Alternate History of Southeast Asia (1942)

An imaginary alternate history visualized and narrated by Anonymous Kabataan

Second World War rages throughout the world from the blitzkrieg of Germany and Italy in Europe to the rapid military expansion of Japan in Asia. Like in our real timeline, Nazi Germany and Italy controlled most of continental Europe while Japan successfully conquered Manchuria in the 1930s, later huge regions of China and all of Indochina as of the year 1940. At its height, Nazi Germany and its European allies declared war on the Soviet Union in early 1941 followed by the surprise attack on the U.S. Naval Base in Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy on the 5th of December 1941 where the 6 battleships, 4 cruisers, 12 destroyers, 2 submarines, and 2 aircraft carriers of USS Saratoga and USS Lexington were sunk. 200 total aircraft were destroyed.

After 2 hours after the Pearl Harbor Attack, the Empire of Japan conducted several surprises and rapid invasions of Portuguese Macau and Timor, British Hong Kong, British Malaya, British Borneo, British Burma, U.S. controlled-Philippines, Dutch East Indies, and British Raj via the successful revolt of the Indian National Army led by Subhash Chandra Bose in Eastern India. Like also in our real timeline, Siam signed a military alliance with Imperial Japan and officially declared war on the United States, Netherlands, and Britain. As usual, real-life battles in Asia still happen notably the Battle of Bataan where the outnumbered Imperial Japanese Army of 75,000 men managed to defeat the combined Philippine Commonwealth and U.S. Army of 120,000 men. After the battle, the notorious Bataan Death March ensues where 80,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war were forced to march from Mariveles to Camp O'Donnell. Among the Filipino prisoners who were forced to march, there were two men named MAJ Ferdinand Edralin Marcos and BG Alejo Santos who will play in Philippine politics later on. They were kept imprisoned by the Japanese until the return of the Americans in the year 1945.

Upon the successful Japanese conquests in Southeast Asia, the Japanese military administrations in those areas created their own puppet governments in order to ease their military occupation of its native populations. The following examples of puppet states created under the Japanese military administrations with their dates of the establishment were Manchukuo (1932) headed by Emperor Puyi, Mengjiang (1936) headed by Prince Demchugdongrub, Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1937) headed by Wang Jingwei, Empire of Vietnam (1940) headed by Emperor Bảo Đại, Kingdom of Luang Prabang (1940) headed by King Sisavang Vong, Kingdom of Kampuchea (1940) headed by King Norodom Sihanouk, Second Philippine Republic (1943) headed by President Jose P. Laurel, State of Burma (1943) headed by President Ba Maw, Republic of Nusantara (1943) headed by President Sukarno, and Provisional Government of Free India (1943) headed by Subhash Chandra Bose. In speaking of the Philippines, remember former Philippine Army generals Antonio Luna and Artemio Ricarte returned to the country, and then the Japanese used them as propaganda against Allies particularly the United States to ease their military occupation.