. Three simple words that Captain Adam Carlstrom professes over-and-over to describe what he does day-to-day, and that he deems are important for success in life. As Deputy Commander of Electronic Attack Wing, US Pacific Fleet for the US Navy, Carlstrom takes those words very seriously. His work purview includes 160 aircraft and close to 5,000 individuals. He also talks often about the goals of his unit: Man. Train. Equip. Getting the next person ready for their daily work. This motto could be on the door of every corporate human resources executive out there. Captain Carlstrom’s call sign is Pinto, he is part of a Miami merger and he was enjoyable to converse with.

A daily devotional walking through God's word together using The Bible Reading Plan at http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.html. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com. Bible Reading Plan - www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 17; You Version Bible app Engaging God's Story Reading Plan Days 113 through 119 In a news report by Jacqui Goddard in Miami from 2011, we read: It was described by President Franklin D.Roosevelt as "a date that will live in infamy", a day on which the slaughter of 2,400 US troops drew America into Second World War and changed the course of history. Now, on the 70th anniversary of Japan's devastating bombardment of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, evidence has emerged showing that President Franklin D.Roosevelt was warned three days before the attack that the Japanese empire was eyeing up Hawaii with a view to "open conflict." The information, contained in a declassified memorandum from the Office of Naval Intelligence, adds to proof that Washington dismissed red flags signalling that mass bloodshed was looming and war was imminent. "In anticipation of possible open conflict with this country, Japan is vigorously utilizing every available agency to secure military, naval and commercial information, paying particular attention to the West Coast, the Panama Canal and the Territory of Hawaii," stated the 26-page memo. Dated December 4, 1941, marked as confidential, and entitled "Japanese intelligence and propaganda in the United States," it flagged up Japan's surveillance of Hawaii under a section headlined "Methods of Operation and Points of Attack." If only… What a different world we might be living in if President Roosevelt and the War Department had paid attention to the intelligence they received about the pending attack. But they couldn't believe Japan could reach across the Pacific to attack the island paradise where America had its naval base. Their imagination didn't stretch to the point of Japan's planes fueling for a one-way flight and all their pilots willing to sacrifice themselves to attack Hawaii knowing there would be no return trip. What a different world we might be living in if President Bush and the Department of Defense had paid attention to the intelligence they received about the pending attack. But they couldn't believe Osama bin Laden could destroy national landmarks like the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Their imagination didn't stretch to the point of hijacking passenger jets and using them as missiles to carry out their terrorist activities. In our culture we have a hard time understanding the mindset of suicide bombers, kamikaze pilots, terrorist willing to sacrifice their lives for their cause. To us, life is too precious to sacrifice it what we see as such wasteful purposes. So in our innocence or ignorance, we miss some of the signs that might come to us because we cannot imagine the horrific acts men can commit against other men. I think that is probably a good thing in a nation that honors God. Unfortunately, we are becoming more like those nations around us and we can begin to stretch our imaginations to understand how our vulnerabilities to these acts today. Is it because we have experienced them? Partly. But it's partly because we are following the pattern we see Jeremiah lamenting as he stood by the roadside and wept as his countrymen were carried away in chains. You see, Israel had become like the nations around them. Thirty-four of their thirty-nine kings did not follow God's teachings. Thirty-four of Israel's thirty-nine kings did evil in God's sight and led their people to do the same. Thirty-four of Israel's thirty-nine kings failed to listen to the prophets God sent to turn the nation around and gave them opportunities to make things right with God. For decades we were known throughout the world as a Christian nation. Founded by our forefathers on Christian principles. In fact, when George Washington was offered a crown, he refused it and an early motto in the country was “no king but King Jesus.” We were a Christian nation. But no more. As you look at the latest census questions, fewer than 50% of our nation claim any religious affiliation at all. Listen to that figure again. Less than 50% claim any religious affiliation. Not Christian, not Muslim, not Hindu, not Buddhist, nothing. 50% of our citizens believe they are their own god. They set their own moral standards and fear no higher power. Of that 50% that claim some religious affiliation, less than a third attend to their faith on a regular basis, referring to reading, prayer, attendance at their church, temple, or synagogue. That means only 15% of our citizens are actively engaged with a god of any sort, real or false. Is there any wonder why our nation is in the shape it is in? Do we need to question why there is violence in our schools or workplace? Do we need to ask why we have mass killings in our country? It's not the guns or the explosives or the knives or the weapons of any ilk that cause the problem. Our problem is the hearts of the people who live here. Jeremiah stood by the road and lamented the tragedy that was happening to Jerusalem as the Babylon continued to exile its citizens. Do we have any Jeremiah's left who can see what is happening to our nation and will spend time on their knees praying to the God of heaven and earth seeking His guidance for this place? Do we have any Jeremiah's left who weep over the sins of the people? Do we have any Jeremiah's left who declare God's word faithfully even knowing no one will listen? We need some Jeremiah's today more than ever. We are in dire need of Christians who weep for our nation as we enter this new year. We need prayer warriors who will lift our leaders and men and women who will speak out for Christ even when they think no one will listen. As we continue in The Story, I see so many parallels between Israel's sins, their downfall, and ours as a nation and as individuals, I can't help but think our future may look a lot like their history if we don't change our ways. But we can change. We each have choices to make, but we have free will and can make those choices. The question is will we choose life or death? Will we choose the world or God? Will we choose obedience or damnation? The choice is always ours to make. Make the right ones this year. You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more about The Story and our part in it. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn't, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.  

USS John S. McCain update in Singapore, and defense leaders reaffirm commitment to allies in Korean peninsula.

Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is on a regularly scheduled Western Pacific Deployment.

Admiral Harris visits Australia at an important juncture in alliance relations and regional security, as a new administration prepares to take over the reins in Washington. This year has seen a number of key regional developments, from the Arbitral Tribunal case in the South China Sea, to presidential elections in the Philippines and the United States. There were also a number of other key developments in Australia’s defence, including a new White Paper, a decision on future submarines, and agreement on the terms for hosting rotational US Marine deployments in the Northern Territory. Admiral Harris will highlight key enduring security interests for the US in this fast-moving regional and alliance context. In his role as Commander US Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris is responsible for military operations in an area which encompasses more than 100 million square miles—more than half the earth’s surface. Admiral Harris graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1978 and undertook graduate studies in East Asia security at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and Oxford University. He has served in every geographic combatant command region, and participated in a range of major operations, including Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Odyssey Dawn (Libya, 2011). Harris’ staff assignments include aide to commander, US Naval Forces Japan; chief speechwriter for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and three tours on the Navy Staff. Harris was promoted to Admiral and assumed command of the US Pacific Fleet in October 2013. In May 2015, he assumed command of the US Pacific Command.

The Battle Of Midway To learn more and watch this video visit Public Access America https://youtu.be/FM6CTalWAWA Location: Midway Atoll 1,300 miles northwest of Oahu Date: June 4-7, 1942 Background: One of Japan’s main goals during WWII was to remove the United States as a Pacific power in order to gain territory in East Asia. Japan hoped to defeat the US Pacific Fleet and use Midway as a base to attack Pearl Harbor, securing dominance in the region. The Battle Early morning on June 4th, aircraft from four Japanese aircraft carriers attacked and severely damaged the US base on Midway. Unbeknownst to the Japanese, the US carrier forces were just to the east of the island and ready for battle. After their initial attacks, the Japanese aircraft headed back to their carriers to rearm and refuel. While the aircraft were returning, the Japanese navy became aware of the presence of US naval forces in the area. TBD Devastator torpedo bombers and SBD Dauntless dive bombers from USS Enterprise, USS Hornet and USS Yorktown were sent to attack the Japanese fleet. The Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu, were hit, set ablaze, and abandoned. Hiryu (the only surviving carrier) responded with two waves of attacks—both times bombing the USS Yorktown, leaving her severely damaged, but still afloat (she would later be sunk on June 7th by a Japanese submarine). That afternoon, a USS Yorktown scout plane located the Hiryu and the USS Enterprise sent dive bombers to attack. The attack left the Hiryu burning and without the ability to launch aircraft. Over the next two days, the US Navy and US forces on Midway continued their attacks, forcing the Japanese to abandon the battle and retreat to Japan. The Japanese lost approximately 4,800 men, four carriers, one cruiser, and hundreds of aircraft, while the United States lost approximately 307 men, one carrier, one destroyer, and over 100 aircraft. This critical US victory stopped the growth of Japan in the Pacific and put the United States in a position to begin shrinking the Japanese empire through a years-long series of island-hopping invasions and several even larger naval battles.

For a discussion on the South China Sea, Sally DeBoer, our Book Review Editor, brings in CAPT James Fannell (USN, Ret), the former Director of Intelligence and Information Operations (N2) for the US Pacific Fleet.  During the course of his thirty year career, CAPT Fanell specialized in Indo-Asia Pacific security affairs, with an emphasis on … Continue reading Sea Control 114 – South China Sea with CAPT James Fanell →