Eighty Years Ago: Asia Pacific, March 5 – 11, 1942

March 5, 1942: Lieutenant General Sir Harold Alexander arrives in Rangoon to take command of the Burma Army. Photo is from later in 1942, after Alexander assumes command in the Middle East

March 6, 1942: Joseph Stilwell, senior US commander in China, confers with Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek for the first time

March 7, 1942: Large East Indies island of Java is considered virtually under Japanese control

March 8, 1942: Japanese Army enters Burmese capital of Rangoon

March 9, 1942: Japanese forces make landing on island of Bougainville in the South Pacific

March 10, 1942: Japanese forces consolidate newly gained positions at Lae and Salamaua in New Guinea despite raids by US carrier-based aircraft

March 11, 1942: US General Douglas MacArthur is evacuated from the Philippines with his wife and son

Categories: War

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