-
Pearl Harbor
The Empire of Japan was trying to take over much of Asia and was worried about the US Navy in Hawaii. They decided to strike in order to prevent the United States from attacking them. The attack on Pearl Harbor came as a complete surprise. Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes and bombers flew to Pearl Harbor and attacked. The bombers dropped bombs and torpedoes on the war ships, while the fighter planes attacked the US fighter planes on the ground so they could not take off and fight back. -
Pearl Harbor
There were two waves of attacks and by the end of the second wave a number of US ships were destroyed. 2,390 U.S, citizens were killed. -
Battle of Java Sea
In early 1942, with the Japanese rapidly advancing south through the Dutch East Indies, the Allies attempted to mount a defense of Java in an effort to hold the Malay Barrier.Japan conquered British-controlled Burma as well a a number of key positions in the South Pacific.. In this way, they gained control of rich oil reserves, which were vital to their military plans. The Allies were stunned by the rapidsucess of the Japanese Military in the months after Pearl Harbor. -
Battle of Java Sea
The Japanese military also had excellent equipment. This gave the Japanese an important advantage early in the war. -
Loss of Philippines & Bataan Death March
General Douglas MacArthur led the defense of that island chain. He commanded a small force of Americans, plus a number of poorly trained and equipped Filipino soldiers. His troops were no match for the Japanese invaders. MacArthur planned a retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. Less than a month later, 10,000 American and Filipino troops on the Bataan surrender. -
Loss of Philippines & Bataan Death March
For five days and nights, the Japanese forced the already starving and sick soldiers to march through the steaming forests of Bataan. Those who dropped out of line were beaten or shot.Thousands of soldiers perished in this march. -
Doolittle Raid
Army Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle led a group of 16 American bombers on a daring raid of Tokyo and several other Japanese cities. The raid did not due much damage to the targets. it did have significant effects. It gave Americans a reason to celebrate and it angered Japanese leaders. -
Battle of Midway
On July 4, 1942, the Japanese launched a number of fighter planes and bombers from their aircraft carriers to attack the island of Midway. Meanwhile, three United States aircraft carriers (Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown) were closing in on the Japanese force. While the Japanese were focused on attacking Midway, the U.S. carriers launched an attack. The first wave of fighters were torpedo bombers. The loss of four aircraft carriers was devastating to the Japanese. They also lost 3,000 soldiers -
island Hopping Strategy
“Island Hopping” is the phrase given to the strategy employed by the United States to gain military bases and secure the many small islands in the Pacific. The attack was lead by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of the Allied forces in the South west Pacific, and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-chief of the Pacific fleet. -
Island Hopping Srategy
They took control of those islands, and quickly constructed landing strips and small military bases. Then they proceeded to attack other islands from the bases they had established. Slowly the US army moved closer to Japan, taking control of many of the surrounding islands. -
Batlle of Coral Sea
The battle took place as Japanese forces were preparing to invade the British contolled Port Moresby. To prevent this attack, Admiral Chester Nimitz sent two aircraft carriers on the attack. American and Japanese navies both suffered damage. For the first time, the Japanese advance had been halted. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
Decisive air and sea battle of World War II that crippled the Japanese Combined Fleet, permitted U.S. invasion of the Philippines, and reinforced the Allies’ control of the Pacific. The Japanese responded with Sho-Go (Victory Operation), a plan to decoy the U.S. Third Fleet north, away from the San Bernardino Strait, while converging three forces on Leyte Gulf to attack the landing; the First Attack Force was to move from the north across the Sibuyen Sea through the San Bernardino Strait. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
First Attack Force passed through the unguarded San Bernardino Strait and inflicted heavy damage on the Seventh Fleet escort carriers off Samar but withdrew unexpectedly just as they seemed ready to attack the landing operations. Third Fleet sank Japanese carriers while another part moved south, attacking and pursuing the First Attack Force. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima took place near the end of World War II. US Marines first landed on the island on February 19, 1945. The generals who planned the attack had thought that it would take around a week to take the island. They were wrong. The Japanese had many surprises for the US soldiers and it took over a month (36 days) of furious fighting for the US to finally capture the island. -
Battle of Okinawa
Allied forces sought to capture an island near Japan to serve as a base for air operations in support of the proposed invasion of the Home Islands. Assessing their options, the Allies decided to land on Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands. One of the longest and costliest battles of the Pacific Theater, Okinawa saw American forces sustain 49,151 casualties (12,520 killed), while the Japanese incurred 117,472 (110,071 killed) -
Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945 an atomic bomb named Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. The explosion was huge, the city was destroyed, and tens of thousands of people were killed. The bomb was dropped by a plane named the Enola Gay which was piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbetts. The bomb itself was over 10 feet long and weighed around 10,000 pounds. A small parachute was on the bomb in order to slow its drop and allow the plane time to fly away from the blast zone. -
Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki
Despite witnessing the terrible destruction of the bomb on Hiroshima, Emperor Hirohito and Japan still refused to surrender. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, another atomic bomb, nicknamed Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Again the devastation was horrible. -
VJ Day!!
On August 15, 1945, news of the surrender was announced to the world. This sparked spontaneous celebrations over the final ending of World War II. On September 2, 1945, a formal surrender ceremony was held in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. At the time, President Truman declared September 2 to be VJ Day.
