Timeline - Hirohito's War
| 1930 | January, June, November |
| 1931 | September |
| 1932 | May, October |
| 1933 | January - March |
| 1934 | July - October |
| 1935 | January - September |
| 1936 | February - December |
| 1937 | June - December |
| 1938 | January - November |
| 1939 | March - December |
| 1940 | March - December |
| 1941 | March - November |
| December | |
| 1942 | January |
| February | |
| March | |
| April - June | |
| July - September | |
| October - December | |
| 1943 | January - March |
| April - June | |
| July - September | |
| October - December | |
| 1944 | January - March |
| April - June | |
| July - September | |
| October - December | |
| 1945 | January - March |
| April - June | |
| July - October | |
PACIFIC WAR TIMELINE
APRIL 1942
6 April: Australia: American troops start to arrive in Australia.
Burma: Chiang Kai-shek meets General Stilwell in Mandalay (Burma).
9 April: The Philippines: US forces on Bataan surrender.
British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes sunk by Aichi dive-bombers off Ceylon.
10 April: The Philippines: Bataan Death March begins with 76,000 POWs including 12,000 American troops.
12 April: The Philippines: Artillery duel with the US batteries on Corregidor begins.
Burma: The Battle of Kokkogawa. General Slim wins minor victory at Kokkogawa – the only one achieved in the British retreat from Burma to India.
16 April: Burma: The Battle of Yenangyaung: General Iida’s forces surround retreating British who are saved by Chinese General Sun in an action that allowed them to escape.
18 April: Pacific Ocean: USS Hornet under Captain Mitscher (later Admiral) launches Mitchel B-25 bombers against Tokyo and other Japanese cities. The raid is called the Doolittle Raid after its commander who led the raid.
MAY 1942
1 May: Burma: Japanese seize Mandalay.
3 May: Solomons: Japan seizes Tulagi Island in the southern Solomons.
6 May: The Philippines: Japan seizes Corregidor and Wainwright surrenders all US forces in the Philippines.
7-8 May: Coral Sea: The Battle of the Coral Sea. Japanese wins pyrrhic naval victory but is forced to abandon the invasion of Port Moresby on the south New Guinea coast.
Burma: In Burma General Stilwell begins his long walk out of Burma with 114 civilians including 24 US officers and troops.
20 May: India-Burma: British Army escapes from Burma across the Indian frontier. Chinese Army units under General Sun also flee to India while other Chinese Units are chased back to China.
30 May: India-Burma: Stilwell crosses the Chindwin River to safety.
JUNE 1942
4-5 June: Pacific Ocean: The Battle of Midway. US Navy under Admiral Spruance win crushing victory sinking four Japanese carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu) for the loss of the USS Yorktown.
7 June: Alaska: Japanese seize the Aleutian Islands.
June: Poland: Mass murder of Jews begins in Auschwitz.
JULY 1942
21 July: New Guinea: Japanese troops seize Buna, Gona and Sanananda.
23 July: New Guinea: The Battle of Kokoda. Battle for the airfield at Kokoda on the northern side of the Owen Stanley Mountains.