Japanese Night Combat: Principles of Night Combat (PARTS 1, 2 and 3), 10 May 1955 Paperback – February 3, 2026

FOREWORDJapanese Night Combat, compiled by a number of former officers of the Imperial Japanese Army, is presented in three parts. Part 1 is a general discussion of the principles and accumulated experiences of the Japanese in night combat; Part 2, an appendix consisting of appropriate excerpts from Japanese Army training manuals; and Part 3, a supplement containing a series of twelve examples of night combat engagements of the Japanese Army. It will be noted that there is some variation in the style and composition of the several parts of the study. The different styles employed by the writers, the type of material, and the fact that the translated manuscripts were delivered to the Editor piecemeal, all combined to make standardization a virtual impossibility if undue delay in completion was to be avoided.Table of ContentsCHART I IntroductionCHAPTER II Basic Effect of Night on CombatOrigin of Night Combat in JapanChanges in Concept of Night Combat 1904 to 1938Night Attacks in the Russo-Japanese WarIndecision After World War IRe-adoption of Night Attack Tactics and Employment in the Manchurian IncidentConception of Night Tactics Suitable Against Characteristic Soviet PositionsNight Attack Conducted During the China Incident and Establishment of the Principles of Night CombatCHAPTER III Basic Concept of the Principles of Night Combat in the Field Service Regulations for Operations and the Infantry ManualGeneralGeneral Concept of Night AttackNight Attack of the InfantryAttack at Early Dawn and DuskNight DefenseOther Night OperationsCHAPTER IV Training in Night CombatGeneral TrainingTraining in Hearing and Noise PreventionDistance Estimation and Utilization of Terrain Features and ObjectsOrientation and Maintenance of DirectionMovement TrainingAssault TrainingTraining in Night FiringNight Training MottoesUnit TrainingSpecial TrainingAttacking PillboxesTeam Tactics Read more