South-East Asian theatre of World War II
The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II consisted of the campaigns of the Pacific War in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Indochina, Burma, India, Malaya and Singapore between 1941 and 1945.
Japan attacked British and American territories with near-simultaneous offensives against Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific on 7/8 December 1941. Action in this theatre ended when Japan announced an intent to surrender on 15 August 1945. The formal surrender of Japan ceremony took place on 2 September 1945.
Outbreak of hostilities[edit]
Conflict in this theatre began when the Empire of Japan invaded French Indochina in September 1940 and rose to a new level following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, and simultaneous attacks on Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Malaya on 7 and 8 December 1941. The main landing at Singora (now Songkhla) on the east side of the Isthmus of Kra preceded the bombing of Pearl Harbor by several hours.
Although Japan declared war on the United States and the British Empire, the declaration was not delivered until after the attacks began. On 8 December, the United Kingdom,[a][1] the United States,[b][2] Canada,[3] and the Netherlands[4] declared war on Japan, followed by China[5] and Australia[6] the next day.
RAF battle honours:
Qualification: For operations against Japanese aircraft and naval units by squadrons based in Ceylon during the Japanese attacks of April 1942.
Qualification: For operations during the 14th Army's advance from Imphal to Rangoon, the coastal amphibious assaults, and the Battle of Pegu Yomas, August 1944 to August 1945.
Command structures[edit]
Allied command structure[edit]
At the start of the war the British forces in the area fell under at least three separate commands. General Sir Archibald Wavell, the Commander-in-Chief, India, directed the British and British Indian Armies in India and Burma. Vice Admiral Sir Ralph Leatham, the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, directed the Royal Navy's East Indies Station and the Royal Indian Navy. In November 1940 the Far East Command was established under Air Chief Marshal Robert Brooke-Popham based in Singapore. From 23 December 1941 the Far East Command was commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Royds Pownall. The Far East Command was responsible for Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore and other British Far East possessions, and took over responsibility for Burma.
A month after the outbreak of war with Japan on 7 December 1941, the Allied governments jointly appointed General Wavell as Supreme Allied Commander of all "American-British-Dutch-Australian" (ABDA) forces in South East Asia and the Pacific, from Burma to the Dutch East Indies.
However, advances made by the Japanese over the next month split the ABDA forces in two. On 23 February 1942, with Malaya lost and the Allied position in Java and Sumatra precarious, ABDACOM was closed down and its headquarters in Java evacuated. Wavell returned to India to resume his position as C-in-C India where his responsibilities now included the defence of Burma.[15] Burma (Burma Command and RAF forces there) had been included in Far East Command; reverted to direction by India; transferred to ABDA, but with India remaining responsible for administration; and then finally reverted back to command from India.[16]
Dutch resistance to the Japanese in Java ceased on 8-9 March 1942. On 30 March 1942, the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington divided the Pacific theatre into three areas: the Pacific Ocean Areas (POA), under Admiral Chester Nimitz; the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), under MacArthur as Supreme Allied Commander South West Pacific; and the Southeast Pacific Area. McArthur took up his Supreme Commander's post on 18 April. SWPA was given responsibility for Java, Borneo, the Philippines, and all the water areas of the South China Sea.
Malaya, French Indochina, and Thailand remained a British responsibility and operations were to be directed from India. General Wavell was made Viceroy of India and General Claude Auchinleck became Commander-in-Chief, India, on 20 June 1943.
In August 1943 the Allies formed a new South East Asian Command to take over strategic responsibilities for the theatre. The reorganisation of the theatre command took about two months. On 4 October Winston Churchill appointed Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten supreme Allied commander of the South East Asia Command (SEAC). The American General Joseph Stilwell was the first deputy supreme Allied commander. On 15 November, Auchinleck handed over responsibility for the conduct of operations against the Japanese in the theatre to Mountbatten.
The initial land forces operational area for SEAC included India, Burma, British Ceylon and Malaya. Operations were also mounted in Japanese-occupied Sumatra, Thailand and French Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos).
Initially SEAC commanded: