Eighty Years Ago: Asia Pacific, March 28 – April 3, 1940

March 28, 1940: Robert Craigie, London’s ambassador to Tokyo, says Britain and Japan are both maritime powers on the fringes of great continents and share an interest ‘in lasting peace’

March 29, 1940: US Navy prepares major maneuvers near Hawaii

March 30, 1940: Chinese politician Wang Jingwei, center, is inaugurated as head of pro-Japanese regime in the capital of Nanjing

March 31, 1940: US government refuses to recognize new Chinese regime set up by pro-Japanese collaborationist politician Wang Jingwei

April 1, 1940: Japan to reorganize its army with greater emphasis on mechanization. Reform expected to be completed by 1945

April 2, 1940: US fleet departs from West Coast for major maneuvers in Hawaiian waters

April 3, 1940: Chinese Air Force says it has destroyed large number of planes in raid on major Japanese air base in Shanxi province

Categories: War

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