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Overview of key aspects and events in the Pacific Theater during World War II
What were the key strategies of the U.S in the Pacific, and how did these shape the course of the war. What were the major battles fought between the United States and Japan in the Pacific, and what were the outcomes. -
Expansion of Japanese Empire 1931-1937
Japan felt cheated by Britain, France, and the US after WWI because it failed to gain much territory. Japan begins to expand its empire by invading Manchuria in 1931. Japan later invades the rest of China in 1937. Happens because the Japanese government falls under control of radical nationalists and allies with the army. -
Expansion of Japanese Empire 1941
The invasions strain the Japanese economy and create a need for iron ore and oil to fuel war efforts. Japan takes French Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos) to access more natural resources and have access to new markets. -
Pearl Harbor
The Americans respond by cutting off oil shipments to Japan. This only makes Japan more aggressive for additional territory. As a result, Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii December 7, 1941. -
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Island-Hopping Campaign: KEY STRATEGY
Douglas MacArthur’s, the general in the South Pacific, introduces his “island hopping” strategy.
Idea was to retake key strategic islands in the Pacific while bypassing heavily fortified Japanese positions. Allowed U.S to secure islands closer to the Japanese mainland.
Rather than invade every island, it is more efficient to select strategic islands to take. -
Bataan Death March
After taking the Philippines, the Japanese army forced 76,000 American and Filipino soldiers to March 60 miles to a Prisoner of War camp. This was referred to as the Bataan Death March.
The March was Known for its brutality as only 54,000 survived. -
Doolittle Raid on Tokyo
Planes would bomb Tokyo and then land in China and Russia. The Raid is military insignificant but psychologically important because it shows that the US is capable of striking the Japanese mainland. -
The Battle of Midway
Fought from June 4 to June 7, 1942, the Battle of Midway was a turning point in the Pacific. By the middle of 1942, the US had already cracked the Japanese codes. This allowed the US to set a trap for the Japanese fleet. With this, the Americans surprise the Japanese fleet. As a result, Japan loses four of six heavy aircraft carriers among many other ships. Japan is now on the retreat. -
The Battle of Guadalcanal
Soldiers experienced brutal conditions fighting in dense jungles.
Marines take the island after six months of “hellish” fighting.
The campaign marked a significant Allied victory and established a foothold in the Pacific for further advances.
It is the beginning of McArthur’s island-hopping strategy. -
The Battle of Leyte Gulf
Still on the retreat after Guadalcanal, Japan gambles its Navy in hopes of turning the war back in their favor and maintaining the strategically important Philippines.
Japan gambles what is left of its navy in a last attempt to defeat the US but loses.
The Japanese navy can now no longer fight.
The Allies retake the Philippines. -
The Battle of Iwo Jima
Although the island is very small, it is strategically significant for the US.
US bombers are now in range of the Japanese mainland. -
Firebombing Raid of Tokyo
25% of the city’s buildings were destroyed.
100,000 Japanese die in the resulting blaze.
Worst death toll of any single event in World War II after the bombing starts a massive fire in Tokyo. -
The Battle of Okinawa
US defeats Japan on Okinawa.
Capturing Okinawa would provide a base for air operations closer to Japan's mainland, facilitating the planned invasion of Japan.
The only step left for the US is an invasion of the Japanese mainland.
Battle of Okinawa influenced Allied strategy and decision-making due to staggering casualties on both sides. -
No recipe for victory
In Japan's history, no Japanese government had submitted to an outside power. In excess of 2,600 years. Throughout the entire conflict, not a single Japanese military unit had submitted.
There was no guarantee that the Japanese military would submit to a surrender order, even if the U.S. succeeded in getting the Japanese government to surrender. Plans for invading Japan called for roughly 770,000 American troops with projected causality rates of 35% or 270,000 killed and wounded. -
Atomic bomb Hiroshima
The Atomic Bomb is dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
80,000 die immediately. Thousands more die later from the effects of radiation poisoning.
The Japanese refuse to surrender. -
Atomic bomb Nagasaki
The Atomic Bomb is dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki.
70,000 die immediately. Thousands more die later from the effects of radiation poisoning.
This was the last atom bomb the US had at the time, but Japan did not know that. -
Japan surrenders
Fearing another atomic strike, Japan surrenders to General MacArthur on the USS Missouri despite the desire of some military officers to continue the war.