The Japanese conquered Java in eight days. They surged inward from the northern coasts, took the capital at Batavia, chopped up the long island into isolated bits, reduced the naval base at Surabaya ...

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The costly conflict is accelerating a shift in weaponry the Pentagon has pursued for years by Brian Bennett by Chad de Guzman Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg—Getty Images by Ryan Cummings and Neale Mahoney ...