The War in the Pacific

Japan Builds an Empire The Great Depression hit ___________ hard. Western nations stopped trading with them & they depended on money from exports to pay for ___________. Army believed an Asian ______________ would end this problem. 1931: Japan invaded __________________ 1938: Controlled most of Chinese _______________ 1940: Announced Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (conquer Southeast Asia for its __________________) Japanese people believed their emperor, Hirohito, was a god, but his politicians and generals were ruling in his name. During the Depression, Japan feared starvation because it couldn’t afford to import as much as it once had. The League of Nations was unable to stop Japanese expansion, which contributed to its failure.

Japan will conquer several island nations in the Pacific by 1942 including some European colonies (e.g. French Indo-China) by going island to island—this “island hopping” approach is also how America will take back each island as it begins to defeat Japan.

Pearl Harbour Japan planned to destroy the US Pacific fleet to _______________ to complete their conquest of Southeast Asia. December 7, 1941: ________________ attack on Pearl Harbour. Caused less damage than planned: US aircraft carriers were __________ & most oil tanks, dry docks & repair shops weren’t hit. USA declared war on Japan the next __________. Japan believed it would take more than a year for the US to rebuild its Pacific fleet Japan was also angered by the US decision to stop trading oil. Admiral Yamamoto after the attack: “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant.”

Hong Kong Also _______________ Hong Kong on December 7. Almost 2000 Canadian soldiers arrived in HK just ______ days before. Poorly __________, they held off the Japanese until December 25. Those who didn’t die in the fighting spent the next 3.5 years in brutal Japanese __________ camps. The attack on Hong Kong occurred only hours after the attack on Pearl Harbour. Hong Kong was a British colony at the time, but one the British felt was expendable, so they didn’t reinforce its defences. Many Canadians were angry that we’d sent soldiers to defend a place that the British didn’t think was worth defending. About 250 of the men would die in POW camps.

Canada’s Role in the Pacific Due to the efforts of the RCN in the Battle of the Atlantic, Canadians never played a ___________ role in the Pacific. After victory was achieved in Europe, there were plans to ______________ the RCN in the Pacific, but Japan was defeated before that happened. Fears of a Japanese invasion created _____________ tensions throughout Canada. In 1940, the largest naval presence on Canada’s West Coast was the Fisherman’s Reserve of 17 fishing boats. 2 Canadian ships helped protect US troop convoys in the Pacific when they were transporting men to help take back the Aleutian islands off the coast of Alaska, but that’s about it.