istoryworld
Events relating to asia
Hong Kong surrenders to an invading Japanese force
Burmese politician Aung San raises a Burma Independence Army in Thailand to support the imminent Japanese invasion of his country
Yitzhak Shamir becomes leader of the terrorist Stern gang in Palestine
Mahatma Gandhi launches the Quit India Movement, calling on a large crowd in Bombay to 'do or die' in the struggle to expel the British
Mahatma Gandhi and nearly all the leaders of India's Congress party are arrested and will remain in prison until the end of the war
Aung San's Burma Independence Army enters Burma as part of the Japanese invasion
Before the end of the month the Japanese control the whole of Malaya
Joseph Stilwell is appointed to head the US military mission to Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek)
An Indian National Army is formed among Indian soldiers captured by the Japanese, with the purpose of evicting the British from India
Singapore falls to the continuing Japanese onslaught in southeast Asia
US planes, flying from an aircraft carrier, undertake a difficult bombing raid on Tokyo
After losing the Philippines to the Japanese, Douglas MacArthur declares 'I shall return'
Burma becomes the last in the series of important southeast Asian territories to fall into Japanese hands
William Slim gets the remaining British forces back to India from Burma, in a fighting withdrawal that lasts two months
The Ba'th party is founded by Michel Aflaq and others in Syria, with a pan-Arab political agenda
Future Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin becomes leader of the underground terrorist group Irgun
Orde Wingate and his Chindits launch a guerrilla campaign behind the Japanese lines in Burma
Mao Zedong becomes official leader of the Chinese Communist Party, as the elected Chairman of the Central Committee and the Politburo
British admiral Louis Mountbatten is appointed to head the new Southeast Asia Command, with his headquarters in Delhi
British general William Slim is appointed to command the Fourteenth Army, formed specifically for the campaign to recover Burma
Subhash Chandra Bose, as leader of the Indian National Army, declares war on Britain
Ibn Saud and his US partners set up ARAMCO, the Arabia-American Oil Company
A volunteer force, known as Merrill's Marauders, is commanded by Frank Merrill in US operations against the Japanese in Burma
William Slim secures the first Allied victories in the Burma campaign, at Imphal and Kohima in northeast India
Douglas MacArthur lands US troops on Leyte as the first step in recovering the Philippines
