World War II: The Pacific Theater

Japan Canada China USA The Pacific Ocean SE Asia Australia

The Pacific War Dates: July 7, 1937 - August 14, 1945 Began with the Second Sino-Japanese war, between China and Japan Concluded with Japan’s surrender to the Allied powers War begins 1937, Japan Invades Chinese holdings 1941: Japan attacks USA (Pearl Harbour) Attack on USA brings the USA into WW2 on the Allied side. 1941: US allies: UK, Australia, Free France, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Canada declare war on Japan 1942: Thailand joins Japan and Germany 1945: The Soviet Union enters war with Japan

Prelude to War Japan seeks to establish “The Greater East Asia Co- Prosperity Sphere” “a bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers” Invasions of Manchuria and Korea follow Three political forces in Japan: Emperor Hirohito Civilian Government Military branches The army informs the civilian gov’t of the Manchuria campaign two months after it begins. Manchuria was Chinese at the time (1931)

Prewar

1932

1937 A B C D “ABCD Encirclement”

1940

1941 Dec 8/7 1941 Dec 8/7 1941 (simultaneous, but Int’l date line skews date) Attacks on British Territory (Hong Kong) and American Territory (Pearl Harbour)

Fleet Admiral Yamamoto “The US fleet is a dagger pointed at our throat and must be destroyed.” “I can run wild for six months,after that, I have no expectation of success.” - Yamamoto, during discussions on the planned Pearl Harbour Attack Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

Attack on Pearl Harbour Dec 7, 1941. “A day that will live in infamy”

Pearl Harbour

Japanese Aircraft Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” Fighter Nakajima B5N torpedo bomber Aichi D3A dive bomber

The Attack

The Attack

Aftermath "Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful.” - Winston Churchill

1941 Dec 8/7 1941 (simultaneous, but Int’l date line skews date) Attacks on British Territory (Hong Kong) and American Territory (Pearl Harbour)

1942

Bataan Death March April 1942 12,000 Americans walked 60 miles to a POW camp No food or water 5,000 died

Battle of Coral Sea May 7, 1942 Strategic Allied victory—halted the Japanese advance on Australia First naval battle carried out entirely by aircraft. The enemy ships never even came into contact with each other

The Battle Of Midway June 4-7 1942 6 months after Pearl Harbour Yamamoto seeks to capture Midway atoll and thus confront and destroy the US Navy’s carrier forces. Yamamoto’s plan was to draw the American Navy (Particularly its three carriers) into a decisive battle and defeat it, forcing the US to withdraw from the mid-Pacific.

Midway Order of Battle US forces: Japanese forces: 3 carriers ~50 support ships 233 carrier aircraft 127 land-based aircraft Japanese forces: 4 carriers 7 battleships ~150 support ships 248 carrier aircraft 16 floatplanes

Plan of Attack

The Battle of Midway The first major carrier vs. carrier engagement Decided by cryptanalysis, tactics, radar, pilot skill, weather, and luck.

The Battle of Midway Scouts from the US fleet find the Japanese Fleet first A delayed scout means the Japanese fleet receives a warning of US carriers only minutes before the first US planes attack After losing many planes in ineffective strikes, US dive bombers manage to set three Japanese carriers on fire. A Japanese counterstrike does heavy damage to one US carrier Japanese battleships never see combat

The Battle of Midway US forces: Japanese forces: 3 carriers, 1 lost ~50 support ships, 1 destroyer lost 360 aircraft, 98 lost 307 dead Japanese forces: 4 carriers, 4 lost 7 battleships, 0 lost ~150 support ships, 1 cruiser lost 264 aircraft, 228 lost 3058 dead The four carriers: Hiryu, Soryu, Akagi and Kaga represented Japan’s only heavy carriers at the time. Losing all four was a crippling blow. Additionally, the loss of the elite pilots would be felt deeply, as their combat skills and ability to train new pilots would be sorely missed in years to come.

1943-1944 American Offensives captured Guadalcanal, the Solomon Islands, And then Rabaul, the main base in Papua New Guinea The push began to capture the Marianas cluster of islands, which would provide airbases to strike the main Japanese islands.

Strategic Bombing B-29 Superfortress bombers High-altitude B-29 bombers could fly above fighter and artillery defenses and drop bombs with impunity. Explosives and incendiaries were used in rolling raids, day and night. Wooden Japanese buildings burned easily. The bombing eventually crippled Japan’s industrial abilities and killed hundreds of thousands of civilians. By 1944, Japanese troops were critically short of food, clean water, fuel, ammunition, and aircraft.

Island-Hopping Warfare American and Australian troops land in Borneo

"Island Hopping"

Guadalcanal—8/42-2/43 Who: US vs. Japan Where: Island near Australia— one of Solomon Islands What: One of the most vicious campaigns Japanese put up a fierce resistance US has superior air and naval power Results: First time US land troops defeat Japanese Americans are able to secure the island

Island-Hopping Warfare American Troops assaulting Iwo Jima Most of these attacks would follow a pattern: massive naval bombardment would destroy surface facilities on the island. The defenders would rely on underground tunnels to survive, with varying success. Mass charges of landing craft would transport marines to the beaches, where they would encounter fierce resistance. Japanese troops would usually mount suicidal “Banzai” charges on the enemy when unable to hold their positions. Due to this tactic, few Japanese infantry would survive or retreat from battles, and attrition rates were 10:1 in many encounters.

1944-1945

The Final Year The US retakes the Philippines in a long and costly campaign. Borneo, Iwo Jima and the Okinawa fall, with heavy losses on both sides. The military leadership of Japan refuses to give up, in spite of the loss of the bulk of their forces. An edict is issued, ordering civilians on the main Japanese islands to construct bamboo spears and meet the invaders on the beaches. US Bombers produce a firestorm in Tokyo, killing 100,000 people in two days. The US, Britain and China issue the Potsdam Declaration, demanding Japan’s surrender.

Iwo Jima February-March 1945 Island off the coast of Japan—Japanese soil Longest sustained aerial offensive of the war More marines sent than in any other battle 100,000 men fighting on an island the 1/3 the size of Manhattan Japanese fought from below ground—Allies rarely saw a soldier The battle was won inch-by-inch Volcanic island deeply entrenched

Iwo Jima Results: US win Provides a link in the chain of bomber bases By the war’s end, 2,400 B-29 bombers and 27,000 crewmen made emergency landings. “4 marines raising US flag”

Okinawa Casualties Kamikazes—suicide pilots US—12,500 killed; 36,000 wounded Japan—93,000 troops killed; 94,000 civilians killed (many killed themselves) Kamikazes—suicide pilots Crashed planes loaded with explosives Sank 30 US vessels

Devastation

Hiroshima Little Boy Nagasaki Fat Man - 90,000 to 100,000 persons were killed immediately - 145,000 persons perish from the bombing by the end of 1945. Nagasaki Little Boy Leveled Area: 6.7 million square meters Damaged Houses: 18,409 Casualties Killed------73,884 Injured-----74,909 Total------148,793 (Large numbers of people died in the following years from the effects of radioactive poisoning.) Fat Man

Nuclear Strikes Aug 6, 1945. Uranium bomb “Little Boy” dropped on Hiroshima, killing 140,000 Aug 9, 1945. Plutonium bomb “Fat Man” dropped on Nagasaki, killing 74,000

Japan Surrenders Representatives of Japan’s Foreign Ministry, Army and Navy appear to sign the surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay

The Cost 2,000,000 Japanese Soldiers dead 300,000 Allied Soldiers dead 600,000 - 1,000,000 Japanese civilians dead 11,000 American civilians dead 60,000 Korean civilians dead Mass devastation of Japanese infrastructure Indigenous people of north and western Pacific islands devastated by disease, cultural contamination, collateral damage, and atrocities. The list continues…