In 1944 the U.S. Army published this manual for its officers in the Pacific Theater an expanded version of the original 1942 manual of the same name—and ever since, it has been the best single reference source on the wartime Japanese military available in the English language. By 1944, the army had had time to assess its enemy closely and was coming to understand him, and its vast knowledge was distilled into the handbook. The handbook details the Japanese military system, field organization, tactics, and weapons and equipment, and the strengths and weaknesses that resulted from them. Extensively illustrated, it contains sections on the Japanese special forces, the military police, uniforms and insignia, and conventional signs and abbreviations. It covers, besides the army, the Japanese Air Service, with emphasis on its tactics and organization. Issued to officers for briefings and periodically updated, the handbook’s purpose was to assist in the winning of the war, and thus it strove to be absolutely reliable for its users in combat. It was compiled by a team of officers who integrated the research of others, and it contains information provided by the U.S. Marines and also by British and Australian intelligence. Packed with information, it is a major primary source that military historians and World War II buffs will find fascinating.

"Its purpose is to supplement the logistical material found in FM 30-102, 'Handbook on aggressor military forces'. This pamphlet contains the necessary logistical and administrative information to permit exercise planning staffs and aggressor players to properly plan and play aggressor logistics in command post and field exercises... In a few instances information contained in this pamphlet is different from that in FM 30-102. This has been done to provide more complete and more realistic information needed by the logisticians who are planning or playing training exercises"--Foreword.