Japan assures the United States that her troop movements in French Indochina are only precautionary.
Midway Island is bombarded by two Japanese destroyers.
President orders mobilization. United States declares war on Japan. Potomac River Naval Command with headquarters at Washington, D. C., and Severn River Naval Command with headquarters at Annapolis, Md., are established. Japanese aircraft in widely scattered operations bomb Guam, Wake, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippine Islands. Extensive damage is inflicted on United States Army aircraft at Clark Field, Luzon, P. I. Japanese forces land on Batan Island, north of Luzon, P. I., and on east coast of Malay Peninsula.