By 1940, Japan was ready to take its place as one of the great powers of the world. They had soundly defeated the Russians in 1905, and the Germans in the First World War. Deprived of what they considered their due at the Paris Peace conference of 1919, they felt that it was time to reach out and grasp what they wanted. The invasion of China, French Indochina, and the Pacific islands followed.
However, they found an enemy that they could not defeat- the United States, ably assisted by China, the Commonwealth nations, as well as the native populations of the conquered territories, fought a ceaseless battle against the Japanese, pushing them slowly back to their home islands, where the coup de grace was administered to the Japanese Empire- the first and only atomic bombs used in warfare.
The last year of the Pacific War was one of death, grueling hardship, hard-won victories, and great tragedy.
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