Japan's expectation of a short war drew on its earlier conflicts with China, Russia, and Germany's Pacific possessions during the First World War. Those experiences rewarded winning major battles and then converting military success into a negotiated settlement. Japanese planners carried that pattern into a conflict against opponents whose political response and capacity for prolonged war were different. Accurate lessons from previous wars can become dangerous when applied to a changed adversary.
Notable Point · 3:03:07-3:03:43
Previous victories shaped Japan's expectation of negotiated peace
Japan entered the Pacific War with experience suggesting that battlefield success could force a stronger opponent to negotiate after a short conflict.