December The 12th

1937 the U.S. Naval Gunboat USS Panay Was Sailing Up the Yangtze River

The Panay Was a Flat-Bottomed Vessel Built in Shanghai

specifically for operating on the Great River

Which at over 3,000 miles long Was the longest in Asia and stretched deep into China

Both Great Britain and The United States had Invested Heavily in China for Many Years

Exploiting its Resources Including its Greatest of All, it's hard-working and cheaply employed People

Indeed many Cities in China, like the capital of Nanking had foreign districts built along the same lines of suburbs in

Washington or London

However China was not a Unified country and had been in the grips of an ideological power struggle since

1927 fought between the government and the communist party of China

Japan also occupied parts of the country but looked to exploit the civil war to gain even more

Territory in Manchuria and so in 1931

Manufactured a terrorist attack against a Japanese railway line

This was then used as a precursor for an invasion which saw China surrender Manchuria to Japan

But skirmishes continued until in the summer of 1937, Japan finally launched a full-scale invasion

Almost medieval acts of brutality carried out against the Chinese People by Japanese soldiers

With looting rape and mass murder being not only Commonplace, but actually encouraged by the Japanese leadership in

one shocking incident two Japanese officers held the competition to see who could decapitate

100 People with a Samurai sword The fastest and the incident was well publicized in Japan

It's also been remembered as the rape of Nanking

With all this happening in China both Britain and the US send their Navies up the Yangtze to protect their respective People's and Property

but to remain a Neutral Force in the fighting on land

By December 1937 The Japanese were encroaching on Nanking itself Where a large Number of Americans Lived and Worked and

So the USS Panay Was instructed to begin evacuating them on December the 11th

The Skies were abuzz with Japanese Warplanes and so The Americans Adorned a Vessel with large us flags to distinguish them from chinese Vessels

Early The Next morning the British Gunboat HMS Ladybird Was Shelled By Japanese Forces on shore

But Managed to escape serious damage

Later The USS Panay found itself attracting Unwanted Attention From 12 Japanese Planes and

Then Later a Japanese Gunboat

despite the large American Flags The Japanese Planes Attacked The American Gunboat and three Nearby tankers with Bombs and machine-gun fire

Over 50 Civilians and Crew on Board were wounded and Then Rescued by HMS Lady Bird and

HMS Bee as the Panay Sank While three Americans Charles L. Esminger Carl H. Carlson and

Edgar G. Hulsebus were Killed in the Attack Along with an Italian reporter

They Would be the first Americans to die in battle between the forces of the Imperial Japanese and the United States of America

Almost Exactly four Years Before The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor

The scope of Japanese Nationalism Was Realized at The Genre Fortress Where from

1936 a Japanese doctor Named Shirō Ishii Began a Series of gruesome Medical Experiments on Human Beings

to develop biological and chemical Weapons for the Japanese Army

He had Been inspired by research carried out in Europe and had convinced The Japanese emperor to sanctioned Japan's own Research

Which he believed Would allow Japan to kill large Numbers of Enemy Forces quickly

something The Japanese Needed Desperately if They had plans to face the numerically superior Chinese or Soviet Union

When the Fortress Was attacked By resistant Fighters a Year Later he relocated his operation to Pingfang where the now notorious unit

731 was established

There Thousands of Chinese Civilians and Later Allied POWs were used in his nightmarish medical Experiments to develop biological

and Chemical Weapons as Well As Carry Out Experimental Surgeries

Unit 731 also trialed is biological Weapons Against Chinese Populations

Men Women Children animals and Even newborn infants were all used By Shirō Ishii's team to carry Out Their research

Throughout The 1930s

Japanese troops in Manchuria Fought a Series of One-Off Skirmishes with Chinese troops

culminating in full-scale War erupting Again on July The 7th 1937

After Years Of Fighting One Another The two sides of the Chinese Civil war the

Kuomintang and The Communists Called a ceasefire and United Against The Japanese

who took the Kuomintang's capital City of Nanking in December 1937

The Brutality of Japanese Forces Against The Chinese Coupled with the attacks on the American Vessel USS Panay and US

Delegates in Nanking Turned The United States Firmly against Japan

But US President Franklin Roosevelt Believed that the US Was more Likely to get embroiled in war in europe Than the far East

Thus While he authorized cash Payments to the Chinese to fund Their war efforts against the Japanese and

Even Allowed American Pilots to fight for the Chinese air force as Part of The famous Flying Tigers unit

He remained more focused on preparing to confront Hitler

This Played Into Japan's Hands As They continued Their Expansion into China and Southeast Asia

But and the continuing pressure from his Military Commanders

Roosevelt did authorize Increasingly Tougher restrictions on trade with Japan in an effort to punish them for their actions in China Beginning in

1938

The Japanese Themselves also Viewed War with America as Unlikely and were more Concerned with another conflict Breaking Out with the Soviet Union

North of Their Manchurian conquests

But The American embargoes did hurt them and caused Alarm in the Japanese leadership

nevertheless in September 1940 a Week before Japan Joined The Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy

Japanese Troops Entered French Indochina

Now Vietnam

Escalating What the US and UK saw As a Growing Crisis in Asia at

First The Japanese Only Used Indochina as a base for troops in the event of a War with the Soviet Union

But When Hitler Invaded the Soviet Union in 1941

Japan Occupied The rest of the Country and would continue to do so Until 1945

After Japanese Troops Entered French Indochina the US

Placed Their Toughest Sanctions Yet on Japan By embargoing Vital Scrap Metal Exports and Borrowing Japanese Ships from using the Panama Canal

Tensions Between Both Sides rose Throughout 1941 Leading to a series of negotiations to bring about a Peaceful Solution

Birds The Japanese Military especially The Navy Viewed war with the US as inevitable

The Japanese had by That time Plans to invade British, Dutch and French possessions Deeper Into Southern Asia as

Part of Its Plans Under its Greater East Asia Co-prosperity sphere concept Such as Brunei and The Dutch East Indies

But This Expansion Would Leave them vulnerable to attack from the US based in the Philippines Should They decide to interfere

Therefore They Began to draw Up plans for a decisive Attack on the US navy in an effort to destroy It before it could mobilize

As

Early As 1940 The Japanese Began theorizing Plans for an Attack on Hawaii and the Philippines

By April 1941 The Japanese Began training for an Attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in

What they had dubbed operation Zet Which was the brainchild of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

The Pilots trained to attack ships in Pearl Harbor Using air Launch Torpedoes

but The problem was that these Weapons tended to dive Deeper Than The shallow Waters of the Harbor allowed

The Japanese came Up with a cunning Solution Wooden fins are Forced the torpedo to rise Up immediately after hitting the Water on

November 26 1941 The japanese Fleet Set sail For hawaii and a Strict Radio Silence

at The time both the US and Washington were still negotiating But Roosevelt's Government had by then Began Demanding Japan

Withdrew From China Altogether

something Totally Unthinkable to the Japanese leadership

The Fleet comprised of six Aircraft Carriers With

359 fighters and Bombers

Making It The Most powerful Naval Aviation Force in History at That time on

December The 1st Yamamoto Was Informed that War with the Dutch, US, and UK, had Been authorized by the Japanese leadership

But Should It Appear That Both Sides were about to reach an amicable solution prior to december the 7th

Then He Should authorize to pull the Fleet back and Cancel The Attack

Endowed with intelligent photographs of Pearl Harbor Taken By a Japanese Spy aboard a Sightseeing Aircraft

Yamamoto made His final preparations on december the 6th and with no sign of a Peaceful Solution

The This morning The Aircraft took off from Their Carriers

The air Attack Was preceded By a Group of Japanese Midget Submarines That Attempted to sneak into the harbor

But One of them Was attacked and Sunk by the destroyer USS

Ward, Which fired The first American Shots of The Pacific theater of World War 2

This Should Have Alerted The Americans to an Attack but the information did Not Reach The US Admiralty in time

Meanwhile an American Radar Station Spotted The Formation of Japanese Aircraft But Was told That It Was a Flight of B-17s

arriving From Mainland USA and so no action was taken

At Pearl Harbor The Sailors were waking Up and preparing for a routine Sunday with Naval Bands Playing Songs

While the Skies Began to fill with Aircraft

The Americans were Taken completely By surprise and the Bands were still playing as the first bombs and torpedoes Struck The ships

During The Course of the Attack the Japanese Damaged or Sank eight American Battleships

Three Cruisers Three Destroyers an Anti-Aircraft Training Ship and a Minelayer a

Number of Nearby US Army Airfields were also hit in air raids

The Aircraft base There had Been Bunched together on the ground to make It easier to guard them against possible sabotage

But all This did Was Increased The damage caused by The bombs as They Landed Amongst them in

All the US Lost

2403 service personnel in the Course of the Attack While over a Thousand more Was Seriously Wounded

The damage could have Been Greater had Yamamoto Not decided to cancel a follow-up Attack Because They had lost The element of surprise

The Japanese Lost 29 Aircraft and five Midget Submarines That Attempted to participate in the Attack

All in all 64 Japanese were Killed While one Japanese Navy officer Kazuo Sakamaki Was captured alive

After His submarine was Grounded Becoming The first Japanese Prisoner of War Taken by The Americans

Crucially However and Almost Purely By Chance The US Navy's Aircraft Carriers were not present at the harbour and thus Survived Unscathed

The Next day president Roosevelt met with the us congress to ask them to vote on declaring war on Japan

The Vote Was almost Unanimously in favor of war Say For One objection By representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana

She told congress as a Woman I cannot Go to war and I refuse to send anyone else

In his speech Roosevelt Described december the 7th as a date Which Would live in Infamy

Less Than Four Days After Pearl Harbor Was Attacked

Adolf Hitler acting on His own Authority and Without Consulting his staff

Ordered His government to declare war on the US

in support of Japan and in respond to what he viewed as the USA violating its Neutrality By Supporting Britain

For The United States Of America The Second World war had begun

Admiral Yamamoto predicted That After The opening of Hostilities with the USA

Japan Would Have six months with Which to decisively Defeat the US

In the pacific to such an Extent that Washington Would have to sue for peace

Which would effectively Surrender The Pacific and Asia to Tokyo

Phew in Japan Truly Believes that an Invasion of The us Mainland Was a Possibility Given

How over stretched Japan Was Already With Its war

Which Was primarily aimed at British and Dutch Empire territories with the grand prize being Australia itself

The Reason he gave six months Was Because that was how long he predicted it would take

For The Mighty US Industrial complex to fully Gear Up for war

After Which Japan Could Not hope to match American war production

The Japanese Therefore Wasted Little time and Began Their own form of Blitzkrieg in the east

Within 24 Hours of The Attack on Pearl Harbor

Japanese Troops had Attacked British Forces in Malaya and Hong Kong and

American Forces on the Philippines on

December The 10th two British Battle Cruisers HMS Prince of Wales and

HMS Repulse

Sailed to Attack The Japanese but Was sunk By Japanese Aircraft

This Attack Finally Convinced The World's Navies

That Aircraft Were now displacing surface Vessels as The most powerful Weapons of Naval warfare

The Battle for the Philippines saw some of Japan's most Experienced soldiers Pitted Against The numerically Superior

Bert's Mixed Bag of Defenders Who Varied from US regular Forces down to police officers and Volunteers

The Japanese Quickly overrun them despite the Valiant defense

But Pockets of stone American resistance Would continue in the Bataan peninsula

Until May the Following Year by Which time these men had become Famously Known as the Battling Bastards of Bataan

Ultimately Defeated The American and Filipino Fighters Then Found Themselves facing Horror of The Bataan Death March

Which Saw Nearly 80,000 exhausted and Wounded men Marched 70 miles into Captivity if

Any of them Became Too Weak to walk They were Bayoneted by Their captors and left to die

Hong Kong fell on Christmas day 1941

Like in China the population found Themselves The subject of rape and Murder at The Hands of the Japanese

especially Those of European Origin a

Few Weeks Later The Japanese attacked the Solomon Islands Beginning One of The most Bitter Campaigns of The war

Holding the Solomon Islands Allowed The Japanese to attack shipping Carrying Vital War Supplies from the US To Australia and New Zealand

Australia Was Now Seriously Under Threat from Attack by the Japanese

Which was Realized on March The 3rd

1942 When Japanese Planes Attacked British and Australian Planes a Broome in Western Australia on February

the 8th

1942 Japanese troops Launched Their offensive against British Singapore

Despite a Staunch defense the Garrison Was Forced to surrender a Little Over a Week later

Like in Hong Kong the population Was subject to shocking Brutality

Including One incident That Saw Doctors Nurses and Patients Of a Hospital Bayoneted

a

Month Later Saw The Start of The Burma campaign with the Japanese aim of securing the Major Seaport of Rangoon and

close Land Supply Routes to the Chinese

The Japanese were Joined in Their effort By Indian and Burmese Nationalist Armies Who wanted to remove the British from their countries an

Army From Thailand also Supported The Japanese but It was Here where their Advance Would Finally start to bog down

The dense Jungle and intense weather made fighting Here bitter Painful and Slow and

Despite Their best efforts The Japanese Failed to break the allied Defence