On September 18, 1931, the September 18 Incident broke out, and Japan officially began to implement its plan of aggression against China. At that time, China had just broken free from the shadow of the "feudal dynasty" and was in a state of "reconstruction" and "recovery". The Japanese army took advantage of this to launch a war of aggression, and also formulated a plan to destroy China in three months, but the Chinese military and civilians insisted on resisting the invasion, so that the war lasted for 14 years.
At that time, China was poor and weak, especially the Red Army, and the conditions of the Red Army were particularly difficult compared to the assistance of the Nationalist Army. Because it was very difficult to fill their stomachs at that time, in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, people were very excited when they killed the canned food captured by the Japanese army, and it can even be said that it was a great enjoyment. Because these cans can satisfy the hunger of the soldiers who have not seen "meat" for a long time, and have a full meal.
However, the canned food of the Japanese army was not always so delicious, and with the extension of the Anti-Japanese War, the canned food of the Japanese army changed the "material". At that time, when our army eats again, it will no longer be enjoyable, but "vomit as soon as you eat", why is this? Next, let's take a look at the changes in the Japanese canned food to see how they were defeated step by step.
"Bad taste" Japanese canned food
In ancient times, in wars, the most important material in addition to weapons was "grain and grass". After all, there has always been a saying that "the soldiers and horses are not moved, the grain and grass go first", and you must know that war is a very physically demanding thing, so it is particularly important to let the soldiers and horses be fed and meet the battle in the best condition.
Of course, Japan also understood this truth, so before they invaded China, they had already done sufficient logistical work to ensure that the invading Japanese army would be able to "eat and drink enough" after arriving in China. Therefore, during World War II, Japan not only had a huge combined fleet, but also specially built "food supply ships" to provide food for the Japanese army.
However, the main supply objects of the supply ships are nearby warships. As for the Japanese Army, which went to fight in China, they sent food to China through other means. Among them, the most delicious is probably "canned". In the early days of the war, the Japanese government was confident that it would soon be able to take China, so in order to encourage the soldiers to fight, the food they provided was still relatively "exquisite", especially food such as canned meat, which was delicious and provided sufficient energy.
However, if we look at the Japanese canned food at that time from the current standard of food judgment, we may feel very disgusted. But when compared with the military rations of our army at that time, it was indeed very good. Take, for example, their "canned beef", which contains not only large pieces of meat but also mixed stewed vegetables.
On the other hand, the military rations of the Red Army at that time were nothing more than some barley noodles, soybeans, potatoes and other things, and it was normal to not see a little oil and water for a few months. Therefore, everyone was very happy when they captured the Japanese canned food in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, after all, this was a rare opportunity to "open meat".
It is worth mentioning that this kind of good thing is not owned by everyone, because at the beginning, everyone would be the first to hand in the materials after they were captured, and then wait for the troops to count and redistribute. Canned meat like this, which is very "precious", is often given priority to the wounded to replenish their nutrition.
However, as the war dragged on, Japan's canned food gradually "changed its taste", and even later, when our army captured their cans, there was a situation of "vomiting as soon as you eat it", what is going on?
It turned out that after the Japanese army's three-month plan to destroy China failed, the war between China and Japan fell into a period of anxiety, and at this time, Japan's domestic dilapidated economy was no longer enough to maintain the same high standard of food as before. In other words, it is already difficult for Japan to provide "canned meat" as it used to be. But the surface work still needs to be in place, so the material of Japanese canned food has been replaced with something else from the original meat cuts, and it is shoddy.
Judging from the relevant information, there is even blood and water in it, exuding a fishy smell. At this time, when our army eats it again, it will inevitably "vomit as soon as it is eaten", after all, the impact of this fishy smell and bloody picture makes people feel that it is better to eat potatoes or fried soybeans, at least they can swallow it. This kind of canned blood water is really unbearable to look at, let alone eat.
In addition, the food shortage crisis in Japan became very serious in the later stages of the war. It can be said that not to mention canned meat, at that time, even the grains that basically met the needs of food and clothing could not be provided. As a result, many Japanese soldiers did not die on the battlefield, but died of starvation and malnutrition.
According to statistics, in 1941, Japan's agriculture could still ensure a per capita supply of 336 grams of rice; In 1945, that figure dropped to 243 grams. In the later stages of the war, the Japanese troops trapped by the American army on the Pacific islands were reduced to the point of grabbing and eating all kinds of wild animals, and even eating people.
In addition, Japan is already a small country with a land area of only 378,000 square kilometers. And using such a small territory to support the diet of so many soldiers is obviously a "miracle" that it can be sustained for so long. From the changes in the Japanese army, we can see how Japan is gradually moving towards defeat, and aside from other reasons, the defeat of the Japanese army is inseparable from its national economy.
The economic reasons for Japan's defeat
Whenever we talk about how Japan's wolf ambitions were born, we have to mention the changes in its domestic economy. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan's economy showed a trend of rapid development, and it was in this way that the Japanese rulers realized that their "small land" had too few resources to support the long-term development of the Japanese economy. Therefore, in order to plunder more resources, Japan participated in or launched the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and the First World War.
After a long period of plunder, Japan's economy did maintain a rapid development trend, and before World War II, it became the richest country in Asia. However, this situation did not last long, when a global economic crisis erupted, plunging the otherwise prosperous Japan into an economic quagmire. How do you survive the crisis? Japan chose to use the old methods and invade other countries. At this time, China, which is the closest to it and has a vast land area and abundant resources, was targeted, and it became something that Japan coveted and wanted.
At first, they thought it would only take a few months to occupy China. Therefore, in 1938, the "National General Mobilization" law was specially promulgated, requiring that all human, material and financial resources be invested in the war. In order to fill the hole in military spending, Japan continued to increase taxes and print paper money, which eventually led to the complete collapse of the country's economy.
Just as Mao Zedong said, "The Japanese rulers want to solve this difficult problem from the war and start a war, but as a result, the war will increase the difficulties and even consume what it originally had."
This is probably the old saying "If you do too much injustice, you will kill yourself"! In addition, due to the Axis alliance between Japan and Germany and Italy at that time, Britain and the United States also imposed economic sanctions on them. This method of cutting off the "source" of strategic materials directly restricted Japan and plunged Japan into a deeper quagmire, not only did the economy suffer a rapid recession, but even the supply of materials to the front-line troops became a problem.
That's why we can see how they came to lose from the changes in Japan's canned food. In other words, it turns out that the success or failure of the war has long been decided "on the dinner table".
According to the data, the United States announced on July 26, 1939 that it would not extend the Japan-US Treaty of Commerce and Navigation; On July 2, 1940, military supplies such as weapons and ammunition and main raw materials were restricted; Japanese assets were frozen on July 26, 1940; On August 1, 1941, a total embargo was imposed on Japan.
Not to mention, Japan later chose to attack the United States at Pearl Harbor, allowing the United States to officially go to war against it. At that time, the United States, which made a lot of money by "selling weapons," was considered the richest country in the world, so they did not care about "military spending" at all, and launched a pattern of wanton and indiscriminate bombing against Japan. As a result, the Japanese economy, which was already collapsing, was once again pulled out of the "whipping corpse".
The collapse of the Japanese economy meant that they had completely lost the ability to continue the war. So, in the end, Japan chose to surrender voluntarily, and all this was foreshadowed in terms of its economic changes.
Illustrated World Military Rations
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, our army's military rations can be said to be very "simple", after all, it was too poor at that time, and it was a luxury to be able to eat a full stomach, and it was completely impossible to have requirements for taste and quality. At that time, some of the rich capitalist countries in the world, because they had money, so the quality of military rations was very high.
In the United States, for example, they made "military cans" during World War II, which made American soldiers love and hate. Because the raw material is pork shoulder, which is considered "inferior meat" in the United States, no one eats it. But it is indeed very anti-hunger, especially in the war, it is a very happy thing to be able to eat meat, but even if the US military eats it, it will mercilessly express its dislike for this kind of canned food.
In addition, Britain's military rations are also very good, not only bacon, cheese, milk and tea, not to mention that with the United States' Lend-Lease Act, Britain also received a lot of American frozen meat and all kinds of canned food. Therefore, although the days of the British army were not as nourishing as before the war, they were still reasonable.
It is reported that when Rommel captured British-occupied Egypt in the African theater, the Germans found British warehouses full of flour, tobacco, cigarettes, jam, canned corned beef, and bottled beer.
Of course, when it comes to eating, some people will definitely think of Italy, the famous "oil bottle" of the Axis powers in World War II. Italians take their beloved pasta with them wherever they go, even if it's to North Africa. In addition, they have high requirements for "food", not only to eat noodles, but also to occasionally have a drink with some red wine, which makes it difficult for people to figure out whether they are going to fight or enjoy.