Japan timeline

  • First Battle of Guam

    The First Battle of Guam, was an engagement during the Pacific War in World War II, and took place on December 8, 1941 on Guam in the Mariana... Read more

  • Japanese Forces Invade Malaya

    Air Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham, commanding officer of the British Forces in the Far East, fearing that the Japanese Fleet was trying to... Read more

  • Battle of Jitra

    The Battle of Jitra was a major engagement fought between the invading Japanese and Allied forces in Malaya. The battle lasted from 11 to 13... Read more

  • Third Battle of Changsha

    With 120,000 soldiers organized in four divisions, the Japanese attempted a third attack on the Chinese city of Changsha. 300,000 men defended the... Read more

  • Battle of Kampar

    The Battle of Kampar was an engagement of World War II between the 11th Indian Infantry Division and the Japanese 5th Division. The battle lasted... Read more

  • Battle of Slim River

    The Battle of Slim River occurred during the Malayan campaign in January 1942 between the Imperial Japanese Army and the British Indian Army on the... Read more

  • Battle of Manado

    The unit of Compagnie Menado, which numbered only 188 men under Captain W.F.J. Kroon and Landstorm Compagnie with its 200 troops under 1st... Read more

  • Battle of Tarakan (1942)

    The Battle of Tarakan took place on January 11–12, 1942. Even though Tarakan was only a small marshy island at northeastern Borneo in the... Read more

  • Battle of Muar Begins

    The Battle of Muar was the last major battle of the Malayan campaign. It took place from 14–22 January 1942 around Gemensah Bridge and on the Muar... Read more

  • Battle of Gemas

    The Battle of Gemas—part of the wider Battle of Muar—during the invasion of Malaya in the Pacific Campaign of the Second World War. The action... Read more

  • Parit Sulong Massacre

    On January 23, 1942, the Parit Sulong Massacre was committed against Allied soldiers by members of the Imperial Guards Division of the Imperial... Read more

  • Battle of Balikpapan (1942)

    While the Japanese invasion force was landing at Balikpapan, on the early morning of January 24, at around 02:45, the Allied (ABDACOM's) 59th US... Read more

  • Battle of Rabaul (1942)

    The Battle of Rabaul (Operation R), on the island of New Britain, in the Australian Territory of New Guinea, in January and February 1942,... Read more

  • Battle of Ambon

    From 6 January onwards, Ambon was attacked by Japanese aircraft. Allied aircraft made some sorties against the approaching Japanese fleet, with... Read more

  • Battle of Makassar Strait

    The Battle of Makassar Strait, also known as the Action of Madura Strait, the Action North of Lombok Strait and the Battle of the Flores Sea, was a... Read more

  • Battle of Sarimbun Beach

    The Battle of Sarimbun Beach was the first stage of the Japanese assault on Singapore in February 1942, during World War II. Sarimbun, in the west... Read more

  • Battle of Kranji

    The Battle of Kranji was the second stage of the Japanese plan for the invasion of Singapore during the Second World War. On 9 February 1942 the... Read more

  • Zhao Shangzhi, Commander of the Northeast Anti-Japan United Army, Captured by Japanese Military Police

    As of September 1938, the number of insurgents had dwindled to an estimated 10,000 combatants as a result of years of fighting and privation. The... Read more

  • Battle of Palembang

    The Battle of Palembang was a battle of the Pacific theatre of World War II. It occurred near Palembang, on Sumatra, on 13–15 February 1942. The... Read more

  • Alexandra Hospital Massacre

    At about 1.00pm on 14 February Japanese soldiers advanced towards the Alexandra Barracks Hospital. A British lieutenant, acting as an envoy with a... Read more

  • Singapore Falls to Japanese Occupation

    By the morning of Chinese New Year, 15 February, the Japanese had broken through the last line of defence and the Allies were running out of food... Read more

  • Battle of Badung Strait

    The Battle of Badung Strait was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 19–20 February 1942 in Badung Strait... Read more

  • Japanese Forces Invade Portuguese Timor

    During the night of 19–20 February, 1,500 troops from the Imperial Japanese Army's 228th Regimental Group, 38th Division, XVI Army, under the... Read more

  • Battle of the Java Sea

    The Battle of the Java Sea was a major naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat at the hand... Read more

  • Battle of Sunda Strait

    The Battle of Sunda Strait was a naval battle which occurred during World War II. On the night of February 28 – March 1, 1942, the United States... Read more