istoryworld
Events relating to japan
Aung San and some revolutionary colleagues (the Thirty Comrades) receive military training in Japan, aiming to evict the British from Burma
The US Congress declares war on Japan and President Roosevelt endorses the order
The Vietminh is founded as a guerrilla force to liberate Vietnam from the Japanese, and Ho Chi Minh soon emerges as the leader
Japanese emperor Hirohito appoints Tojo Hideki as the country's prime minister
Without warning, 400 Japanese planes attack and destroy US warships at anchor in Pearl Harbor
Within hours of Pearl Harbor, Japanese aircraft attack the Philippines and destroy half the available US planes
Japanese planes sink the British battleship Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser Repulse off the coast of Malaya
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
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
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
Japanese aircraft attack Australia, bombing Darwin's harbour and air force base
The Japanese invasion of Papua signals the start of the three-year New Guinea campaign
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
Three Japanese midget submarines penetrate Sydney harbour in Australia
US planes sink four Japanese aircraft carriers in the battle of Midway, halting for the first time Japan's aggressive expansion
US and Japanese forces begin a violent six-month struggle for Guadalcanal, one of the Solomon Islands
Orde Wingate and his Chindits launch a guerrilla campaign behind the Japanese lines in Burma
After a six-month battle, US troops win the Pacific base of Guadalcanal from the Japanese
US bombers destroy Japanese warships and planes in Operation Hailstone, a radar-guided night attack on the Truk Islands
A volunteer force, known as Merrill's Marauders, is commanded by Frank Merrill in US operations against the Japanese in Burma
