A new WWII question for the New Year

[Felix/FFDS]

But, in a way, I think you're supporting the "War for Resources" argument.

The strategy of going after the oil tankers makes sense.  Modern war runs on oil, to fuel everything from the machines themselves, to the power plants (although I would suspect that most power plants of that time/place ran on coal).  POL, as we all know, are/were one of the critical ways to hit an enemy's war making capabilities.

[dcunning30]

Modern war runs on oil, to fuel everything from the machines themselves, to the power plants (although I would suspect that most power plants of that time/place ran on coal).

I don't know of a single combat or auxilary ship in WWII that used coal.

[Felix/FFDS]

[quote]

I don't know of a single combat or auxilary ship in WWII that used coal.

[Woodlouse2002]

[quote]

I don't know of a single combat or auxilary ship in WWII that used coal.

[Papa9571]

Also keep in mind that Germany had the same problem with oil though not to the extent Japan did. That was one of the reasons the allies always tried to taget refineries anywhere in occupied europe.

What they did have was vast rescouces of coal with they they refined into gasoline and diesel for their war machine.

They had a technology 60 years ago that China still uses today.  

[dcunning30]

Whoa!

I thought we were talking about ships, I didn't catch your shifting to discussding power generation buildings.

[Felix/FFDS]

We're talking about the same thing here.

Oil was absolutely essential to Japan to run its war machinery.  Conquering China was a way to get that country's resources for themselves.

The OIL embargo, I agree, was the "drop" that forced the Japanese into executing war plans against the US.  In their mind, this was probably as much an "aggression" against their survival and honour, as a the attack on Pearl Harbor was to the US.

Executing a decisive "divine wind" attack to cripple the US war making capability in the Pacific Ocean would have allowed them to roll up the resource/oil rich Southeast Asia, which they practically did.

Yes, bullets and weapons carry out war, but without the logistics to get them there, they're so much dead weight.

The example of the power plants was given only to EMPHASIZE the necessity of resources, coal in this case, and in a convoluted way, the necessity of OIL to carry the COAL to the mainland.

[Hagar]

The example of the power plants was given only to EMPHASIZE the necessity of resources, coal in this case, and in a convoluted way, the necessity of OIL to carry the COAL to the mainland.

A lot of the older cargo ships even on the Atlantic convoys were coal-burners. Britain is also an island nation & with most of Western Europe occupied by Germany was just as dependent on sea transport as Japan. I believe that no high octane aviation fuel was refined in Britain during WWII so like many other necessities it all had to come from the US.

[dcunning30]

[quote]Oil was absolutely essential to Japan to run its war machinery.