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Period: to
WWII
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Battle of Wake Island Begins
Wake Island is an island north of the Marshall Islands that were occupied by Japan and east of Guam. Tensions rose between Japan and the U.S, in the late 1930's so the U.S. began work on an air base in 1941. Because of the island's great location, on this day, Japan attacked it in order to gain control. The Americans were outnumbered two to one and therefore lost the battle and the island. The battle ended on December 23. -
Battle of Hong Kong Begins
On this day, Japanese troops were deployed on Hong Kong and attempted to take it over. Hong Kong was a British colony. A week of air raids was followed by Japanese envoys coming to visit Sir Mark Young, governor of Hong Kong. He refused to surrender and the Japanese responded by murdering all the soldiers and not taking any prisoners. Britain finally surrendered on Christmas day. -
Battle of the Coral Sea Begins
On this day, the Japanese planned to invade Port Moresby in order to have control of the Coral Sea. However, the Allies found out the Japanese plans and when the Japanese came into range, the American planes opened fire. Both sides lost planes but the Japanese lost too many because by the end of the battle, they did not have enough planes to actually raid Port Moresby. They also ended up having less troops and planes available for the Battle of Midway. This resulted in an American victory. -
Battle of the Bismarck Sea Begins
On this day, American and Australian planes began to attack a group of Japanese ships in the Bismarck Sea. These ships had been trasnporting reinforcements, fuel, and supplies to Lae and Salamaua in New Guinea to keep from losing the island. More than 3000 Japanese troops drowned and the supplies went down with them. -
Battle of Kwajalein Begins
On this day, American Marine and Army troops began their attack on the Kwajalein Atoll, which was a ring shaped coral formation. This was where Japan had their outer defensive perimeter, which included Island Kwajalein and its two neighboring islets, Roi and Namur. The capture of this territory would allow for the American forces to attack the other islands and continue to head toward the Philippines and Japan.
