Moral Dilemma- Allied Forces Killing Their Own Men

by Antoni Staszkiewicz

Brutal naval warfare, immense distances, and devastating human costs defined the Pacific theater of World War II.  For the Allies, defeating Japan’s maritime capabilities was a critical step toward victory. Japanese control of vast ocean spaces and occupied territories was possible through the shipping of thousands of vessels carrying troops, resources, and prisoners of war across the Pacific. Disrupting this transport became a top Allied priority, with submarines and aircraft relentlessly targeting Japanese ships to weaken the enemy’s war machine. But in pursuing this strategy, the Allies faced a tragic and largely unavoidable consequence: in their efforts to sink Japanese ships, they often ended up killing their own men. [1]

Throughout the war, the Japanese Empire transported tens of thousands of Allied POWs aboard cargo ships known infamously as “Hellships.” These vessels, designed for freight, were packed well beyond capacity with captured soldiers from the United States, Britain, Australia, and other Allied nations. Conditions were deplorable: prisoners suffered from disease, malnutrition, and suffocation in dark, overcrowded holds with minimal ventilation or sanitation. Making matters worse, the Japanese routinely failed to mark these ships as carrying POWs, a clear violation of the 1929 Geneva Convention, designed to protect prisoners during transit. To Allied forces patrolling the seas, these ships appeared no different from ordinary Japanese cargo vessels- legitimate military targets in the effort to cripple Japan’s supply lines. [2]

The consequences were devastating. One of the most infamous incidents occurred on October 24, 1944, when an American submarine torpedoed the Arisan Maru, a ship carrying 1,782 Allied POWs in the South China Sea. The submarine’s crew had no idea that fellow Allied soldiers were abroad. Only nine survived, resulting in the largest recorded loss of American POW life in a single event during the war. [3] Just months earlier, in September 1944, two other Hellships, the Rakuyō Maru and Kachidoki Maru, met similar fates when sunk by American submarines. Approximately 1,559 POWs died in those attacks, despite the submarines’ crews being entirely unaware of who was aboard. [4]

Former British and Australian prisoners of war are rescued by the crew of USN submarine USS Pampanito (SS-383). These men survived the sinking of Japanese hellship, the Rakuyo Maru by USS Sealion II (SS-315) on 12 September 1944. Source: US Navy

Allied attacks on Hellships were not isolated events. According to postwar assessments by the United States government, an estimated 21,000 Allied POWs died at sea, with roughly half of the victims from attacks by their own forces. Submarines played a dominant role, sinking over 2,300 vessels of Japan’s merchant fleet, but the fog of war made distinguishing between troop transports, supply ships, and prisoner carriers nearly impossible. Air attacks, naval blockades, and mining operations all contributed to the high death toll. [5]
​For Allied commanders, the moral dilemma was inescapable. The strategic necessity of targeting Japanese shipping was clear: Japan relied heavily on imported resources to sustain its military efforts. Without oil, steel, food, and other critical materials, Japanese industry and combat capability would collapse. However, attacking these supply lines came with the grim risk of killing Allied POWs hidden aboard unmarked vessels. The Japanese government’s refusal to follow the Geneva Convention by clearly identifying POW transports exacerbated the situation, leaving Allied submariners and aviators in an impossible situation: one where doing their job meant the potential loss of their own captured comrades. [6]

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Despite the tragedy of these incidents, many historians argue that the Allies had little choice. The sinking of Japanese merchant and military vessels was a decisive factor in turning the tide of the Pacific War. By 1945, Japan’s shipping fleet had been decimated, cutting off critical supply routes and isolating Japanese forces across the Pacific. However, the cost of that victory included thousands of Allied lives lost in the holds of the very ships being targeted. [7]
Today, the story of the Hellships serves as a sobering reminder of the complexities and human costs of warfare. For the families of POWs lost at sea, these incidents represent both unimaginable grief and unresolved questions about accountability and the nature of war itself. They also underscore the harsh reality that in the chaos of global conflict, even the most carefully executed strategies can carry tragic consequences, sometimes for one’s own side. 

1. Coakley, Robert W. World War II: The War Against Japan. In American Military History. Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 2001. https://oregondigital.org/concern/documents/df72rw54s 
2. National Archives. “American POWs on Japanese Ships Take a Voyage into Hell.” Prologue Magazine, Winter 2003. https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2003/winter/hell-ships
3. Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee. Japanese Naval and Merchant Shipping Losses During World War II by All Causes. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1947. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/j/japanese-naval-merchant-shipping-losses-wwii.html 
4. Australian War Memorial. “70th Anniversary of the Sinking of the Rakuyō Maru and Kachidoki Maru.” Australian War Memorial, March 2017. https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/70th-anniversary-sinking-rakuy-maru 
5. Daws, Gavan. Prisoners of the Japanese: POWs of World War II in the Pacific. William Morrow Paperbacks, 1996.
6. Imperial War Museums. “The Sinking of POW Transport Ships in East Asia.” Imperial War Museums, 2022. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-sinking-of-pow-transport-ships-in-east-asia 
7. Banhart, Michael A. Japan Prepares for Total War: The Search for Economic Security, 1919–1941. Cornell University Press, 1987.