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Day of Infamy
This was the day where Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor. Many woke up to the sound of Japanese bombings. They sunk or destroyed nineteen ships, and 2,300 were killed. This sparked the U.S. involvement in World War II. -
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Pacific Front
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Japanese Attacks
In this time period, the Japanese had invaded Guam, Wake Island, the Philippine capital of Manila. Filipino, along with American set up a defensive line, but the Japanese were still succesful. Later, the Japanese also took Hong Kong, the Dutch East Indies, and Burma. -
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Battle of Midway
This completely changed the tide of the war in favor of the Allies. In a succesful victory, Americans destroyed 332 Japanese planes and destroyed all four aircraft carriers. The captain of the Japanese called for a retreat. -
Battle of Guadalcanal
There was a huge Japanese air base on Guadalcanal, and Genearl MacArthur wanted to sieze it. The marines didn't have a problem siezing the airfield, but the battle for the island was a huge struggle. The battle finally ended within six months, and the Japanese called it "the island of death." -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Japanese took the gamble for destroying the entire American fleet. They lost disastrously, leminating the entire Japanese navy from the war. Now, the Japanese only had their army and the feared Kamikaze pilots. -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
U.S. troops moved onto the island of Okinawa, only 350 miles away from Japan. They fought a desperate fight, but lost. The Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the deadliest land battles alive. The Japanese lost more than 100,000 troops, and Americans 12,000. -
Testing of Atomic Bomb.
The first Atomic bomb or A-Bomb was exploded in a desert in New Mexico. The explosion was a success, and president Truman was told about it. He warned the Japanese that if they didn't surrender, they would expect a "rain of terror" from the air. -
A-Bomb on Hiroshima
The Japanese had ignored President Truman's warning. The U.S. dropped an A-Bomb on Hiroshima, a city of nearly 350,000 people. Between 80,000 and 90,000 people have died. -
A-Bomb on Nagasaki
The Japanese had not yet surrendered. A second bomb was unleashed in Nagasaki, a city of about 270,000. More than 70,000 were immediately killed, but then radiation from the bomb had killed many more. -
Official Surrender of Japan
The Japanese had finally surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur. The ceremony took place on U.S. battle ship Missouri located in the Tokyo Bay. Now, Japan was down, and the war has ended.