Asian History Commons^™

The Entry Of The People's Republic Of China Into The Korean War, Yueliang Shen

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

China's entry into the Korean War in October 1950 took both its friends and foes by surprise and quickly escalated that conflict into the first major hot war since the start of the Cold War. This thesis analyzes the Chinese decision making process and the factors that led China into the Korean conflict. Official documents, statements, and speeches of American and Chinese Communist leaders between 1945 and 1950 indicate that historical mistrust and animosity, geopolitical considerations, and a breakdown of communications all contributed to the tragic showdown that caused millions of casualties. Extensively used for this study were declassified foreign …

Judicial Intelligence: Allied Signal Intelligence And The War Crimes Trials Of Class "A" War Criminals At The International Military Tribunal For The Far East, 1946-1948, William Todd Baker

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the use of Allied signal intelligence as evidence in the prosecution of Japanese military and political leaders accused of major war crimes before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in 1946-1948. Allied signal intelligence helped illuminate Japan's participation in the Second World War. MAGIC signal intelligence, as part of a larger body of evidence presented by the prosecution, served also to aid in the convictions of Japanese military and political leaders accused as Class “A” war criminals. This study is based on documentary evidence from the thirty-nine reel microform collection of official Court Papers, two …

Allied Communications Intelligence And The Monsoon Group, 1943-1945, Christopher G. Stuart

History Theses & Dissertations

The critical weakness of trade between Germany and Japan during the Second World War was exposed in 1943, when, after all other methods had failed, the Axis powers resorted to submarines as their main means of transportation. The Allied powers succeeded in disrupting the submarines, which the Germans called the Monsoon group. The Allies used communications intelligence to disrupt the Monsoon group in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Recently released United States Armed Forces LTRA decrypts, MAGIC messages and their summaries, and Selected Research Histories (SRH) provide the previously top secret details.

Ultra Underseas: Signal Intelligence And The Submarine War Against Japan, 1941-1945, Robert B. Watts

History Theses & Dissertations

During the Second World War the United States conducted a highly effective undersea war against Japan which relied on signal intelligence to direct the submarine force. Although submarines were naval assets, the sophisticated signal intelligence operation supporting them was composed of both army and navy organizations that considered a wide variety of factors in directing submarines against enemy economic and military power. While signal intelligence was used to direct submarines against targets of opportunity, the primary advantage of signal intelligence lay in the ability to provide a long-term strategic picture of the enemy. Through inter-service coordination, signal intelligence allowed for …

The Origins Of The Department Of Defense Recommendation To Cross The 38th Parallel During The Korean War, Wayne A. Kirkbride

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis considers the reasons the Department of Defense (DOD) developed its recommendation concerning the U.S. involvement in the Korean War. The United states initially committed its forces to restore the status quo antebellum. However, by 31 July 1950, the DOD recommended that a free, unified, and representative Korea should be the policy object of the war and that the occupation of all of Korea and the defeat of the North Korean armed forces north and south of the 38th Parallel should be the military objectives.

Several factors contributed to the recommendation of a change in policy and strategy. A …

Signal Intelligence And Macarthur's Use Of Military Intelligence (G-2) During The Second World War, James Walter Zobel

History Theses & Dissertations

Though signal intelligence significantly benefited MacArthur 's conduct of military operations during the Second World War, each of his campaigns from July 1942 to August 1945 was marred by his reliance on inaccurate intelligence provided by his G-2 organization. An examination of the production and use of intelligence during MacArthur's campaigns displays these mixed aspects of his use of intelligence. Historical analysis shows MacArthur made effective use of signal intelligence, and despite instances of his reliance on inaccurate estimates the result was never disastrous. A detailed view of MacArthur's use of intelligence can be found in the records of his …

George F. Kennan And The Rebuilding Of Japan: The Second Phase Of Occupation Policy, Rhonda S. Beckham

History Theses & Dissertations

As head of the Policy Planning Staff of the Department of State, George F. Kennan had the opportunity to implement aspects of the containment policy which he had helped to create. In 1947, Japan became vital to United States national security interests in Asia but was threatened by Communist infiltration because of an unstable political and economic situation promulgated by the initial post-surrender policy immediately after the war. An investigation by Kennan led to the implementation of significant changes which were enumerated in a National Security Council Report. This thesis will examine Kennan's foreign policy philosophy, the containment theory, the …

The American Influence On The Mindanao Resistance During The Second World War, Michael Anthony Balis

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the American participation in the development of resistance against the Japanese on Mindanao Island in the Philippines, 1942-1945. Americans directed the overall resistance movement and commanded most of the provinces. As leaders Americans played a key role in the evolution of the resistance from an independent guerrilla force to a partisan force that gave U.S. forces combat and intelligence assistance. The most important information for the thesis came from the MacArthur Archives, the Hayden Papers at the University of Michigan, the U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, and correspondence with 14 men who served with …

Three American Resistance Leaders In The Philippine Islands During World War Ii, Brian W. Mclean

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis compares the effectiveness of three Americans who led major guerrilla groups against the Japanese in the Philippine Islands during World War II. It is limited to Wendell Fertig on Mindanao, James Cushing on Cebu, and Russell Volckmann on Luzon. Previous works addressed only individual leaders; this thesis compares different leaders.

The thesis concludes that although differences did exist in how each individual officer rose to command, all three were effective in leading resistance efforts against the Japanese. The greatest differences among them were the amount of support they received from MacArthur's General Headquarters Southwest Pacific Area (GHQ SWPA) …

The U.S. Army And The Development Of The Rok Army: 1945-1950, Charles M. Ayers

History Theses & Dissertations

When the Korean War began in June 1950, the South Korean Army was unprepared and was unable to cope with the forces from the North. This study seeks to determine whether the decisions made by the US Army as to the building of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army during the period from 1945 to 1950 were appropriate in regard to the political and strategic situation in the Korean peninsula. The study approaches the problem by examining us documents and other archival material concerning the Army's policies toward Korea, how these policies were developed and executed, and what effect they …

Containment, Cliency And The Revolution In Vietnam, Deborah Tompsett-Makin

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis addresses the question, why does U.S. foreign policy contribute to political instability in developing nations? To ascertain the answer, it analyzes the post-World War II administrations from Truman through Johnson. One mode of containment, cliency, a foreign policy relationship between a major power and a weaker state, is developed within the framework analyzing containment. The cliency model provides a theoretical basis for explaining how the domestic structure of the client state is systematically distorted by the patron's actions in pursuit of its global interests. The cliency model is also linked to the pattern of development and stability of …

Eisenhower, Vietnam, And The Geneva Conference Of 1954, Dean Rourke Jr.

History Theses & Dissertations

The thesis examines the 1954 Geneva Conference which appeared to be a turning point in America's foreign policy in Indochina. The Conference was initially held to discuss the Korean War armistice but as the the French position in Indochina deteriorated, the Conference evolved into a French effort to end their Indochina commitment and, thus, the first Indochina war. The role of the Eisenhower administration at Geneva and whether that role was part of a clearly defined foreign policy agenda or a policy that merely reacted to events as they occurred is examined. The thesis shows that a negative attitude toward …

Curtain Of Silence Japanese In Soviet Custody, 1945-1956, William F. Nimmo

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The Soviet Union attacked- and defeated Japanese forces in Northeast Asia in the final days of the Second World War, and 2,100,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians suddenly fell into the hands of the Red Army. This thesis examines the experiences of Japanese in Soviet custody, efforts to obtain their release, and their eventual return to Japan. Repatriation of civilians from Soviet-controlled areas was slow, and military personnel were taken to the USSR for use as forced labor for several years. The Soviets conducted an intensive Marxist-Leninist indoctrination program for prisoners of war, and a professed acceptance of communism was a …

The Gift Of The Gods: The Impact Of The Korean War On Japan, John P. Bowen

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The Korean War was a benchmark in the modern history of Japan. It became a catalyst for political action, and the fountainhead of the "economic miracle" that raised Japan once again to a prominent position among nations. The Korean War helped solve many political problems, including the tricky question of a peace treaty. It confirmed Japan's commitment to a no-war constitution. It also permitted the Japanese government to relax the restrictions imposed by occupation authorities. The war created a fortuitous economic stimulus that permitted Japan to emerge from the recessionary period that followed World War II and to establish the …

Kuropatkin In Manchuria, Merlin Van Statzer

History Theses & Dissertations

General Aleksei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin's leadership of the Russian Army in Manchuria in 1904-5 is examined. Fran the rear guard battles at the Yalu and Te-li-ssu through the engagement at Tieh-ling Kuropatkin's direction of the war reflected his belief that the Russian armies were of inferior strength. Whenever a serious threat appeared he retreated to the north to gain tine so that more reinforcement would be available to swell the size of his army. He believed that eventually this strategy would provide the preponderant force and eventual victory. But that proclivity to retreat, to be oriented to the defense rather than …

Kazakh Nationalism In The Gorbachev Era, Steven O'Neal Sabol

History Theses & Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study is to survey specific manifestations of Kazakh nationalism in the Gorbachev era and ask what provoked a seemingly cooperative people to exert their nationalist sentiment. The two principal forms examined are the passage of the Kazakh Language Law in 1989, and the emergence of informal groups and alternative political parties in Kazakhstan.

The nationalism that was expressed by Kazakhs in the Gorbachev era was a resumption of the nationalism that was suspended or suppressed during seventy years of Soviet rule. The December 1986 demonstration in Alma-Ata irreparably altered ethnic relations in the republic and …

American Perceptions Of Chinese Communism 1945-1950, Edward C. O'Dowd

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores the images of the Chinese Communists which were held by career Foreign Service Officers in China, non-career diplomats in China and the decision-making elite in Washington during the period of time from 1945 to 1950. The study centers on the questions of the tractability of the Chinese Communists to negotiations and the connection of the Chinese Communists to the Soviets. The study uses several propositions of social psychology to explain the differing images and the resulting effect on Sino-American relations.

U.S. Security Policy In Postwar Japan; The Making Of A Cold War Ally, Thomas James Hehman

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of the role of American policy makers in the transformation of Japan from a defeated, disarmed enemy to a Cold War ally on the path to rearmament during the Allied Occupation (1945-1952). The original Occupation goals of disarmament and demilitarization for Japan were embodied in Article IX of the American-sponsored Japanese Constitution of 1947. These goals were unilaterally discarded. 'by American policy makers as the Cold War developed and U,S. security policy in Asia dictated that Japan be rehabilitated as an ally. Douglas MacArthur presided over the Occupation of Japan almost in its entirety, and …

The United States Great Britain And The Status Of Thailand (Siam), 1940-1946, Peter Goodwin

History Theses & Dissertations

This paper traces the changes in the attitudes and policies of the United States towards the Southeast Asian country of Thailand during the Second World War. From a position of indifference the United States assumed an active role in the emergence of Thailand as a sovereign nation at the conclusion of the war, encouraging pro-American factions and opposing a traditional power of the area, Great Britain.

The emphasis of the paper is on the different attitudes held by Britain and the United States and the efforts to reconcile them. The British expected recompense by the Thais for allying themselves with …

The Trial Of General Tomoyuki Yamashita: A Case Study In Command Responsibility, L. H. Redford

History Theses & Dissertations

The case of General 'Tomoyuki Yamashita, the subject of this thesis, established a precedent in international law, at least so far as the United States respected that law, Its successful prosecution prepared the way for the prosecution of numerous, subsequent war crimes cases, upon a standard of liability developed and approved by the United States in Yamashita, and without regard for the attenuated procedural protections granted in American civil courts. General Mac-Arthur played an important part in Yamashita’s trial, and this essay shall also discuss the extent of his interest and involvement in the case.

General Douglas Macarthur And The Philippine Army, James Allen Walker

History Theses & Dissertations

Abstract unavailable.

American Policy And The Netherlands East Indies, 1940-1945, Buford A. Harris

History Theses & Dissertations

Abstract unavailable.

The Influence Of The South On United States China Policy, 1946-49, Arnest Clayton Thompson

History Theses & Dissertations

Abstract unavailable.

Lancarote De Seixas And Madampe: A Portuguese Casado In A Sinhalese Village, C. R. De Silva

History Faculty Publications

At the end of the sixteenth century, when the Portuguese came into possession of the south-western sea-board, Madampe proper, was a sizeable village inhabited by about a hundred families. Though situated some forty miles to the north of Colombo, the centre of Portuguese power and activity, Madampe was in some respects well located being within seven miles of the important port of Chilaw and within three miles of the sea, over which the Portuguese still had undisputed control. The village moreover, had twenty two minor villages attached to it, the whole forming the gabadagama or royal demesne of Madampe, an …

The Impact Of The Immigration Act Of 1924 On American-Japanese Relations, Mazika E. Anthony

History Theses & Dissertations

The abrogation of the Gentlemen's Agreement. and the manner in which it was achieved deeply hurt Japanese pride, which had reached new proportions in the 20th century. The American action was interpreted as a deliberate affront to a friendly nation, and upset the traditional amity which had characterized American-Japanese relations since the opening of Japan by 'Commodore Mathew C. Perry. It is the aim of this paper to show the extent of anti-Japanese agitation in the United States, the impact of the Immigration Act of 1924 on American-Japanese relations, and its relationship to the conflict which developed between the two …

Patrick Hurley And China Policy, Bruce W. Platz

History Theses & Dissertations

Abstract unavailable.