In this Pacific War Podcast, Craig and Ian are asked random and rather bizarre history questions from their friend Justin. The boys share a few drinks, some laughs and ask questions like, why were tanks pulling men in little sleds during WW2?

This Podcast about General Ishiwara Kanji, the mastermind behind the Mukden Incident of 1931 and author of the Final War Theory.

(Please note this episode was originally a Patreon exclusive!)

Support me on Patreon where I create exclusive content by using this Link ⤵️ https://www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel

Ishiwara Kanji was a fascinating person and one whose actions changed the entire world. It could be argued Ishiwara Kanji single handedly caused World War Two. Ishiwara Kanji is known predominantly for two things, his role in the Mukden Incident and his Final War Theory.

Ishiwara Kanji was a member of the Imperial Japanese Army and performed numerous military attaché appointments in countries like China and Germany. His education and nichiren buddhist beliefs led him to develop his Final War Theory, the idea a apocalyptic war was going to happen that would allow Japan to usher in a new world. To prepare for the final war, Ishiwara Kanji argued it was necessary for Japan to acquire natural resources to build up their military and the most appropriate place to acquire these were in Manchuria.

Ishiwara Kanji sought for Japan to invade Manchuria to acquire her natural resources to build up the Japanese military in preparation for his theorized conflict against the United States. Ironically Ishiwara Kanji did not seek a war with China and actually sought a pan-Asian alliance. Ishiwara Kanji joined the Kwantung Army and grew a cult of followers to enact the Mukden Incident in 1931.

This podcast is about the Doolittle Raid, the bombing of the Japanese home islands in 1942 with  @FlashPointHx  Craig and  @FlashPointHx  discuss everything about the Doolittle Raid of 1942.

After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor with the simultaneous invasions of Malaya, Thailand, Malaya, the Philippines, Singapore, Guam and Wake, allied morale as at a all time low. America needed to do something to increase morale, to hit Japan back in a significant way. Famous pilot Jimmy Doolittle was chosen to lead a secret operation to hit the Japanese home islands. The USS Hornet would launch 16 modified B-25s to hit Tokyo, Kobe, Yokohama, Osaka and Nagoya.

The planning and training for the operation was done in utmost secrecy and it would be a very risky venture lest the Americans lose two aircraft carriers in the process. The Doolittle Raid was a success, though three pilots died in action and 8 would be captured by the Japanese of whom 3 were executed and 1 died of disease.

The Japanese in retaliation unleashed operation Sei-Go against Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces killing an estimated 250,000 Chinese. This podcast was originally done on the  @FlashPointHx  history channel. What you are seeing is some unseen and raw footage from the podcast.

This podcast is about the history of the USS Hornet CV-8 & CV-12 and the making of the movie Midway (2019) with Chuck Myers.

Craig and Chuck talk about the history of the USS Hornet CV-8 and CV-12. They covered the pre-war history, how the USS-Hornet came to be and developed over time; the USS-Hornet's role in the famous Doolittle Raid; the USS Hornet's involvement in the battle of Midway; and the USS Hornet's contribution to WW2 until it was sank at the battle of Santa Cruz. After the sinking of the USS Hornet CV-8, she was replaced with the USS Hornet CV-12 that took part in the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, battle for the Philippines, Volcano and Ryukyu islands campaign and Operation Ten-go.The USS-12 would carry on during the cold war notably taking part in the space race.

Craig and Chuck also speak about what actually was the turning point of the Pacific war, what were the significant events that if changed would have dramatically changed the outcome of WW2. Chuck Myers is a retired member of the US Navy having served aboard USS Yorktown, Hornet’s sister ship and now works as a Docent at the USS-Hornet Museum.

Chuck Myers has also worked as a naval movie consultant for the movie Midway (2019) and discusses how the process was and how involved he was in the making of the movie. Chuck also worked on the film Devotion (2022) and speak a bit about the experience.

Please check out the USS Hornet Museum:

https://uss-hornet.org/?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwoeemBhCfARIsADR2QCur4usIylbas2ltu34L9ei0Lm18R0tCAsNq9-7XvVppWhwSUIBdeiMaAiqYEALw_wcB

This podcast covers the Guadalcanal Campaign Part 2

After the battle of Bloody Ridge, also known as the battle of Edson's ridge, the US Marines were able to perform some limited offensives known as the Matanikau Actions. There was mixed results for the Americans, but it did lead to the creation of the Whaling group.

After the Matanikau adventure the Japanese tossed a major counter attack to try and seize back Henderson Field. It was a colossal failure as the Japanese became lost in jungles and showed up in piecemeal to attack the US Marine defensive perimeter. The Marines were able to repel the Japanese attack sending them on a long and horrifying journey back to the western portion of the island.

After defending Hendersonfield the US Marines went on the offensive, performing operations against the Matanikau area and Koli point. Then Carlson's Long Patrol occurred seeing the death of nearly 500 Japanese. Meanwhile US infantry arrived to the scene and performed a campaign to take Mount Austin.

The campaign consisted of the battles of the galloping horse, battle of the sea horse and the battle of the Gifu. After this the Japanese tossed the towel and began Operation KE: the evacuation of Guadalcanal.

This Pacific War Podcast covers the Guadalcanal Campaign Part 1

Why was there a "Guadalcanal Campaign"? What was the importance of Guadalcanal or any of the Solomon Islands during the Pacific War? What was operation Watchtower? Why was Guadalcanal referred to as "an unsinkable aircraft carrier"?

This episode covers the battles of Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo, the capture of Henderson field, the battle of Alligator Creek, also known as the battle of Tenaru and the battle of Bloody ridge.

The US Marines were snuck onto Guadalcanal in an attempt to seize its extremely valuable airfield to gain air supremacy and drive the Japanese out of the Solomon Islands.

The battle of Guadalcanal was the true turning point of the Pacific War and encompassed a full land campaign, aerial campaign and naval campaign as part of the Solomon Islands campaign. Both US Marines and Infantry would end up serving on what the Japanese would nickname "starvation island".

This documentary cover's China's Warlord Era from 1916-1928 and the Northern Expedition of 1926-1928.

What was China's Warlord Era? Why did this occur? What was Chiang Kai-Sheks Northern Expedition? Who were the key actors involved and what happened to China after it was all over?

This documentary covers the collapse of the Beiyang government after the death of Yuan Shikai which ushered in, the Warlord Era. How did China descend into chaos and madness? What were the Fengtian clique, Zhili clique and Anhui clique?

How did Chiang Kai-Shek rise to power, and what was the Northern Expedition? How was China reunited after such a long period of Warlordism?

How did the empire of Japan get involved in the Jinan incident? What was the first united front and what happened to the KMT and CCP? This documentary covers; the Zhili-Anhui War of 1920; the first Zhili-Fengtian War of 1922; the second Zhili-Fengtian War of 1924; the Anti-Fengtian War of 1925-1926; the Northern Expedition of 1926-1928; the collapse of the first united Front; and the re-unification of China in 1928.

In this full documentary you will learn about things you didn't know about the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Craig from the Pacific War channel and Scott from the @SFRProductions channel discuss five things you probably didn't know about the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Did you know prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan had sent a spy named Takeo Yoshikawa to investigate potential targets?

Did you know the first attacks on Pearl Harbor did not come from above, but rather from down below? Five midget submarines attempted to sneak into Pearl Harbor to torpedo the battleships and their fate was quite the mystery for many many years.

Did you know the first things hit during the attack on Pearl Harbor were not the warships at anchor, but rather the military facilities and airfields around Oahu? It often goes unnoticed, but the multiple airfields and facilities containing Pearl Harbors defensive capabilities were struck first by bombers.

Did you know Scott Freund found never before seen footage of the USS Arizona exploding during the attack on Pearl Harbor? We look into the story behind the footage and how it illuded historians for countless years. Lastly, the age old conspiracy theory about the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Advance Knowledge Conspiracy. Is there any credible evidence to support the theory?

This Pacific War Podcast covers Alternate History of the Pacific War featuring Cody from  @AlternateHistoryHub 

Alternate History and the Pacific War are two things that often go hand in hand. There are so many what if's when it comes to the Pacific War: what if pearl harbor never happened? What if Japan invaded the USSR? What if Japan won the battle of Midway? What if the Japanese home islands were invaded?

What if the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor went differently, or what if it never happened at all? What would the United States do if Japan simply never attacked them? How would Japan go about WW2 trying not to attack America, would they lash out at the USSR, or perhaps just against China, Great Britain and the Netherlands? Was it even possible for America to sit out of the Pacific War?

What if Japan did not surrender the way they did in 1945? Why did Japan surrender in the first place, was it the Nuclear bombs, or more so the USSR's invasion of Manchuria? If Japan did not surrender when they did, would Operation Downfall, the invasion of the Japanese home islands actually become a reality? What if the USSR invaded the home islands, such as Hokkaido? Would we see a split Japan akin to what happened to Germany after WW2?

How insane was the Man in the High Castle, or even Henry Turtle Dove novels on alternate Pacific war history? Was there any chance of a Japanese or axis victory during WW2? What were the major events that changed history so to say? What could have been a victory for Japan or Germany during WW2? What if Japan simply never entered the war? Was war between Japan and America inevitable, almost fate?

What if Japan won the battle of Midway? Was such a thing possible and if so, what would have happened afterwards? Could the war have been turned around with such a victory? How much does a single battle or event change global history?

This Pacific War Podcast covers Canada's participation during the Pacific War (WW2) featuring  @OTDMilitaryHistory 

The Battle of Hong Kong was fought from December 8-25th of 1941 and is one of the first battles of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan attacked the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong without declaring war against Britain. The Hong Kong garrison consisted of British, Indian, Chinese and Canadian units. Brad St.Croix helps explain why the battle occurred, what occurred during the battle, what occurred after the battle and what was the Canadian experience.

The Aleutian Islands campaign saw Canada enter the fray during the Battle of Kiska. Operation Cottage saw the invasion of Kiska by a combined American/Canadian force, but there was not Japanese to be found. The Japanese had miraculous evacuated the island without the allies knowing, thus when they came to invade all they found were booby traps.

Canada like the United States interned Japanese during WW2. Japanese-Canadians like the famous scientist David Sazuki underwent years of internment making for a dark period of Canadian history. Many of the interned Japanese-Canadians would leave Canada or emigrate east to places like Toronto after the war was over.

The HMCS Uganda was a Canadian ship that served in the Pacific, until they took a vote and the crew elected to not participate any longer. Called a "mutiny" it was a rather embarrassing moment for Canada. Lastly Canada was going to be part of Operation Downfall, as part of the sub operation Cornet. But the war ended before the invasion of the Japanese home islands could occur.

Dr. Brad St.Croix has a PhD in history and did his dissertation on the Battle of Hong Kong. He studies and creates videos with a strong emphasis on Canadian military history.