Figure 1.--The New Guinea campaign was the longest of the Pacific War, iver 2 years and 3 years if you count the cit off Japanese garrisons. Unlike the Allies, the Japanese did not bring food with them and were ordered to seize food from the allies or live off the land. This oroved to be a disaster. The early victories had past.The Japanese were mostly on the defensive in New Guinea. And the New Guinea natives practing primitive subsistence agriculture were incapable of feeding large armies. When the Japanese began seizing their food, the natives just picked uo and melted away into the trakless interior. This is a native village constructed around an American military base.

Food was an important factor affecting the related campaigns in Asia and the Pacific. The Japanese after invasing China were attracted to what they called the Souhern Resource Zine, meaning Southeast Asia ad the South Pacific. The most important attraction was oil, but other resources such as tin, rubber, and ither resources along with food were also important to the Japanese. The area included some major food producing areas such as Java, Burma, Cambodia, and southern Indo China. Much of the area was, howevr, not food exporting ares. And much of the area was food dfecit areas. Southern Indo-china exported to northern Indo-China. Burma exported to Bengal in India. Java supplied good to other areas in the Dutch East Indies. In addition, much of the area, escpecially the Pacific Islands practiced prmitive subsistence agriculture. They produced enough food to feed themselves, but not to export or to feed large foreign military garisons. The Japanese policiy of plundering food in the occupied territoties as well as demanding thar=t each area produce the food needed would spell disaster both for the occupied people and the Japanese garrisons as well. The Americans for the most part would bring in the food they neeed. The Japanese in contrast not only did not bring food into the region, but attempted to expoty in back to the Home Islands. This proved impossible, however, after the first year of the War. The Japanese Maru fleet was inadequate to begin with, but was very rapidly devestated by U.S. Pacific Fleet submarines and other naval forces after the first year of the War. As a result, very little of the food seized actually made it back to the Home Islands.

Asia

Burma

China

The Japanese seizure of large areas of agricultural land in China created a food crisis for the Nationlists. At first they managed the situation fairly well. But by 1942 a very serious food shortage began to develop leading to famine cnditions in many areas.

India

Begal in eastern India was not self-suficnt in food. Burma supplied much of the rice consumd in Bengal. The British after the Japanese seized Burma, failed to respond to the food shortage in Bengal.

Indo-China

Japan

After the War, America saved the Japanese people from starving. As a result the famine deaths that the Japanese imposed on others never materialized in Japan itself.

Thailand

Pacific

Australia

There were food issues affecting the Allies as well. Australia was an important food producing country. It did not hav an indistrial base to produce arms, but t had food. Thus when the United Staes rush troops to defend Australia after Pearl Harbor, an aggreemnt was reached. The Australians would deed the Americans so U.S. transport ships could be filled with men and equipmnt and not food. Transport to Australia because of the distances involved required much more shipping than rabnsports to Britain. And there was a critical shortage of shkips in the first year of the War. So te food arrangemnt with the Australians were important. It created shortages in the civilian economy, bt permitted the rapid American build upbin Australia.

Dutch East Indies

Melanesia

New Guinea

New Guinea unlike most of the Pacific Island battlefields is a huge island, in fact the second largest island in the world. And unlike the other island campaigns, the fight for New Guinea was not aj=hirt sharp engagemnt, it was the longest campaign of the Pacific War, over 2 years (January 1942-August 1944). Some starving Japanese units hel out until the end if the War. Most of the Japanese soldiers who starved in the Pacific War were part of isolated garrisons on small islands. New Guinea in contrast was huge. The problem for the Japanese was that it was not well developed like the Dutch East Indies where the food produced by the Indonesians could be easily seized. The New Guinea natives were a stone age people practicing primitive subsistence agricukture. They were hardly in a position to produce food fpr the large Japanese an Allied armies committd to the struggle for the island. This was not a probln fir rge Allies who brought food as part of their logistical support. The Japanese briought little food with them. The Japanese soldiers were ordered to seize Allied supplies and live off the land. This worked wlled un Malaya and Burma where the Japanese defeated well supplied Allied forces. On New Guinea the Japanese were largely on the defensive being attacked or cut off by Allied forces so ghey were unavle to seize Allied supplies. The natives had little food to seize. And unlike small islnds, when the Jpanese began raiding villges, the Natives just picked up and with their meager possessions and dogs and pigs moved into trackless interior where the Japanese could not reach them. The overstreached Japanese Maru fleet had dificulty supplying their forces and wgat thy brought was largely armaments, bot food. The Allied strategy as they moved up the northern coast was to leap frog, seize key positions and cut off and islated many units rather than fighting them. This mean the bypassed units had to find food which was an impossubilty fir large units.

Philippines

The Philippine Islands when acquired by the United States in the Spanish American War was a backwater of the decaying Spanish Empire and almost totally agricultural (1898). The United States oversaw a development effort. The United States built new public schools, transportation, reform system, boutiques, offices and civic buildings. There was a raid growth of the economy. Agriculture remained the heart of the economy, but tourism and industry developed. Major crops included rice, corn, hemp, tobacco, coconuts, and abaca (a species of banana). Many other crops were grown in garden plots for family consumption. Coconuts were important for oil production. Forestry was also important. The Philippines had one of the world's great strands of commercial timber. The economy grew despite difficulties with various agrarian uprisings. The robust coconut industry was a major factor in the growing economy and taxes helped fund infrastructure and other development projects. The Philipino benefitted from a developing economy. The American Commonwealth unlike many countries and colonies was not terribly affected by the Great Depression. The Japanese invasion and occuoation, however, did result in a serious recession. The Philippines before the War was laregely self sufficent in food, some foods were imported but were paid for by mostly agriculturl expots. Unlike sveral other areas of Southeast Asia/Ocenia, the Phillipines was not a major rice producer. Some rice was grown, but even before the War, rice had to be imported. And the Japanese were espcially interested in rice, it was their preferred food. The needs of the large Japanese military garison sharply increased the demand for rice. Thus the Japanese began shipping in rice was imported from other areas of the the expanded Japanese Empire (primarily southern Indo-China and Thailand). Japanese mismanagement of the economy disrupted agricultural production throughout the areas conquered, including the Philippines. Food shortages developed. People as the occupation continued has to rely increasinly on small garden polts to feed themselves. This was possible in the countryside, but not in the major cities like Manila.

Polynesia

The Polynesian peoplewere ermanently affected by the foods intrduced by the Americans.

Created: 5:56 PM 12/27/2017
Last updated: 5:56 PM 12/27/2017