Intelligence Bulletin: Vol 02 No 01 September 1943 and Vol 02 No 02 October 1943

The Japanese, as compared with the Germans, have used land mines and booby traps on a small scale to date. This is largely due to the fact that the Japanese were on the offensive until our invasion of Guadalcanal— and even there the enemy held most of the island for several months afterwards and, almost to the end, maintained high hopes of annihilating us. As a rule, no enemy will lay mines and booby traps on a big scale if he expects to move over the area himself sometime in the immediate future. When the Japanese are forced to assume the defensive on a large scale, with little hope of advancing, they are expected to use mines and booby traps extensively. The use of such weapons would certainly be expected of an enemy who has been highly deceptive and treacherous in many other respects.

If our soldiers are alert and have a general idea of the appearance and function of mines and booby traps, they should not entertain any great fear of these weapons. As one Guadalcanal observer pointed out, we should never assume that an area recently occupied by the enemy, or equipment therein, is safe until it is thoroughly checked. A death caused by an enemy booby trap is considered a needless and useless sacrifice. Enlarging his remarks about the Japanese, the observer said:

Whenever the enemy abandons an area which has been held against siege, or which has been in his possession for any length of time, he will usually attempt to lay traps for the forces occupying the area. These traps usually consist of simple improvised devices, such as antipersonnel mines placed under loose boards likely to be walked on, anti vehicle or tank mines placed in the tracks of a narrow road, or devices fastened to doors or laid across narrow paths.

The purpose of such traps is twofold: (1) to cause front-line casualties, and (2) to slow the advance of the attacking forces.

At the present time, the Japanese are known to have three types of land mines and two types of grenades which can be used in such traps as those described above.

Contents
Part One:: JapanSection I: Land Mines, Grenades, and Booby TrapsSection IV: Japane.se Comment on U. S. IIesistance in Philippines —Part Two:: GermanySection I,: German Rules for Use of C o.vj amination BatPart Two:: Germany — ContinuedPart Three:: United NationsSection I: Living in the JunglePart Three: : United Nations — ContinuedSection I: Living in the Jungle — ContinuedPart One:: JapanSection I: Land Mines, Grenades,
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