Japan Joins the Axis - 1940 Pacific
The Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor today
May 1 - Pacific fleet based at Pearl Harbor as deterrent
- over objections of Admiral James Richardson
May 6 - Francis Sayre sent to Tokyo for talks with Foreign Minister Arita -
FDR declared Sayre initiative for nonaggression pact was "unauthorized"
Burma map from
ILN 1942/04/25
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May 16 - Sayre advised FDR that Japan willing to negotiate and wanted to "retire gracefully" from burdensome China war
June 22 - Petain closed Indochina route to Chiang
- Churchill closes Burma road to avoid war with Japan
July 6 - FDR proposed concept of 3 Monroe Doctrines - for Americas, Europe, Asia
July 22 - Konoye leads his 2nd Cabinet - policy of "opportunism" to create "new order" with Manchukuo and Wang Ching-wei
July 25 - FDR orders partial trade embargo on aviation fuel, lubricants, high-grade scrap
August 16 - death of Hector Bywater, author of 1925 "Great Pacific War"
- 19 days after Reuter's Melville Cox "fell" 3 stories to death in Tokyo
Sept. 4 - Hull warned Konoye to stay out of Indochina
Sept. 22 - Japanese troops crossed into Indochina; Vichy forced to agree
Sept. 25 - U.S. broke Japanese "purple" cipher that in Feb. 1939 had replaced the previous "red" cipher broken by a stolen key book by Ellis Zacharias in 1920 from the Japanese consulate in Washington D.C., and used to break the JN-1 code (Japanese Navy); the Navy was still using the JN-25 code in 1941, and the Type 97 typewriter purple code that used stepper relays rather than the wheels of the German Enigma machine, and was shared with the diplomatic service. William Friedman in the Navy SIS deciphered this code.
ENIGMA machine from
Magic
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- 4 machines in D.C., 3 to Brit., 1 to Philippines (none at Pearl)
- see Jennifer Henson's page on Magic and the NSA Cryptologic Museum
Sept. 26 - FDR imposed embargo on scrap iron to Japan
Sept. 27 - Tripartite Pact with Japan, Germany, Italy
- Gerhard Weinberg argued in 1992 book that Germany sought ally with a large fleet to conduct war against U.S. and to keep the U.S. out of Europe
- Battle of Britain was raging and FDR was determined to help Churchill
AVG in Burma from
ILN 1942/04/25
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Sept. 27 - Mackenzie King diary indicated that FDR told King the U.S. would act if Japan attacked British empire
Oct. 2 - Churchill decided to re-open Burma Road effective Oct. 17
Oct. 1-7 - FDR ordered all Americans out of Far East, rushes supplies to Phil, called up naval reserve, ordered immediate Anglo-American staff talks in Singapore; oil companies in Batavia refused Japan demands
Oct. 8 - FDR secret office sound-on-film recordings: "This country is ready to pull the trigger if the Japs do anything. I mean we won't stand any nonsense - public opinion won't in this country - from the Japs if they do some fool thing... That's the only real danger of our getting in - is that their foot will slip."
Oct. 10 - James Richardson opposed FDR plan to deploy Navy if Japan attacked Burma Road
Nov. 12 - British Swordfish planes from HMS "Illustrious" torpedo the Italian fleet in shallow Taranto harbor
- Navy Secretary Frank Knox advised Army to improve Pearl's defenses
Nov. 13 - Imperial conference proposed "Wang-Chiang" coalition & garrisons to end China war
Nov. 30 - FDR gave $100m loan to Chiang and 50 planes to Chennault's secret group of U.S. volunteer airmen, the Flying Tigers, helping Chiang at Chungking
<- -> | 1940 Timeline page | Links | Pictures | Maps | Documents | Bibliography | revised 2/21/01
