We read all the lead to present a different history.
As we all know, during the Second World War, Japanese fascist forces attacked everywhere in the Asia-Pacific theater, and even though they were deeply mired in the quagmire of the Chinese battlefield, the Japanese military department still brazenly launched the "Pacific War" and constantly drew troops from the Chinese battlefield to rush to the Pacific region. At this time, because Britain and France were deeply involved in the European battlefield and had no time to look east, the Indochina colony (that is, the Indochina Peninsula) was soon occupied by Japan, and most of southeast Asia was also sacked by Japan.
▲Stills of the Japanese army in World War II
However, the Japanese fascists were not satisfied with this, and in order to obtain more colonies and resources, the Japanese army that took Southeast Asia invaded Australia, hoping to seize this rich continent to support its next war of aggression. The Anglo-American forces guarding Australia and the Solomon Islands saw the Japanese coming and had to abandon some areas, allowing the Japanese to successfully take the Solomon Islands. However, it is strange that after occupying most of Southeast Asia, the Japanese army could have attacked India on a large scale and seized the largest colony of the British Empire.
▲Stills of the U.S. military in World War II
In fact, the strategic choice of the Japanese army eventually made India lucky to escape from the threat of war and become one of the few major countries that was not invaded during World War II, so that when the international court of justice was liquidated after the war, the judges sent by India even once declared that they would release all Japanese war criminals and use their own teachings to impress these evil elements. Some might argue that Japan did not dare to fight India for fear of offending Britain. You must know that Japan even dared to fight against British-colonized Burma and French-colonized Vietnam, and even dared to directly bomb the US military base at Pearl Harbor, and there was no reason not to reach out to India, which is rich in resources and population. So why didn't Japan attack India? In Zi Yuan's view, there are three main reasons for this.
▲Old photos of Japanese "Zero" fighters
First, Japan is no longer able to do so. In 1942, when Japan invaded Southeast Asia and occupied Burma, the "Pacific War" had already broken out, the United States declared war on Japan, and World War II escalated in an all-round way. The reason why Japan risked offending Britain, the United States, and other Western powers to expand the scale of the war was because Japan's resources were almost exhausted and it was unable to continue to expand its offensive against China. At that time, India concentrated the main force of Britain in Asia, and its territory included the entire South Asian subcontinent, and if Japan wanted to take the whole territory of India, it was necessary to send a huge army, which was not an easy task for Japan at that time.
▲ "Pacific War" situation map
Second, Japan has previously suffered defeats in India. In fact, the Japanese fascist forces still had a slight illusion of attacking India under the obviously unfavorable war situation, so they also carried out tentative attacks around the invasion of India, which was the "Battle of Imphal". During this battle, because the Japanese soldiers were unsatisfied with the soil and water, they could not tolerate the harsh climate and environment of India, and the situation of non-combat attrition was very serious. In view of the situation at that time, the Japanese army could only choose to retreat, and India, although rich, was out of reach for Japan.
▲ Old photos of Indian soldiers during World War II
Third, attacking India was not a top priority for Japan. The main reason why Japan invaded Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands was to open up a lifeline for material supply and find enough oil resources to support the war. At that time, India lacked the strategic materials that Japan urgently needed, and it was obvious that some of the gains were not worth the losses to occupy India at a huge price, so for Japan, attacking India was not urgent, and it could be slowly planned after the war situation improved. Overall, the combination of these factors made India the only major country untouched by World War II.
Resources:
History of World War II, Complete History of the Great East Asian War