Eighty Years Ago: Asia Pacific, April 2 – 8, 1942

April 2, 1942: Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet, part of Task Force 18, leaves San Francisco Bay with modified bombers on board, on a secret mission led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle to launch surprise raid on Tokyo and other Japanese cities (see photo above)

April 3, 1942: Japanese Army launches offensive along major parts of American-Filipino defensive line on Bataan peninsula

April 4, 1942: The Southeastern Pacific operational area, under the command of Rear Admiral John F. Shafroth, is outlined by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff as a vast expanse of ocean stretching from the Mexican-Guatemalan border to the mid-Pacific and south to Antarctica

April 5, 1942: Japanese carrier-based planes launch Easter Sunday raid on Colombo, Ceylon, targeting the British Eastern Fleet. However, alerted to the presence of the strike force, the Royal Navy has dispersed its ships beforehand

April 6, 1942: American servicemen guard Santa Anita Assembly Center, California, where thousands of citizens of Japanese descent are being detained

April 7, 1942: American and Philippine troops, pictured, under severe pressure as Japanese forces step up pressure across Bataan peninsula

April 8, 1942: Japanese troops achieve decisive breakthrough on Bataan peninsula, Philippines

Categories: War

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