[LMB] About Gregor

[Francis Turner]

On Thu, Apr 17, 2008 at 8:02 PM,  <alayne at twobikes.ottawa.on.ca> wrote:
>  You might want to read _Fateful Choices_ by Ian Kershaw. The chapters on
>  Japan provide an interesting commentary into the reasons behind Japan's
>  bad choices in 1935-41.
>

I haven't read the book but I will.

However, at least one choice was made by the fact that the Japanese
army was unable to fight at the same quality level as the navy. Hence
the defeats against the Soviet Union (e.g.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khalkhin_Gol ) and hence the
way that Japan was more or less forced onto a naval path for
subsequent expansion. Had the IJA been able to beat the soviets they
might have got access to Siberian resources and not needed to worry
about oil etc. from elsewhere.

It is my belief (and not just me see
http://wgordon.web.wesleyan.edu/papers/jhist2.htm and
http://www.jstor.org/pss/2383226 ) that a large chunk of the way Japan
developed can be placed at the hands of Germany, France and Russia in
1885 when their triple intervention meant that Japan was forced to
give back much of its gains from the Sino-Japanese war.

Being metaphorically told by the grown ups to "put it back the way you
found it" was a major cause of subsequent Japanese military expansion
and a lot more besides. This is of course another key difference with
Barrayar. Apart from Prince Serg's Escobar adventure (which was beaten
off militarily, but then so was the Cetagandan invasion) the
Barrayarans have not been forced to do things by other "great powers".


-- 
http://www.di2.nu/blog.htm
Faber's Fourth Law:
 Necessity is the mother of strange bedfellows.