Название: Kamikaze - To Die for the Emperor
Автор: Peter C Smiyh
Издательство: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1781593132
Год: 2015
Формат: PDF (conv)
Страниц: 224
Размер: 7,9 МБ
Язык: Английский

In this brand new publication from eminent historian Peter C. Smith, we are regaled with the engaging and often incredibly disturbing history of the Kamikaze tradition in Japanese culture. Tracing its history right back to the original Divine Wind (major natural typhoons) that saved Japan from invaders in ancient history, Smith explores the subsequent resurrection of the cult of the warrior in the late nineteenth century. He then follows this tradition through into the Second World War, describing the many Kamikaze suicide attacks carried out bythe Emperor's pilots against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign. These pilots were at the mercy of an overriding cultural tradition that demanded death over defeat, capture or perceived shame. Despite often being under-trained and ill-prepared psychologically for the sacrifices they were about to make, they were nonetheless expected to make them.