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During World War II, President Roosevelt had the power to control information given to the media. Legislation had been passed in 1938 that forbade unauthorized photographs, sketches, or maps of military bases, and gave the President the authority to define which types of military information needed security protection.
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By 1940, Japanese forces were still bogged down in China. To force the Chinese to surrender, Japan wanted to cut off the supply route from Southeast Asia. Japan also wanted the rich resources of Burma (now Myanmar) and Indochina (parts of modern Laos and Vietnam) for itself. Japan's military leaders had hopes of an empire. They called it the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
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General Hideki Tojo became prime minister of Japan in October 1941. Tojo and Japan's other military leaders realized that only the United States Navy had the power to block Japan's expansion in Asia. They decided to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet with one forceful blow.
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On Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack upon the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Two waves of Japanese warplanes sank several U.S. ships, including four battleships.
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The United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom declared war on Japan on Dec. 8, 1941. Germany and Italy declared war on the United States on December 11. The world was now truly a world at war.
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Japanese troops capture Manila.
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Allied forces invade the Philippines. Belgrade is captured by Soviet Russian and Yugoslav partisan troops.
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U.S. troops invading the Philippines have received reenforcements, and a force led by General McArthur enters Manila. The city will be completely retaken in less than three weeks.
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U.S. B-24 bombers attack Tokyo, starting fires that will kill more than 120,000.
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On Iwo Jima, a month-long struggle comes to an end, as U.S. forces capture the 8-square-mile island. Possessing Japan's last line of radar defense to warn against American air attacks, Iwo Jima is a strategically significant prelude to the invasion of Okinawa.
