Eighty Years Ago: Asia Pacific, Nov 6 – 12, 1941

Nov 6, 1941: General Yamashita Tomoyuki is put in command of the Twenty-Fifth Army, which is assigned the task of invading the Malayan peninsula in the planned offensive against Southeast Asia

Nov 7, 1941: Japanese aircraft carrier Soryu sails to Kure harbor, its assigned naval station ahead of the planned attack on Pearl Harbor

Nov 7, 1941: Admiral Harold Stark, US Chief of Naval Operations, writes in letter to fellow senior officer that ‘things seem to be moving steadily towards a crisis in the Pacific,’ adding ominously and presciently that ‘a month may see, literally, most anything’

Nov 8, 1941: Genda Minoru, one of the key planners of Pearl Harbor raid, now only weeks into the future, irons out last difficulties encountered by torpedo bombers training attack in shallow waters

Nov 9, 1941: US Marines are reportedly to be withdrawn from their exposed positions in Shanghai, lest they become hostages in Japanese-American hostilities

Nov 9, 1941: Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku puts in a the port of Kure in preparation for Pearl Harbor attack

Nov 10, 1941: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill says that ‘should the United States become involved in war with Japan the British declaration will follow within the hour’

Nov 10, 1941: The OD field jacket, also known as the ‘M1941’ or ‘Parsons Jacket’, is made standard issue in the US Army

Nov 11, 1941: Japanese Navy’s Third Submarine Squadron departs from Saeki Bay for Pearl Harbor

Nov 11, 1941: Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, following orders as he plans the attack on Pearl Harbor despite being against war with the United States, reveals his inner emotions in letter to fellow officer: “What a strange position I find myself in”

Nov 12, 1941: Former Marine First Lieutenant Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, pictured above, arrives in Rangoon as part of contingent of US pilots who will fight for China as the American Volunteer Group, later known as the “Flying Tigers”

Nov 12, 1941: Japanese troop movements reported along south Chinese coastline, strengthening suspicions of imminent offensive action

Categories: War

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