The Mind of the Kamikaze
New for June 2025
•
14m
In late 1944, Japan’s military turned to a deadly and radical tactic: suicide attacks by pilots known as kamikaze, or “divine wind.” These young men, often in their late teens, flew explosive-laden aircraft into Allied ships, sacrificing themselves to delay defeat. The kamikaze program, rooted in Japan’s cultural and strategic desperation, is a fascinating study in psychological conditioning. The kamikaze were products of a system that suppressed survival instincts to achieve tactical objectives. From the Battle of Leyte Gulf to the airfields of Kyushu, the kamikaze program, offers a case study of the intersection between military strategy and human sacrifice.
Up Next in New for June 2025
-
Billy Boy: The Execution of Billy Laird
He never saw battle.
He never fired a shot.
But in 1863, William Laird, a mentally challenged young man from Maine, was executed by a Union Army firing squad.
This is one of the most tragic and forgotten stories of the Civil War. -
American Civil War: Battle of Prairie...
When the Missouri Division pulls out of Northwest Arkansas to reinforce Grant's efforts against Vicksburg, Hindman sees an opportunity forming for his army to get back to Missouri. With only Blunt left in the region to defend the border, Hindman draws up a plan to bag the Kansas Division and use ...
-
The Drive
Felled timber is taken down the Mattagami, a Northern Ontario River. The men who guide the logs on “the drive” are “famous for their dexterity” as poling and burling are demonstrated. In an amusing sequence the men are shown as “proverbial for their appetite.” The independence that workers enjoye...
