Wake Island Walls Against Japanese Onslaught In 1941 42
AP recounts Wake Island defense during the onset of World War II. A small Marine garrison, fewer than 400 personnel, held against overwhelming Japanese air and naval power for 14 benumbed days. Despite heavy bombardment and loss of most installations, the defenders sank a light cruiser and a destroyer, damaged ships, and shot down several planes before the island fell.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
AP News
Wake Island
Alamo
Wake
Guam
Naval
Navy Medical Corps
Aew
Junker
Fght
Naval Headquarters
Dark Day Heroes Top U S War Heroes
AP News profiles three American heroes from early 1942. One officer died blasting the Japanese battleship Haruna. His torpedo boats engaged warships and then ferried General Douglas MacArthur to safety in the Philippines.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
U. S
Gen
Douglas MacArthur
Philippines
Subic Bay
U S Defense Of Philippines Was Heroic But Hopeless From Start
AP News features writer Robert E. Johnson recounts the Philippine defense after Pearl Harbor, noting a courageous but doomed stand. General MacArthur withdraws to Australia as Wainwright assumes command on Bataan, with Corregidor holding briefly amid relentless Japanese pressure and dwindling allied support.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
U.S
Philippines
Robert E. Johnson
Pearl Harbor
Hawaii
MacArthur
Luzon
Manila
Aparri
Linfayen Gulf
Ensrole
U. S
Australia
Jonathan Wainwright
Bataan
Wainwright
Ma‘laya
Java
Corregidor
Midway Held Despite Heavy Attacks in 1942
AP News recounts Midway Islands standing firm through multiple Japanese bombardments in 1942. Marines and artillery held near shore as cruisers and destroyers engaged at close range, with three enemy hits before the ships withdrew. commendations awarded to Simard and Shannon for defense. The piece notes Midway’s strategic role and a decisive June confrontation where the U S Navy remained ready and the flag stayed up.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Midway
Cyril I. Simard
Naval Air Station
Harold D. Shannon
Marine Defense Battalion
Adm
Chester W. Nimitz
U. S. Navy
Singapore Loss A Blow to Britain in 1942 Fall
The fall of Singapore on February 15 1942 marked a major setback for Britain and the Allied effort. Japan seized a vast naval base, enabling warships to threaten routes from the Indian Ocean and hindering supply lines to China while reducing Allied reach in the Pacific.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Singapore
Britain
Dunkerque
Easth Indies
Indian Ocean
India
Australia
Ing
Hurma
China
Malta
U. S
Pearl Harbor
United Nations
Japanese Won Low-Priced Victories
Japanese achieved early victories in the Pacific with surprisingly little manpower. Despite a 1942 start estimate of 3,000,000 in the Army, about 460,000 were used in the Pacific drive. In the Philippines they faced stronger resistance but still outnumbered Allied troops by over three to one.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pacific
Philippines
Conquests Hit Source of U S War Goods
The sweep across the Pacific in early 1942 by Japan cut off key U S war material sources. Abaca or Manila hemp, coconut oil, natural rubber from Malaya and the Indies, quinine from Java, raw sulk, tapioca, sisal and other items vanished from supply. The U S launched a vast synthetic rubber program, grew hemp domestically, found quinine from South America, and shifted to brine and other substitutes. Nylon production rose to replace silk, and civilians saved fats after coconut oil losses.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Nuipon
Pacific
Philippines
U. S
Manila
America
Malaya
Netherlands East Indies
Java
Japan
Rise of Nippon’s Conquest Across Pacific in WWII Blitz
Allied forces faced rapid Japanese advances from December 1941 through August 1942 across Thailand Malaya Hong Kong Philippines Wake Burma Netherlands East Indies and New Guinea. The article traces key battles and sieges including Singapore Hong Kong the Philippines Bataan Corregidor and Guadalcanal as U S and Allied forces massed to halt the Rising Sun and begin counteroffensives.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Guinea
Richard Tompkins
Pearl Harbor
Philippines
Dutch East Indies
Solomons
Wake
Guam
Hong Kong
Thailand
Shanghai
Nippon
Bangkok
Malaya
Dee
Kota Bharu
Singapore
Kuala Lumpur
Federated Malay States
Johore Strait
Tatas
Lingayen Bay
Manila
Douglas MacArthur
MacArthur
Bataan
Corregidor
Australia
Jonathan Wainwright
U. S
Cupy
Burma
Lashio
Joseph Stilwell
China
Netherlands East Indies
Bali
Timor
Java
Batavia
Buna
Port Moresby
Milne Bay
Owen Stanley
Japanese War Commanders Linked to Pearl Harbor Drive
Field Marshal Count Julih Terauchi became commander in chief of Japanese land forces in the southwestern Pacific soon after Pearl Harbor. He led drives in Burma Malaya and the Philippines. Admiral Kroku Yamamoto was blamed for Pearl Harbor. They earned a rare Emperor’s citation after Corregidor fell.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Count Julih Terauchi
Pacific
Pearl Harbor
Burma
Malaya
Philippines
Kroku Yamamoto
Corregidor
Terauchi
Also Mentioned on This Page
Pacific Alamo
Hirohito Carved
Dark-Day Heroes
Colin Kelly
John D. Bulkeley
Arthur Wermuth
Emy
Anese
Mariveles
Bataaneninsula
Arregidor Fortress
Sav
Camp O'Donnell
Midway Islands
Marine
Navy
Hono-lulu
Aleutians
Suematra
Solomon Islands
Tulagi
Florida Island
Gilbert Islands
Marshalls
Threa Islands
Kiska
Attu
Agattu
Alaska
Australalia
United States
Guadalcanal
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