HIST 1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: 81St (West Africa) Division
Document Summary
Agenda: background: japan to 1941, war in pacific: the allies v. japan, 1941-44, the middle east and north africa, defeat of japan & the dawn of the nuclear age. Had shaken off colonial yoke and become a major regional power. Needed natural resources; wanted to dominate entire region. Major threats to their agenda: china, ussr, us, great britain. Fear of the great powers who were in the region (ussr, us, great britain) Us already arming; strike now before they are battle-ready. August 1941, after japan seizes part of indochina, us freezes japanese assets and cuts off oil supplies. But the two sides are still in talks when japan decides to attack . Also an attack on us-held philippines (major losses for us) Through major battle successes (e. g. leyte gulf, the philippines) in 1943-44, the us started the task of closing in on japan. Major toll taken on allied forces and civilians.
