Pacific War

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, it set in motion a conflict that would pit massive fleets against each other in the most destructive naval battles in history, even as troops fought hand-to-hand in the jungles to gain control of remote islands. Here are important yet lesser-known dates from the Pacific Theater, like Japan's triumphal 1941 march through Hong Kong, and the accidental March 25, 1944 death of fearless guerilla warrior Orde Wingate.