Quest for national identity in The Rape of Nanking - Essay Example

The operations of the invading army, in general, after they had captured the city, are believed to be largely inhuman. They reportedly resorted to an execution spree in which “an expensive shower of blood and flesh,” (Chang 88), was the order of the day. This translated to a staggering figure of about 300,000 persons, half of whom were their Chinese captives (Hann-Shuin 3). “Justified atrocities” Chang (5) indicates that “using the numbers killed alone, the rape of Nanking surpasses much of the worst barbarism of the ages,” implying that, though the acts of Japanese military were unfathomable, the invasion of Nanking exposed multiple reasons which justified the subsequent crimes.

These actions were the mixture of several issues, both stretching from the olden times and new ones as well. For instance, the brutal requisitioning by the invading forces triggered the deterioration of their self-restraint. As a result, cases of arbitrary executions and sexual violence became the order of the day. In view of this, the Japanese soldiers degenerated into an ancient army in which hooliganism reigns. Insufficient logistical materials for the Nanking crusade occasioned by the essential decision-making initiatives in the Japanese army, local command influencing the central command is reported to have resulted in the military incursion.

Additionally, strong anti-Japanese sentiments among members of the foreign land in the Asian region and the recurrent encounters by the invading army with irregular and plainclothes military personnel impacted to the execution of any suspected individual. Barnard (520) suggests Japanese soldiers carried out such brazen mass killings because they were immensely wary of and afraid of the local soldiers in plain clothes. In this regard, the Japanese were waging a kind of combat against the ‘elusive’ Chinese.

Both armies resorted to setting ablaze premises to aid their strategic or calculated reasons. The Chinese carried out a burning spree policy, scorching vast areas to slow the advancing Japanese soldiers and choke them of supplies. Such campaign is a tradition of the Chinese military, as they believe that destruction serves to dissuade more attacks from invaders. Japanese soldiers resorted to setting ablaze residential areas to flush out Chinese irregulars or soldiers whose presence could not be easily detected by the invaders.

Other developments were associated with the collapse of self control such as invading army’s inattention or the bizarre enjoyment they achieved in seeing premises gutted down in flames. The scorching strategy of war exposed the harsh ideology of Japan's frontline soldiers who were on a reprisal mission. They were reportedly composed of underprivileged farmers, industrial employees, and scandalous persons, individuals who had tough times of toil, only to be rewarded with peanuts. Once in the national army, they were handled unfairly.

Soldiers were frequently subjected to beating and humiliation by their seniors (Barnard 519-530). Whole squads were punished with forced operations or punitive trainings for the mistakes committed by just one soldier. Criticism resulted in even worse punitive measures. Conventionally, Japanese underwent constant preparation based on the fact that their regal hierarchy formed a significant part of world ethics and that the locals were greater than all other individuals across the