Eighty Years Ago: Asia Pacific, Nov 20 – 26, 1941

Nov 20, 1941: As Japan completes preparations for attack on western possessions in the Asia Pacific, its diplomats send a final ultimatum to Washington calling for an end of assistance to China in return for a Japanese pledge not to expand into Southeast Asia

Nov 21, 1941: General Douglas MacArthur, commander of US Army Forces in the Far East, receives permission from Washington to prepare a plan for the defense of the Philippines against Japanese invasion that aims at stopping the enemy on the beaches, instead of focusing all his forces on the Manila area

Nov 22, 1941: Admiral Nagumo Chuichi, commander of the Japanese navy’s main carrier battle group, summons his staff for a briefing on all known details about the targets present in Pearl Harbor

Nov 22, 1941: Chinese government asks for US help in boosting defenses against chemical warfare, amid allegations of recent Japanese use of gas at the front

Nov 23, 1941: Japanese pilots who are to take part in the Pearl Harbor attack are informed about their mission in detail

Nov 24, 1941: British forces in Malaya prepare ‘Matador’, a secret plan to enter Thailand in case of Japanese troop landings in the independent kingdom

Nov 25, 1941: General Douglas MacArthur tells General Jonathan Wainwright, responsible for the defense of the northern part of the Philippine main island of Luzon, that he has months to prepare since a Japanese invasion will probably not happen until the spring of 1942

Nov 26, 1941: Japanese strike force consisting of six aircraft carriers depart from Hittokapu Bay in the Kurile Islands, heading for Pearl Harbor

Categories: War

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