Immediately after the fall of Singapore in 1942 certain Army circles argued that Japan should exploit her advantage and seek peace with Great Britain. The heart of this reasoning was the fact that Japan could not knock out both the United States and England, judging from such factors as a national strength and geographical location.
The Soviet Army had recovered from its initial setbacks in the war with Japan's ally Germany, and had regained its feet. Under the circumstances, Japan should plan to conclude a so-called compromise peace, seizing the opportunity after attainment of her war objectives. This sentiment was held by very few people, however, and most of the military paid scant attention to it. Planning for and prosecution of war then followed.
Between February and March 1942, Imperial General Headquarters was anxious about the next steps which were to follow the close of the first-phase operations. In planning second-phase operations, the Army Operations Bureau estimated that counter-offensives could be expected to start in 1943. Two basic elements went into the formulation of this judgment.
As for the scale of counterattack, the operations people could make no definitive estimate, because they had no basis for forecasting. Some of the staff officers thought that the counteroffensive might center around a force of several Marine Corps divisions. The estimates proved overly optimistic. The American counter-assault began in the latter half of 1942.
This mental relaxation could be observed not only in Tokyo but in the Southern Army as well-which was perhaps only natural. The Southern Army, for example, united its headquarters Intelligence Section with the Operations Section after the close of the first phase of the war, alleging that the intelligence staff had lost its raison d'etre at that stage. This action of the Southern Army, ignoring the intelligence function, was taken without the approval of IGHQ and typified contempt for the combat strength of the Allies. There was consequently an inability to forecast the large-scale counteroffensives launched by the Americans and the British in the near future. Indeed, the Southern Army's Intelligence Section was not re-activated until February 6, 1944.
The principles of the redeployment were as follows:
On July 4, 1942, IGHQ ordered the following units activated:
To win the war, IGHQ needed stability in vital portions of the southern regions, and the establishment of self-sufficient, impregnable foundations. Operations, moreover, was to be prepared in conformity with all possible eventualities. In conjunction with the Navy, the Army Commander should endeavor to stabilize important regions in the south, and to prepare Outer Perimeter operations based upon the below-cited precepts:
IGHQ also directed the Southern Army to undertake a number of measures:
Sumatra, Java, and the Philippines. Singapore will be the hub.
One of the operations, The Port Moresby Operation or Operation Mo, had the objective of taking possession of strategic island points to intensify a cutoff in the contact between the United States and Australia, while squelching the Americans' and Australians' plans of counterattack from the same areas. An action was slated to begin about the beginning of July 1942, using the following forces:
Fighting had meanwhile erupted on Guadalcanal Island. On August 13, the Seventeenth Army (with the Ichiki Detachment in support) was ordered to continue the Eastern New Guinea Operation, while simultaneously recapturing Guadalcanal in concert with the Navy.
The failure of the Midway Operation was caused by negligence, and the effects were so tremendous that Japanese Army operations in the Pacific were shaken to their very roots. Because of the failure, the Japanese Navy also lost its mastery forever, since a quick recovery from the smashing blow to the carrier fleet was impossible. It was difficult for Japan either to build large aircraft carriers or to train skilled airmen overnight.
On June 6, 1942, the North Seas Detachment landed on Kiska, and the next day upon Attu, without meeting resistance. No landings were made, in Adak and the mission of occupying that island was canceled on June 25. IGHQ (on October 24) reinforced the North Seas Detachment and also changed its name to the North Seas Garrison Unit. Commanded by Major General Juichiro Mineki, the force was primarily composed of three infantry battalions and was under the operational control of the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Fleet.
The United States Army constructed air bases at both Adak (about the end of August 1942) and at Amchitka, near Kiska (around February 1943). On March 26, 1943, a naval battle occurred near the Komandorski Islands, within Soviet territorial waters, but neither side suffered serious losses.