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The Attack on Pearl Harbour, Hawaii
The Japanese launched a suprise attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbour on December 7th of 1941. The US were caught off gaurd and lost thousands of men and many ships. This caused the US to declare war on Japan and enter the rest of the war going on in Europe. Japan proceded to gain control of large parts of the Pacific, from the Phillipines to the Solomon Islands to the Aleutian Islands while the US prepared for a counter-offensive. -
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The P.T.O.
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The Battle of Coral Sea
The first major in the Pacific, the US and the Japanese fought this battle near Australia and Papua New Guinea without any contact of ships. The whole battle was fought with planes from aircraft carriers attacking back and forth. The US won after a few days of skirmishes when the Japanese withdrew. -
The Battle of Midway
The first major offensive of the US, this crsushing defeat for Japan turned the tides of the War in the Pacific. Japan suffered heavy losses while the US' were minimal. The Battle of Midway was the beginning of the US victory in the end. -
The Battle of Guadalcanal
The first major offensive by the US, this 6 month landing on the island Guadalcanal and surronding Solomon Islands took several battles to take the island from Japanese control the following Feburary. v -
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The Battle of Guadalcanal
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Battle of Tarawa
The second major US offensive, the Battle on the Isalnds of Tarawa and Makin were a casuality-heavy struggle for the advancing US Navy who took the islands after 4 days of fighting the Japanese garrison. -
Battle of Saipan
The Marines landed on Saipan on June 15th and fought for several weeks before taking the island from the Japanese. This was an important island for the Japanese and was important for them to slow down the American advancement but it was lost. -
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Battle of Saipan/Battle of the Philippine Sea
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Battle of Leyte
The largest battle in the history of naval warfare, the Battle near the island of Leyte saw deaths in the 10 thousands and the first kamikaze attacks. The Japanese Imperial Navy was crushed and they lost a lot of power in the Pacific. This was also where General MacArthur gave his famous "I Have Returned" speech. -
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Battle of Leyte
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Battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima was one of the most fiercely fought battles of the P.T.O. and it took the Marines over a month to capture the small island to secure airstrips for B-29 flyers. The Japanese garrison of over 21,000 troops resisted greatly, but they were eventually defeated. Only around 1000 Japanese troops were captured alive. -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
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Battle of Okinawa
The last major offensive of the US, the Battle of Okinawa was a difficult 3 months for the US who were met with fierce resistance from the Japanese defenders, overall both sides losing around 200,000 people. This was the bloodbath that made Harry Truman question Japan's willingness to stop, and he made the decision to introduce the Atmoic bomb into warfare for the first and last time. -
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Battle of Okinawa
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The Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The atomic bomb was droped twice on human civilization twice, once on Hiroshima and again on Nagasaki. This was how the US dealt with the final straw of the Japanese defence, They didn't want to continue onto the main island even though the chance presented itself. These 2 bombs forced the surrender of Japan and the end of the bloodiest war of all time, World War II.
