ASIAN STUDIES

DAN LEO RAMOS & JOHN KENETH NAVAL

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Identify key events and battles involving Asian
01 countries during World War I and II.

Analyze the participation of Asian countries during

02 the war

03 Value the significant events during World war I and II

World War I
“The Great War”
 CAUSES

World War I, also known as the Great

War, started in 1914 after the
assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand of Austria.
His murder catapulted into a war
across Europe that lasted until 1918.
ALLIANCES

There were two main alliances

that fought in World War One.
The Allied Powers, which
consisted of England, France,
Russia and ultimately, Italy, and
the Central Powers, which were
led by Germany and Austria-
Hungary.
 ASIA IN WWI
Thailand
Supplied timber and rubber to the
British
Thailand stayed neutral until 1917
Responded to President Wilson's
invitation to rally to the allied
cause and declared war on July
22, 1917
 ASIA IN WWI
Ottoman
Had a reputation as the "Sick man of
Empire Europe"
The economic resources of the Ottoman
Empire were depleted by the cost of the
Balkan Wars of 1912-1913
Wanted to regain her lost territories
Joined the war on the side of the Central
Powers
 ASIA IN WWI
India
India being a British colony
was immediately involved in
the war
India joined the war in hope
of granting independence
from their colonizer
 ASIA IN WWI
Russia
Joined the war in 1914 but lacked the
resources to fight
As a result, the war starved in
masses
Women marched to Petrograd
demanding for bread
A rising into power of the Bolsheviks
under Vladimir Lenin
 ASIA IN WWI
China
China declared itself neutral at
the start of the war.
However, Qingdao had been a
colony of German since 1987
Starting in late 1916, China Began
shipping thousands of men to
Britain, France and Russia
 ASIA IN WWI
Japan
Japan, as one of the Allied powers,
played a significant role in the
Asia-Pacific theater of World War
I. It seized German territories in
East Asia, including Tsingtao
(Qingdao) in China and islands in
the Pacific.
World War II
 CAUSES

The death and destruction of World War I was so horrible that

it was called “the war to end all wars.” Yet, the agreement to
end World War I did not resolve the problems of the world and,
according to some historians, lead directly to the next
catastrophe: World War II. The major causes of World War II
were numerous. They include the impact of the Treaty of
Versailles following WWI, the worldwide economic depression,
failure of appeasement, the rise of militarism in Germany and
Japan, and the failure of the League of Nations
 ALLIANCES

The Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) were

opposed by the Allied Powers (led by Great Britain,
the United States, and the Soviet Union). Five other
nations joined the Axis during World War II: Hungary,
Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Croatia. The decline
and fall of the Axis alliance began in 1943.
 ASIA IN WW2

Japan By December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked

Pearl Harbor, the Japanese people had already
been accustomed to three years of a regional war,
begun by the Japanese invasion of China in 1937.
The country formally entered World War II on
September 22, 1940 with the invasion of French
Indochina and officially formed an alliance with
Germany and Italy five days later.
 ASIA IN WW2

On December 8, 1941, Japan launched an attack on Commonwealth of

the Philippines, ten hours after their attack on Pearl Harbor. The
Philippines Philippines at this time was a semi-independent commonwealth
government under the colonial rule of the United States of America.
Filipino and American soldiers were defeated a the Battle of Bataan and
the Battle of Corregidor in April 1942. The Japanese occupation of the
Philippines occurred between 1942 and 1945 during WWII. Filipinos
staged guerrilla resistance against the Japanese until 1945.
The Philippines was liberated from Japanese control by Allied forces in
1944. The Philippines was granted full independence by the United
States in 1946
 ASIA IN WW2
Thailand
Thailand officially adopted a neutral
position during World War II until the
five hour-long Japanese invasion of
Thailand on 8 December 1941
which led to an armistice and military
alliance treaty between Thailand and
the Japanese Empire in mid-December
1941.
 ASIA IN WW2
Indonesia The Japanese took Indonesia from the Dutch
colonialists for the most part without a fight.
Colonial rule by the Japanese in Indonesia in
World War II was relatively mild. The Japanese
occupation was more like another colonial
period than a period of war.
The occupation was not gentle. Japanese troops
often acted harshly against local populations.
The Japanese military police were especially
feared.
 ASIA IN WW2
Cambodia
In August 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army
entered the French protectorate of Cambodia
and established a garrison that numbered
8,000 troops.
Despite their military presence, the Japanese
authorities allowed the cooperating Vichy
French colonial officials to remain at their
administrative posts.
 ASIA IN WW2
Laos
During World War II, Laos and French
Indochina were occupied by the Japanese
through an agreement with the Nazi-supported
Vichy regime in France. .
Laotians offered little resistance or support to
the Japanese but in may way they enjoyed
more autonomy than they did under the
French.
 ASIA IN WW2
Vietnam
Japan stationed a large number of soldiers in
Vietnam and reduced French influence.
The Việt Minh also contested the growing
Japanese influence. Late in WW II the United
States gave limited assistance to the Việt
Minh to assist it in its struggle against the
Japanese.
 ASIA IN WW2
India
During the Second World War (1939–
1945), India was a part of the British
Empire.
British India officially declared war on
Nazi Germany in September 1939. India, as
a part of the Allied Nations, sent over two
and a half million soldiers to fight under
British command against the Axis powers.
 ASIA IN WW2
Singapore
The first attack on Singapore came on 8 December 1941
when Japanese planes dropped the first bombs on the
island, killing 61 and injuring 133 people in the process.
The Battle of Singapore was fought from 8 to 15 February
1942 between Allied (mainly British Commonwealth) and
Japanese forces. The first Japanese troops landed in
Singapore via the northwestern coastline on 8 February
1942. After a week of intense fighting, the British
Lieutenant General Arthur E. Percival surrendered
Singapore to the Japanese forces under the command of
Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
 ASIA IN WW2
Myanmar
For the rare outside visitor today it is perhaps
hard to imagine that Burma, one of the most
secretive and isolated countries in the world, was
also one of the most violent theaters of conflict in
the entire history of World War II.
Burma's "independence," declared in August 1943,
was to be their reward. However, when the flimsy
nature of this independence became clear, many
young nationalists immediately returned
underground.
IMPORTANT EVENTS
DURING WW2
Battle of Midway

Fought in June 1942, the Battle of

Midway was the first major defeat of
the Imperial Japanese Navy by
American forces.
IMPORTANT EVENTS
DURING WW2
Attack on Pearl Harbor

On December 7th 1941 the Japanese Navy

launched a surprise attack against the
American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in
Hawaii. The attack shocked most Americans
and the next day President Roosevelt asked
Congress for a declaration of war against
Japan.
IMPORTANT EVENTS
DURING WW2
Greater East Asia CoProsperity Sphere

The Japanese empire attempted to sell the

populations they conquered the idea of
"The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity
Sphere", suggesting that what they were
trying to create was a united Asia under
Japanese influence rather than the reality
of Japanese colonial control.
IMPORTANT EVENTS
DURING WW2
Battle of Guadalcanal

The Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon

Islands was the first major offensive by the
Allies against the Japanese. Fought between
August 1942 and February 1943, the victory
by Allied forces marked the end of
Japanese expansion and the beginning of
their shift to defensive operations.
IMPORTANT EVENTS
DURING WW2
The Fall of Singapore

Singapore was a major British military base

in Southeast Asia. The Japanese invaded
and conquered it in February 1942. It was
the largest surrender of British military
personnel in history and was considered by
Winston Churchill to be a disaster.
IMPORTANT EVENTS
DURING WW2
Japanese-American Internment

In 1942 President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066

which allowed for the removal of anyone of Japanese
heritage from the western coast of the United States.
Most were interned in camps in the interior of the United
States. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of
the removal in 1944 in the Korematsu v. United States
case (323 U.S. 214 1944)
IMPORTANT EVENTS
DURING WW2
Battle of Leyte Gulf

The Battle of Leyte was fought in October

1944 with the goal of depriving Japan of
oil supplies. The Japanese suffered heavy
losses and was deprived of fuel for the
rest of the Pacific war. Leyte was the
largest naval battle of World War Two.
IMPORTANT EVENTS
DURING WW2
Bataan Death March

The Bataan Death March was the brutal and

abusive transfer of American and Filipino war
prisoners to Camp O'Donnell by 60 mile march
after their defeat at the Battle of Bataan in 1942.
The Japanese severally abused and killed
prisoners in actions that were later judged to be
war crimes.
IMPORTANT EVENTS
DURING WW2
Island Hopping

The objective of the US military in the Pacific theatre

was to capture or in some cases recaptrue naval and air
bases one by one, slowly drawing closer to Japan to
eventually allow for a possible invasion. Bases that
could not be taken would be cut off and bypassed. Most
of the battles in the Pacific, including Tarawa, Saipan,
Guam, the Philippine Sea, and Peleliu were part of this
strategy of "Island Hopping".
IMPORTANT EVENTS
DURING WW2
Hiroshima and Nagasaki

On August 6 1945 and then on August 8 1945 President

Harry Truman ordered the atomic bombing of the
Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is the only
time in history so far that an atomic bomb has been
used in warfare and was done to bring the war to a swift
conclusion including to avoid massive casualties that
would happen if the United States had to directly
invade the Japanese Home Islands. Japan surrendered
on August 15 and signed its official surrender on
September 2nd 1945.
IMPORTANT EVENTS
DURING WW2
Hiroshima and Nagasaki

On August 6 1945 and then on August 8 1945 President

Harry Truman ordered the atomic bombing of the
Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is the only
time in history so far that an atomic bomb has been
used in warfare and was done to bring the war to a swift
conclusion including to avoid massive casualties that
would happen if the United States had to directly
invade the Japanese Home Islands. Japan surrendered
on August 15 and signed its official surrender on
September 2nd 1945.
IMPORTANT EVENTS
DURING WW2
Liberation of Manila

The Liberation of Mania was part of the

Philippine campaign and the scene of the
worst urban fighting of the Pacific war.
The month long battle ran from February
to March 1945 and marked the end of the
Japanese occupation of the Philippines.
THANK YOU!