Eighty Years Ago: Asia Pacific, May 2 – 8, 1940

May 2, 1940: Japan says it pursues a policy of ‘non-involvement’ in the European war

May 3, 1940: Japanese forces advancing in China’s Anhui province reportedly met by counteroffensive

May 4, 1940: Artists perform at ‘Night of Nights for China’, a show at New York’s Center Theater to raise money for Chinese refugees and war orphans

May 5, 1940: Japanese forces launch offensive in China’s Hubei province

May 6, 1940: Japan says trade pact with Uruguay has taken effect, hoping to recover commerce lost due to war with China

May 7, 1940: President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders US Pacific Fleet to move from San Diego to Pearl Harbor to deter Japan from further expansion

May 8, 1940: US gunboat Tutuila, part of the Yangtze Patrol, runs aground and is damaged at Chinese wartime capital of Chongqing

Categories: War

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