Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • With war raging both in Europe and in China,  

  • prying eyes around the world eagerly followed  the events that were unfolding in front of them.  

  • In the US in particular, many still advocated  for anti-war sentiment, but President Franklin  

  • Delano Roosevelt had decided that he was not  going to tolerate anymore the aggressions of  

  • the Japanese or the Germans. In 1941, he would  finally draw a line to stop Japan that would  

  • surely risk war. And although FDR didn't want to  fight against the Japanese, or at least not yet,  

  • this was a risk worth taking for the preservation  of democracy around the world; a risk that would  

  • inevitably ignite war in the Pacific. Welcome  to our final prelude of the Pacific War,  

  • as the growing tensions between the US and Japan  eventually ended in another act of aggression.

  • And if you are interested in the history of the  World Wars, you have to check out the Battlefields  

  • of the World Wars series on the sponsors of  today's video MagellanTV, which is our most loyal  

  • partner and the Documentary platform of choice of  the Kings and Generals team. This 8-episode series  

  • covers 8 most decisive battles of the world warsincluding Verdun, Bulge, and Dieppe with a heavy  

  • emphasis on tactics and technology. Our favorite  documentary in the series called Angels of Victory  

  • talks about the events of the D-Day. You can  join us and watch this documentary by using our  

  • link in the description! MagellanTV has more than  3000 documentaries waiting for you, and hundreds  

  • of them are on the history of various eras. New  ones are added weekly and all of them are in 4k  

  • and available on most devices, including phones  and pcs. If you are a history fan or have friends  

  • and loved ones who are, MagellanTV subscription  is a great, thoughtful gift. MagellanTV has an  

  • exclusive holiday offer for our viewers: buy oneget one free gift card for an annual membership  

  • by clicking on the link in the descriptionYou won't regret itMagellanTV is great!

  • It is mid-1940, and Great Britain and China  stand alone against the full might of Japan  

  • and the Axis. In Asia, the now four-year-long  conflict was completely depleting the resources  

  • of the Japanese Empire, even though Japan already  relied on other countries for the resources needed  

  • for its war material. The Americans alone provided  them with 54.4% of their weapons and supplies,  

  • 76% of their aircraft, 59.7% of their  scrap iron, 60.5% of their petroleum,  

  • and all of Japan's lubricating oil, machine toolsspecial steel, and high-test aircraft petrol.  

  • Furthermore, Communist and Nationalist  guerrillas constantly harassed Japanese troops  

  • and sabotaged their infrastructure in occupied  territories, and with each passing campaign, more  

  • and more soldiers were left behind to join these  underground groups. The Communists in particular  

  • were very capable of waging guerrilla warfare, as  they had been doing so since the last two decades,  

  • and their experience allowed them to become ever  more influential in the regions they defended,  

  • something that was not seen very fondly by  their Nationalist allies. To fight against these  

  • guerrillas, the Japanese would resort to puppet  units of the new Reorganized National Government  

  • of the Republic of China, uniting all previous  collaborationist states under Wang Jingwei's  

  • central government. But the Red Army would also  prove that it was capable of executing important  

  • military operations, with Peng Dehuai's Hundred  Regiments Offensive being launched in late August.  

  • Using a total of 400000 soldiers, albeit poorly  armed and equipped, over 115 regiments of the  

  • Eighth Route Army, commanded by Zhu  De, would attack railways and roads  

  • and would target isolated Japanese strongpoints  and forts all along with northern China

  • The offensive would be very successful, inflicting  more than 20000 casualties, taking almost 3000  

  • strongholds, sabotaging many bridges , mines , and  tunnels , and destroying large tracts of railways.  

  • The operation was controversial as Peng Dehuai  initiated it without authorization from Mao  

  • Zedong and would be criticized harshly for thisAlthough the Japanese response to guerrillas had  

  • always been brutal, the defeat against the  Communists had an unexpected consequence:  

  • Japan would adopt the Three Alls Policy, as  their forces would then start to kill all,  

  • loot all, and burn all . With this bloodier  response against Chinese resistance,  

  • many war crimes would be committed by Japanese  soldiers and resentment would erupt once again  

  • between Nationalists and Communists, as Chiang  Kai-Shek's followers blamed the Red Army,  

  • and Mao Zedong blamed Peng Dehuaifor the harsher Japanese acts.  

  • Furthermore, from October to December, Japanese  counterattacks would successfully regain  

  • control of railway lines and would inflict  heavy casualties on the Eighth Route Army

  • At this point, Japan knew that prolonging the war  would be dangerous if foreign powers decided to  

  • intervene, so it needed to completely cut off the  enemy capital at Chongqing from the foreign aid  

  • that it was receiving. Since the outbreak of the  war, the British and Americans had been sending  

  • war material by sea to the main Chinese ports  and Hong Kong, as well as through the railway  

  • connecting French Indochina to Yunnan and South  Guangxi. Moreover, the Soviets, long-time rivals  

  • of Japan in the East, were also sending much  aid through the Old Silk Road, although this  

  • would only last until the outbreak of Operation  Barbarossa. With most of the main Chinese ports  

  • already occupied and the British possessions in  China surrounded, the Japanese then prepared for  

  • an offensive against Indochina, the last Chinese  lifeline. In that regard, they had advanced up  

  • to the Indochinese border by late July, taking  the key district of Longzhou in South Guangxi

  • Already back in June, the Fall of France had also  allowed Tokyo to issue a series of ultimatums  

  • demanding the closure of all supply lines to  China, among other things. The Indochinese  

  • government had no other alternative but to complyand by September 22, the Japanese had successfully  

  • negotiated to station 6000 troops in Tonkin and  to move 25000 soldiers through Tonkin to Yunnan.  

  • The Indochina Expeditionary Army under General  Nishimura Takuma was then formed, starting to  

  • travel to their destination on the same dayBut at the same time, General Kuno Seiichi's  

  • 22nd Army at Nanning independently invaded Annam  and started to fight local forces across the  

  • border . The fighting ended when General Maurice  Martin's Indochinese forces got surrounded at Lạng  

  • Sơn [suun], finally surrendering on September 25.  Furthermore, the IJN blockaded the Gulf of Tonkin  

  • and Nishimura landed in Indochina, fightingseries of minor battles at Dong Tac, Haiphong,  

  • and Hanoi. By the evening of September 26, Kuno's  forces had reached Lao Cai at the Yunnan border  

  • and Indochinese resistance had crumbledThe invasion was a huge success,  

  • but it was against Tokyo's wishes due to  the agreement that the Japanese had reached.  

  • All occupied towns would be then returned and  Kuno would be punished for his insubordination,  

  • although the Japanese were now undisputed  in the region and could then station 40000  

  • soldiers in northern Indochina. But the  Japanese success wouldn't be long-lasting,  

  • as the British consequently decided in October to  open the Burma Road, connecting the Burmese city  

  • of Lashio with Yunnan's capital at KunmingThus, to the relief of Chiang's government,  

  • a new lifeline was created, allowing the Chinese  to continue to resist for the next few years

  • Moreover, General Sonobe Waichiro's 11th Army  tried to capitalize on the last victory in Yichang  

  • to completely take over the province of HubeiOn November 25, the Japanese offensive began,  

  • striking against the Chinese defenses east  and west of the Hsiang River and enjoying  

  • some initial successes. But, in coordination  with local guerrillas, Li Zongren's forces would  

  • manage to stop the invaders and counterattackforcing the Japanese to retreat by November 30.  

  • Meanwhile, the US government was outraged and  alarmed by the Japanese invasion of Indochina,  

  • so President Roosevelt would then double  the amount of aid delivered to China  

  • and would order the evacuation  of all Americans in the Far East.  

  • Although the Americans were still woefully  unprepared for a war in the Pacific,  

  • they now began to see that a confrontation  with the Japanese was very possible

  • Japan's 1940 move into Vichy-controlled Indochina  along with its war with China, withdrawal from the  

  • League of Nations, alliance with Germany and  Italy, and increasing militarization raised  

  • tension and induced the United States to intensify  its measures to restrain Japan's economy.  

  • Scrap-metal shipments to Japan were embargoed  and the Panama Canal closed to Japanese  

  • trade . Despite these moves, in early 1941 Japan  moved into southern Indochina, thereby threatening  

  • British Malaya, North Borneo, and Brunei. On December 29, FDR then delivered his tough  

  • Arsenal of Democracy speech against Germany and  Japan, clearly identifying them as the enemies of  

  • democracy and finally dropping the neutrality  doctrine that had been sponsored in the 30s.  

  • Consequently, American industries would start  to arm and support China and the Allies in  

  • their respective wars. This would eventually  lead to the Lend-Lease program of March 11,  

  • 1941, in which the US pledged to support the  Allies and China with food, oil, warships,  

  • warplanes, and other weaponry. the US froze  Japanese assets on July 26, 1941, and on August 1  

  • established an embargo on oil and gasoline  exports to Japan, which was a strong response  

  • as 80% of Japan's oil was coming from the US and  oil was crucial for the war-making in that period

  • Concurrently, the Kingdom of Thailand, which  had seen a rise of ultranationalism and the  

  • establishment of a dictatorship under Plaek Phibun  in the last few years, also detected the weakness  

  • in French Indochina and thus decided to take  back some disputed areas that had been ceded  

  • in the last century. After the outbreak of border  skirmishes, the Thais started aerial bombing runs  

  • over the main Indochinese cities and launched an  offensive on Laos and Cambodia in early January.  

  • Laos would be quickly overrun, but French  resistance in Cambodia would be fierce,  

  • and with the French naval victory at the Battle  of Koh Chang on January 17, the situation soon  

  • started to deteriorate for the Thais. FearingFrench victory in the war, the Japanese would then  

  • intervene, forcing the Indochinese government  to sign an armistice and to cede the disputed  

  • provinces. This was a personal victory for  Phibun, but the real beneficiaries of the war  

  • would be the Japanese, who further increased their  influence in both Thailand and Indochina. Fearing  

  • a Japanese takeover, Phibun would then reach out  to the US and the UK for guarantees, consequently  

  • stressing his relationship with Japan. And  back in China, 1941 would start with the sudden  

  • breakout of hostilities between Nationalists and  Communists. Chiang Kai-Shek ordered a withdrawal  

  • of the fourth army from Anhui and Jiangsu in  late December. As a result of numerous alleged  

  • treacherous acts and harassment, Chiang would  take action of retribution against the communists.  

  • On January 7, while withdrawing from Anhui  and Jiangsu, the Communist New Fourth Army  

  • was allegedly ambushed and encircled by an  80000-strong Nationalist force of Gu Zhutong's  

  • 3rd War Area. After heavy fighting and many  casualties, only 2000 Communist soldiers were able  

  • to break out of the encirclement by January 13. This marked the end of the Second United Front,  

  • as the Nationalist act of treachery would  destroy any possibility of further cooperation.  

  • At the same time, Sonobe would start two new  operations against South Henan and Western  

  • Hubei , as well as a large offensive against the  city of Shanggao . Yet again, the Chinese would  

  • successfully flank and defeat the Japanese  invasions by late March, inflicting heavy  

  • casualties and forcing the invaders to retreat and  to leave behind substantial amounts of military  

  • equipment and supplies. As the latest defeats  were very demoralizing for the Japanese forces,  

  • their victory at the Battle of South Shanxi in  May would luckily restore their fighting spirit

  • On May 7, General Tada Hayao's North China  Area Army launched a full offensive against  

  • the mountainous region of South Shanxi, quickly  breaking through the Chinese defensive lines  

  • at Mengxian, Jiyuan, Hengpu, and Wangyuan and  managing to encircle the Nationalist army as a  

  • result. Worthy of mention is that the Communist  8th Route Army nearby refused to assist the  

  • Nationalist forces in the struggle, in  retribution of the South Anhui Incident  

  • and in the struggle allowed them  to be surrounded and destroyed.  

  • This was remembered as one of the worst  defeats of the entire war for China. Meanwhile,  

  • the outbreak of the German Invasion of Russia in  late June permitted Japan to sign a non-aggression  

  • pact with the Soviet Union and thus to secure its  northern border in case of war with the Allies

  • This finally allowed the Japanese to begin  preparations for a strike against the  

  • resource-rich region of Southeast Asia, which  had been earmarked to provide the necessary raw  

  • material for Japan's industry . The Dutch East  Indies and their precious rubber plantations  

  • and oil fields were one of the most important  objectives of the Japanese Empire; so on July 21,  

  • more than 50000 soldiers would invade southern  Indochina to prepare naval bases against the Dutch  

  • colony. Accurately detecting the intentions of the  Japanese, FDR would form the USAFFE in response,  

  • nationalizing the Philippine Army and  appointing General Douglas MacArthur  

  • to lead American forces in the Pacific. In  coordination with the British and the Dutch,  

  • he would also stop the exports of iron ore, steel  and oil to the Japanese; and as we've seen, this  

  • was a crippling embargo for Japan, as the Empire  relied on foreign imports for its war machine,  

  • but also for its home economy. FDR's gamble  was to put an end to the Japanese expansion,  

  • but Japan's leaders now saw war with the West as  their best option, encouraged by their Nazi allies  

  • that were overrunning Europe. On September 3, the  Supreme War Council met at the Liaison Conference  

  • and decided that if the US didn't resume oil  shipments by October, then they would start  

  • preparations for simultaneous attacks against the  Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, and Malaysia.  

  • The Commander-in-Chief of the IJN, Admiral  Yamamoto Isoroku, also proposed a plan for a  

  • surprise attack against Pearl Harbor, intending to  destroy the American Pacific Fleet in one decisive  

  • strike. This was very advantageous, because if the  US lost their main naval forces in the Pacific,  

  • then it would take them years to build another  fleet capable of fighting against the IJN,  

  • and that would give the Japanesefree hand to expand in Southeast Asia

  • While tensions in the Pacific  reached a climax, the 11th Army,  

  • now under General Anami Korechika, launched  a new offensive against the city of Changsha.  

  • On September 27, the Japanese managed to enter  the city, but by October 8, successful Chinese  

  • counterattacks carried out by General Xue Yue  had expelled the invaders once more. This would  

  • end up being the last Japanese operation in China  before the breakout of hostilities with the West.  

  • As negotiations with the US were  leading nowhere, on November 26,  

  • a Japanese task force of six aircraft carriers  left the Kuril Islands heading to Hawaii  

  • in strict radio silence, and troop transports  also started to move southwards from Formosa.  

  • With the US continuing to demand the Japanese  to completely withdraw from China and Indochina,  

  • by the start of December, Emperor  Hirohito had approved the war declaration,  

  • setting in motion the attack on Pearl Harbor and  the start of the Pacific War. Now, there was no  

  • turning back for the Japanese Empire. Join us on  December 7, the 80th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor  

  • for special coverage of the operation that  would begin one of the deadliest wars of the  

  • 20th Century. Make sure you are subscribed and  have pressed the bell button to be notified.  

  • Please, consider liking, commenting, and sharingit helps immensely. Our videos would be impossible  

  • without our kind patrons and youtube channel  members, whose ranks you can join via the links  

  • in the description to know our schedule, get  early access to our videos, access our discord,  

  • and much more. This is the Kings and Generals  channel, and we will catch you on the next one.  

With war raging both in Europe and in China,  

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it