Empire of Japan 1942

Originally posted by Liudovik_Nemski One of the most humiliating defeats in british history was from the japanese!

    You mean the Malaya campaign?
The British empire was so ugly beaten, that even the UK historians couldn't manage to claim a victory (like in Dunkirk). Such a shame!
    From the very emergence of Japan as a world power it was always underestimated and the South Asian/ West Pacific theatre was considered as a seccond rate. But once the Japanese were taken seriously, they were usually beaten themselves (like the USA after Perl Harbour, USSR in Mongolia and later in China). Actually after the Blitzkrieg in the Pacific ( the first 12 months of the war) the Japs were always the lossing side. Their triumph fitts perfectly in the 1 year period between the Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 December 1941 and the Battle of Guadalcanal, 11-15 November 1942. Once they met organised resistance (different than colonial troops on a peace time stаte )everything came to an end.
    Let us also remember that in early 40's the Germans were at a hundred miles from London, so the Brits just had bigger troubles to care about than their far eastern colonies.

Originally posted by Desperado  Actually after the Blitzkrieg in the Pacific ( the first 12 months of the war) the Japs were always the lossing side. Their triumph fitts perfectly in the 1 year period between the Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 December 1941 and the Battle of Guadalcanal, 11-15 November 1942. Once they met organised resistance (different than colonial troops on a peace time stаte )everything came to an end.

The Battle of Guadalcanal was indeed a turning point in the land war in the Pacific. It was here that the "invincible" Japanese Army met its first defeat. The battle also signaled the end of Japan's southward movement toward Australia, and helped secure that nation as an allied base of operations.

After Guadalcanal and the American naval victory at Midway earlier in the year, Japan fought a defensive war until the end.

JT