World: Is Hitler Running Japan?

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This was the extent of Nazi influence on Japanese fighting. The Germans did not ram anything down Yamashita's throat. He asked for advice. Intelligently he sought a better way. Flexibly he applied it. In his ability to learn the lessons of a quick war quickly, Tomoyuki Yamashita proved himself a very good soldier.

Whither Collaboration? German-Japanese collaboration will undoubtedly go far beyond anything Tomoyuki Yamashita himself can command. Eventually it may involve a synchronized German-Japanese squeeze on India. It may, sooner than that, involve a squeeze on Russia.

It was probably not a coincidence that Japan's commanders in the southern drive —Yamashita, Doihara, Honma, Terauchi —are from the next-to-top military drawer. Still neatly folded away in the very top drawer are Japan's very best-Itagaki, Sugiyama, Nishio. They may be in reserve for the crucial attack on Russia.

If they lead an attack on Russia, they will not be doing so because Adolf Hitler orders them to. They will be doing so because they are able and ready to do it. They will be able to do it because they- especially their Tomoyuki Yamashita-were able to learn lessons well.

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