History PT june hols.docx

The selected villian is General Yamashita and we have chosen him because of how infamous he was of his crimes and we would like to give a chance to review whether he was truly guilty for the crimes he had committed. We would like to find out the true extent of his guilt through this report.re doing)

CrimesText in bold italics are keynotes, or personal opinions or whatever thoughts we have so far relating to the subject, these may be added on by varying members.

Generally, the main idea is that Yamashita isnt a complete villian in war sense, and that causes of the events may occur from his negligence, but then again could the events be prevented, or did Yamashita simply not care. Did he try to stop it? Did he do anything after the event, like apologizing? Did he actually have a conscience? Was he guilty for anything he did? Also the lack of control of his men. Did he exert enough authority to keep them in check? Were any of the events entirely his fault?

Book evidencesHe was appointed to the command of the twenty-fifth army only a month before the invasion and became known as the Tiger of Malaya on account of his remarkable success in conquering Malaya. Failure from british force to stop the twenty-fifth japanese army in Malaya did not mean that they were undamaged by the campaign. Casualties were considerable though many tanks were repaired and returned to units. Japanese lines of communication had also stretched beyond capacity despite use of captured vehicles. General Yamashita was forced to pause for a week in Johor to stockpile materials, get engineering equipment to the front and reorganise his units before making an attack. Yamashitas plan included a role for guards division, however the prestige of the guards division and influence of their commanding officer back in Japan obliged Yamashita to put the division in fight and he used them in assault on the eastern aspect of battle as well as the west.the attack helped to prevent the allies from reinforcing the defenders in the west where the main attack would be pressed but it would also cause lack of support for the 5th and 18th divisions coming in to support the invasion. Yamashita had a force of about 30,000 men. He was heavily outnumbered, short of food and ammunition and unconfident of the guards division commander. Both parties suffered heavy casualties in the british attempt to re-claim bukit timah and Yamashita was facing serious difficulty on his end as many Japanese troops repeatedly exceeded their objectives despite Yamashita pausing for a week in Johor before making his attack,the efforts of the preceding weeks and already exhausted his troops and supplies and feeding his army was a challenge. He saw that the british were also facing difficulty and urged General Percival of the british army to surrender. Yamashita felt uncertain of conducting close range combat with the enemy in which risking the lives of the residents as he felt he had neither the men nor the ammunition to conduct such a battle. he described the situation of his attack on Singapore a bluff that worked considering he was outnumbered three to one and had to have to british surrender at once or suffer a defeat in the long run for he was also afraid the British would discover their numerical weakness and lack of supplies and force him into disasterous street fighting. Yamashita managed to lead the british into thinking that they had no reason to be so short of ammunition by letting them believe that he were to adopt a policy of shelling and bombing the allies into surrendering and thus forcing the british to surrendering. In which Yamashita was uninterested to discussing terms and wanted immediate and unconditional surrender. Yamashita had Percival surrender all remaining resources, aircrafts ammunition and everything. He had also gained a tremendous boost to prestige as someone who had somewhat been out of favour in the years before war. However at the end of the battle, Yamashita went to the scaffold though his war crimes evidence against him personally was patchy and his execution was more a product of the fact that he defeated the british and australians. Yamashitas failure to rein his troops after the surrender also led to vast wanton tide of murder, rape, brutality and robbery that swept through Singapore. Yamashita did not give Percival the luxury on deciding how the battle would go as his policy was based on what Japanese commanders called a driving charge. his troops were forced to pursue and attack the enemy at every opportunity. After a few attempts Yamashitas attack on taking down the british road system proved successful. Yamashita also managed to expand his position on the northern shore of singapore and this restricted the freedom of action of General Bennet of the britishs command and threatened the left flank of Heaths III Corps in the east.

Source:Singapore 1942 Battle Story by Chris Brown

Reason:To further understand the mind of such an infamous war criminal as to how he used his wit and strategizing to gain the upperhand on the enemy despite lack of resources and managed to take down the huge portion of the british empire.

(1) Starvation, execution or massacre without trial and maladministration generally of civilian internees and prisoners of war;Manila Massacre

unlawfully disregarding and failing to discharge his duty as commander to control the acts of members of his command by permitting them to commit war crimes. did not take the steps required of him by international law to find out the state of discipline maintained by his men and the conditions prevailing in the prisoner-of-war and civilian internee camps under his command. Starvation, execution or massacre without trial and maladministration generally of civilian internees and prisoners of war; Torture, rape, murder and mass execution of very large numbers of residents of the Philippines, including women and children and members of religious orders, by starvation, beheading, bayoneting, clubbing, hanging, burning alive, and destruction by explosives ; Burning and demolition without adequate military necessity of large numbers of homes, places of business, places of religious worship, hospitals, public buildings, and educational institutions. In point of time, the offences extended throughout the period the accused was in command of Japanese troops in the Philippines . In point of area, the crimes extended throughout the Philippine Archipelago, although by far the most of the incredible acts occurred on Luzon . The Manila Massacre which killed over 100,000 Filipino civilians

Sook Ching Massacre the Japanese realized that the ethnic Chinese were very loyal to either the United Kingdom or China, and wealthy Chinese in Singapore were even financing China to help their home country to resist the Japanese after they had invaded China in July 1937. therefore the Kempeitai (Japanese military police) carried out the Sook Ching Massacre to screen and eliminate anti-Japanese elements during the Japanese occupation in Singapore Sook Ching was the systematic killing of Chinese in Singapore whom the Japanese believed to be hostile or undesirables. Such people included people who had been actively contributing to the China Relief Fund, which was used to help Chinas war effort against the Japanese, and the Hainanese, whom the Japanese believed to be Communist. The Japanese also targeted men with tattoos, whom the Japanese believed to be members of secret societies, and people who had fought against the Japanese alongside the British. People who were likely to be pro-British and those who possessed guns were also singled out. Basically, all whom the Japanese believed to be a threat to them were taken to be exterminated. on 18 February 1942, large numbers of Chinese were forcibly assembled at designated mass screening centres. Many were unjustly accused of involvement in anti-Japanese activities, or arbitrarily condemned. unofficial figures put the number of dead at about 50,000. the Kempeitai used the roads in the vicinity of Hong Lim Complex as a Sook Ching registration centre, where Chinese men between the ages of 18-50 were summoned and subjected to prolonged mass screenings. Those who failed the screenings were taken to remote beaches for execution three prominent ones were in Punggol, Sentosa and Changi. The largest massacre site was the Siglap area in the eastern part of Singapore, where five mass war graves were exhumed in 1962.

http://theindependent.sg/the-sook-ching-massacre-and-war-memories-of-singapore/http://the-darkest-time.blogspot.sg/2009/06/sook-ching-massacre.html

Aftermath of the Sook ChingOperation Sook Ching succeeded in instilling fear among the Chinese population. After the war, this fear turned into anger.

In 1947, seven Japanese officers were charged during a war crimes trial in Singapore for their participation in Operation Sook Ching. All seven officers were found guilty. Two officers, Lieutenant General Saburo Kawamura and Lieutenant Colonel Masayuki Oishi, were sentenced to death while the remaining five were given life sentences.

Many in the Chinese community were unhappy with the verdict. The Overseas Chinese Appeal Committee that represented the families of victims protested that the sentences were too lenient. They called for the execution of all seven Japanese soldiers and the arrest of all those who had participated in the operation.

The other matter that deeply concerned the Chinese community was the proper burial of those killed in the massacre. A joint memorial committee for Chinese massacre victims was set up to collect the remains of victims from various sites and rebury them in a dedicated memorial site.

The issue of reburying the remains of victims of the massacre resurfaced following the discovery of mass graves in the Siglap area in 1962. Five separate war graves were found in an area dubbed Valley of Tears by the press. Subsequently, more than 30 mass graves were exhumed and the remains found were placed in funeral urns for reburial.

Following the discovery of the mass graves in Siglap, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce lobbied for the Singapore government to press their Japanese counterparts for compensation for the massacre. On 25 August 1963, more than 100,000 people gathered at City Hall to demand that Japan pay compensation for the wartime atrocities inflicted on the people of Singapore. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_40_2005-01-24.html

Alexandra Hospital incident failing to control the men in Singapore who carried well-documented atrocities, such as the crimes committed at the Alexandra Hospital

Under the command of General Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japanese soldiers crossed into Singapore on 9 February 1942. It was evident by 14 February that the island would soon be captured by the invaders.[1] The British Military Hospital (now known as Alexandra Hospital) was caught between the advancing Japanese troops and the retreating British forces. It became the site of a Japanese massacre when between 150 and 200 staff and patients were killed on 14 February 1942.[2] [3]

charges:

Closing:Tomoyuki Yamashita is guilty as charged (name what he is charged for) He is henceforth guilty to a large/small extent and did not necessarily/ did have to receive his given punishment of being sentenced to death and hanged for his crimes. He showed little remorse

GENERAL TOMOYUKI YAMASHITAhistory research paper

Done by: Natalie Seow (32)Joey Poon (27)Kong Pei Yen (12)Jenna Lee (8)

Table of contents:

1 Why we chose him

2 Crimes:2.1 Sook Ching Massacre2.2 Manila Massacre2.3 Alexandra Hospital Massacre

3 Charges3.1 Lack of Control3.1.1 Violence3.2 Violating International Law (Humanitarian Law)3.3 Conquering British and Australian Armies

4 Closing

5 The Final Verdict

6 Bibliography

1. Why we chose our Villian

The selected villian is General Yamashita and we have chosen him because of how infamous he was of his crimes and we would like to give a chance to review whether he was truly guilty for the crimes he had committed. He wanted to see if his actions were justifiable, and if he is really the villian that many had spoken of, being dubbed as the Tiger of Malaya. We would like to find out the true extent of his guilt through this report.

2. Crimes

2.1 Attack on Pearl HarbourOne of the crimes that General Yamashita was charged for is the attack on Pearl Habour, Singapore, Malaya and Hong Kong. On December 7, the Japanese Navy conducted a surprise military attack at Pearl Harbour. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Eight hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 52,000 Japanese troops attacked Hong Kong. British, Canadian and Indian forces, were outnumbered. On the first day of the battle, the Japanese wreaked havoc upon RAF aircraft, immediately achieving air supremacy.

2.2 Invasion of MalayaThere was the Malayan Campaign which was a campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 31 January 1942 during the Second World War. The battle is notable for the Japanese use of bicycle infantry. In February 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded Singapore. The invasion led to the capture of Singapore by the Japanese and the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.

2.2 Sook Ching Massacre and Manila Massacre (Mass Killings)

Another crime that he was charged for are the mass killings for the Sook Ching Massacre as well as the Manila Massacre.

Operation Sook Ching was conducted to eliminate all the anti-Japanese elements in the chinese societies in Singapore. From 21 February to 4 March 1942, Chinese males between the ages of 18 and 50 were lied to or being summoned to various mass screening centres and those suspected of being anti-Japanese were executed.

There was the Manila Massacre which was a war crime that involved the killings of Filipino civilians in the city of Manila, Philippines by Japanese troops in the Battle of Manila during World War II. The death toll was at least 100,000 which was about 10% of the population of the city. General Yamashita was also charged for the torture of prisoners of war. Japanese imperial forces employed widespread use of torture on their prisoners, usually in an effort to gather military intelligence quickly. Tortured prisoners were often executed.He was also charged for forced labour. More than 10 million Chinese civilians were mobilized by the Japanese Asia Development Board for forced labour and more than 100,000 civilians and prisoners of war died in the construction of the Burma-Siam Railway. In Java, between four and 10 million manual laborers were forced to work by the Japanese military. About 270,000 of these Javanese laborers were sent to other Japanese-held areas in South East Asia. Only 52,000 were sent to Java, which meant that the death rate was about 80%. Lastly, General Yamashita was charged for looting. He had helped in the Golden Lily organisation to get the wealth of the conquered territories. There were 175 treasure sites hidden throughout Philippines

2.3 Alexandra Hospital Massacre

At midnight, General Yamashita Tomoyuki and the princes slipped out, and dynamite charges were set off in the access tunnels, entombing the engineers. Their vaults would then remain secret. These are the summary of the crimes that General Yamashita was charged for. 3. Charges3.1 Lack of control of troops

Yamashita proved time and time after again that he did not properly manage his men. In the event of the Sook Ching Massacre, held in Singapore, which was aimed to eliminate the Chinese influence in Singapore by killing the people, mainly chinese,Japanese killing men during the Sook Ching massacrein the country. In Evidence A which states how the civilian men in Singapore were put through screening to be killed, and how any Chinese in Singapore whom the Japanese believed to be hostile or undesirables, or whom the Japanese believed to be Communist were to be massacred, in either of the three areas which included Siglap, Punggol, Sentosa and Changi3.1.1 ViolenceFurthermore, Yamashita is charged for his acts of violence towards civilians and prisoners of war, in the forms of torture and killing brought on by his men due to his lack of control.

3.2 Violating of International Law (Humanitarian Law) Additionally, his actions violated the International Humanitarian Law, which states that murdering, mistreating, or deporting of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labour camps, murdering or mistreating prisoners of war and civilian internees was prohibited.

Corspes of the Aftermath of the Manila massacre

Japanese soldiers checking whether the people are dead

It is repeatedly broken in the event of the Manila Massacre, supported by Evidence B, in which by witness count, he had been in charge of a massacre of 100,000 people during the event in Manila, Philippines in the year 1945. Furthermore, in Evidence C which states that during November 1944, in northern Cebu Province , massacre, without cause or trial, of more than 1,000 unarmed non-combatant civilians had been carried out.In the next event of the Alexandra Hospital Massacre in Singapore, For about one hour, three large groups of Japanese soldiers attacked the hospital. They went from room to room shooting, bayonetting and beating up doctors, orderlies and patients indiscriminately. They even killed an anaesthetised patient who was still lying on the operating table. About 50 men were killed in this first round. Around 3:30 p.m., 200 men were rounded up, tied into groups of eight and forced to march toward a row of buildings some distance from the hospital. The gravely injured were not spared and were killed if they fell along the way. Upon reaching their destination, which was a row of outhouses, the men were divided into groups of 50 to 70 people and crammed into three small rooms. There was no ventilation and they lacked wate. Again, as the commander of the Twenty-fifth Army, Yamashita had assumed responsibility of his men, and should have made sure of their behaviour and actions, keeping them under control. Hence forth, Yamashita is charged for his lack of control and ignorance towards the actions of the Twenty-fifth army which he led, and is largely accountable for their war atrocities that had carried out which could be possibly be stopped. Yamashita is also charged for the civilian torture and killing which has occurred in these three events, where he had played a large role.

4. Closing Did he deserve his punishment?

4.1 Account by Douglas MacArthurDouglas MacArthur was a five-star general and field marshal leading the Philippine Army. He played a big role during the second World War in the Pacific theatre where he was the Chief of Staff of the United States Army. He was responsible for confirming and enforcing the sentences of war crimes. Yamashitas death penalty review came under him for a review, it only being a few weeks away. MacArthur had stated that (I)t is not easy for me to pass penal judgement upon a defeated adversary in a major military campaign. I have reviewed the proceedings in vain search for some mitigating circumstances on his behalf. I can find none. MacArthur based his verdict on the fact that he was responsible for his troops, and approved his sentence. However due to Yamashita and MacArthurs previous conflicts in the past, the judging panel based it upon that he really wanted to see Yamashita die. It is a biased verdict on his part, and the source tells me that MacArthur was not fair in his judgement against Yamashita, and was blinded by his hatred against him, and wanted him to die.4.2 Colonel Harry Clarke

Colonel Harry Clarke was the generals able and articulate chief defense counsel, he had put it in his opening statement to the officers of commission that: The accused is not charged of having done something or having failed to do something, but solely with having been something American jurisprudence that recognizes no such principal so far as its own military personnel are concerened no one would even suggest that the commanding general of an American occupational force becomes a criminal every time and the American soldier violates the law one man is not held to answer for the crime of another. However, Yamashita was charged based on his supposed responsibility of his Japanese troops. This proved that his trial had been a biased one.

4.3 Supreme Court Justice Murphy

According to the Supreme Court Justice Murphy which states, Perhaps Supreme Court Justice Murphys dissenting opinion in the case best summarizes the argument that Yamashita was a scapegoat. In Justice Murphys view, the victors in the battle had done everything possible to disrupt Yamashitas command, control, and communications, and now they were charging him with having committed a war crime, not having effectively controlled his troops. It showed once again how Yamashita was biasedly charged against for his responsibility of his Japanese troops.

The Final VerdictIn conclusion, Tomoyuki Yamashita is does not deserve his the death penalty he was given for for murdering, mistreating, or deporting civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labour camps, murdering or mistreating prisoners of war or civilian internees, killing innocent civilians during the time of World War II. His trial case was a biased one, in which against him where people prejudiced against him. There was no concrete indication that Yamashita was solely responsible for the deaths in the Manila Massacre. There has been no testimonial to which General Yamashita had ordered the atrocities brought forth, or whether he ever permitted or condoned the actions. Yamashita had appealed to the commission regarding his trial, being his own witness. He had denied any commission of the killings and had stated that if he were to be notified of the actions, that he preperated or allowed the actions of atrocities. Therefore, we conclude that Yamashita should not have been given the death penalty, and should have been allowed an appeal to have a defense for himself.

Bibliographyhttp://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2014-04-07_090735.html

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/tomoyuki_yamashita.htmhttp://lawofwar.org/Yamashita%20Commission.htmhttp://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=32http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harborhttp://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/singapore-and-hong-konghttp://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_40_2005-01-24.htmlhttp://www.b-29s-over-korea.com/Japanese-War-Crimes/index4.htmlhttp://rense.com/general13/treasure.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes#Torture_of_prisoners_of_warhttp://lifestyle.inquirer.net/89277/yamashitas-guilt-korean-atrocity-other-misconceptions-about-liberation-of-manilahttp://www.pbs.org/wnet/justice/world_issues_yam.htmlhttp://historynet.com/japanese-war-crimes-trials.htmhttp://www.pegc.uis/archive/Dod/docs/Landrum_Yamashita.doc Singapore 1942 Battle Story by Chris Brown