July 31, 1941: US gunboat Tutuila is damaged by Japanese bombs during air raid of China’s wartime capital Chongqing Aug 1, 1941: 20th Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force is set up in Port Moresby, New Guinea, as a reconnaissance unit Aug 2, 1941: The new Nakajima Ki-43-I Hayabusa single-engine fighter begins arriving at…
July 24, 1941: US President Franklin D. Roosevelt tells Japanese Ambassador Nomura Kichisaburo that Japan’s move into French Indochina has created “an exceedingly serious problem for the United States” July 25, 1941: US President Franklin D. Roosevelt freezes all Japanese assets in the United States, essentially bringing bilateral trade to a halt July 26, 1941:…
July 17, 1941: US Navy, fearing Japanese aggression, starts laying mines in Manila Bay July 18, 1941: Japanese Admiral Toyoda Teijiro is made foreign minister in new Cabinet July 19, 1941: China’s leader Chiang Kai-shek received petition to release Zhang Xueliang, a Chinese warlord held in house arrest since late 1936 July 20, 1941: American…
July 10, 1941: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing is commissioned in San Diego, California July 11, 1941: Japan says it would welcome a shift of the US Navy from the Pacific to the Atlantic, claiming it would help reduce tensions July 12, 1941: Japan issues ultimatum to Vichy France, demanding a series of air and naval…
July 3, 1941: Japan says Chinese army has lost over 40,000 soldiers during two months of fighting in Shanxi and Henan provinces July 4, 1941: China says it is not seeing any signs that the Japanese army is moving troops to the north in preparation of attack on Soviet Union July 5, 1941: Japan says…
June 26, 1941: Japanese War Minister Tojo Hideki urges munitions industry to redouble efforts amid tense international situation and prospect of a global war June 27, 1941: As German leaders headed by Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop urge Japan to enter into war against the Soviet Union, Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka Yosuke stalls for time,…
June 19, 1941: Wang Jingwei, head of Japanese-backed puppet regime in eastern China, visits the Meiji shrine in Tokyo, in honor of the Meiji emperor who oversaw the modernization of Japan June 20, 1941: United States Army Air Forces is formed as successor to United States Army Air Corps June 21, 1941: Japanese Army spokesman…
June 18, 1941: Wang Jingwei, leader of East Chinese puppet regime, arrives in Tokyo June 12, 1941: British gunboat Ladybird, known for gunfight with Japanese on Yangtze River in 1937, is reported sunk off North Africa’s coast June 13, 1941: Japanese civilian carrier Dai Nippon Airlines reported to be considering seaplane base in French…
June 5, 1941: American aviation hero Charles Lindbergh, seen here during visit to Germany, is unwittingly used in war in China as Japanese planes drop leaflets over Chinese capital of Chongqing quoting his antiwar statements, suggesting more active US help is not to be expected June 6, 1941: In astonishing case of self-criticism, Tokyo-based newspaper…
May 29, 1941: China’s First Lady Song Meiling thanks US for relief fund drive, hailing the “unprecedented scale of the present American movement of assistance for China” May 30, 1941: Japan reaffirms commitment to Axis alliance with Germany and Italy May 31, 1941: United States pledges to take steps after the war to give up…
