The Guadalcanal Landings
As the largest invasion fleet assembled so far in the war approached Guadalcanal to begin the landing operations, the first order of business for VAdm Frank J. Fletcher’s Task Force 61 was to clear the […]
invasion
The Invasion of Madagascar
Plans to take the Vichy French island of Madagascar, codenamed Operation Ironclad, had been laid even before the Japanese fleet made their incursion into the Indian Ocean in April 1942. The fear was that the […]
The Fall of Rabaul
As the invasions of the Philippines and Malaya were proceeding according to schedule, the Japanese began the second phase of their offensive – this time, taking Allied positions to the east. Amongst the most important […]
The Invasion of Malaya
The jewel of the British Empire in Asia was the island city-state of Singapore, which was strategically located at the tip of the Malay Peninsula. The city controlled the sea routes between the Indian Ocean […]
The Fall of Hong Kong
One of the few remaining ports on the Chinese coast that was not under the control of the Japanese was the British colony of Hong Kong. Strategically located at the mouth of the Pearl River, […]
The Invasion of Canton
Although the Japanese had successfully eliminated most Chinese air opposition in Southern China during the autumn of 1937, shipments of new aircraft from foreign partners continued to arrive in the area. American, British, German and […]