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79-819: It ceased to exist after the Japanese defeat in the Pacific War and was absorbed by the Republic of China Railway, eventually becoming part of China Railway in 1949 after the establishment of the People's Republic . While the North China Transportation Company was influenced heavily by its parent company, the South Manchuria Railway ( Mantetsu ), the Central China Railway was strongly influenced by

158-462: A Europe first stance, giving first priority to defeating Nazi Germany. The Japanese had great difficulty replacing their losses in ships and aircraft, while American factories and shipyards produced ever increasing numbers of both. Fighting included some of the largest naval battles in history and massive Allied air raids over Japan , as well as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Japan surrendered unconditionally on 15 August 1945 and

237-755: A bombing of the city of Darwin on 19 February, which killed at least 243 people. At the Battle of the Java Sea in late February and early March, the IJN defeated the main ABDA naval force, under Admiral Karel Doorman . The Dutch East Indies campaign ended with the surrender of Allied forces on Java and Sumatra. In March and April, an IJN carrier force launched a raid into the Indian Ocean . British Royal Navy bases in Ceylon were hit and

316-470: A multiple-unit form, with one driver controlling all engines. However, it has previously been the practice for a railcar to tow a carriage or second, unpowered railcar. It is possible for several railcars to run together, each with its own driver (as practised on the former County Donegal Railway ). The reason for this was to keep costs down, since small railcars were not always fitted with multiple-unit control. There are also articulated railcars , in which

395-464: A railway car ) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railway companies, such as the Great Western , termed such vehicles " railmotors " (or "rail motors"). Self-propelled passenger vehicles also capable of hauling

474-523: A body by American Car and Foundry , a Jacobs-Schupert boiler and a Ganz power truck in 1911. Numbered M-104, the experiment was a failure, and was not repeated. In 1904 the Automotor Journal reported that one railway after another had been realising that motor coaches could be used to handle light traffic on their less important lines. The North-Eastern railways had been experimenting “for some time” in this direction, and Wolseley provided them with

553-410: A covered goods wagon adapted for passenger use, intended for use by poor Chinese farmers and seasonal workers. Conditions in these cars were remarkably poor, with passengers on two levels, but because the fare was very inexpensive, they were sufficient to the needs. Chinese were permitted to travel in first class if they paid the full fare, but Japanese were not permitted to travel in fourth class. After

632-494: A defensive perimeter to absorb and defeat Allied counterattacks; Japanese decisonmakers believed such a military situation would lead to a negotiated peace that would preserve Japanese territorial gains. Japanese planning divided the early war into two operational phases. The First Operational Phase was further divided into three separate parts in which the major objectives of the Philippines, British Malaya, Borneo, Burma, Rabaul and

711-407: A dual-mode bus that can run on streets with rubber tires and on tracks with retractable train wheels. The term rail bus is also used at times to refer to a road bus that replaces or supplements rail services on low-patronage railway lines or a bus that terminates at a railway station (also called a train bus). This process is sometimes called bustitution . A UK company currently promoting

790-705: A fixed base, instead of running on bogies. Railbuses have been commonly used in such countries as the Czech Republic , France , Germany , Italy , Sweden , and the United Kingdom . A type of railbus known as a Pacer based on the Leyland National bus was still widely used in the United Kingdom until withdrawal in 2021. New Zealand railcars that more closely resembled railbuses were the Leyland diesel railcars and

869-423: A flat-four engine capable of up to 100 bhp (75 kW) for this purpose. The engine drove a main dynamo to power two electric drive motors, and a smaller dynamo to charge accumulators to power the interior lighting and allow electric starting of the engine. The controls for the dynamo allowed the coach to be driven from either end. For further details see 1903 Petrol Electric Autocar . Another early railcar in

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948-670: A four-month campaign. The Japanese achieved major military victories, but world opinion—in particular in the US—was hostile to Japan's invasion, especially after the Panay incident . In addition, the Japanese had failed to destroy the Chinese army, which continued to resist from the new Nationalist capital in Chongqing , or in the case of the Communists, Yan'an . In 1939, Japanese forces tried to push into

1027-546: A halt. The Japanese media, influenced by military propagandists, began to refer to the embargoes as the " ABCD line " ("American-British-Chinese-Dutch"). The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters (GHQ) began planning for a war with the Western powers in April or May 1941. Japan increased its naval budget and placed large formations of the Army, along with their attached air components, under

1106-470: A major armed clash in January 1941 , effectively ending their co-operation. Japanese strategic bombing efforts mostly targeted large Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Wuhan , and Chongqing , with around 5,000 raids from February 1938 to August 1943. Japan's strategic bombing campaigns killed between 260,000 and 350,934 non-combatants . As early as 1935, Japanese military strategists had concluded that

1185-686: A military alliance with Germany and Italy, becoming one of the three main Axis Powers . The war entered a new phase with Japanese defeats at the Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang , the 1st Battle of Changsha , the Battle of Kunlun Pass and the Battle of Zaoyi . After these victories, Chinese nationalist forces launched a large-scale counter-offensive in early 1940; however, due to a lack of military-industrial capacity, they were repulsed in late March 1940. In August 1940, Chinese communists launched an offensive in Central China ; in retaliation, Japan instituted

1264-800: A single unit. Passengers may walk between the married pair units without having to open or pass through doors. Unit capacities range from 70 to over 300 seated passengers. The equipment is highly customisable with a wide variety of engine, transmission, coupler systems, and car lengths. Contrary to other parts of the world, in the United States these vehicles generally do not comply with Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations and, therefore, can only operate on dedicated rights-of-way with complete separation from other railroad activities. This restriction makes it virtually impossible to operate them on existing rail corridors with conventional passenger rail service. Nevertheless, such vehicles may soon operate in

1343-547: A train are, in technical rail usage, more usually called " rail motor coaches " or "motor cars" (not to be confused with the motor cars, otherwise known as automobiles, that operate on roads). The term is sometimes also used as an alternative name for the small types of multiple unit which consist of more than one coach. That is the general usage nowadays in Ireland when referring to any diesel multiple unit (DMU), or in some cases electric multiple unit (EMU). In North America

1422-813: Is also used, referring to the period from the Mukden Incident of 1931 through 1945. The major Allied participants were China , the United States and the British Empire . China had already been engaged in a war against Japan since 1937 . The US and its territories, including the Philippine Commonwealth , entered the war after being attacked by Japan . The British Empire was also a major belligerent consisting of British troops along with colonial troops from India as well as from Burma , Malaya , Fiji , Tonga ; in addition to troops from Australia , New Zealand and Canada . The Dutch government-in-exile (as

1501-580: Is sparse, and where the use of a longer train would not be cost effective . A famous example of this in the United States was the Galloping Goose railcars of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad , whose introduction allowed the discontinuance of steam passenger service on the line and prolonged its life considerably. Railcars have also been employed on premier services. In New Zealand , although railcars were primarily used on regional services,

1580-785: The Blue Streak and Silver Fern railcars were used on the North Island Main Trunk between Wellington and Auckland and offered a higher standard of service than previous carriage trains. In Australia , the Savannahlander operates a tourist service from the coastal town of Cairns to Forsayth , and Traveltrain operates the Gulflander between Normanton and Croydon in the Gulf Country of northern Queensland . William Bridges Adams built steam railcars at Bow, London in

1659-796: The California Western Railroad . While early railcars were propelled by steam and petrol engines, modern railcars are usually propelled by a diesel engine mounted underneath the floor of the coach. Diesel railcars may have mechanical ( fluid coupling and gearbox ), hydraulic ( torque converter ) or electric ( generator and traction motors ) transmission. Electric railcars and mainline electric systems are rare, since electrification normally implies heavy usage where single cars or short trains would not be economic. Exceptions to this rule are or were found for example in Sweden or Switzerland . Some vehicles on tram and interurban systems, like

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1738-761: The Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942, the Allied governments appointed the British General Archibald Wavell to the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM), a supreme command for Allied forces in Southeast Asia. This gave Wavell nominal control of a huge force, albeit one that was thinly spread across a vast area, from Burma to the Philippines to northern Australia. Other regions, including India, Hawaii, and

1817-663: The Empire of Japan and the Republic of China had been in progress since 7 July 1937, with hostilities dating back to 1931 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria . However, it is more widely accepted that the Pacific War itself began on 7 December (8 December Japanese time) 1941, when the Japanese simultaneously attacked American military bases in Hawaii , Wake Island , Guam , and the Philippines ,

1896-470: The Japanese Government Railways , as a result of a large number of JGR engineers and officials being sent to work at the Central China Railway's Shanghai offices and to assemble steam locomotives. In addition to the usual first, second and third-class passenger equipment seen elsewhere, the Central China Railway had fourth class carriages as well. These were newly built with the structure of

1975-736: The Khmer Issarak , and the Hukbalahap . The Soviet Union fought two short, undeclared border conflicts with Japan in 1938 and again in 1939 , then remained neutral through the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact of April 1941, until August 1945 when it (and Mongolia ) joined the rest of the Allies and invaded the territory of Manchukuo , China, Inner Mongolia , the Japanese protectorate of Korea and Japanese-claimed territory such as South Sakhalin . Mexico provided air support in

2054-957: The Kwantung Army to oversee its occupation of Manchukuo and the China Expeditionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, created the Southern Expeditionary Army Group at the outset of its conquests of South East Asia. This headquarters controlled the bulk of the Japanese Army formations which opposed the Western Allies in the Pacific and South East Asia. In 1931, without declaring war, Japan invaded Manchuria , seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industrial economy. By 1937, Japan controlled Manchuria and

2133-764: The Pacific Theater , was the theater of World War II that was fought in eastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean , the Indian Ocean , and Oceania . It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the Pacific Ocean theater , the South West Pacific theater , the Second Sino-Japanese War , and the Soviet–Japanese War in the last few months of the war. The Second Sino-Japanese War between

2212-808: The Red Car of the Pacific Electric Railway , can also be seen as railcars. Experiments with battery-electric railcars were conducted from around 1890 in Belgium, France, Germany and Italy. In the US, railcars of the Edison-Beach type, with nickel-iron batteries were used from 1911. In New Zealand, a battery-electric Edison railcar operated from 1926 to 1934. In Ireland, the Drumm Battery Train used nickel-zinc batteries on four 2-car sets between 1932 and 1946 on

2291-637: The South West Pacific . US sources refer to two theaters within the Pacific War: the Pacific theater and the China Burma India Theater (CBI). However, these were not operational commands. In the Pacific, the Allies divided operational control of their forces between two supreme commands, known as Pacific Ocean Areas and Southwest Pacific Area . The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) did not integrate its units into permanent theater commands. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), which had already created

2370-661: The Soviet Far East . They were defeated in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol by a mixed Soviet and Mongolian force led by Georgy Zhukov . This caused the Japanese to abandon attempts to expand to the north , while Soviet aid to China ceased as a result of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact. In September 1940, Japan decided to invade French Indochina , which was controlled at the time by Vichy France . On 27 September Japan signed

2449-757: The Thai government signed an armistice and entered an alliance with Japan. Although Japan declared war on the United States and the British Empire , the declaration was not delivered until after Japanese forces had already struck British and American targets. In the early hours of 7 December (Hawaiian time), carrier-based Japanese aircraft launched a surprise, large-scale air strike on the U.S. Pacific Fleet's anchorage at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, which knocked eight American battleships out of action, destroyed 188 American aircraft, and killed 2,403 Americans. The Japanese believed that

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2528-568: The Wairarapa railcars that were specially designed to operate over the Rimutaka Incline between Wellington and the Wairarapa region. In Australia , where they were often called Rail Motors, railcars were often used for passenger services on lightly-used lines. In France they are known as autorails . Once very common, their use died out as local lines were closed. However, a new model has been introduced for lesser-used lines. In Canada , after

2607-571: The " Three Alls Policy " ("Kill all, Burn all, Loot all") in occupied areas, killing at least 2.7 million civilians. By 1941 the conflict had become a stalemate. Although Japan had occupied much of northern, central, and coastal China, the Nationalist Government had retreated to the interior and set up a provisional capital at Chongqing , while the Chinese communists remained in control of base areas in Shaanxi . Japanese offensive action against

2686-487: The 1840s. Many British railway companies tried steam rail motors but they were not very successful and were often replaced by push-pull trains . Sentinel Waggon Works was one British builder of steam railcars. In Belgium , M. A. Cabany of Mechelen designed steam railcars. His first was built in 1877 and exhibited at a Paris exhibition. This may have been the Exposition Universelle (1878) . The steam boiler

2765-537: The Allied embargo. This was known as the Southern Plan . It was decided—because of the close relationship between the U.K. and the U.S., and the belief that the U.S. would inevitably become involved in the ongoing war in Europe—that Japan would also seize the Philippines, Wake Island and Guam . Japan had initially planned for a limited war, where Japanese forces would seize key objectives and then establish

2844-469: The Allies staging areas from which to mount a counteroffensive. By November 1941 these plans were mostly complete, and were modified only slightly over the next month. Japanese military planners' expectation of success rested on the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union being unable to effectively respond to a Japanese attack because of the threat posed to each by Nazi Germany; in particular, the Soviet Union

2923-469: The Americans, faced with such a sudden and massive blow to their naval power in the Pacific, would agree to a negotiated settlement. However, American losses were less serious than initially thought: the three American aircraft carriers were at sea during the attack, and vital naval infrastructure, Honolulu's submarine base, and signals intelligence units were unscathed. The fact that the bombing happened while

3002-550: The British colonies of Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong , and invaded Thailand . The Pacific War saw the Allies pitted against Japan, the latter aided by Thailand and to a lesser extent by the Axis powers , Germany and Italy . The Japanese achieved great success in the initial phase of the campaign, but were gradually driven back using an island hopping strategy. The Allies adopted

3081-607: The British retreated to Imphal in Manipur, abandoning most of their transportation and equipment. They reached Imphal in May just as the monsoon descended, which halted the operations of both sides in the area. Within China, cooperation between the Chinese Nationalists and the Communists had waned from its zenith at the Battle of Wuhan, and the relationship between the two had soured as both attempted to expand their areas of operation and influence. The Japanese exploited this lack of unity to press their offensive operations in China. Railcar A railcar (not to be confused with

3160-512: The Central China Railway (as Soriro class, ソリロ) and North China Transport's rail lines; after the Pacific War , these became China Railway class KD5. In 1939, sixteen JGR Class C51 locomotives, C51 8, 28, 30, 33 - 35, 88, 95, 96, 116, 130 - 132, 173, 175, and 178, all equipped with a Sumiyama feedwater heater, were converted to standard gauge and sent to the Central China Railway, where they operated primarily between Nanjing and Shanghai; these were later redesignated パシナ ( Pashina ) class. After

3239-417: The China Railway after the end of the Pacific War. Ten Kiha40000 and ten Kiha42000 class railcars were delivered for suburban services. Pacific War Allied occupation of Japan Second Sino-Japanese War Taishō period Shōwa period Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The Pacific War , sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or

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3318-449: The Chinese 38th Division, led by Sun Li-jen . Meanwhile, in the Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road , the Japanese captured Toungoo after hard fighting and sent motorized units to capture Lashio . This cut the Burma Road , which was the western Allies' supply line to Chinese Nationalist troops. Many of Chinese troops were forced either to retreat to India, or withdraw in small parties to Yunnan . Accompanied by large numbers of civilian refugees,

3397-429: The Dutch East Indies were, due to their abundant oil reserves, crucially important for further expansion by the Japanese Empire. By 1940 the Japanese also included Indochina, Malaya, and the Philippines within their concept of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Japanese troop build-ups in Hainan, Taiwan, and Haiphong were noted in foreign media, Japanese military officers were increasingly and openly talking about

3476-428: The Dutch East Indies would be occupied. The Second Operational Phase called for further expansion into the South Pacific by seizing eastern New Guinea, New Britain, Fiji, Samoa, and strategic points in around Australia. In the Central Pacific, Midway Island was targeted, as were the Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific. Japanese strategists believed that the seizure of these key areas would provide defensive depth and deny

3555-500: The IJN and IJA launched simultaneous surprise attacks on the United States and the British Empire on 7 December (8 December in Asia/West Pacific time zones). The locations of this first wave of Japanese attacks included the American territories of Hawaii, the Philippines , Guam , and Wake Island and the British territories of Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong . Concurrently, Japanese forces invaded southern and eastern Thailand and were resisted for several hours, before

3634-459: The Japanese puppet states of Manchukuo (consisting of most of Manchuria ), and the collaborationist Wang Jingwei regime (which controlled the coastal regions of China), respectively. Japan conscripted many soldiers from its colonies of Korea and Taiwan . Collaborationist security units were also formed in Hong Kong , Singapore , the Philippines , the Dutch East Indies , British Malaya , British Borneo , former French Indochina (after

3713-563: The Japanese on 15 February 1942. About 130,000 Indian, British, Australian and Dutch personnel became Japanese prisoners of war. Bali and Timor fell in February. The rapid collapse of Allied resistance left the "ABDA area" split in two. Wavell resigned from ABDACOM on 25 February, handing control of the ABDA Area to local commanders and returning to the post of Commander-in-Chief, India . Meanwhile, Japanese aircraft had all but eliminated Allied air power in Southeast Asia and were carrying out air attacks on northern Australia , beginning with

3792-460: The Liberation of China and the establishment of the People's Republic , these became China Railway class ㄆㄒ9 (PX9) in 1951, and reclassified as class SL9 in 1959. At the same time, JGR D50 193 was also converted to standard gauge and shipped to the Central China Railway. After the establishment of the PRC, it was classified ㄇㄎ16 (MK16), but was off the roster by 1955. Subsequently, the Central China Railway received newly built locomotives, such as

3871-404: The UK was designed by James Sidney Drewry and made by the Drewry Car Co. in 1906. In 1908 the manufacture was contracted out to the Birmingham Small Arms Company . By the 1930s, railcars were often adapted from truck or automobiles; examples of this include the Buick - and Pierce-Arrow -based Galloping Geese of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad , and the Mack Truck -based "Super Skunk" of

3950-422: The US was not officially at war caused a wave of outrage across the country. Japan's fallback strategy, relying on a war of attrition against the United States, was beyond the Imperial Japanese Navy's capabilities. Opposition to war in the United States vanished after the attack. On 8 December, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands declared war on Japan, followed by Australia

4029-487: The United States as manufacturers such as Siemens , Alstom and ADtranz affirm they may be able to produce FRA-compliant versions of their European equipment. Light regional railcars are used by a number of railroads in Germany, and also in the Netherlands , Denmark , Italy , United States and Spain . Models of new-generation multiple-unit and articulated railcars include: When there are enough passengers to justify it, single-unit powered railcars can be joined in

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4108-503: The Western powers through armed forces of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere . Japanese officials integrated what they called the Japan–China Incident ( 日支事変 , Nisshi Jihen ) into the Greater East Asia War. During the Occupation of Japan (1945–52), these terms were prohibited in official documents (although their informal usage continued). The war became officially known as the Pacific War ( 太平洋戦争 , Taiheiyō Sensō ) . The Fifteen Years' War ( 十五年戦争 , Jūgonen Sensō )

4187-403: The aircraft carrier HMS  Hermes was sunk, along with other Allied ships. The attack forced the Royal Navy to withdraw to the western part of the Indian Ocean, paving the way for a Japanese assault on Burma and India. In Burma, the Japanese captured Moulmein on 31 January 1942, and then drove outnumbered British and Indian troops towards the Sittang River . On 23 February, a bridge over

4266-576: The battery. A new breed of modern lightweight aerodynamically designed diesel or electric regional railcars that can operate as single vehicles or in trains (or, in “multiple units”) are becoming very popular in Europe and Japan, replacing the first-generation railbuses and second-generation DMU railcars, usually running on lesser-used main-line railways and in some cases in exclusive lanes in urban areas. Like many high-end DMUs, these vehicles are made of two or three connected units that are semi-permanently coupled as “married pairs or triplets” and operate as

4345-440: The cessation of their mainline passenger service , BC Rail started operating a pair of railbuses to some settlements not easily accessible otherwise. In Russia , the Mytishchi -based Metrowagonmash firm manufactures the RA-1 railbus, equipped with a Mercedes engine. As of summer 2006, the Gorky Railway planned to start using them on its commuter line between Nizhny Novgorod and Bor . The term railbus also refers to

4424-496: The city, which fell to Japan after three months of fighting. The Japanese continued to push deeper into China, capturing the capital Nanjing in mid-December 1937 and committing atrocities in the Nanjing Massacre , including rape, murder and torture. In March 1938, Nationalist forces won their first victory at Taierzhuang , but the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Japan deployed about 350,000 troops to invade Wuhan and captured it in October after

4503-450: The coastal and Harcourt Street railway lines . British Railways used lead–acid batteries in a railcar in 1958 . Between 1955 and 1995 DB railways successfully operated 232 DB Class ETA 150 railcars utilising lead–acid batteries . As with any other battery electric vehicle , the drawback is the limited range (this can be solved using overhead wires to recharge for use in places where there are not wires), weight, and/or expense of

4582-407: The command of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Historically, the IJA consumed the majority of the state's military budget (with a 73% - 27% split in 1940), but from 1942 to 1945 the IJA would account for 60% of Japan's military spending, while the IJN would account for 40%. Japan's key initial objective was to seize economic resources in the Dutch East Indies and Malaya, in order to alleviate the effects of

4661-421: The damage from the Sino-Japanese war was repaired, high-end direct services were put into operation in conjunction with North China Transport, such as the "Temma" and "Hiryū" limited express trains between Shanghai and Nanjing. In November 1942, this 311 km (193 mi) distance was covered in 5 hours 20 minutes, with an average train speed of 58.31 km/h (36.23 mph). When the Central China Railway

4740-426: The eight KC100 class 4-6-2s (KC1001–KC1008), 19 KD100 class 2-8-2s (KD1001−KD1019), the 10 Pashishi class identical to the Chosen Government Railway ( Sentetsu ) Pashishi class (パシシ11–パシシ19, and パシシ110), and the 38 Mikasa class identical to the Sentetsu Mikasa class (ミカサ11–ミカサ19, ミカサ110–ミカサ137, ミカサ310). Like the locomotive fleet, the Central China Railway's inventory of passenger carriages and goods wagons

4819-411: The ends of two adjacent coupled carriages are carried on a single joint bogie (see Jacobs bogie ). A variation of the railcar is the railbus : a very lightweight type of vehicle designed for use specifically on lightly-used railway lines and, as the name suggests, sharing many aspects of their construction with those of a road bus . They usually have a bus, or modified bus, body and four wheels on

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4898-402: The form of the 201st Fighter Squadron and Free France sent naval support in the form of Le Triomphant and later the Richelieu . The Axis -aligned states which assisted Japan included the authoritarian government of Thailand . Also involved were members of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, which included the Manchukuo Imperial Army and Collaborationist Chinese Army of

4977-499: The next day. Thailand, with its territory already serving as a springboard for Japan's Malayan Campaign , surrendered within hours of the Japanese invasion. The government of Thailand formally allied with Japan on 21 December. To the south, the IJA seized the British colony of Penang on 19 December, encountering little resistance. Hong Kong was attacked on 8 December and fell to Japanese forces on 25 December 1941. American bases on Guam and Wake Island were seized by Japan at around

5056-431: The overthrow of the French regime in 1945 ), as well as Timorese militia . Germany and Italy both had limited involvement in the Pacific War. The German and the Italian navies operated submarines and raiding ships in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, notably the Monsun Gruppe . Between 1942 and 1945, there were four main areas of conflict in the Pacific War: China, the Central Pacific , South-East Asia and

5135-403: The possessor of the Dutch East Indies ) was also involved. All of these were members of the Pacific War Council . From 1944 the French commando group Corps Léger d'Intervention also took part in resistance operations in Indochina. Some active pro-allied guerrillas in Asia included the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army , the Korean Liberation Army , the Free Thai Movement , the Việt Minh ,

5214-554: The prospect of war, and Admiral Sankichi Takahashi was reported as stating that a showdown with the US was necessary. In an effort to discourage Japanese militarism, Western powers including Australia, the US, Britain, and the Dutch government in exile , which controlled the Dutch East Indies, stopped selling oil , iron ore, and steel to Japan. In Japan, the government and Japanese nationalists viewed these embargoes as acts of aggression; imported oil made up about 80% of domestic consumption, without which Japan's economy would grind to

5293-412: The railbus concept is Parry People Movers . Locomotive power is from the energy stored in a flywheel . The first production vehicles, designated as British Rail Class 139 , have a small onboard LPG motor to bring the flywheel up to speed. In practice, this could be an electric motor that need only connect to the power supply at stopping points. Alternatively, a motor at the stopping points could wind up

5372-443: The rest of Australia, remained under local commands. On 15 January, Wavell moved to Bandung in Java to assume control of ABDACOM. In January, Japan invaded British Burma, the Dutch East Indies, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, and captured Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Rabaul . After being driven out of Malaya, Allied forces in Singapore attempted to resist the Japanese during the Battle of Singapore, but were forced to surrender to

5451-470: The retreating and regrouping Chinese forces was largely stalled by the mountainous terrain in southwestern China, while the Communists organized widespread guerrilla and saboteur activities in northern and eastern China behind the Japanese front line. Japan sponsored several puppet governments , one of which was headed by Wang Jingwei . Conflicts between Chinese Communist and Nationalist forces vying for territorial control behind enemy lines culminated in

5530-450: The river was demolished prematurely, stranding most of an Indian division. On 8 March, the Japanese occupied Rangoon . The Allies attempted to defend Central Burma, with Indian and Burmese divisions holding the Irrawaddy River valley and the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma defending Toungoo . On 16 April, 7,000 British soldiers were encircled by the Japanese 33rd Division during the Battle of Yenangyaung , but subsequently rescued by

5609-455: The same time. British, Australian, and Dutch forces, already drained of personnel and matériel by two years of war with Germany, and heavily committed in the Middle East, North Africa, and elsewhere, were unable to provide more than token resistance. Two major British warships, the battlecruiser HMS  Repulse and the battleship HMS  Prince of Wales , were sunk by a Japanese air attack off Malaya on 10 December 1941. Following

5688-689: The term "railcar" has a much broader sense and can be used (as an abbreviated form of "railroad car") to refer to any item of hauled rolling-stock, whether passenger coaches or goods wagons (freight cars). Self-powered railcars were once common in North America; see Doodlebug (rail car) . In its simplest form, a "railcar" may also be little more than a motorized railway handcar or draisine . Railcars are economic to run for light passenger loads because of their small size, and in many countries are often used to run passenger services on minor railway lines, such as rural railway lines where passenger traffic

5767-503: Was occupied by the Allies. Japan lost its former possessions in Asia and the Pacific and had its sovereignty limited to the four main home islands and other minor islands as determined by the Allies. In Allied countries during the war, the "Pacific War" was not usually distinguished from World War II , or was known simply as the War against Japan . In the United States, the term Pacific theater

5846-731: Was established, it suffered from a severe motive power shortage, as when the Chinese National Government forces withdrew, they destroyed a great number of locomotives, leaving only limited numbers of types inherited from nationalised railways, such as the Huainan Railway 300 class . To alleviate this shortage, JGR locomotives were converted from Japanese narrow gauge (1,067 mm (3 ft 6.0 in) to standard gauge and shipped to China. Among these were JGR Class 9600 2-8-0 steam locomotives, and as these proved to be very easy to regauge, 251 were sent to China for use on both

5925-517: Was left in shambles after the withdrawal of the Chinese army. As an emergency measure, 126 JGR carriages were converted to standard gauge and shipped to China. These were of the Oshi27730 (3 cars), Naro20700 (8), Naha22000 (35), Nahafu24000 (37), Oni26600 (5), Suro33 (9), Suha32 (22), and Suhafu32 (7) classes. From 1940, new passenger carriages and goods wagons were built for the Central China Railway to Mantetsu designs. Many of these remained in service with

6004-587: Was prepared to move deeper into China. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937 provoked full-scale war between China and Japan. The Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communists suspended their civil war in order to form a nominal alliance against Japan, and the Soviet Union quickly lent support by providing large amounts of materiel to Chinese troops. In August 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed some of his best troops to defend Shanghai against some 300,000 Japanese troops attempting to seize

6083-476: Was seen as unlikely to commence hostilities. The Japanese leadership was aware that a total military victory in the traditional sense against the United States was impossible, and instead envisaged that rapid, aggressive and expansive conquest would force the U.S. to agree to a negotiated peace that would recognize Japanese hegemony in Asia. Following prolonged tensions between Japan and the Western powers , units of

6162-563: Was supplied by the Boussu Works and there was accommodation for First, Second and Third-class passengers and their luggage. There was also a locker for dogs underneath. Fifteen were built and they worked mainly in the Hainaut and Antwerp districts. The Austro-Hungarian Ganz Works built steam trams prior to the First World War. The Santa Fe Railway built a steam powered rail car using

6241-665: Was widely used. The US Armed Forces considered the China Burma India theater to be distinct from the Asiatic-Pacific theater during the conflict. Japan used the name Greater East Asia War ( 大東亜戦争 , Dai Tō-A Sensō ) , as chosen by a cabinet decision on 10 December 1941, to refer to both the war with the Western Allies and the ongoing war in China. This name was released to the public on 12 December, with an explanation that it involved Asian nations achieving their independence from

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