Guide: Authenticity Standards – Battle for Manila 1945
This event was planned around a force-on-force tactical. Due to COVID-19 in 2020, the event was canceled but we decided to share some of the research that went into the planning side of this event. The chosen scenario focused on the action between the American Army 1/145 Battalion and the Japanese Army (IJA) 2nd (Nouchi) Provisional Infantry Battalion from 19-21 February in the vicinity of the Ice/Cold Storage Plant. The depth of research of the event allowed us to place units down to the platoon to a given space during the battle, which was relatively unheard of.
Article: Basic Japanese Squad Tactics
Article Basic Japanese Infantry Tactics Robert Boucher Contributor Japanese Army (IJA) tactics are often reduced incorrectly to fanatical banzai charges and clumsy, wasteful attacks. While fanantical last-ditch assaults certainly existed in the later stages of the war, where quality officers and non-commissioned officer (NCO) cadre had evaporated due to sustained losses, this was not always […]
Article: Japanese Army Anti-Heat Uniform
Brief introduction to the Japanese Army Anti-Heat Uniform, otherwise known as the “tropical” uniform
How To: Japanese Army Wearing Guide
Pictoral Guide on how to wear an Imperial Japanese Army uniform!
Resources: Primary Source Guide
Primary Resarch guide of various documents, pictoral archvies, and contemporary history that can be useful for a variety of reenacting related information.
How To: IJA Shelter Half “Pack” Assembly
Like most IJA gear, assembling the shelter half “pack” is not terribly difficult but does take practice to get it looking the best and also remaining effective for field use (nothing worse than assembly failures in the field).
Uniforms: Japanese Army Subsitute Winter Jerkin
A brief look at the Meiji and Taisho winter Jerkin models.
Resources: Japanese Imperial to Western Calendar
Resources Imperial to Western Calendar Meiji (明治) Taisho (大正) Showa (昭和) Japanese Era Name Western Calender Japanese Era Name Western Calender Japanese Era Name Western Calender -Keio (慶応)4.Sep.4Meiji (明治)1.Sep.4- 1868 -Meiji 45.Jul.30Taisho (大正)1.Jul.30- 1912 -Taisho 15.Dec.26Showa (昭和)1.Dec.26- 1926 Meiji 2 1869 Taisho 2 1913 Showa 2 1927 Meiji 3 1870 Taisho 3 1914 Showa 3 […]
Article: Uniforms of the Japanese Navy – Part 1 –
Information about the uniforms worn by Japanese Naval Landing Forces in both English and Japanese has received very little coverage. The small amount available has typically been poorly researched and resulted in the dissemination of false information ranging from egregious to niche. The purpose of this article is to dispel some of these fantasies, such as the notion that Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF) had specific uniforms and the creation uniform designations by summarizing the most common uniforms worn by Naval Landing Forces, including SNLF, Special Base Forces, Guard Units, etc, from the outbreak to the eventual conclusion of the Pacific War.