Eighty Years Ago: Asia Pacific, April 10 – 16, 1941

April 10, 1941: Japan’s Navy sets up First Air Fleet consisting of aircraft carriers Kaga and Akagi and their aircraft units

April 11, 1941: Eelco van Kleffens, foreign minister in Dutch government-in-exile, leaves London for negotiations in Netherlands East Indies with Japanese on access to the colony’s oil and rubber

April 12, 1941: Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka Yosuke visits Soviet Union, triggering speculation of detente between Tokyo and Moscow

April 13, 1941: Japan and Soviet Union sign non-aggression pact

April 14, 1941: Soviet Union says that despite non-aggression pact with Japan it will not withdraw military assistance from China

April 15, 1941: US President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizes the formation of American Volunteer Group, later known as the “Flying Tigers”, consisting of US pilots and other personnel assisting in China’s war with Japan, see photo above

April 16, 1941: General Zhu Shiming, right, is appointed new Chinese military attaché in Washington

Categories: War

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