Japanese Juggernaut

Wikimedia Commons

 

In early 1942, an Imperial Japanese military juggernaut rolled across the southern Pacific, sweeping Western imperialist powers away.

 

Here are three major reasons for Japanese success in early 1942:

1. Western powers were simultaneously weakened by civil war (China), independence movements (most prominently in India), the Great Depression (Western Europe) and direct attack from Nazi Germany (France & Netherlands).
2. Japan promised independence for Western-colonized countries (Burma, Malaya and the Philippines).
3. Well-trained, experienced and highly motivated Japanese forces were masterful in the element of surprise. For example, within a time frame of several hours, Japan attacked the Malay peninsula, Pearl Harbor, Guam and Philippines.

However, by mid-1942, a turning point at the Battle of Midway curtailed its offensive campaign and Japan spent the remaining three years of the war defending the shrinking perimeter of its empire.