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Pearl harbor
On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japan launched a sneak attack on the U.S. Pacific fleet base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, as part of a plan to eliminate any potential challenge to Japanese conquests in Asia. The attack compelled the United States to enter World War II as a combatant. -
Battle of coral sea
The first air-sea battle in history and an engagement in which the lead role was played by aircraft launched from ships at sea this battle resulted from Japanese efforts to make an amphibious landing at Port Moresby in southeast New Guinea. -
Battle of midway
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. Thanks in part to major advances in code breaking the United States was able to preempt and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. -
Battle of Guadalcanal
The World War II Battle of Guadalcanal was the first major offensive and a decisive victory for the Allies in the Pacific theater. With Japanese troops stationed in this section of the Solomon Islands, U.S. marines launched a surprise attack in August 1942 and took control of an air base under construction. Reinforcements were funneled to the island as a series of land and sea clashes unfolded, and both sides endured heavy losses to their warship contingents.
