Editing World War II (section)

=== Pacific (1942–1943) ===
[[File:Second world war asia 1937-1942 map en6.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Map of Japanese military advances through mid-1942]]

By the end of April 1942, Japan and its ally [[Thailand in World War II|Thailand]] had almost conquered [[Japanese invasion of Burma|Burma]], [[Malayan campaign|Malaya]], [[Dutch East Indies campaign|the Dutch East Indies]], [[Fall of Singapore|Singapore]], and [[Battle of Rabaul (1942)|Rabaul]], inflicting severe losses on Allied troops and taking a large number of prisoners.{{sfn|Beevor|2012|pp=247–267, 345}} Despite stubborn [[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)|resistance by Filipino and US forces]], the [[Commonwealth of the Philippines|Philippine Commonwealth]] was eventually captured in May 1942, forcing its government into exile.{{sfn|Lewis|1953|loc=p. 529 (Table 11)}} On 16 April, in Burma, 7,000 British soldiers were encircled by the Japanese 33rd Division during the [[Battle of Yenangyaung]] and rescued by the Chinese 38th Division.{{sfn|Slim|1956|pp=71–74}} Japanese forces also achieved naval victories in the [[Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse|South China Sea]], [[Battle of the Java Sea|Java Sea]], and [[Indian Ocean raid|Indian Ocean]],{{sfn|Grove|1995|p=362}} and [[Bombing of Darwin|bombed the Allied naval base]] at [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], Australia. In January 1942, the only Allied success against Japan was a Chinese [[Battle of Changsha (1941–1942)|victory at Changsha]].{{sfn|Ch'i|1992|p=158}} These easy victories over the unprepared US and European opponents left Japan overconfident, and overextended.{{sfn|Perez|1998|p=145}}

In early May 1942, Japan initiated operations to [[Operation Mo|capture Port Moresby]] by [[amphibious warfare|amphibious assault]] and thus sever communications and supply lines between the United States and Australia. The planned invasion was thwarted when an Allied task force, centred on two American fleet carriers, fought Japanese naval forces to a draw in the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]].{{sfn|Maddox|1992|pp=111–112}} Japan's next plan, motivated by the earlier [[Doolittle Raid]], was to seize [[Midway Atoll]] and lure American carriers into battle to be eliminated; as a diversion, Japan would also send forces to [[Aleutian Islands campaign|occupy the Aleutian Islands]] in Alaska.{{sfn|Salecker|2001|p=186}} In mid-May, Japan started the [[Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign]] in China, with the goal of inflicting retribution on the Chinese who aided the surviving American airmen in the Doolittle Raid by destroying Chinese air bases and fighting against the Chinese 23rd and 32nd Army Groups.<ref>{{Harvnb|Schoppa|2011|p=28}}.</ref><ref>[{{GBurl|id=lILltXBTo8oC|p=19}} Chevrier & Chomiczewski & Garrigue 2004], p. 19.</ref> In early June, Japan put its operations into action, but the Americans had broken [[Japanese naval codes]] in late May and were fully aware of the plans and order of battle, and used this knowledge to achieve a decisive [[Battle of Midway|victory at Midway]] over the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Ropp|2000|p=368}}.</ref>

With its capacity for aggressive action greatly diminished as a result of the Midway battle, Japan attempted to capture [[Port Moresby]] by an [[Kokoda Track campaign|overland campaign]] in the [[Territory of Papua]].{{sfn|Weinberg|2005|p=339}} The Americans planned a counterattack against Japanese positions in the southern [[Solomon Islands]], primarily [[Guadalcanal]], as a first step towards capturing [[Rabaul]], the main Japanese base in Southeast Asia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gilbert |first=Adrian |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwa0000gilb/page/259 |title=The Encyclopedia of Warfare: From Earliest Times to the Present Day |date=2003 |publisher=Globe Pequot |isbn=978-1-5922-8027-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwa0000gilb/page/259 259] |access-date=26 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719123035/https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwa0000gilb/page/259 |archive-date=19 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Both plans started in July, but by mid-September, the [[Guadalcanal campaign|Battle for Guadalcanal]] took priority for the Japanese, and troops in New Guinea were ordered to withdraw from the Port Moresby area to the [[Oro Province|northern part of the island]], where they faced Australian and United States troops in the [[Battle of Buna–Gona]].{{sfn|Swain|2001|p=197}} Guadalcanal soon became a focal point for both sides with heavy commitments of troops and ships in the battle for Guadalcanal. By the start of 1943, the Japanese were defeated on the island and [[Operation Ke|withdrew their troops]].{{sfn|Hane|2001|p=340}} In Burma, Commonwealth forces mounted two operations. The first was a disastrous [[Arakan campaign (1942–1943)|offensive into the Arakan region]] in late 1942 that forced a retreat back to India by May 1943.{{sfn|Marston|2005|p=111}} The second was the [[Operation Longcloth|insertion of irregular forces]] behind Japanese frontlines in February which, by the end of April, had achieved mixed results.{{sfn|Brayley|2002|p=9}}