Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!bellcore!att!cbnews!cbnews!military
From: argosy!freeman@decwrl.dec.com (Jay R. Freeman)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Defeat of Armies
Keywords: Study on defeated armies
Message-ID: <1991Mar1.052019.28269@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 1 Mar 91 05:20:19 GMT
References: <1991Feb26.011946.5763@cbnews.att.com> <1991Feb28.050206.6884@cbnews.att.com>
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From: argosy!freeman@decwrl.dec.com (Jay R. Freeman)


In one of John Tolland's books -- _Rising_Sun_, I think, though I could not
find it in the index -- the author mentions that western armies have indeed
traditionally surrendered when casualties reached something like 30 percent,
but further indicates that during the second world war, Japanese forces
routinely continued resistance until total casualties were well above 90
percent, sometimes till 99 percent.  I recall Tolland mentioning that
this was so even in circumstances (such as on the Asian mainland) when
the Japanese forces had a clear line of retreat available -- it was not
merely an heroic response to being cut off on a Pacific island with the
Marines storming ashore.

                                                   -- Jay Freeman

	  <canonical disclaimer -- I speak only for myself>