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BUY THE BOOK
A valuable asset in any History classroom making a major contribution towards intercultural understanding, Six Lesson Program for Teachers
The failed surprise attack by submarine on an unsuspecting Sydney is an indelible part of our history, brilliantly covered in a valuable teaching resource titled The Battle of Sydney Harbour 1942 by Peter Grose, with illustrations by Gary Jackson. The ground-breaking book is unique in the way it presents both the Australian and Japanese perspectives. It is written in parallel texts, making a major contribution towards intercultural understanding. For this reason alone, it is a valuable asset to any History classroom. The text and illustrations are a portal to the past. Things went wrong for the Japanese from the moment the first midget sub entered Sydney harbour. Over the next 12 hours, things only got worse. Every Australian should know the full story, the historical context, the aftermath and the lessons learnt. History teacher Bernie Howitt has prepared, with the book's authors, six structured lessons with guidance to teachers on how to present them. The sixth lesson involves a site visit to the Australian National Maritime Museum and a re-enactment harbour cruise. Investigating this event in a classroom gives teachers an extraordinary opportunity to turn the learning over to the students. The content fits neatly into any study of Australia at War or World War II. These innovative lessons are designed to help teachers present a complete unit of work that not only enhances students' knowledge and understanding of the Battle of Sydney Harbour, but teaches them how to develop and apply the key historical skills. In this way, students not only have the opportunity to master essential Stage 5 content, but also enhance their skill level, and take a significant step towards achieving an understanding of the requirements for success in senior history. This remarkable book and the lesson program, including a copy of the book, is available exclusively through ATOM's Education Shop. This is genuine history, giving all readers the opportunity to not only time travel back to a very different time and place, but also reflect on the journey. It is a very important book, poised to make a major contribution to historical and cross-cultural understanding. Two former enemies have completed their journey from enemies to close allies in the Quad alliance linking Australia, Japan, the United States and India in a strategic security alliance. This book will enable you to understand the beginning of that journey in the Australian Navy's decision to honour the Japanese minisubmariners for their bravery. |
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Although this was no suicide mission, the reality was that the chance of survival was slim to zero.
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"Mr Jackson, You and Peter Grose have done a wonderful job and I commend you both. I was deeply impressed by the extent of the new (to me) illustrative material you have unearthed. The anti-Japanese propaganda posters are dreadfully racist but of course, very much in keeping with the spirit of the times. I will read the book cover-to-cover with the greatest of interest. - Yours sincerely, Bruce Stannard AM"
"Gary Jackson great effort Gary. That’s a fantastic book. My dad was in the navy then. He joined at age 18. He was assigned initially to the HMAS Miramar, a patrol boat on Sydney Harbour. Miramar was tied to the dock, behind Kuttabul when she was torpedoed and 21 sailors were killed. Dad wasn’t on board at the time. I have some photos somewhere. He told me he was a bit shaken by the attack at the time." - Stephen Connelly
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Peter Grose writes: "One of the pure joys of writing this book has been working with Makoto Ito, our Japanese translator. Makoto is a Japanese academic and television producer. Having met him in Japan in early 2019, I can vouch for the fact that Makoto’s English is fluent, accurate and subtle. "We asked Makoto if he would like to contribute his own afterword to our book. His response was both touching and brilliant. This is what he wrote: 'This book praises the bravery of the six Japanese sailors who perished in their midget subs attack on Sydney Harbour. This should be acknowledged. In an historical context; they duly and determinedly did the duties expected of them at the time (albeit under influence from wartime policies and ideologies).' "In Makoto’s view, as Joseph Heller wrote in Catch 22, the Japanese officers and the Japanese political leaders of the six submariners were as anxious to kill them as their Allied enemies in Sydney. They were killed as surely by the fascist government of Japan as they were by any Allied depth charge or self-inflicted pistol shot." THE BOOK HAS ARRIVED!
"It deserves the upper case. Looks wonderful and so good to see the inclusion of the Japanese text." - Customer Mim McCune "It is superb, Gary. An inestimably important historical contribution of extraordinary originality and an artistic tour-de-force. My congratulations to you and Peter." - John Lenn, Social History Teacher "We will make most of your efforts to look back on history and to promote the story of reconciliation and cooperation since then." - Kiya Masahiko, Japan's Consul General in Sydney "Any interest in History is a bit like time travel. You read about a time and place and your imagination can often help you visualise what it must have been like. This remarkable, lavishly illustrated book has done the heavy lifting for your imagination this time. It has provided a wonderful collection of primary sources, high-tech recreations and a rich, information packed text to recreate the 1942 battle of Sydney Harbour. "This book is poised to make a very special contribution to our understanding of the battle of Sydney Harbour. It was the moment World War II became very real to Sydneysiders. It occurred in the context of rising fear about a Japanese invasion. As always happens in war, propaganda stereotypes the enemy as the face of evil. Simplistic racial profiling helps create that enemy, and those suspicions can linger long after a conflict has finished." - Bernie Howitt, History Teacher |
The Battle Of Sydney Harbour
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I’ve seen the war from both sides now
Peter Grose writes: “When Gary Jackson and I first mooted the idea of History Theatre, one of the things we knew would be essential to the project would be an accompanying book. Easy, I thought. Just condense and rework A Very Rude Awakening, my 2007 book on the midget submarine raid now in its 27th edition. It didn’t turn out that way. We did what I should have done back in 2005 and produced no fewer than three timelines chronicling the path to war, preparation for battle and the battle itself. "The new book is full of little-known material such as the Japanese soldiers’ field manual, including some tough advice on what to do if capture seems likely. The answer is unimaginable now, but unquestioned then. Published with English and Japanese text side by side, this important book sees things objectively with unusual understanding from both sides.” Our Translator Makoto Ito writes: “The Japanese sections of this book are a faithful translation of Peter’s English text. Whether you read it in English or Japanese, this book, incorporating both Western and Japanese perspectives towards the midget subs attack and the Pacific War, will give readers a common ground on which to discuss based on better understanding of the subject matter from multiple viewpoints. Intriguing illustrations and historical sources presented in dramatic design by Gary and Helen Jackson are sure to equally engage readers of either language. Let me remind readers, however, that some passages in Japanese include slightly more factual information which is of significance limited mostly to Japanese readers. “This book praises the bravery of the six Japanese sailors who perished in their midget subs attack on Sydney Harbour. This should be acknowledged in a historical context; they duly and determinedly did their duties expected of them at the time (albeit under influence from wartime policies and ideologies). "From a more recent view point, it brings to my mind a controversy which arose in Japan over a statement by the President of the House of Councilors of the Japanese legislative assembly regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. She remarked that she is ‘deeply moved by the bravery’ of the people of Ukraine ‘fighting for the country without regard for their own life’. Some praised the statement saying it highlighted a spirit lacking in Japan today, while critics pointed out that it was precisely on that spirit of sacrifice that so many Japanese citizens were conscripted and forced to ‘die for the country’ during the last world war (often taking the lives of enemy personnel and innocent locals in the process). “Article Nine of the Japanese Constitution states that ‘the Japanese people forever renounce war … and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes’. It is true that the practicality of this ideal has long been questioned and some see it as self-contradictory with Japan actually being protected under the ‘nuclear umbrella’ of the US and by the formidable Self-Defense Forces of its own. However, the Japanese position remains to be that Japan (and fellow nations of the world) should strenuously aspire through peaceful means for ‘an international peace based on justice and order’. No matter how long the journey may take, the flag of hope should at least be kept flown until one day the inhumane human enterprise called war is no more.” 
Smiths Weekly challenged the account of the attack put forward by the Australian government. Politicians just lied. Norman Makin, Minister of the Navy, told of a great victory for Australia's well-prepared defence. The Americans told it like it was, that Australia had been extremely lucky not to have experienced another Pearl Harbor. Smiths Weekly agreed, and published what really happened. For that the editor and journalists were threatened with jail, or gaol as it was then.
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松尾はおそらく都竹の忠実な働きに礼を述べ、まさにその目的のために支給されていた9mm拳銃でまず都竹を、続いて自身を撃った。
Field Services Code (Senjinkun) issued for sale by a publishing house after inspection and approval by the Ministry of War on January 25, 1941, less than 3 weeks after the announcement by the War Minister. The marked passage says, “you shall not live to render yourself to the shameful status of being a prisoner”.
陸軍省の検閲による承認を得て出版社が販売用に発行した『戦陣訓』。出版は陸軍大臣による示達から3週間足らずのちの1941年1月25日。赤線の部分に「生きて虜囚の辱（はずかしめ）を受けず」とある。
The damage was substantial though at first the government would admit only to 'some damage' and 'some casualties'.
The Americans tried to stem Japan's growing strength and influence.
But it was the sanctions that forced Japan, they say, to go to war.
On May 31, 1942, 80 years ago this year, World War 2 finally arrived in Sydney.
Reconnaissance spy flights over Sydney were unchallenged.
The observer identified the wrong ship type.
This is an important book, poised to make a major contribution to historical and cross-cultural understanding.
Years in the planning, the surprise attack went wrong from the moment it began. It was a bad idea filled with wishful thinking.
This book is poised to make a very special contribution to our understanding of the Battle of Sydney Harbour.
War came to Sydney on May 31, 1942 ... 80 years ago this year. Six young Japanese and twenty one young men on the Allied side died in the botched mission. Had a little luck gone the Japanese way, this could have been bigger than Pearl Harbor.
Text is in both English and Japanese. Both points of view are treated equally.
The book traces without bias the parallel paths that Japan and the Allies took to war, their meeting in Sydney Harbour on May 31, 1942 ... and the aftermath.
Spy pilot Susumu Ito in a 2014 interview in Japan reflects on the attack from his front row seat.
Sydney was a city totally unprepared for war. This is not Sydney as it is now, this is Sydney as it was then. There's trouble on its way, a rude awakening is just around the corner.
The Australians were lucky that things hadn't turned out much, much worse. It was pure luck that so many mistakes made on both sides had a happy ending for the Australians who made a composite midget sub from the two recovered in the harbour and dared label it a 'capture', when both crews had suicided.
The composite had wheels attached and was taken on a road-trip, selling souvenirs and raising money to help the war effort. Our History Theatre will be taken on a tour of at least NSW, a time-machine taking us back to those dark days in an unforgettable one hour that will remind us who we were and are, and how we got here. Our good friends and allies the Japanese will sit side-by-side with us and go home richer for having been immersed in the performance with us.
Spy Pilot Susumi Ito faced death, he believed, when ordered to overfly Pearl Harbor the morning after the attack, to assess damage. The Americans would be waiting for him, and angry. Luckily for him, his mother-sub captain received orders overnight to chase and sink the US Aircraft Carrier Enterprise. Ito thus avoided the risky reconnaissance flight.
Ideas like the Kaiten method, in which men aboard a torpedo smashed themselves against an enemy, were forerunners of the sophisticated midget subs that attacked Pearl Harbor and Sydney Harbour.
"They're all dead. All of them. After we attacked Sydney I got a transfer and left the submarine. 90% of the crew remained, while 10% were transferred. Those who remained in the submarine all got killed two months later. Those transferred were also killed aboard their next submarine. No one is still alive." - Susumi Ito
Japanese forces attacked Darwin and Northern Australia with the same task force used at Pearl Harbor just ten weeks earlier. The Japanese dropped more bombs in the Australian attack and sank more ships than they did at Pearl Harbor.
One of the three midgets to attack Sydney and the only one to fire its torpedoes and leave the harbour, M24 was fired on with a WW1 Vickers machine gun when finally sighted. No damage was sustained by the submarine. Of the two torpedoes eventually fired, neither hit their target, the American Cruiser USS Chicago. One torpedo sank an old wooden ferry killing 22 sailors. The other torpedo failed to arm and ran aground harmlessly without exploding.
What were they thinking? The attack strategy, planning, execution and the aftermath are explained in military terms and clearly illustrated. The many failures are graphically reconstructed with unprecedented accuracy and insight.
An inspired narrative draws on expert interviews plus brilliant CG visuals to take us back for a detailed understanding of what really did happen all those years ago. |
Matsuo would have formally thanked Tsuzuku for his loyal service before shooting him with the 9mm pistol supplied for this purpose, then shooting himself.
1941 Field Services Code (Senjin-kun)
Australian attitudes to Japan are still coloured by the treatment meted out to Allied prisoners of war captured by the Japanese. Even allowing for exaggeration and propaganda, there is enough truth in these stories to justify universal condemnation.
But this leaves out two important considerations. First, in the warrior culture of Japan, to be taken prisoner rather than to die in battle was a source of shame. There are Japanese families who do not know to this day that their husband or father or grandfather spent his war years in an Allied POW camp. Secondly, there are numerous plausible accounts of the Japanese military treating their own men as badly as they treated their prisoners. Beatings and executions were not the sole preserve of Allied POWs. The Imperial Japanese Army spelled out its attitude to capture in the manual given to every soldier. Called in Japanese Senjinkun (Field Services Code), it states: “You shall not live to render yourself to the shameful status of being a prisoner” meaning you should die in battle or take your own life so as “not to give to posterity your dishonourable name as a sinful man.” One of the enduring controversies over the Darwin bombing is the extent to which the Australian government lied about it, and these two newspaper headlines are often singled out as proof of the government's mendacity. The plain fact is that government simply didn't know what had happened. Incredibly, there was no telephone link between Darwin and the rest of Australia, nor was there any rail link. The very few telegraph links involved long messages sent in Morse code, which was both slow and clumsy.
When the reality was finally known in Canberra, the government did not exactly tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. As a result, rumours replaced reality: thousands had died; deserters had been shot; martial law had been proclaimed. None of it was true but in the absence of a credible narrative, the lies spread unchecked. Couldn't happen today, could it? 
Japan and Australia fought on the same side in World War I. That war officially started on 28 July 1914, and Japan joined the Allied cause less than four weeks later, on 23 August 1914. (America joined the Allies on 6 April 1917.) Relations between Japan and the United States had been fraught from the late 19th century to the outbreak of the Pacific War on 7 December 1941. The United States resented Japan’s growing industrial power. The Japanese were equally uneasy about America’s territorial expansion into the Pacific. There were arguments over Japanese immigration to the United States, and the Americans regarded Japan as both an expansionist and an aggressive power. Anyone reading an American newspaper today and substituting the word Japan for China would have a pretty good idea of how strained relations were. In those days, China and the rest of Asia could safely be ignored. Asian countries were either occupied by a friendly colonial power—Hong Kong, Burma (now Myanmar), Malaya (Malaysia) and Singapore by Britain; Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos by France; the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) by Holland, East Timor by Portugal, and so on—or, like China, were seen as irretrievably poor, primitive, chaotic and too heavily populated for their own good. Japan was different. The Japanese were seen as clever and industrious, to be watched carefully and stomped on when necessary. Two paths to war
This important book tracks two paths to war. Opposing Japanese and Allied views are presented side-by-side in Japanese and English, tracing the origins of the Pacific war from Shoguns and Samurais through the Meiji reorganisation to Pearl Harbor and then to the bombing of Darwin and the Sydney attack. Both sides felt justified with their own actions. The Americans applied severe economic sanctions to Japan in a strategy designed to halt Japan's robust imperial and economic expansion. One superpower in the Pacific was enough. Ironically, it was those sanctions that led to Japan attacking Pearl Harbor and an officially declared war. The book has all the detail including a retrospective account from the Japanese side. 
The Battle of Sydney Harbour 1942
A beautifully-presented, 128-page book by Peter Grose and Gary Jackson. This controversial project, with text in both English and Japanese, tracks two fatally flawed paths to war. 'Any interest in History is a bit like time travel. You read about a time and place and your imagination can often help you visualise what it must have been like. This remarkable, lavishly illustrated book has done the heavy lifting for your imagination this time. It has provided a wonderful collection of primary sources, high-tech recreations and a rich, information packed text to recreate the 1942 battle of Sydney Harbour. This book is poised to make a very special contribution to our understanding of the battle of Sydney Harbour. It was the moment World War II became very real to Sydneysiders. It occurred in the context of rising fear about a Japanese invasion. As always happens in war, propaganda stereotypes the enemy as the face of evil. Simplistic racial profiling helps create that enemy, and those suspicions can linger long after a conflict has finished. You will immediately notice that this book is printed in both Japanese and English. In a world where Japan and Australia now embrace each other in friendship and political coalition, this approach is long overdue. By incorporating both the Japanese and allied perspectives in exploring the battle of Sydney Harbour, the book greatly enhances our understanding of the event. More importantly, it gives us a long delayed opportunity to hear the voices of those to whom we were so implacably opposed. Read carefully the testimony of Susumu Ito, who flew one of the spy planes over Sydney prior to the Battle. Part of his recollection is reproduced on the back cover and captures perfectly the enormous contribution to our understanding this book is poised to make. He remembers the Japanese reaction to the military funeral given to the Japanese sailors whose bodies were recovered from two of the mini-submarines. In 1942 Australia it caused great controversy, with many opposed to the recognition of the enemy’s losses. Ito’s memory reveals a very different and significant perspective. This is genuine history, giving all readers the opportunity to not only time travel back to a very different time and place, but also reflect on the journey. It is a very important book, poised to make a major contribution to historical and cross-cultural understanding. As two former enemies complete their journey to become close allies with the Quad alliance linking Australia, Japan, the United States and India in a strategic security alliance, this book will enable you to understand the beginning of that journey in the Australian Navy’s decision to honour the Japanese mini-submariners for their bravery.' - Bernie Howitt Order a signed copy of the limited edition book at www.ww2australia.com.au 
'The scourge of nationalism that blighted the world in the middle of the Twentieth century will ever threaten to throw young conscripts, like those Japanese submariners, into the terrifying jaws of the god of war. I commend this excellent book to scholars, students and the general reader. For those whose interest in Australia's history is only beginning to flourish, The Battle for Sydney Harbour will provide an elegant introduction.'
- Ernie Tucker Ernie Tucker taught history at Vaucluse Boys' High School, Sydney, Australia, during the 1960s. A permanent exhibition to mark the Japanese attack on Sydney
Not even one mention of a European king or queen. This is our own exotic Australian history told in a way that will rival the celebrated immersive Atelier des Lumières (“Light Workshop”) in Paris. Preparation is underway in earnest. Participation by interested parties is invited. Please contact Gary Jackson on gr.jaxn@gmail.com or Peter Grose on petergrose@me.com 
In the sensually immersive History Theatre, Japanese guides in Imperial Navy submariners' officers' uniforms will guide visitors along the Japanese path to war on one side. Australian and US guides in period Navy uniforms will take visitors down the Allied path to war on the other side.
Taking the Battle On The Road
The road tour will bring the History Theatre to cities and towns too far from Sydney to make an excursion to North Head a practical exercise. For schoolkids this will be a day to look forward to, to learn about history in the way it should be taught but seldom is. ATOM (Australian Teachers Of Media) will promote the tour and take bookings for class excursions ahead of the dates when the History Theatre will be in their town. 
At the conclusion of the road show phase, we hope to find a suitable permanent home for the History Theatre in Sydney or Canberra. Interested museums or other commercial venues are urged to make contact to discuss. This show has the potential to rival Hobart's MOMA and the Sydney Bridge Climb as a must-see attraction for all Australians and international tourists. We will promote the show in Japanese and American media.
This pic links to a short video of former RAN Commander Shane Moore talking about how difficult to control and fight these radical Japanese secret weapons were. Our History Theatre features interviews on both sides, including with Spyplane Pilot Susumu Ito talking about not only his reconnaissance missions but life aboard a Japanese submarine and Japanese war ethics that dated back to the Meiji period.
Spy Pilot Susumi Ito comments on suicide missions
This is what Mr Ito told me in 2011: "I agree with the view that they were brave young men. I want you to note that the crewmembers of the midget submarines were the very people who devised the attack method in which they could not expect to return alive. In the Japanese Navy, one who submitted a new idea was the first to carry it out and prove its merit. It was the Navy tradition. It was the case not only with the midget submarines but also with the ideas like the Kaiten method, in which men aboard a torpedo smashed themselves against an enemy. This method was an idea proposed by a young officer, who went off in a torpedo before anyone else. In regards with the midget submarines, it was also a young officer who proposed the idea. He trained himself on a midget submarine and he was one of those who went off when the method was first used in the Pearl Harbor attack, which inspired more and more men to volunteer for the submarine missions. It's not easy to do what those men did. They acted like so to protect Japan. In order for Japan, a country with low productivity, to fight a war against countries with a high productivity like Britain and the USA, they had no alternative. Without doubt, they acted with unthinkable bravery. If I had to do the same … I would have been ordered to do so. But would I be brave enough to put forward a proposal and carry it out? I don't know.
The two-man midget subs that attacked Sydney were a sophisticated secret weapon. Plans were for the crews to return safely, but few really expected they would.
Why Japan attacked Australia
The lead-up to WW2, the attacks on Northern Australia and Sydney Harbour in 1942 and the aftermath to the action explained in a seven minute clip. Click on any of the pics. 
Hear what Japanese spy-pilot Susumi Ito says about Japanese attitudes towards Australians at that time, and how that negative and erroneous view changed. In Japanese eyes, Australians became 'a noble-minded people'.
Two of the three midgets failed to successfully fire any torpedoes. Both two-man crews died, one by scuttling their trapped submarine with its demolition charge and one crew suicided as their crippled submarine was being destroyed by depth charges.
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"The Japanese view of Australia had been that it was a land of convicts, but that view changed completely to that Australians
were a noble-minded people, at least amongst those heard what happened." Spy Pilot Susumo Ito
were a noble-minded people, at least amongst those heard what happened." Spy Pilot Susumo Ito
A task force of 500 men in five huge I-class submarines assembled off the coast. Two carried a floatplane in a waterproof hangar. Three carried a midget submarine strapped to the rear deck.
The control room on the midget subs was terribly cramped. Two men worked in a confined space less than two metres long and two metres in diameter.
The first midget to enter the harbour collided with a channel marker, then backed up and became hopelessly tangled in the incomplete boom net. The bow rose to the surface.
"Yes, it's a submarine alright!", the Australians agreed after arguing for two hours, not wanting to believe it.
To avoid certain capture, the Japanese crew used the scuttling charge to destroy the submarine and themselves. And then the real trouble started.
Cmdr. Shane Moore RAN (retired) discusses the design problems of the battery-powered midgets and reveals why they were so deadly, particularly to the brave young crews who manned them.
Japanese Spy Pilot Susumo Ito, who flew multiple undetected reconnaissance missions over Sydney, gives a candid view from the other side in this conflict.
Uncovered archival footage provides a never-before-seen perspective, with expert eye-witness commentary.
Government-approved forensic dives on the off-limit wreck of the long-missing third midget submarine bring some closure to a long-standing mystery. Indisputable hard-evidence has excited marine archaeologists but does it go far enough?
The DVD brings together years of work in an engaging, entertaining and very re-watchable video.
The Japanese Type 97 Oxygen-powered torpedo was a game changer. Had it worked properly, and been on target, it might
have caused far more damage in Sydney than it did. Of six torpedoes in total carried by the midgets, two were fired. Two were stuck in their tube, and two blew up along with their submarine shortly after entering the harbour.
have caused far more damage in Sydney than it did. Of six torpedoes in total carried by the midgets, two were fired. Two were stuck in their tube, and two blew up along with their submarine shortly after entering the harbour.
