1. War in the Pacific

2. Pearl Harbor Japan was mad at US for interfering with expansion
Dec 7, 1941—Japan bombed Pearl Harbor (Hawaii); US declared war on Japan
Wanted to take out US navy so could freely conquer Dutch East Indies
19 ships, 188 planes, 2,400 killed;

3. Pearl Harbor
Used planes to destroy 18 battleships & kill 2,403 sailors in 2 hours
Pearl Harbor was not only US naval base attacked—Japan also bombed US navy in Manila, Bataan, Corregidor, Wake Island, & Guam on its way to taking huge empire in Pacific Ocean by June 1942
Wanted “Asia for Asians” & hoped to stretch empire from Japan to Australia

5. War in the Pacific
Japanese Empire, 1942

6. War in the Pacific
USA Pacific forces led by Douglas MacArthur & Chester Nimitz fought to defeat Japan; needed to conquer Japanese-controlled islands to get to Japan
May 1942—Battle of Midway—1st successful US defeat of Japanese navy

7. War in the Pacific
US & Australian troops fought to defeat Japan; Japanese refused to surrender & fought to the last man; made fighting for islands difficult
August 1942—Guadalcanal— 6-month land, air, sea battle; Japanese kamikaze (suicide) pilots bombed US ships & bases

8. War in the Pacific
Japanese Empire, 1942

10. War in the Pacific
Allies could never take all Japanese-controlled islands (too costly), so US began island-hopping strategy—capture some islands, skip others; hoped to cut off Japanese supply lines & “starve” other Japanese-controlled islands

12. War in the Pacific
By 1945, US won Iwo Jima & Okinawa in the worst fighting of Pacific War— US suffered most marine casualties in these 2 island invasions
Needed these islands as bases to use for invasion of Japan

13. War in the Pacific
Japanese Empire, 1942

14. V-J
Despite heavy losses, Japan refused to surrender to Allies; continued to fight to last man & used suicide missions to kill as many Allies as possible
US faced with decision: invade Japan OR use new weapon—atomic bomb
Atomic Bomb secretly developed in New Mexico desert during Manhattan Project

15. V-J
August 6,1945—new US President Harry Truman ordered drop of atomic bomb on Hiroshima; Japan issued no response; nd atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later
Atomic Bomb Video

16. Hiroshima

17. Nagasaki

19. V-J August 14, 1945-Japan surrendered—Victory in Japan
World War 2 was over

20. Achieving Victory in Pacific
Open video