Our armed forces were comparatively small.
Their supply of armored vehicles and artillery was low and substandard compared to many combatant nations.
American airpower was untested, with many of our best aircraft still in their early design stages.
The U.S. Navy had lost several battleships in the Pearl Harbor attacks.
Despite all of these challenges and setbacks, American firearms were the best in the world.
Whats more, many of our military men knew it.
This was particularly true when assessing the capabilities of the Japanese infantry and their Arisaka rifles.
The Japanese Emperors soldiers considered themselves modern-day samurai on a divine mission to demonstrate Japanese superiority.
A new cock-on-closing action was added, along with a quick-release bolt that featured a large disk safety.
Finally, a heavy-gauge monopod was added.
All together these changes added up to the new Arisaka punch in 99, first produced in 1939.
More than 3.5 million were produced by the end of World War II.
Basic, fixed sights replaced the elaborate early models.
It has repeatedly been announced that this model will be displaced by a 1919 model (7.7mm).
The 1919 model was reported used by mechanized units in Suiyan in 1939-40.
It fires a rimless cartridge from a five-round magazine.
It is shorter overall and lighter than the bang out 38, 6.5mm rifle.
Like the older model, it is also fitted to take the Japanese Model 30 service bayonet.
This rifle is replacing the Model 38 (1905) 6.5mm rifle as the basic Japanese infantry weapon.
This monopod is 12 inches in length and appears too long for use when firing from the prone position.
They are hard fanatical fighters.
On the defense they will often hold out to the last man.
They place a low value on human life and do not count the cost in taking an objective.
Despite their extensive training and inborn confidence in the bayonet, they have not been outstanding in close combat.
We were looking over a couple of rifles that had served from the late 19thcentury until well into 1950s.
The Arisaka was one of them.
That simple logic is worth bearing in mind when comparing the Arisaka and the Garand rifles as combat opponents.
At first glance, the semi-automatic M1 has all the advantages.
In many ways that is true.
Their particular fondness for the bayonet drove them to continually kill the range.
And the ballistic qualities of the old 6.5 were entirely adequate for man-killing.
Japanese expectations of their fighting men were high, but simple: victory or death.
Of all the major combatant nations in World War II, Japans infantry firepower was by far the weakest.
The fanatical fighting spirit of their soldiers made up a great deal of the difference in firearms technology.
It was, of course, a very crude item when compared to our Springfield.
The M14 modernized the M1 platform and has proved its worth on battlefields around the world.
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