The War in the Pacific

It Starts… The Japanese struck Pearl Harbor and Clark Field, in the Philippines, in and attempt to gain military control in the Western Pacific. By March 1942, they had swept aside British, American, and Dutch naval power in Southeast Asia and brought a wide band of colonies into the Japanese empire. On May 6, 1942, the Philippines fell to Japanese forces. The Japanese then captured some 76,000 Filipinos and Americans as prisoners of war. They were taken on a brutal 6 to 12-day journey that became known as the Bataan Death March, in which they were denied water and rest. Those who became too weak were executed. At least 10,000 prisoners died. Those who survived were sent to primitive prison camps where 15,000 or more died.

Brutality of War The brutality of the Japanese soldiers defied accepted international standards for humane treatment of prisoners spelled out in 1929 at the third Geneva Convention. China joined the Allies to fight against Japan, but was quickly defeated. In May 1942, Japanese and American naval forces engaged in the Battle of the Coral Sea. This battle caused enormous damage on both sides. In the end, it was a draw, but it prevented the Japanese from invading Australia. This was the first naval battle to NOT involve ships…

The Battle of Midway On June 4, 1942, the Japanese hoped to destroy the United States Pacific Fleet by luring them into a battle near Midway Island. The Americans, who appeared to be losing at first, surprised the Japanese as they were refueling planes. The Americans sank four Japanese carriers. The Japanese lost some 250 planes and most of their skilled pilots. They were unable to launch any more offensive operations in the Pacific. This victory for the Allies allowed them to take the offensive in the Pacific. The Battle of Midway On June 4, 1942, the Japanese hoped to destroy the United States Pacific Fleet by luring them into a battle near Midway Island. The Americans, who appeared to be losing at first, surprised the Japanese as they were refueling planes. The Americans sank four Japanese carriers. The Japanese lost some 250 planes and most of their skilled pilots. They were unable to launch any more offensive operations in the Pacific. This victory for the Allies allowed them to take the offensive in the Pacific. The Battle of Guadalcanal A major goal for the Allies was to capture Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, where the Japanese were building an airfield. When more than 11,000 marines landed on the island in August 1942, the Japanese soldiers fled into the jungle. The Battle of Guadalcanal provided the marines with their first taste of jungle warfare. After five months, the Japanese were finally defeated. Battle of Midway and Guadalcanal

From Guadalcanal, American forces began island-hopping, a military strategy of selectively attacking specific enemy-held islands and bypassing others. This strategy allowed the Americans to move more quickly toward their ultimate goal—Japan itself. On to Japan… MacArthur and Nimitz

In October 1944, American troops invaded the Philippine island of Leyte. As the ground troops battled inland, the greatest naval battle in world history developed off the coast. More than 280 warships took part in the three-day Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the first battle in which Japanese pilots loaded their aircraft with bombs and then deliberately crashed them into enemy ships. These were called kamikazes, or suicide planes. Despite this tactic, the American force virtually destroyed the Japanese navy and emerged victorious. Japanese land forces in the Philippines continued to resist, however. It took two months for the American troops to liberate Leyte. The battle for the Philippines’ capital, Manila, was equally difficult, leaving some 100,000 Filipino civilians dead. Not until June 1945 did the Allies control the Philippines. On to Japan Cont…

The Battle of Iwo Jima In February 1945, American marines stormed the beaches of Iwo Jima. In the Battle of Iwo Jima, American forces suffered an estimated 25,000 casualties. The United States awarded 27 Medals of Honor, more than for any other operation of the war. It took more than 100,000 American troops almost a month to defeat fewer than 25,000 Japanese, who fought almost to the last defender. Admiral Nimitz described the island as a place in which “uncommon valor was common virtue.” The Battle of Iwo Jima In February 1945, American marines stormed the beaches of Iwo Jima. In the Battle of Iwo Jima, American forces suffered an estimated 25,000 casualties. The United States awarded 27 Medals of Honor, more than for any other operation of the war. It took more than 100,000 American troops almost a month to defeat fewer than 25,000 Japanese, who fought almost to the last defender. Admiral Nimitz described the island as a place in which “uncommon valor was common virtue.” Iwo Jima and Okinawa

The Battle of Okinawa The Battle of Okinawa was fought from April to June The island of Okinawa was the last obstacle to an Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands. The Japanese flew nearly 2,000 kamikaze attacks against the 1,300 warships of the American fleet. For the American forces, nearly 50,000 casualties made the Battle of Okinawa the costliest engagement of the Pacific war. At the end, the American forces were victorious, and the Allies had a clear path to Japan. Iwo Jima and Okinawa

In August 1939, Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein, a brilliant Jewish physicist who had fled from Europe. In his letter, Einstein suggested that an incredibly powerful new type of bomb could be built by the Germans. Roosevelt organized the top-secret Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb before the Germans. On July 16, 1945, Manhattan Project scientists field-tested the world’s first atomic bomb in the desert of New Mexico. With a blinding flash of light, the explosion blew a huge crater in the earth and shattered windows some 125 miles away. Once the bomb was ready, President Harry S Truman, who took office after Roosevelt’s sudden death, made the ultimate decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. In August 1939, Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein, a brilliant Jewish physicist who had fled from Europe. In his letter, Einstein suggested that an incredibly powerful new type of bomb could be built by the Germans. Roosevelt organized the top-secret Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb before the Germans. On July 16, 1945, Manhattan Project scientists field-tested the world’s first atomic bomb in the desert of New Mexico. With a blinding flash of light, the explosion blew a huge crater in the earth and shattered windows some 125 miles away. Once the bomb was ready, President Harry S Truman, who took office after Roosevelt’s sudden death, made the ultimate decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. The Manhattan Project

On August 6, 1945, an American plane, the Enola Gay, dropped a single atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A blast of intense heat annihilated the city’s center and its residents in an instant—leading to as many as 80,000 deaths. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. On August 14, the government of Japan surrendered. On September 2, 1945, the formal surrender agreement was signed. The long and destructive war had finally come to an end. The End of WWII…

Axis Germany3,250,0002,350,0005,600,000 Italy226,90060,000286,900 Japan1,740,000393,4002,133,400 Allies France122,000470,000592,000 Great Britain305,80060,600366,400 United States405, ,400 Soviet Union11,000,0006,700,00017,700,000 China1,400,0008,000,0009,400,000 Country Military Civilian Total WWII Casualty Numbers