181-434: Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups Luxembourg The Netherlands Belgium France Britain 1941–1943 1944–1945 Germany Strategic campaigns The Phoney War ( French : Drôle de guerre ; German : Sitzkrieg ) was an eight-month period at the outset of World War II during which there were virtually no Allied military land operations on
362-603: A Cumberland Presbyterian academy at Enfield , to train for the ministry. The 63 students there included two future U.S. senators, Borah and Wesley Jones , who would represent the state of Washington; the two often debated as schoolboys. Instead of becoming a preacher, Borah was in 1882 expelled for hitching rides on the Illinois Central to spend the night in the town of Carmi . He ran away from home with an itinerant Shakespearean company, but his father persuaded him to return. In his late teenage years, he became interested in
543-462: 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
724-755: 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
905-590: A naval blockade of Germany , and they shut down German surface raiders . They meanwhile formulated elaborate plans for large-scale operations designed to cripple the German war effort. The plans included opening an Anglo-French front in the Balkans, invading Norway to seize control of Germany's main source of iron ore , and imposing an embargo against the Soviet Union which was Germany's primary oil supplier. By April 1940,
1086-591: A ten-gallon hat . It was customary then for junior senators to wait perhaps a year before giving their maiden speech , but at Roosevelt's request, in April 1908, Borah spoke in defense of the president's dismissal of more than 200 African-American soldiers in the Brownsville Affair in Texas. The cause of their innocence had been pressed by the fiery Ohio senator, Joseph B. Foraker . The soldiers were accused of having shot up
1267-426: A 32 km (20 miles) line near Saarbrücken against weak German opposition. The assault was to have been carried out by roughly 40 divisions, including one armoured , three mechanised divisions, 78 artillery regiments and 40 tank battalions . The French Army had advanced to a depth of 8 km (5.0 miles) and captured about 20 villages evacuated by the German army, without any resistance. But
1448-665: A Democrat- Populist fusion candidate, he had little chance of winning. He concentrated on making speeches aimed at gaining a legislature that would re-elect Dubois—until 1913, state legislatures chose senators. Bryan, Dubois, and Borah were all defeated. In 1898, Borah supported the Spanish–American War and remained loyal to the Silver Republicans. By 1900, Borah deemed the silver issue of minimal importance due to increased gold production and national prosperity,. With other former silverites, he made an unapologetic return to
1629-686: A German military screen, not a real defense." According to General Siegfried Westphal , if the French had attacked in force in September 1939, the German army "could only have held out for one or two weeks." The Saar Offensive on 7 September was the one limited land action by the Allies during the Phoney War. The French attacked the Saarland , which was defended by the German 1st Army . The assault, whose strategic purpose
1810-582: A Republican legislature, which in January 1907 retired Dubois by electing Borah to the Senate. Borah presented his credentials at the Senate prior to the formal beginning of his first term on March 4, 1907. Until 1933, Congress's regular session began in December, allowing Borah time to participate in two major trials. One of these boosted him to national prominence for his role in the prosecution of Big Bill Haywood , and
1991-457: A Texas town near their military camp. Borah said that their alleged actions were as wrongful as the murder of Steunenberg. The accusations were later re-investigated. The government concluded that the soldiers had been accused because of racist officials in the town and, in 1972, long after the deaths of Roosevelt, Borah, and most of the soldiers, their dishonorable discharges from the military were reversed. Republican leaders had heard that Borah
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#17328371301132172-481: A ban on bombing raids which might endanger civilians, Britain and France agreed at once, and Germany agreed two weeks later. The RAF therefore conducted a large number of combined reconnaissance and propaganda leaflet flights over Germany. These operations were jokingly termed "pamphlet raids" or "Confetti War" in the British press. On 10 May 1940, eight months after the outbreak of war, German troops marched into Belgium ,
2353-515: A bomb has fallen on a Rhineland factory. Is that war? they ask. During the September Campaign in Poland, the British government under Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain still hoped to persuade Germany to agree to peace. Although London hospitals prepared for 300,000 casualties in the first week of the war (Britain and France did not realise that Germany used 90% of its frontline aircraft in
2534-517: A bombing raid over the Wilhelmshaven port on the 4th of September, though this proved costly. There were occasional dogfights between fighter planes, and the RAF dropped propaganda leaflets on Germany. The U.S. foreign correspondent William Shirer was assigned to Berlin at the onset of World War II. In his diary entries on 9 and 10 September 1939, he wrote about the puzzlement felt by many: Apparently
2715-596: A campaign swing in October, Borah felt he had to greet the former president and sit on the platform as Roosevelt spoke, though he was unwilling to endorse him. Roosevelt told in his speech of a long list of state delegate votes he said had been stolen from him, and after each, turned to Borah and asked, "Isn't that so, Senator Borah?" giving him no choice but to nod. It is not clear whether Borah voted for Roosevelt or Taft, he later stated both at different times. The main issue in Idaho
2896-439: A committee packed with Irreconcilables, including Borah. As these hearings continued in the summer of 1919, Wilson undertook a speaking tour by train to get the public to press the Senate for ratification, a tour that ended in his collapse. In the months that followed, an ailing Wilson refused any compromise. Borah helped write the majority report for the committee, recommending 45 amendments and 4 reservations. In November 1919,
3077-679: A compromise candidate, and was spoken of for that role, but all such efforts failed. When it became clear Taft would be renominated, Roosevelt and his supporters bolted the party; the former president asked Borah to chair the organizational meeting of his new Progressive Party , but the Idahoan refused. Borah would not countenance leaving the Republican Party and did not support any of the presidential candidates (the Democrats nominated New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ). When Roosevelt came to Boise on
3258-566: A consequence of its attack on Finland, the Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations , and a proposed Franco-British expedition to northern Scandinavia was debated. However, the British forces that were assembled to aid Finland were not dispatched in time before the Winter War ended. Instead, they were sent to Norway to help in its campaign against Germany. On 20 March, shortly after
3439-590: A constitutional amendment, which passed the Senate unanimously and then the House, and to the surprise of many, passed the requisite number of state legislatures by 1913 to become the Sixteenth Amendment . Borah also had a hand in the other constitutional amendment to be ratified in 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment , providing for the direct election of senators by the people. In 1909, due to Borah's influence,
3620-501: A deal with a potential Republican rival, Governor Frank Gooding , whereby Borah would be nominated for Senate and Gooding for re-election and on August 1, 1906, both men received the state convention's endorsement by acclamation. Dubois was the Democratic choice, and Borah campaigned in support of President Roosevelt, argued that Republicans had brought the nation prosperity, and urged law and order . Voters re-elected Gooding, and selected
3801-494: 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
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#17328371301133982-445: A defensive posture. This would allow time for Britain and France to build up their own military resources and eventually attain economic and naval superiority over Germany. To this end, Britain initially committed to sending two divisions to France, and two more eleven months later. The Polish Army's plan for defense, Plan West , assumed the Allies would quickly undertake a significant Western Front offensive that would provide relief to
4163-721: 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
4344-538: A full term as president, which was widely applauded. But the Old Guard Republicans in Idaho opposed him and they were determined to defeat Borah in his second bid for the Senate. The same year, Dubois damaged his prospects for a third term by his opposition to the appointment of H. Smith Woolley, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (many Idahoans adhered to that faith), as assayer-in-charge of
4525-422: A governor of their party, as well as the state's only House member and a large majority in the legislature. Three other Republicans were seeking the Senate seat, including Weldon B. Heyburn , a mining lawyer from the northern part of the state. When the legislature met in early 1903, Borah led on early caucus ballots, but then the other candidates withdrew and backed Heyburn; he was chosen by the caucus, and then by
4706-489: A governor. He met with Coolidge multiple times in late 1923, and found the new president interested in his ideas on policies foreign and domestic. Borah was encouraged when Coolidge included in his annual message to Congress a suggestion that he might open talks with the Soviet Union on trade—the Bolshevik government had not been recognized since the 1917 October Revolution and Borah had long urged relations. Under pressure from
4887-498: 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
5068-457: A heated debate in the House of Commons during which Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was under constant attack. A nominal vote of confidence in his government was won by 281 to 200, but many of Chamberlain's supporters had voted against him while others had abstained. Chamberlain found it impossible to continue to lead a National Government or to form a new coalition government with himself as
5249-400: A large group of miners dynamited facilities belonging to a mining company that refused to recognize the union. They had hijacked a train to travel to destroy the company's plant. Someone in the mob shot and killed a strikebreaker. Governor Frank Steunenberg declared martial law and had more than one thousand miners arrested. Paul Corcoran, secretary of the union, was charged with murder. Borah
5430-577: A life option on a seat in the Senate". Borah opposed Taft over a number of issues and in March 1912 announced his support of the candidacy of Roosevelt over Taft for the Republican presidential nomination. Most delegates to the 1912 Republican National Convention in Chicago selected by primary supported Roosevelt, but as most states held conventions to select delegates, Taft's control of the party machinery gave him
5611-420: 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
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5792-681: A man so free from the discipline of the party could lead its ranks. Borah stated he lacked the money to run. He did work behind the scenes to find a candidate that would reunite the Republicans and holdout Progressives: a member of a joint committee of the two parties' conventions to seek re-unification, Borah achieved a friendly reception when he addressed the Progressive convention. The Republicans nominated Charles Evans Hughes , and Progressive leaders reluctantly backed him, but some former Roosevelt supporters refused to support Hughes. Borah campaigned for
5973-686: 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
6154-492: A non-political background. Throughout the Phoney War, most of the military clashes, such as the Battle of the Atlantic , occurred at sea. Among the notable incidents were: British war planning had called for a "knockout blow" by strategic bombing of German industry with the RAF's substantial Bomber Command . However, there was considerable apprehension about German retaliation, and when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed
6335-473: A note urging him to change his vote. This had no effect, and when the Senate voted on the amendment in early October 1918, it failed by two votes, with Borah voting in the negative. More petitions and pressure on Borah followed, and the senator agreed to meet with suffragist leader Alice Paul . After the meeting, Paul stated that Borah had agreed to support the amendment if re-elected, but the senator said he had agreed to no such thing. Nevertheless, Paul called off
6516-545: A partisan issue; according to McKenna, in Borah's League fight, "of partisanship, jealousy, or personal hostility there is no trace". Republicans felt Wilson was making a political issue of the peace, especially when the president urged a Democratic Congress prior to the 1918 election, and attended the Paris Peace Conference in person, taking no Republican members of Congress on his delegation. Wilson had felt his statement
6697-554: A reformer. After Roosevelt's hand-picked successor as president, former Secretary of War William Howard Taft , was inaugurated in March 1909, Congress battled over what became the Payne–Aldrich Tariff . At the time, tariffs were the main source of government revenue, and conflicts over them were passionate. The party platform had promised tariff reform, which progressive insurgents like Borah took to mean tariff reductions. Old Guard legislators like Senator Aldrich disagreed, and
6878-555: A senator in 1918, that he could be persuaded to support the amendment, and if not, unseated. When what would become the Nineteenth Amendment passed the House, Borah announced his opposition, writing to an Idahoan, "I am aware…[my position] will lead to much criticism among friends at home [but] I would rather give up the office [than] cast a vote…I do not believe in." Activists determined to pressure Borah with petitions from his constituents, and former president Roosevelt sent him
7059-531: A week they have been formally at war with Germany. But has it been war? they ask. The British, it is true, sent over twenty-five planes to bomb Wilhelmshaven. But if it is war, why only twenty-five? And if it is war, why only a few leaflets over the Rhineland ? The industrial heart of Germany lies along the Rhine close to France. From there come most of the munitions that are blowing up Poland with such deadly effect. Yet not
7240-869: 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
7421-526: The Sitzkrieg ("the sitting war": a word play on blitzkrieg created by the British press). In French, it is referred to as the drôle de guerre ("funny" or "strange" war). In March 1939, Britain and France formalized plans for how they would conduct war against Nazi Germany. Knowing their enemy would be more prepared and have land and air superiority, the Allies' strategy was to fight off any specific German aggressive actions, but to essentially maintain
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7602-848: The Asia–Pacific War or 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
7783-761: 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
7964-663: 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 ,
8145-521: The Espionage Act of 1917 , and pressing Wilson for statements of limited war aims. Borah's term was to expire in 1919; never a wealthy person and hard-hit by the high cost of living in wartime Washington, he considered leaving the Senate and practicing law in a major New York firm. However, he felt needed in the Senate and in Idaho, as both of the state's seats would be up for election in November 1918 due to
8326-655: The Irreconcilables like Borah, who would not support any organization, to those who strongly favored one; none wanted Wilson to go into the 1920 presidential election with credit for having sorted out Europe. Once the general terms of the Treaty of Versailles , which included the Charter of the League of Nations, were presented by Wilson in February 1919, Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts,
8507-687: 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
8688-957: 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
8869-435: The Moscow Peace Treaty concluded the Winter War, Édouard Daladier resigned as Prime Minister of France, in part due to his failure to come to Finland's defense. In February 1940, Norway became a focus of attention as evidenced by the Altmark Incident . The Allies openly discussed a possible expedition to northern Scandinavia (even though they had not received a request or consent from the neutral Scandinavian countries) and
9050-621: The Netherlands and Luxembourg , marking the end of the Phoney War and the beginning of the Battle of France . Fascist Italy , hoping for territorial gains when France was defeated, entered the European war on 10 June 1940, although the thirty-two Italian divisions which crossed the border with France enjoyed little success against five defending French divisions. 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
9231-414: The Siegfried Line , which was their fortified defensive line along the French border. On 7 September, the French commenced the limited Saar Offensive , but withdrew when their artillery could not penetrate German defenses. A further assault was planned for 20 September, but on 17 September, following the USSR's invasion of Poland, the assault was called off. In the air, the Royal Air Force (RAF) launched
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#17328371301139412-516: 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
9593-435: 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
9774-414: The Soviet Union 's assault on Finland on 30 November 1939. Public opinion, particularly in France and Britain, quickly sided with Finland and demanded action from their governments in support of "the brave Finns" against the much larger Soviet aggressors. The public believed that effective defense of the Finns was more achievable than what had been provided for the Poles in the September Campaign. As
9955-603: 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
10136-465: The United States Assay Office at Boise. Dubois had advanced politically through anti-Mormonism in the 1880s, but the issue was more or less dead in Idaho by 1904. Woolley was confirmed by the U.S. Senate despite Dubois's opposition, and Rufus G. Cook, in his article on the affair, suggested that Dubois was baited into acting by Borah and his supporters. The result was that Borah attacked Dubois for anti-Mormonism in both 1904 and 1906, which played well in
10317-455: The Washington Naval Conference of 1921–22 came from a resolution he introduced in December 1920. After the new Secretary of State, Charles Hughes, took the idea, Borah became an opponent, convinced the conference would lead the United States into the League of Nations through the back door. In 1921, when Harding nominated former president Taft as chief justice, Borah was one of four senators to oppose confirmation. Borah stated that Taft, at 63,
10498-411: The Wehrmacht to withdraw at least six divisions from Poland. The following day, the commander of the French Military Mission to Poland, General Louis Faury , told the Polish Chief of Staff —General Wacław Stachiewicz —that the major offensive on the Western Front planned from 17 to 20 September had to be postponed. At the same time, French divisions were ordered to withdraw to their barracks along
10679-408: The Western Front . World War II began on 1 September 1939 with Nazi Germany 's invasion of Poland . Two days later, the "Phoney" period began with declarations of war by the United Kingdom and France against Germany, but with little actual warfare occurring. Although the Western Allies did not conduct major military actions during the Phoney War, they did implement economic warfare , especially
10860-574: The World Court , that he deemed entangling the U.S. abroad. By the time of the 1924 election, Levinson was frustrated with Borah, but Coolidge's statement after the election that outlawry was one of the issues he proposed to address, briefly resurrected Borah's enthusiasm. only to have it fall away again. It was not until 1927, when French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand proposed the U.S. and his nation enter into an agreement to "outlaw war" that Borah became interested again, though it took months of pestering by Levinson. In December 1927, Borah introduced
11041-458: 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
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#173283713011311222-422: 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
11403-416: The Allied troops previously earmarked for Finland to be redirected to Norway. Fighting there continued until June, when the Allies evacuated, ceding Norway to Germany in response to the German invasion of France. On the Axis side during the Phoney period, Nazi Germany initiated attacks at sea in the autumn of 1939 and winter of 1940 against British aircraft carriers and destroyers, sinking several, including
11584-414: 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
11765-417: 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
11946-406: 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
12127-635: 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. William Borah William Edgar Borah (June 29, 1865 – January 19, 1940)
12308-449: 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,
12489-464: The Coolidge/Dawes ticket, alleging his re-election bid required his full attention. Senator Lodge died in November 1924, making Borah the senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, and he took its chairmanship. He could have become Judiciary Committee chairman instead, as the death of Frank Brandegee of Connecticut made Borah senior Republican on that committee as well. The Foreign Relations chairmanship greatly increased his influence, one quip
12670-497: The Democrats took control of the Senate in 1933, Borah agreed with some of the New Deal legislation, but opposed other proposals. He ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1936, but party regulars were not inclined to allow a longtime maverick to head the ticket. In his final years, he felt he might be able to settle differences in Europe by meeting with Hitler; though he did not go, this has not enhanced his historical reputation. Borah died in 1940; his statue , presented by
12851-429: 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
13032-717: 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
13213-530: The French opted to fight a defensive war, forcing the Germans to come to them. General Maurice Gamelin ordered his troops to stop no closer than 1 km (0.62 miles) from German positions along the Siegfried Line. Poland was not notified of this decision. Instead, Gamelin incorrectly informed Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły that half of his divisions were in contact with the enemy and that French advances had forced
13394-614: The Germans immediately declared a counter-blockade, while the Soviet Union helped Germany with supplies bypassing the blockade . After World War II, it was discovered that Nazi Germany's armed forces were vulnerable throughout the September Campaign. They had not yet reached full fighting strength and might have succumbed to a determined opponent, or at least suffered serious damage. At the Nuremberg trials , German military commander Alfred Jodl said that "if we did not collapse already in
13575-667: 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
13756-492: The Idaho Legislature passed an act for a statewide election for US senators, with legislators in theory bound to choose the winner. By 1912 over 30 states had similar laws. Borah promoted the amendment in the Senate in 1911 and 1912 until it passed Congress and, after a year, it was ratified by the states. With the power to elect senators having passed to the people, according to McKenna, the popular Borah "secured for himself
13937-622: 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
14118-615: 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
14299-567: The Maginot Line. This quick cessation of fighting by the French contributed to the "Phoney War" characterization. In the war's early months, antagonism between the British and German populations was not as bitter as it would later become. British pilots mapped the Siegfried Line while German troops waved at them. On 30 April 1940 when a German Heinkel He 111 bomber crashed at Clacton-on-Sea in Essex —killing its crew and injuring 160 people on
14480-524: The Old Guard, Coolidge quickly walked back his proposal, depressing Borah, who concluded the president had deceived him. In early 1924, the Teapot Dome scandal broke, and although Coolidge had no involvement in the affair, some of the implicated cabinet officers, including Attorney General Harry Daugherty , remained in office, backed by the Old Guard. Coolidge sought the support of Borah in the crisis; his price
14661-675: The Polish forces in the East. However, the Poles' assumption was proven wrong by the passivity of the Phoney War. Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 marked the beginning of World War II. Within 48 hours, in fulfillment of their treaty obligations to Poland, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany. While most of the German army was engaged in Poland, a much smaller German force manned
14842-456: The Polish invasion), Germany did not launch the expected full-scale air bombardment of British cities. Combatants feared massive retaliation for attacking civilian targets. German pilots who bombed Scottish naval bases said they would have been court-martialed and executed if they bombed civilians. But both sides found that attacks on military targets, such as the British attack on Wilhelmshaven, could lead to high losses of aircraft. In contrast to
15023-436: The Republican Party to support the presidential campaign of Democrat William Jennings Bryan — free silver , which Bryan advocated, was extremely popular in Idaho. Borah thus became a Silver Republican in opposition to the campaign of the Republican presidential candidate, former Ohio governor William McKinley . Borah ran for the House of Representatives that year, but knew that with the silver vote split between himself and
15204-516: The Republican Party. He made speeches for McKinley, who was re-elected. Bryan, however, took Idaho's electoral votes for a second time. Dubois, though nominally remaining a Silver Republican, gained control of the state Democratic Party, and was returned to the US Senate by the Idaho Legislature . Borah's legal practice had made him prominent in southern Idaho, and in 1902 he sought election to
15385-476: The Republican State Central Committee. He served as political secretary to Governor William J. McConnell . In 1895 Borah married the governor's daughter, Mary McConnell. They were married until Borah's death, but had no children together. Idaho, a mining state, was fraught with labor tensions, and related violence was common by both employers and workers. In 1899, there was a strike, and
15566-489: The Republican presidential candidate (something he would do only once more, for Hoover in 1928), but Wilson narrowly won re-election . [President Wilson] is in favor of a League of Nations . If the Savior of mankind would revisit the earth and declare for a league ... I would be opposed to it. That is my position and it is not a question of personality. It is a question of policy for my government. William E. Borah to
15747-469: The Revolutionary War , and moved west with the frontier. The young William E. Borah was the seventh of ten children, and the third son. Although Borah was not a good student, at an early age he began to love oratory and the written word. Borah was educated at Tom's Prairie School, near Fairfield. When Borah exhausted its rudimentary resources, his father sent him in 1881 to Southern Illinois Academy,
15928-654: The Senate defeated both versions of the Treaty of Versailles, with and without what were called the Lodge Reservations . Borah, delighted, proclaimed the day the greatest since the end of the Civil War. The following January, the Senate considered the treaty again and Lodge wanted to convene a bipartisan group of senators to find a compromise. Borah, threatening party schism, met with Lodge behind closed doors, and Lodge withdrew his plan. The Senate voted once more, in March 1920, on
16109-404: The Senate, December 1918 After Germany resumed unlimited submarine warfare in early 1917, many considered U.S. entry into the war inevitable, though Borah expressed hope it might still be avoided. Nevertheless, he supported Wilson on legislation to arm merchant ships, and voted in favor when the president requested a declaration of war in April 1917. He made it clear that in his view, the U.S.
16290-491: The Senate. By this time, a united Republican Party was deemed likely to defeat the Democratic/Populist combine that had ruled Idaho for the past six years. The 1902 Idaho state Republican convention showed that Borah had, likely, the most support among the people, but the choice of senator was generally dictated by the caucus of the majority party in the legislature. In the 1902 election, Republicans retook control, electing
16471-659: The South African conflict. Credit for coining "Phoney War" is generally given to U.S. Senator William Borah who, commenting in September ;1939 on the inactivity on the Western Front , said: "There is something phoney about this war." "Phoney War" customarily appears using the British spelling (with an 'e') even in North America, rather than adopt the American spelling, "Phony", although some American sources do not follow
16652-621: The Soviets attacked Finland in the Winter War , eliciting much debate in France and Britain about mounting an offensive to help Finland. However, the necessary forces for the offensive weren't assembled until after the Winter War concluded in March. The Allied discussions about a Scandinavian campaign triggered concern in Germany and resulted in the German invasion of Denmark and Norway in April 1940. This caused
16833-504: The U.S. representatives in Paris be asked to press the issue of Irish independence, but the Senate took no action. Borah found the provisions of the treaty regarding Germany to be shocking in their vindictiveness, and feared they might snuff out the new Weimar Republic at birth. The small Republican majority in the Senate made Irreconcilable votes necessary to Lodge's strategy, and he met with Borah in April 1919, persuading him to go along with
17014-472: The U.S. whenever conflict developed in Europe. He decided to oppose Wilson's plan despite his personal admiration for the president. Like many Westerners, Borah held agrarian ideals, and linked them with a policy of isolationism and avoiding foreign entanglements he believed had served the nation well. Borah took pains, throughout the battle, to stress that he had opposed the principle of a league before it became
17195-586: 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
17376-618: The Versailles treaty, and the Senate did not ratify it. Remaining a maverick, Borah often fought with the Republican presidents in office between 1921 and 1933, though Calvin Coolidge offered to make Borah his running mate in 1924. Borah campaigned for Herbert Hoover in 1928, something he rarely did for presidential candidates and never did again. Deprived of his post as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when
17557-761: 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 )
17738-531: The Westerner's corporate clients, only to find that he had given up those representations before coming to Washington. Borah became one of a growing number of progressive Republicans in the Senate. Yet, Borah often opposed liberal legislation, finding fault with it or fearing it would increase the power of the federal government. Throughout his years in the Senate, in which he would serve until his death in 1940, his idiosyncratic positions would limit his effectiveness as
17919-627: The advantage. A number of states, especially in the South, had contested delegate seats, matters which would be initially settled by the Republican National Committee . Borah was Idaho's Republican National Committeeman and was one of those designated by the Roosevelt campaign to fight for it on the RNC. As Taft controlled the committee, Borah found few victories. Borah was among those who tried to find
18100-511: 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
18281-605: The amendment, and on June 4, the Senate voted again, with the House having previously voted to approve the amendment. It passed with a margin of two votes, and was sent to the states for ratification (which was completed in August 1920), but Borah again voted no, one of only eight Republicans to do so. Borah was determined to see that the Republican presidential candidate in 1920 was not pro-League. He supported his fellow Irreconcilable, California Senator Hiram Johnson , who had been Roosevelt's running mate in 1912. Borah alleged bribery on
18462-564: The area between the French border and the German lines, and then to probe the German defenses. On the 15th day of the mobilization, the French Army was to start an all-out assault on Germany. The offensive in the Rhine river valley area began on 7 September. Since the Wehrmacht was occupied in the attack on Poland, the French soldiers enjoyed a decisive numerical advantage along their border with Germany. Eleven French divisions advanced along
18643-432: The bar examination in September 1887, and went into partnership with his brother-in-law. The mayor of Lyons appointed Borah as city attorney in 1889, but the young lawyer felt that he was destined for bigger things than a small Kansas town suffering in the hard times that persisted on the prairie in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Following the advice attributed to Horace Greeley , Borah chose to go west and grow up with
18824-421: The bloodstained snow. Suspicion quickly fell on a man registered at a local hotel who proved to be Harry Orchard , an explosives expert and assassin. Many labor leaders were embittered against Steunenberg for his actions while in office, and Orchard implicated four of them. The three who could be found, including Haywood, were extradited from Colorado to Idaho in February 1906. As the legal challenges wound through
19005-628: The carrier HMS Courageous . Aerial combat began in October 1939 when the Luftwaffe launched air raids on British warships. There were minor bombing raids and reconnaissance flights on both sides. Fascist Italy was not involved militarily in the European war at this time. With the German invasion of France and the Low Countries on 10 May 1940, and the ascension of Winston Churchill to British Prime Minister in that same month along with
19186-600: 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
19367-484: The claims, and then sold them to the Barber Company, although they had sworn that the claims were for their own use. United States Attorney for Idaho, Norman M. Ruick, had expanded the grand jury from 12 members to 22 before he could get a majority vote to indict Borah (by a 12–10 margin). The indictment was perceived to be political, with Ruick acting on behalf of Idaho Republicans who had lost state party leadership to
19548-453: 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
19729-622: The country. In October 1890, uncertain of his destination, he boarded the Union Pacific Railroad in Omaha . On the advice of a gambler on board the train, Borah decided to settle in Boise, Idaho . His biographer, Marian C. McKenna, said that Boise was "as far west as his pocketbook would take him". Idaho had been admitted to the Union earlier in 1890, and Boise, the state capital, was a boom town, where
19910-620: The courts, the case became a campaign issue both for Gooding, who had signed the extradition warrant, and for Borah, who joined the prosecution team and stated that trying the case was more important to him than being sent to the Senate. While the Haywood defendants awaited trial, Borah and others were indicted in federal court for land fraud, having to do with the acquisition by the Barber Lumber Company (for which Borah had been counsel) of title to timber land claims. Individuals had filed for
20091-507: The credits served the same purpose, furthering the war. He was vigilant in support of the neutral rights of the United States, and was outraged both by the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania by the Germans and by infringements against Americans by British forces. Borah was spoken of as a possible candidate for president in 1916, but gained little support: the Old Guard disliked him almost as much as they did Roosevelt, while others questioned whether
20272-403: The death of Borah's junior colleague, James H. Brady . Even President Wilson urged Borah's re-election in a letter to former senator Dubois. Borah received two-thirds of the vote in his bid for a third term, while former governor Gooding narrowly won Brady's seat. Nationally, the Republicans retook control of the Senate with a 49–47 majority. That the war would not last long beyond the election
20453-529: The defense team. A highlight of the trial was Borah's cross-examination of Haywood, who denied personal animus against Steunenberg and any connection with the death. Another was Borah's final argument for the prosecution in rebuttal to Darrow on July 25 and 26. Borah recalled the night of the ex-governor's murder: I saw Idaho dishonored and disgraced. I saw murder—no, not murder, a thousand times worse than murder; I saw anarchy wave its first bloody triumph in Idaho. And as I thought again I said "Thou living God, can
20634-450: The efforts to sway or defeat Borah, and the senator retained his seat by nearly a two-to-one margin. During the lame duck session of Congress that followed the election, Borah issued no public statement as to how he would vote when the amendment was brought up again. In February 1919, the Senate voted again, and Borah voted no—the amendment failed by one vote. Several of the new senators who took office in March 1919 were pledged to support
20815-588: The eventual nominee, Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding , his colleague on the Foreign Relations Committee, as he was disappointed at the failure of Johnson's candidacy and disliked Harding's vague stance on the League. Nevertheless, Borah strongly endorsed Harding and his running mate, Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge , who were victorious. Borah later stated he would have left the Senate had Harding lost. Borah proved as idiosyncratic as ever in his views with Harding as president. The original idea for
20996-601: The execution of the Norway plan was considered, by itself, inadequate to stop the German Wehrmacht . The quiet of the Phoney War was punctuated by a few isolated Allied actions. The French invasion of Germany 's Saar district on 7 September was allegedly intended to assist Poland by diverting German troops from the Polish Front. But the half-hearted Saar operation fizzled out within days and France withdrew. In November 1939,
21177-470: The final version actually raised rates by about one percent. The battles alienated Borah from Taft, who in a speech at Winona, Minnesota , described the new law as the best tariff the country had ever had. Borah and other progressives had proposed an income tax to be attached to the tariff bill; when this was unacceptable to Taft, who feared the Supreme Court would strike it down again, Borah repackaged it as
21358-514: The forest was "private property" and could not be bombed; neither could weapons factories, as the Germans might do the same to England. In 1939, some officers of the British Expeditionary Force who were stationed in France tried to set up recreational hunting to pass the time. They imported packs of foxhounds and beagles, but were thwarted by French authorities who refused to make the countryside available. The Winter War started with
21539-598: 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
21720-557: The ground—the German crew members were laid to rest in the local cemetery with RAF support. Wreaths with messages of sympathy were displayed on the coffins. When British Member of Parliament (MP) Leopold Amery suggested to Kingsley Wood , the Secretary of State for Air , that the Black Forest should be bombed with incendiaries to burn its ammunition dumps, Wood amazed the MP by responding that
21901-543: The half-hearted offensive was halted after France seized the Warndt Forest, 7.8 km (3.0 sq mi) of heavily mined German territory. The Saar Offensive did not result in the diversion of any German troops from the Polish Front. On 12 September, the Anglo-French Supreme War Council gathered for the first time at Abbeville . It decided all offensive actions were to be halted immediately as
22082-405: The heavily Mormon counties in southeast Idaho. Borah campaigned to end the caucus's role in selecting the Republican nominee for Senate, arguing that it should be decided by the people, in a convention. He drafted a resolution based on the one passed by the 1858 Illinois Republican convention that had endorsed Abraham Lincoln for Senate in his unsuccessful race against Stephen Douglas . He made
22263-522: The incoming Senate Majority Leader , decided on a strategy: rather than outright opposition, Republicans would offer reservations to the treaty that Wilson could not accept. A week after Wilson presented the treaty, Borah declined an invitation to the White House extended to him and other Senate and House members on the foreign relations committees, alleging there was no chance of common ground, though he wrote to Wilson's private secretary that no insult
22444-527: The judge commented on Ruick's inability to tie Borah to any offense. The defense case consisted almost entirely of Borah's testimony, and the jury quickly acquitted him, setting off wild celebrations in Boise. Roosevelt dismissed Ruick as US Attorney in 1908. When Borah went to Washington for the Senate's regular session in December 1907, he was immediately a figure of note, not only for the dramatic events in Idaho but for keeping his Western habits, including wearing
22625-470: The jury to the train line and demonstrated how Corcoran could have acted. He drew on his skills as a teenage rail rider to ride the top of the train, and jump from it to the platform without injury. Corcoran was convicted, but his death sentence was commuted. He was pardoned in 1901, after Steunenberg left office. Borah gained wide acclaim for his dramatic prosecution of the case. In 1896, Borah joined many Idahoans, including Senator Fred Dubois , in bolting
22806-482: The lack of hostilities on land between the Allies and Germany, the fighting on the seas was real. On 3 September, the British liner SS Athenia was torpedoed off the Hebrides with the loss of 112 lives in what was to be the start of the lengthy Battle of the Atlantic . On 4 September, the Allies announced a blockade of Germany to prevent her importing food and raw materials to sustain her war effort;
22987-496: The law, and later stated, "I can't remember when I didn't want to be a lawyer ... there is no other profession where one can be absolutely independent". With his father finally accepting his ambition to be a lawyer rather than a clergyman, Borah in 1883 went to live with his sister Sue in Lyons, Kansas ; her husband, Ansel M. Lasley, was an attorney. Borah initially worked as a teacher, but became so engrossed in historical topics at
23168-581: The leader. So on 10 May, Chamberlain resigned the premiership but retained the leadership of the Conservative Party. Winston Churchill , who had been a consistent opponent of Chamberlain's policy of appeasement , became Chamberlain's successor. Churchill formed a new coalition government that included members of the Conservatives , Labour and the Liberal Party , as well as several ministers from
23349-399: The legislature. There were many rumors of corruption in the choice of Heyburn, and Borah determined that the defeat would not end his political career. He decided to seek the seat of Senator Dubois (by then a Democrat) when it was filled by the legislature in early 1907. At the state convention at Pocatello in 1904, Borah made a speech in support of the election of Theodore Roosevelt for
23530-556: The local population would have to be subjugated or incorporated into the American political structure, neither of which he deemed possible. Believing that nations should be left unmolested by greater powers, Borah decried American interference in Latin American governments; he and Wilson clashed over policy towards Mexico, then in the throes of revolution. Wilson decided that the Mexican government, led by Victoriano Huerta , must pledge elections in which Huerta would not run before being recognized. Although Borah disliked Huerta as too close to
23711-422: The massive Dunkirk evacuation , the Phoney War ended and the real war began. "Bore War" was the initial term used by the British. It was likely a pun on the Boer War fought four decades earlier in South Africa . Eventually, the Americanism "Phoney War" became the favoured phrase on both sides of the Atlantic. This term gained currency in the British Empire and Commonwealth in large part to avoid confusion with
23892-414: The minority in the Senate. In the reshuffle of committee assignments that followed, Borah was given a seat on Foreign Relations . He would occupy it for the next quarter century, becoming one of America's leading figures on international affairs. Borah generally approved of many of Wilson's proposals, but found reasons to vote against them. He voted against the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 (believing it
24073-404: The month, southern parts of Norway were in German hands. The fighting continued in the north until the Allies evacuated in early June in response to the German invasion of France ; the Norwegian forces in mainland Norway laid down their arms at midnight on 9 June. The debacle of the Allied campaign in Norway , which was actually an offshoot of the never-realised plans to aid Finland, forced
24254-474: The new senator. Roosevelt took a wait-and-see attitude, upsetting Borah, who considered resigning his Senate seat even if exonerated. Haywood was the first tried of the three defendants; jury selection began on May 9, 1907, and proceedings in Boise continued for over two months. The courtroom, corridors, and even the lawn outside were often filled. Counsel for the prosecution included Borah and future governor James H. Hawley ; famed attorney Clarence Darrow led
24435-499: 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
24616-402: The occupation of Norway. These developments alarmed the Kriegsmarine and the Nazi government. Such an expedition would threaten their iron ore supplies and gave a strong argument for Germany to secure the Norwegian coast. Codenamed Operation Weserübung , the German invasion of Denmark and Norway commenced on 9 April. From the 14th, Allied troops were landed in Norway, but by the end of
24797-409: The other, with Borah as the defendant, placed him at risk of going to prison. Haywood was tried for conspiracy in the murder of ex-governor Steunenberg, who was assassinated on December 30, 1905, by a bomb planted on the gate at his home in Caldwell. Borah, who viewed Steunenberg as a father figure, was among the prominent Idahoans who hurried to Caldwell, and who viewed Steunenberg's shattered body and
24978-431: 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
25159-422: The part of the leading candidate for the Republican nomination, General Leonard Wood , and was snubbed when he demanded to know the League views of Wood's main rival, Illinois Governor Frank Lowden . When the 1920 Republican National Convention met in Chicago in June, delegates faced a deadlock both as to who should head the ticket, and as to the contents of the League plank of the party platform. The League fight
25340-399: The pattern. The first known recorded use of the term in print was in September 1939 in a U.S. newspaper which used the British spelling. Other contemporaneous American usages specified "Phony" since both spellings were acceptable. In Great Britain, the term first appeared in print in January 1940. The Phoney War was also referred to as the "Twilight War" (by Winston Churchill) and as
25521-400: The plan of delay and reservations as the most likely to succeed, as it would allow the initial popular support for Wilson's proposal to diminish. Neither senator really liked or trusted the other, but they formed a wary pact to defeat the treaty. Lodge was also chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and he delayed the treaty by convening a lengthy series of hearings, presiding over
25702-456: The police and courts were not yet fully effective. Borah's first case was referred to him by the gambler who had advised him on board the train; the young attorney was asked to defend a man accused of murder for shooting a Chinese immigrant in the back. Borah gained an unasked-for dismissal when the judge decided that killing a Chinese male was at worst manslaughter. Borah prospered in Boise, both in law and in politics. In 1892 he served as chair of
25883-403: 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 ,
26064-428: The pre-revolutionary leadership, he felt that Mexicans should decide who ran Mexico, and argued against Wilson's plan. After World War I began in 1914, it was Borah's view that the U.S. should keep completely out of it and he voted for legislation requested by Wilson barring armament shipments to the belligerents. Borah was disquieted when Wilson permitted credits to Great Britain and France after refusing them loans, as
26245-554: 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
26426-443: 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
26607-470: 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
26788-450: 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
26969-405: The same direction as his horse". Borah was involved through the 1920s in efforts for the outlawry of war. Chicago lawyer Salmon Levinson , who had formulated the plan to outlaw war, labored long to get the mercurial Borah on board as its spokesman. Maddox suggested that Borah was most enthusiastic about this plan when he needed it as a constructive alternative to defeat actions such as entry into
27150-455: 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
27331-456: The state of Idaho in 1947, stands in the National Statuary Hall Collection . William Edgar Borah was born in Jasper Township, Illinois , near Fairfield in Wayne County . His parents were farmers Elizabeth (West) and William Nathan Borah. Borah was distantly related to Katharina von Bora , the Catholic nun who left her convent in the 16th century and married reformer Martin Luther . His Borah ancestors came to America in about 1760, fought in
27512-428: The talents or the arts of counsel unteach the lesson of that hour?" No, no. Let us be brave, let us be faithful in this supreme test of trial and duty ... But you never had a duty imposed upon you which required more intelligence, more manhood, more courage than that which the people of Idaho assign to you this night in the final discharge of your duty. Although Darrow won the day, gaining an acquittal for Haywood,
27693-587: The town library that he was ill-prepared for class; he and the school parted ways. In 1885 Borah enrolled at the University of Kansas , and rented an inexpensive room in a professor's home in Lawrence ; he studied alongside students who would become prominent, such as William Allen White and Fred Funston . Borah was working his way through college, but his plans were scuttled when he contracted tuberculosis in early 1887. He had to return to Lyons, where his sister nursed him to health, and he began to read law under his brother-in-law Lasley's supervision. Borah passed
27874-401: The treaty with a version of the Lodge Reservations, and it failed again. According to Robert James Maddox in his book on Borah's influence on American foreign policy, the Irreconcilables "dictated to the majority leader as though they were the majority. Borah as much as any man deserves the credit—or the blame—for the League's defeat". Idaho had given women the right to vote in 1896, and Borah
28055-420: The trial transformed Borah from an obscure freshman senator into a national figure. But Borah still had to face a jury on the land fraud charge, which he did in September 1907, a trial held then at Roosevelt's insistence—Ruick had asked for more time, but Borah wanted the matter disposed of before Congress met in December. Borah refused to challenge the indictment. At the trial, his counsel allowed Ruick free rein;
28236-428: The war in Poland is all but over. Most of the correspondents a bit depressed. Britain and France have done nothing on the western front to relieve the tremendous pressure on Poland.… One week after the Anglo-French declaration of a state of war the average German is beginning to wonder if it's a world war after all. He sees it this way. England and France, it is true, are formally fulfilling their obligations to Poland. For
28417-423: The year 1939 that was due only to the fact that during the Polish campaign, the approximately 110 French and British divisions in the West were held completely inactive against the 23 German divisions." General Wilhelm Keitel stated: "We soldiers had always expected an attack by France during the Polish campaign, and were very surprised that nothing happened.... A French attack would have encountered only
28598-411: 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
28779-440: Was Borah's re-election, which was so popular that those disgruntled at the senator for not supporting Taft or Roosevelt kept quiet. Idahoans helped elect Wilson, but sent 80 Republican legislators out of 86 to Boise (with two of the six Democrats pledged to support Borah if necessary), who on January 14, 1913, returned William Borah for a second term. The Republicans both lost the presidency with Wilson's inauguration and went into
28960-414: Was Daugherty's firing. The president stalled Borah, and when Daugherty eventually resigned under pressure, it was due more to events than Borah. When the president was nominated for election in his own right at the 1924 Republican National Convention , he offered the vice presidential nomination to Borah. By one account, when Coolidge asked Borah to join the ticket, the senator asked which position on it he
29141-415: Was a firm supporter of woman's suffrage. However, he did not support a constitutional amendment to accomplish this nationwide, feeling that states should not have the requirement that women vote imposed on them. Borah voted against the proposed amendment when it came up for a vote in 1914, and it did not pass. Activists felt that as a noted progressive, and as one who would face the voters for the first time as
29322-450: Was a handout to the rich), after gaining a concession that no banker would initially be appointed to the Federal Reserve Board . Borah believed monopolies, public and private, should be broken up, and believed the new Federal Trade Commission would prove a means for trusts to control their regulators; he voted against the bill and stated he would not support confirmation of the first commissioners. The Clayton Antitrust Act , Borah opined,
29503-455: Was an attorney for corporations, who had prosecuted labor leaders; they believed him sympathetic to their Old Guard positions and assigned him to important committees. Borah believed in the rights of unions, so long as they did not commit violent acts. When Borah staked out progressive positions after his swearing-in, Rhode Island Senator Nelson Aldrich , the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee , hoped to put pressure on him through
29684-408: Was an outspoken Republican United States Senator , one of the best-known figures in Idaho's history . A progressive who served from 1907 until his death in 1940, Borah is often considered an isolationist , because he led the Irreconcilables , senators who would not accept the Treaty of Versailles , Senate ratification of which would have made the U.S. part of the League of Nations . Borah
29865-427: Was born in rural Illinois to a large farming family. He studied at the University of Kansas and became a lawyer in that state before seeking greater opportunities in Idaho . He quickly rose in the law and in state politics, and after a failed run for the House of Representatives in 1896 and one for the United States Senate in 1903, was elected to the Senate in 1907. Before he took his seat in December of that year, he
30046-429: Was clear in the final days of the 1918 congressional midterm election campaign, which was fought in part to decide which party would control the postwar peace process. Wilson hoped for a treaty based on the Fourteen Points and had urged formation of a postwar organization to assure peace. Borah, well aware the U.S. would play a large role at the peace table, saw such an organization as a trap that would inevitably involve
30227-408: Was decided, with Borah's endorsement, by using language proposed by former Secretary of State Elihu Root supporting a league, rather than the League. The presidential stalemate was harder to resolve. A hater both of political intrigue and of tobacco, Borah played no part in the smoke-filled room discussions as the Republicans attempted to break the deadlock. He was initially unenthusiastic about
30408-463: Was defeated by filibuster in the Senate by Southern Democrats. When another bill (Costigan–Wagner Bill) was introduced in 1935 and 1938, Borah continued to speak against it, by that time saying that it was no longer needed, as the number of lynchings had dropped sharply. Harding's death in August 1923 brought Calvin Coolidge to the White House. Borah had been dismayed by Harding's conservative views, and believed Coolidge had shown liberal tendencies as
30589-399: Was engaged as a prosecutor in a trial that began at Wallace on July 8, 1899. Prosecution witnesses testified to having seen Corcoran sitting on top of the train, rifle in hand, and later leaping to the platform. The defense contended that, given the sharp curves and rough roadbed of the rail line, no one could have sat on top of the train, nor jumped from it without severe injury. Borah took
30770-413: Was going in to defend its own rights and had no common interest with the Allies beyond the defeat of the Central Powers. He repeated this often through the war: the United States sought no territory, and had no interest in French and British desires for territory and colonies. Borah, though a strong war supporter, was possibly the most prominent wartime advocate of progressive views, opposing the draft and
30951-432: Was intended. In the following months, Borah was a leader of the Irreconcilables. An especial target was Article X of the charter, obligating all members to defend each other's independence. The Irreconcilables argued that this would commit the U.S. to war without its consent; Borah stated that the U.S. might be forced to send thousands of men if there was conflict in Armenia. Other provisions were examined; Borah proposed that
31132-593: Was involved in two prominent legal cases. One, the murder conspiracy trial of Big Bill Haywood , gained Borah fame though Haywood was found not guilty and the other, a prosecution of Borah for land fraud, made him appear a victim of political malice even before his acquittal. In the Senate, Borah became one of the progressive insurgents who challenged President William Howard Taft 's policies, though Borah refused to support former president Theodore Roosevelt 's third-party bid against Taft in 1912. Borah reluctantly voted for war in 1917 and, once it concluded, he fought against
31313-399: Was merely a means by which Congress could appear to be dealing with the trusts without actually doing so. In 1913 and early 1914, Borah clashed with Wilson and his Secretary of State, Bryan, over Latin American policy. Borah believed that there was an ongoing temptation for the U.S. to expand into Latin America, which the construction of the Panama Canal had made worse. If the U.S. did so,
31494-418: Was ostensibly to assist Poland, was stopped after a few kilometres and the French forces withdrew. According to the Franco-Polish Alliance , the French Army was to start preparations for a major offensive three days after the beginning of mobilization . The preliminary mobilization had occurred in France on 26 August. By 1 September, full mobilization was declared. The French forces were to gain control over
31675-527: 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
31856-427: 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
32037-407: Was that the new Secretary of State, Frank B. Kellogg , created policy by ringing Borah's doorbell. Borah continued to oppose American interventions in Latin America, often splitting from the Republican majority over the matter. Borah was an avid horseback rider, and Coolidge is supposed to have commented after viewing him exercising in Rock Creek Park that it "must bother the Senator to be going in
32218-404: Was the only chance of getting a Senate that might ratify a treaty for a postwar organization to keep the peace, and deemed conciliation pointless. In Paris, Wilson and other leaders negotiated what would become the League of Nations , an international organization that world leaders hoped that through diplomacy, and if necessary, force, would assure peace. Republican senatorial opinion ranged from
32399-433: Was to occupy. The prospect of Borah as vice president appalled Coolidge's cabinet members and other Republican officials, and they were relieved when he refused. Borah spent less than a thousand dollars on his Senate re-election campaign that fall, and gained a fourth term with just under 80 percent of the vote. Coolidge and his vice-presidential choice, Charles G. Dawes easily won, though Borah did no campaigning for
32580-435: Was too old and as a politician had been absent for decades from the practice of law. In 1922 and 1923, Borah spoke against passage of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill , which had passed the House. A strong supporter of state sovereignty, he believed that punishing state officials for failure to prevent lynchings was unconstitutional, and that if the states could not prevent such murders, federal legislation would do no good. The bill
32761-500: 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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