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Pearl Harbor
Japanese made a sneak attack on the US.
Left thousands of US sailors dead. -
The Battle of Coral Sea
Aircraft carriers engaged with other nation's aircraft carriers.
Ships were stranded at sea. -
Battle of Midway
The United States Navy defeated a Japanese attack against Midway Atoll. -
Battle of Guadalcanal
The first major offensive and a decisive victory for the Allies in the Pacific theater.
Japanese troops stayed at the Solomon Islands, while U.S. marines launched a surprise attack. -
Battle of Tarawa
The fight at Tarawa was the first large-scale encounter between US Marines and Japan's Special Naval Landing Forces. -
Admiral Nimitz invaded the Marianas, Saipan, Guam and Tinian
Loss of Saipan was a political crisis to Tokyo, it brought about the fall of the Tojo Cabinet.
The Japanese sallied forth to offer battle to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. -
Battle of Leyte
The largest naval battle ever fought.
It ended in the eclipse of the Imperial Japanese Navy. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Two airfields on the island were under Japan's control.
They could be used by Japanese fighter planes to attack American bombers on their flights to Japan. -
Battle of Okinawa
An 82-day-long battle was the largest in the Pacific Theater.
Japan lost 100,000 men and thousands of civilians, while the Americans lost over 50,000 troops. -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The Little Boy and the Fat Man dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed thousands instantly and left dead from radiation poisoning and cancer caused by the radiation.