http://battleland.blogs.time.com Where military intelligence is not a contradiction in terms Wed, 23 May 2012 21:34:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://0.gravatar.com/blavatar/c065f7f4495e21fd12fbfa8af086eafd?s=96&d=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.png http://battleland.blogs.time.com http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/05/22/americans-choose-up-sides-japan-over-china/ http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/05/22/americans-choose-up-sides-japan-over-china/#comments Tue, 22 May 2012 14:06:11 +0000 Kirk Spitzer http://battleland.blogs.time.com/?p=74668 ]]> http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/05/22/americans-choose-up-sides-japan-over-china/feed/ 0 Reuters President Barack Obama greets Japan Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda at White House last month. Reuters kirksp123 http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/05/16/chinas-security-dilemma-risks-arms-race-in-asia/ http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/05/16/chinas-security-dilemma-risks-arms-race-in-asia/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 12:01:42 +0000 Kirk Spitzer http://battleland.blogs.time.com/?p=74149 ]]> http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/05/16/chinas-security-dilemma-risks-arms-race-in-asia/feed/ 0 Reuters People's Liberation Army Navy destroyers pass in review during recent exercises in the Yellow Sea. Reuters kirksp123 http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/30/u-s-and-japanese-troops-draw-closer/ http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/30/u-s-and-japanese-troops-draw-closer/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:13:15 +0000 Kirk Spitzer http://battleland.blogs.time.com/?p=72841 ]]> http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/30/u-s-and-japanese-troops-draw-closer/feed/ 0 Reuters Japan troops_2a kirksp123 ƒvƒŠƒ“ƒg http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/26/kiwis-to-yanks-welcome-back/ http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/26/kiwis-to-yanks-welcome-back/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:23:54 +0000 Kirk Spitzer http://battleland.blogs.time.com/?p=72552 ]]> http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/26/kiwis-to-yanks-welcome-back/feed/ 0 New Zealand soldiers participate in Anzac Day ceremonies in Auckland, 2011. Corbis kirksp123 http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/20/a-risky-game-over-japans-disputed-islands/ http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/20/a-risky-game-over-japans-disputed-islands/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:36:13 +0000 Kirk Spitzer http://battleland.blogs.time.com/?p=72026 ]]> http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/20/a-risky-game-over-japans-disputed-islands/feed/ 0 Reuters Part of the disputed islands in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, Diaoyu in China. Reuters kirksp123 ishihara http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/13/tokyo-wait-until-next-time/ http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/13/tokyo-wait-until-next-time/#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:06:52 +0000 Kirk Spitzer http://battleland.blogs.time.com/?p=71467 ]]> http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/13/tokyo-wait-until-next-time/feed/ 0 kirksp123 battleland.blogs.time http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/11/japan-eyes-return-to-atomic-bomb-base/ http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/11/japan-eyes-return-to-atomic-bomb-base/#comments Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:22:11 +0000 Kirk Spitzer http://battleland.blogs.time.com/?p=71235 ]]> http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/11/japan-eyes-return-to-atomic-bomb-base/feed/ 0 Yomiuri Shimbun B-29s from the 462nd Bomb Group prepare to take off from Tinian atoll’s West Field on a bombing raid over Japan in 1945. kirksp123 Yomiuri Shimbun http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/03/support-for-japans-military-reaches-post-war-high/ http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/03/support-for-japans-military-reaches-post-war-high/#comments Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:40:24 +0000 Kirk Spitzer http://battleland.blogs.time.com/?p=70407 ]]> http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/04/03/support-for-japans-military-reaches-post-war-high/feed/ 0 Reuters Members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces soldier carry a tsunami survivor to safety in northeastern Japan last year. Reuters photo kirksp123 battleland.blogs.time http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/03/27/a-forgotten-horror-the-great-tokyo-air-raid/ http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/03/27/a-forgotten-horror-the-great-tokyo-air-raid/#comments Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:49:26 +0000 Kirk Spitzer http://battleland.blogs.time.com/?p=69811 ]]> http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/03/27/a-forgotten-horror-the-great-tokyo-air-raid/feed/ 0 Battling the fire in Tokyo’s Shitamachi district. The March 9-10 raid was the first mass incendiary attack against Japan. Buildings on fire in the Ginza shopping district. The tall structure at center has been restored and rests on one of the most expensive street corners in the world. kirksp123 Battling the fire in Tokyo’s Shitamachi district. The March 9-10 raid was the first mass incendiary attack again Japan. Firemen and civilian form a bucket brigade. Thousands of firefighters suffocated or burned to death, allowing the fire to grow unchecked. At dawn, amid smoke and ruin. In addition to 100,000 dead, an estimated one million were left homeless. Students at Nihon Medical University clear away wreckage. All that are left of hospital beds are charred frames and concrete foundations (foreground). Students were mobilized to help clear the rubble. Here, middle-school students sort through the remains of an elementary school. Charred remains of school attendance book. All students in wartime Japan wore uniforms and received military training. Student poses by engine of a downed B-29. Many of the aircraft lost in the March 9-10 raid were brought down by super- heated air, which knocked out engines and robbed wings of lift. Military policeman and students examine the wreckage of a B-29 bomber. From the positioning of the students, it seems likely this photo was staged. Members of the Kempei-tai military police examine shrapnel from US bombs. The gutted remains of the Nezu Shinto shrine near Tokyo’s Asakusa district. The shrine was restored and remains in use today. An outdoor funeral ceremony in Shitamachi. Note that the coffin is made of scraps of wood. Tohosha photographers took few photos of dead or injured Japanese. Two students emerge for the ruins of the Futaba Women’s High School. Chalk markings on the center pillar direct survivors to a nearby shelter. With shops and kiosks burned, newspapers were posted on street corners. This man reads the Mainichi Shimbun, a widely read daily then and now. Customer gets a shave in what remains of a barber shop. Most victims of the firebombing were not involved in war production. A three-generation family lives in the rubble. Aerial bombing was supposed to destroy civilian morale, but results were mixed at best. Factory workers give a send-off to a colleague (saluting, back to camera) leaving for military service. Some elements of this and the following photo were likely staged for Tohosha cameras. Bombed-out factory back in action -- maybe. Sign at right says “Fight to the end!’ Headbands read “Kamikaze!” It’s difficult to know how much of this was propaganda. Among newly discovered photos are some that show of victims of air attacks in China. The photos were included in the Tokyo exhibition to show that Japan was not blameless in the war. The body of a Chinese man killed in a US air attack on Japanese troops in Hong Kong. http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/03/20/japan-threatens-to-shoot-down-noko-missile-really/ http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/03/20/japan-threatens-to-shoot-down-noko-missile-really/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:20:20 +0000 Kirk Spitzer http://battleland.blogs.time.com/?p=69409 ]]> http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/03/20/japan-threatens-to-shoot-down-noko-missile-really/feed/ 0 Reuters A member of Japan's Self-Defence Forces stands next to a Patriot Missile System. Reuters. kirksp123 A soldier stands next to a PAC-3 missile unit in Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan