Eighty Years Ago: Asia Pacific, Jan 22 – 28, 1942

Jan 22, 1942: On Malay peninsula, battle of Muar River ends in Japanese victory

Jan 23, 1942: US Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, seen above with Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek and China’s First Lady Song Meiling, accepts assignment as Chiang’s Allied chief of staff and main US military representative in the China theater

Japanese forces land on New Britain and secure the port of Rabaul after a brief battle with Australian forces, establishing a foothold in the South Pacific

Jan 24, 1942: Japanese troops advance through burning oil fields at Balikpapan in Dutch East Indies, seeking to gain control of the strategic city

Jan 25, 1942: Thai Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram declares war on the United States and Britain

Jan 26, 1942: Elderly British Vildebeest biplanes taking off from Singapore attack Japanese landing force in eastern Malaya. Half of the aircraft are lost in the risky daylight operation

Jan 27, 1942: Nearly two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, salvage operations are still taking place

Jan 28, 1942: Australian troops in bayonet charge, clearing Japanese forces from rubber plantation at Simpang Rengam on the Malay peninsula

Categories: War

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