| Maps: World War II in the Pacific |
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Japanese Imperial Reach
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As the twentieth century dawns, Japan begins to expand its imperial reach, responding to a perceived threat from expanding western nations, such as Russia and Britain.
Japan seizes Korea and much of Manchuria in 1905, after defeating Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. In 1931, Japan invades and claims the rest of Manchuria.
Japan invades China in 1937, marching into French Indochina by 1940. In Europe, Adolf Hitler's armies now occupy much of central Europe, including France. The world is at war.
In a surprise attack on December 7, 1941, Japan devastates much of the U.S. Navy's Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i. The United States declares war on Japan. By 1942, at the height of its wartime success, Japan will have massed over five million troops, expanding its empire to include the Philippines and much of the Southwest Pacific.
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