Japanese Army in World War II - The South Pacific and New Guinea 1942-43

Japan's successful conquest of the South Pacific and Southwest Asia from December 8, 1941 through to June 1942 saw few setbacks. The commencement of the Pacific War (Taiheiyo Senso), coupled with the China Incident (Shina Jihen) on-going since 1931, was what Japan called the Greater Southeast Asia War (Dai Toa Senso Senkum)—more commonly known as World War II. The Southern Operations that began the Pacific War comprised a complex series of widely scattered operations aimed at neutralizing American, Commonwealth, and Dutch forces, seizing regions rich in economic resources, and securing an outer defense line for the "Greater Southeast Asia Co-prosperity Sphere" (Dai Toa Kyoei-Ken). The American bastion of the Philippines, the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), and Commonwealth possessions of the Gilbert, Bismarck, and Solomon islands were occupied, and troops were landed on Eastern New Guinea. Commonwealth forces were driven from Malaya, Thailand and most of Burma, and Hong Kong and Singapore were taken by the Japanese. All of the objectives were secured with light to moderate losses well within the projected timeframe, with the notable exception of the Philippines. Rather than securing the vast archipelago within the allotted 50 days, it required five months. In addition, the occupation resulted in heavy losses and required reinforcements to be sent in.
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