BBC History of World War II

The first program of a two-part documentary on Japanese tactics in World War II. Examines the Japanese treatment of allied prisoners-of-war in World War I and World War II, arguing that the cruelty was not so much part of a unique warrior code as modern militarism. Reports on how Chinese prisoners were used as living targets for bayonet practice.

The concluding program in a two-part documentary on Japanese tactics in World War II. Looks at why so many Japanese civilians and fighting men in the final years of the war, followed the path of `death before surrender', and reveals that, for many, the decision to commit suicide was as much the result of social pressure as a deeply felt traditional response. Talks to survivors of mass civilian suicides, such as those that took place on the island of Saipan, as well as former kamikaze pilots and Allied prisoners of war.