Victorious Japanese troops celebrate their triumph in the Philippines after Corregidor was subdued
Toughened by years of combat in mainland China, Japan’s powerful military was poised to carve up Southeast Asia during the summer of 1941. Strategists understood that dominating Asia meant seizing the Strait of Malacca on one end together with an archipelagic nation on the other – the Philippines. So the high commands in Tokyo and Washington DC readied themselves for a mighty struggle.