The Invasion of Hawaii

With the fall of China in mid-October, the Japanese were finally willing to commit to a full scale invasion of Hawaii. By December 1943, Japan initiated its assault. With fuel stocks depleted, the USAAF was unable to challenge Japanese aircraft as it soared over the islands strafing American forces, defending the Japanese landings. Oahu was first. The US Army's emaciated soldiers failed to hold back the charging Imperial troops. Pushing inland, Japanese soldiers discovered atrocities. Tales of cannibalism were related to the Japanese by Nissei who had been rounded up in camps and systematically butchered to feed the citizens. They also spoke of being beaten by American soldiers and used as slave labor to haul around equipment when fuel had run out. For the smallest offense, many were shot point blank. Others were raped. Imperial troops were quick in capturing and executing every American soldier they could find. They would also commit violent acts of murder and rape against the white civilian inhabitants as retribution.
With Oahu in their hands, and the sad state of American forces revealed, Japanese forces expanded their operations seizing the remainder of the chain throughout the end of December. Plans were drawn up to begin rebuilding the former naval installations. The Nissei became willing supporters of the Japanese, renouncing their American citizenship following the vile treatment they had received at the hands of American forces. The rays of the Imperial standard extended further eastward.

SOURCE: Yoshi, Hiramato Shores of Blood: The Atrocities of Hawaii

The Siege of Hawaii

By December 1942, Japanese forces had successfully reached and begun to blockade the Hawaiian Islands after a skirmish that saw the remnants of the American Pacific Fleet retreat to San Francisco. Following the Battle of Midway, American naval power in the Pacific was at its nadir and unable (some would say unwilling) to hold back the advancing Imperial Fleet of Japan.

Over the next two months, Japan worked at cutting Hawaii's supply lines and eroding its military capabilities. Japanese Zeroes battled a desperate American USAAF. Though they fought valiantly, the American pilots would eventually succumb not due to Japanese superiority but to a lack of fuel and parts. Once air supremacy had been established, the Japanese began to bomb every military target they could find. Special importance was placed on Pearl Harbor's fuel storage, maintenance, and dry dock facilities. The noose became tighter.

An American naval response to lift the siege was not to be had. With the German campaign raging along the east coast and the successful Nazi attack on the Panama Canal, the American fleet was simply not able to be everywhere it needed to be. Dewey reluctantly left Hawaii to its fate as the country rushed to rebuild the shattered Pacific Fleet.

Food supplies on the islands were largely gone by early June 1943. The population of the islands was too big to support natively. Other supplies, such as medical, became scarce leading to a rise in deaths from infection. Black outs became common, the power plants systematically destroyed by the IJN, though often rebuilt with what materials Hawaiians could scrounge up.

The situation would become strained. Some citizens grumbled over the fact that the Army got precedence when it came to food stocks, sometimes forcibly expropriating food at rifle point. Others wanted the Japanese population (Nissei), locked up fearing they were working with the enemy. One radical idea was to use the Nissei as a bargaining chip with the IJN, using them as hostages for food, fuel, and supplies.

Starvation was a cruel weapon the Japanese were all too willing to use. After the death toll of the Midway invasion, the Japanese were not willing to attempt a landing on another island and relive the horrific experience. They were inclined to grind down American forces and then simply step over their emaciated bodies.

SOURCE: Yamauchi, Minoru The Siege of Hawaii