AMERICA AND JAPAN GO TO WAR 105
DEC DEC
Nov 26, 1941
US demands Japanese
withdrawal from
China and Indochina
Dec 7, 1941
Japanese attack
Pearl Harbor
Dec 22, 1941
Japanese
forces
attack Luzon
May 6, 1942
Japanese take
Corregidor
May 20, 1942
Japanese complete
conquest of Burma
Jul 29, 1942
Japanese push
Australians off
Kokoda Trail in
New Guinea
Mar 9,
1942 Dutch
East Indies
surrenders
to Japanese
Dec 31, 1942
Japanese decide
to abandon
Guadalcanal
Jul 26, 1941
After Japanese
enter southern
Indochina, US
imposes oil
blockade
Oct 17, 1941
General Tojo
becomes
Japanese prime
minister
Dec 10, 1941
Prince of Wales
and Repulse
sunk off
Malaysia
Dec 25, 1941
Hong Kong
surrenders
to Japanese
Feb 15, 1942
Fall of Singapore
May 4–8, 1942
Battle of the
Coral Sea
Jun 3–6, 1942
Battle of Midway
Feb 19, 1942
Japanese bomb
Darwin; Japanese-
Americans declared
enemy aliens
“We will gain the inevitable triumph—
so help us God.”
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT, DECEMBER 8, 1941
by Japanese aggression, he decided to prioritize the struggle
against Germany in Europe, which slowed the American
fight in the Pacific.
In contrast to the Western Allies, who established joint
commands and strategies, Japan and Germany fought two
totally separate wars. Japan remained at peace with the
Soviet Union, Germany’s bitterest enemy, until August
1945, when the Soviet Union declared war on Japan after
Japan refused to capitulate.
Successes and failures
The initial Japanese offensives in Southeast Asia were very
successful against the colonial empires, which lacked both
morale and military strength. The spectacle of the British
surrender at Singapore, in particular, delivered a fatal blow
to European racial prestige. However, in British India only
a minority of activists in the nationalist independence
movement sided with Nazi Germany and Japan. Overall,
the Japanese failed to capitalize on potential support from
their fellow Asians, proving at least as exploitative and
oppressive as the European colonialists they supplanted.
▽ Disaster at Pearl Harbor
Fire spreads through the battleship USS
West Virginia during the Japanese air
strike at Pearl Harbor. Four American
battleships were sunk in the attack.
▷ Zero fighter plane
In 1941, the Japanese A6M Zero was
probably the world’s finest carrier-
borne fighter, outclassing any aircraft
operated by the US Navy.
Aug 7, 1942
American landings
on Guadalcanal
JUN 1942
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