Maine whose sinking by an explosion on February 15, 1898 precipitated the Spanish–American War. To the south and east is the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and northeast is New Brunswick, a province of Canada. The Canadian province of Quebec is to the northwest. Maine is both the northernmost state in New England and the largest, accounting for almost half the region's entire land area. Maine is the only state to border exactly one other state (New Hampshire to the west). Maine is the easternmost state in the United States in both its extreme points and its geographic center. The
Japanese cruiser Mikuma as was transport "Ryujo Maru" with IJA 16th Army commander Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura—although the general survived the sinking. In March, "Mikuma" and Cruiser Division 7 were based at Singapore to cover Japanese landings in Sumatra and the seizure of the Andaman Islands. From 1 April 1942 Cruiser Division 7 based from Mergui joined with Cruiser Division 4 to participate in the Indian Ocean raids. "Mikuma", "Mogami" and destroyer detached and formed the Southern Group, which hunted for merchant shipping in the Bay of Bengal, while "Chōkai", Destroyer Squadron 4's light cruiser and destroyers , , and covered the northern