# History Corner

While the original Toyota Wars magazine documents many historical details surrounding the war, such as the command structure of the various missions involved, military equipment used, and so on, this History Corner specifically explores the vehicle which gave the war its name: the Toyota Land Cruiser.

# Military Equipment

# Military use of Toyota Land Cruisers

The original 1991 Toyota Wars magazine lists the following "Toyotas" used by Chad and Libya during the war:

Chad
- Renault TRM 2000
- Renault TRM 4000
- Toyota Trucks
- Jeeps
Libya
- Toyota Trucks
- Jeeps
- HD Mercedes 2432

While the above list specifies the models of the Renault and Mercedes transport trucks used, it does not specify that of the Toyota trucks.

Archival photos and video provide evidence for what the French military in Chad was using at the time for lightweight personnel carriers: Willys MB Jeeps (not to be confused with Toyota's own Jeep BJ, inspired by the Willys MB, and produced from 1951-55). There aren’t as many archives which show the Chadian military in action, but it seems that the vehicles they used, although civilian, were interestingly enough related to the Willys.

The Willys MB (left) and the Toyota Jeep BJ (right)

In the 1980s there were three major Toyota Land Cruiser lineups: the J40 Series (opens new window), the J60 Series (opens new window), and the J70 Series (opens new window). The principal difference between these lineups was that the J40 and J70 series were more rugged; the J60 was a more comfortable off-road vehicle. While the J40 Series was an older lineup produced since 1960, the J70 Series replaced it in 1984. Both were successors to the Land Cruiser J20/30 series, itself an evolution of the Jeep BJ, which was Toyota’s attempt at making an equivalent to the Willys MB.

Of course, there were other Toyota trucks in circulation in the 1980s—such as the famous Hilux. In popular internet lore, the Hilux is often credited with being responsible for the Toyota War’s name, but this bit of trivia shouldn’t be trusted. The name “Hilux” sometimes seems to be used as a generic term for relatively “rugged” Toyota pickups, and the Land Cruiser J75/79 in particular is thus constantly misidentified, as in the example below.

Source: Jack Hurley (@loudribs) via Twitter (opens new window) (account since deleted). Most of the vehicles shown aren’t Hilux: one is a J45, one is a J75, and three are J79s.

While all models of Land Cruiser and Hilux were popular for low-budget warfare in developing countries toward the end of the 20th century, it was the Land Cruiser J70 series that was especially desirable for its heavy-duty build and ease of maintenance.

The J45 pickup and its successor the J75 pickup (renamed J79 from 1999 onward) in particular were ideal for use as technicals. It stands to reason that it was specifically these vehicles that gave the Toyota War its name. While sparse, brief glimpses in news coverage from the era gives some confirmation to this theory.

In other words, the military Jeeps which French personnel used to zip around their air bases in Chad during Opération Manta were the indirect ancestor of the civilian vehicles which the Chadian army was simultaneously using on the battlefield.

Toyota Land Cruiser J45 Pickup, 1960-2001

Despite the Chadian military's gradual acquisition of heavier armored vehicles over the decades following the Toyota War, The J79 remained an indispensable piece of equipment for the military. In reporting on the Boko Haram insurgency of the 2010s, the J79 pickup can be spotted in nearly every photo of the Chadian military containing vehicles other than tanks. Most are post-2007 facelifted variants, the third restyling of the series since 1984.

The front styling of a Land Cruiser J70 is the easiest clue for identifying the era of a vehicle, as illustrated below. Included in this timeline is the Land Cruiser Prado. The Prado went into production in 1990 as a lighter-duty variant in the J70 lineup, but then quickly became its own more comfortable, less bare-bones J90 series in 1996.

Original J70 1984-1990	J70 Prado 1990-1996

First restyling 1990-1999	Second restyling 1999-2007

Third restyling 2007-2022	Third restyling variant 2007-2022

Fourth Restyling 2023-Present

The vehicle depicted on the landing page of this Handbook is the Land Cruiser J45 pickup. This would have been the primary rugged Toyota pickup available to the Chadian and Libyan armies during Opération Manta, with the J70 entering production as the operation wrapped up in 1984.

The J75 pickup, meanwhile, would have become crucial during later stages of the civil war. The J75 almost certainly played a major role in general Idriss Déby's overthrow of Habré in December 1990, which is covered in the "Déby's Rebellion" scenario of the Toyota Wars game.