World War II 1939-1945 Part #4 – In the Pacific

War in the Pacific Throughout the war, the Allied strategy had been to deal with Germany first, then tackle Japan After V-E Day, the Allies full attention is focused on the Pacific However, the U.S. had pretty much been on its own in the Pacific for 3 years before Britain and the USSR joined the fight Just like Germany, the United States had been forced to fight a two-front war in both Europe and the Pacific

Enters the U.S. When the war in the Pacific begins Japanese military forces vastly outnumber Allied forces in the Pacific Over the course of the war, Allied industry enabled the U.S. to have a much more powerful naval and air fleet to fight the Japanese # of Japanese carriers at start of war – 10 # of Japanese carriers built during war – 5 # of U.S. carriers at start of WWII – 3 # of U.S. carriers built during WWII - 107 General Douglas MacArthur commands U.S. forces in the Pacific,

Early Key Battles in the Pacific May 1942 – Battle of the Coral Sea – despite significant losses on both sides, U.S. and Australian navies halt the Japanese Pacific expansion for the first time August 1942 – Battle of Guadalcanal – island in the South Pacific where U.S. Marines square off against fierce Japanese resistance Japanese casualties – 31,000 Allied casualties – 8,000

Battle of Midway U.S. intelligence knew that Japan was going to launch a major offensive after Coral Sea June 1942 – Battle of Midway is fought near Midway Island – called Midway because the island is “midway” between the U.S. and Asia Most of the fighting is done in the skies with planes bombing enemy ships – all 4 Japanese carriers are destroyed This battle would prove to be the decisive battle in the Pacific because Japan would never fully recover, and thus can never again go on the offensive

War in the Pacific MacArthur and the Allies decide to take back tiny Japanese controlled islands in the Pacific by deploying the strategy of “Island Hopping” – Allied troops are going to retake one island and then “hop over” to the next Many of the islands, despite their small size, are pivotal because they hold large numbers of Japanese troops While the Island Hopping is taking place, Admiral Nimitz and the navy begin bombing mainland Japan

Island Hopping

Questions Why was the Battle of Midway such an important victory for the Allies? What advantage allowed the Americans to be more powerful militarily than the Japanese? How is this advantage important? Explain the strategy of “Island Hopping” and why it was used by the Allies?

Island Hopping Important Island Hopping battles: Battle of Iwo Jima (1945) – despite fierce Japanese resistance and high American casualties, Iwo Jima proves to be one of the greatest victories in the Pacific for the U.S. Over 25,000 American casualties Battle of Okinawa (1945) – is the last major island standing in the way of U.S. invasion of the Japanese mainland, fierce Japanese fighting results in over 50,000 U.S. casualties before the island is taken Banzai attacks and suicide becomes common for Japanese soldiers

Okinawa

Iwo Jima Flag Raising This image comes to symbolize the American determination, sacrifice, and spirit during WWII “Uncommon valor was a common virtue – Admiral Nimitz

The Manhattan Project After conversing with Albert Einstein over the possibility of a tremendous bomb, FDR orders the secret construction of the world’s first atomic bomb – program is called the Manhattan Project April 12, 1945 – FDR dies of a stroke and Vice President Harry Truman becomes president Truman is informed that he has two atomic bombs available to use He orders that both be dropped on Japan in an effort to end the war

The World Has Gone Atomic August 6, 1945 – the plane named “Enola Gay” drops the first atomic bomb, called “Little Boy,” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima – 70,000 Japanese are immediately killed August 8, 1945 – second bomb, “Fatman,” is dropped on the city of Nagasaki – 40,000 killed August 14, 1945 – Japan surrenders and V-J Day (Victory in Japan) is celebrated WWII is OFFICALLY OVER

← Hiroshima before Hiroshima after →

Did We Have to Drop the A-Bombs? Truman and his military staff justified dropping the atomic bombs because they claimed that it would have cost over a million U.S. casualties in order to take mainland Japan – the Japanese were showing that they wouldn’t surrender Critics of the bombing say that Japan would eventually have surrendered from bombing and/or an American invasion, which would have cost considerably less Japanese civilian lives, but would have resulted in enormous U.S. soldier casualties What do you think?