TL;DR World War II #4 - The war in East Asia and the Pacific

1937:

The war, begun in 1937 by Japan aggresion on China, leads to the occupation of the entire Chinese coastal areas and northern Indo-China until 1941. The US is responding to the Japanese approach to human rights violations (including Nanking in 1937, almost 50 000 murdered) with an oil and scrap bar, which is also joined by England and the Netherlands (+ Dutch India). They demand the withdrawal of Japan from China and thus provoke a Japanese counter-measure. In order to break the embargo, Japan decides on a preventive strike and the conquest of Southeast Asia to secure its raw material supply.

1941.December.7

The attack on Pearl Harbor leads to the elimination of the US Pacific fleet displaced to Hawaii and to the war declaration of the USA and Great Britain to Japan. However, all aircraft carriers and other modern ships are dispatched from the Pearl attack. This is often referred to as evidence that the US knew about the assertions of Japan (not the attack itself).

1941-42

The Japanese open the war with a major offensive against Southeast Asia (Philippines, Dutch India, Burma) and against the Pacific Islands of the USA. The aim is to create a large Asian power and economic space. In the occupied areas of Southeast Asia, national independence movements (recognition of the independence of Burma, Vietnam and Indonesia) or Japanese-friendly governments (Thailand, Philippines) are promoted.

1942

January - Japanese occupation of North New Guinea

June - With the occupation of the Aleutian Islands, the Japanese expansion reached its peak. A midway occupation failed. With this the US is on the offensive, each island has to be conquered in troublesome struggles.

August - The US is launching a counter-offensive in the South Pacific and the Central Pacific Ocean. The result of so-called "island hopping" is the re-conquest of all the islands and Burma occupied by the Japanese since 1941 until 1945. At the same time, the USA dominate in the air.

1942-1945

Since 1943 the Japanese main islands are attacked from the air. The economy and the cities are being destroyed. The strength of the US can be seen in the possibility to force the war in the Pacific despite the "Germany first" decision and to attack Japan via two channels. General McArthur is attacking the Philippines and the economic base of Japan via Indonesia. Admiral Nimitz is attacking Japan directly over the smallest islands by plane carriers. In Dec 1944 Iwojima conquered Japanese territory for the first time. For a tiny island high losses have to be brought.

1945

January - invasion of the Japanese island Okinawa. The US is suffering heavy losses. The Japanese severely counter-attacks. The climax are the attacks of the so-called kamikaze (jap. "divine wind") suicide bombers. On the one hand, this counter-defense leads to the concessions of Roosevelt in Yalta, and on the other hand to the use of the ultimate bomb, actually built against Germany, although it is militarily useless at this time. The use of the A-bomb is also seen as a threat to the USSR. This begins the Cold War.

6th August . The dropping of the 1st atomic bomb (20000 TNT) on Hiroshima and on 9th August The 2nd to Nagasaki calls about 150,000 dead and the same injured. 8th August War declaration of the USSR to Japan. Occupation of Manchuria, North Korea, The Kuriles and Sachalin by Soviet troops.

16th August The capitulation of Japan ends the Second World War. It will be signed in Tokyo on 2nd September

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Part #1: German invasion of Denmark, Norway and France

Part #2: Political and ideological background of Anschluss of Austria

Part #3: The outbreak of war: Poland 1939

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