Eighty Years Ago: Asia Pacific, July 16 – 22, 1942

July 16, 1942: US Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher is put in command of Task Force 61, charged with commencing Allied offensive in the Solomons

July 17, 1942: Allied commanders issue movement orders for Operation Providence, the occupation of Buna in New Guinea

July 18, 1942: Japan’s Navy invites Nishina Yoshio, the father of modern physics in the Asian nation, to chair a committee that is to report on progress towards developing a nuclear bomb

July 19, 1942: US General Joseph Stilwell, above center, submits proposal to Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek for reconquest of Burma as necessary precondition for sending military aid to China

July 20, 1942: General Douglas MacArthur moves his headquarters to Brisbane, Australia

July 21, 1942: Japanese troops make landing and establish perimeter at Gona, New Guinea

July 22, 1942: 1st Marine Division departs from New Zealand for Solomons

Categories: War

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