OT - Paper on rape of Nanking. Need some help

[emerald_trout aka Sue]

documents recovered:
4 Nov 1945
Atrocities
Cabanatuan File 559-1 microfilm #31
Davao Penal Colony File 2010 microfilm #62
Japanese (misc) File 999-23-2 microfilm #67
Reports and atrocities of the Japanese Forces the Walled City of Manila File 999-23-3 microfilm # 67

Unless these were moved, they are available from:

the National Personnel Records Center
Modern Military Record
attention: NCPMA-CBR

Hugh Davis
9700 Page Blvd
St Louis, MO 63132

[Goffredo]

A statistic I came across years ago.
In WW2 the ratio of prisoners/killed-in-action averaged over the western front (including Russian front!) was about 4-to-1; i.e. for every soldier kill in action there were 4 that was caputured alive and taken prisoners. In the pacific war the japanese ratio of prisoners/killed-in-action was 1-to-250; i.e. for every japanese prisoner that surrendered or was taken alive there were 250 japanese killed in action.

A factor 1000!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Has anyone come across this statistic before? I read it in the book
http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Soldiers-Fo ... 0385495641

[Timotheus]

A statistic I came across years ago.
In WW2 the ratio of prisoners/killed-in-action averaged over the western front (including Russian front!) was about 4-to-1; i.e. for every soldier kill in action there were 4 that was caputured alive and taken prisoners. In the pacific war the japanese ratio of prisoners/killed-in-action was 1-to-250; i.e. for every japanese prisoner that surrendered or was taken alive there were 250 japanese killed in action.

A factor 1000!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Has anyone come across this statistic before? I read it in the book
http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Soldiers-Fo ... 0385495641

This sounds entirely accurate. There is going to be a huge disparity when the Japanese feel that a suicidal banzai charge is the only option when victory is clearly out of reach.

Another interesting stat is to look at the percentage of Japanese prisoners taken who were not wounded. A large number did not really surrender but were injured and thus unable to take action when they were captured.

[john m roberts]

We tend to forget that in the Pacific, after Guadalcanal, the allies were mostly fighting Japanese forces that had simply been abandoned there to die. With retreat not an option, resupply likewise, and capture dishonorable, suicidal bravery makes sense. Incidentally, after Guadalcanal the "banzai charge" became a rarity. Japanese soldiers usually dug in and sold their lives dearly from foxholes, trenches and bunkers. There they were killed, committed suicide, or, rarely, captured.
Rather than endure the casualties from such combat, the Americans resorted to the flamethrower and bulldozer. It was exceedingly ugly warfare.