From Kowloon on the Chinese mainland, Japanese soldiers watch their shells falling on Hong Kong's capital below "The Peak." Published in 1948 After long years of secret preparation, Japan was ready to strike crippling blows at widely separated targets in her whirlwind expansion in the southwest Pacific. Her immediate objective was to secure the rich and natural resources of Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies. But to have freedom of action, she must first neutralize and then eliminate any major power that might prevent the realization of her plans. Three such major powers stood astride her road of access; these were the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands. Two of these powers, the British and the Netherlands, were already crippled by being involved in the European War. This left the United States as the first target for attack, because the United States was on record as opposing Japanese aggression in China. In order to accomplish her purpose, Jap...