10th American History
Unit IV- A Champion of Democracy
Chapter 14
Section 3
The War in the Pacific
The War in the Pacific
The Main Idea
After early defeats in the Pacific, the United States gained the upper
hand and began to fight its way island by island to Japan.
Reading Focus
• Why did the Allies experience a slow start in the Pacific?
• How did the Allies bring about a shift in their fortunes in the
Pacific?
• What were the major events that marked Allied progress in the
late stages of the Pacific war?
A Slow Start in the Pacific
•
The attack on Pearl Harbor did significant damage to the U.S. Pacific
Fleet and it took months to overcome the attack.
•
The Allies decided to focus their energy and resources on defeating
the Axis in Europe.
•
The Japanese won a quick string of impressive victories following
Pearl Harbor.
– Drove American forces from Wake Island and Guam
– Captured the British stronghold at Hong Kong
– Took control of the Dutch East Indies (known as Indonesia today)
and British Borneo
– Damaged the Allied navies in the Battle of Java Sea
– Conquered British-controlled Burma
•
The Japanese soldiers were highly skilled and well trained.
•
The Japanese military had excellent equipment.
Allied Strategy- 1:21
Active Defense in the Pacific
• 1942- Japanese
controlled:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Gilbert and Solomon Islands
Southern New Guinea
Philippines
Malaya
Singapore
Thailand
Burma
• Allies- Active Defense
–
–
–
–
Hold on to what remains to them.
Need the bases.
Secure Hawaii and Somoa
Protect the Sea Lanes- Japan had
few submarines.
A Slow Start for the Allies
• Why did the Allies experience a slow start
in the Pacific?
• Identify – What territories was Japan able
to conquer early in World War II?
• Analyze – In what ways did the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor backfire?
• Evaluate – Why do you think there was
only a small American military force in the
Philippines?
The Philippines
Japan invaded the American-controlled islands of the Philippines
in December 1941.
General Douglas MacArthur led the defense of the islands.
MacArthur’s troops were no match for the Japanese and he
retreated to the Bataan Peninsula. Although he called for
reinforcements, war planners decided sending ships was too
risky.
In April 1942, the 10,000 American and 60,000 Filipino troops
on Bataan surrendered.
Thousands of these captured soldiers died when the Japanese
forced them to march through the steaming forests of Bataan.
This became known as the Bataan Death March.
Allied Advances in the Pacific
James Doolittle
• Army Lieutenant Colonel
• Led a group of 16 American bombers on a daring air raid of
Tokyo and several other Japanese cities
• Doolittle’s raid did not do major damage to the Japanese
targets, but it did give the American people something to
celebrate and worried Japan’s leaders.
Fortunes Shift in the Pacific
• Victory in the Battle of Coral Sea
• Victory in the Battle of Midway
Doolittle’s Raid on Tokyo
• April 18, 1942
• Carrier launched B-52’s
attack Tokyo
• Not much damage but lifted
U.S. morale.
James "Jimmy" Doolittle: Pioneering Aviator and Famed World War II
Air Commander (02:44)
Fortunes Shift in the Pacific
Battle of Coral Sea
• Japan prepared to invade
New Guinea.
• U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz
sent two aircraft carriers to
stop the attack.
• The Americans lost an aircraft
carrier in the battle but
stopped the Japanese attack.
• First time the Japanese
advance had been halted
Battle of Midway
• Japan tried to lure the
Americans into a large sea
battle around Midway Island.
• Naval officers had broken a
Japanese code and learned
of the plan.
• Nimitz devised a plan to
thwart the attack and placed
his 3 aircraft carriers carefully.
• The Americans destroyed 3 of
the 4 Japanese carriers and
won a major victory.
The Early War in the Pacific (01:36)
Battle of the Coral Sea- May 7+8 , 1942
• Japanese- Adm. Yamamoto
– Force a major sea battle to
destroy the Allied Pacific Fleet
and invade Australia.
– Thus stop any Allied offensive
against Japan.
• Historic Naval battle
– showed Modern Science
– Aircraft carrier v. aircraft carrier
– Tactical victory went to
Japanese- The “box score”
– Strategic victory went to U.S.forcing Japan to stop drive
toward Australia.
– This was the first naval
engagement to take place where
the opposing ships never fired a
shot at each other. Airplane
bombers, fighters and torpedo
bombers.
The Battle of Midway (01:02)
Battle of Midway- 1:51
Battle of Midway- June 4-7, 1942
•
Fought just a month after the Battle
of the Coral Sea, Midway was the
turning point of the Pacific
Campaign
•
Yamamoto’s secret plan to surprise
the American ships at Midway
•
With American ships destroyed,
–
Japan could avenge the bombing of the
Japanese home islands.
–
Japan could plug the hole in their Eastern
defensive perimeter and
–
Japan could perhaps even invade and take
Hawaii.
•
The loss of four carriers stopped the
expansion of the Japanese Empire in
the Pacific, and put Japan on the
defensive.
•
Balance of naval power now shifts to
the U.S.A.
Prior to this action, Japan
possessed general naval
superiority over the United States
and could usually choose where
and when to attack. After
Midway, the two opposing fleets
were essentially equals, and the
United States soon took the
offensive.
Battle of Midway
Fortunes Shift in the Pacific
• How did the Allies bring about a shift in
their fortunes in the Pacific?
• Recall – How much damage did Doolittle
inflict on Tokyo?
• Identify Cause and Effect – What were
the long-range effects of the U.S. air
attack on Tokyo and other Japanese
Cities?
Fortunes Shift in the Pacific
• Explain – What is the significance of the
Battle of the Coral Sea?
• Summarize – How did the Japanese plan
to destroy what remained?
• Evaluate – How important was breaking
Japanese codes to the overall success of
the Allied forces?
Allied Progress in the Pacific
1. Gained control of territory in the Solomon Islands to protect
Australia
2. Used powerful combination of land, sea, and air forces to capture
key islands
3. Captured locations in the Gilbert, Marshall, Caroline, and Mariana
islands
4. Took advantage of American industrial power by replacing ships
and aircrafts, which Japan was unable to do
5. European successes allowed more resources to be made
available in the Pacific.
6. Recaptured the Philippines
7. Captured strategic Japanese islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa
The United States Military "Island Hops" Towards Japan (00:58)
General MacArthur: Supreme Allied Commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater in WWII
(02:33)
The Allies Make Progress
Guadalcanal
• Allies wanted to
gain control of
the Solomon
Islands to
protect Australia.
• Key goal was the
capture of an
island called
Guadalcanal
• American forces
fought for 6
months and
finally defeated
the Japanese.
Navajo Code
Talkers
• Hundreds of
Native Americans
of the Navajo
nation served in
the Marines as
code talkers.
• They translated
messages into a
coded version of
the Navajo
language.
• Japanese codebreakers never
figured it out.
The Philippines
• First major battle
was the Battle of
Leyte Gulf.
• The Allies
destroyed most of
Japan’s fleet.
• Japanese began
using the
kamikaze attack.
• After months of
fighting, the Allies
gained control of
the Philippines.
August, 1942; The Attack on Guadalcanal (01:07)
Battle for Guadalcanal - Aug. 7, 1942
On August 8th, 1942, the Americans
began their first counter-attack in the
Pacific.
The fight for the island was long and
bitter, with both sides attempting to
reinforce their troops. The American
forces, however, were victorious. Finally,
in February 1943, the island was secured.
The naval battle at Guadalcanal, lasting
six months from August, 1942, to
February, 1943, was the longest sea
battle in history. Iron Bottom Sound was
filled with some 100 sunken ships.
Disease played a major role in troop
effectiveness.
Navajo Code Talkers
• The Code Talker's primary job was to talk and transmit
information on tactics, troop movements, orders and
other vital battlefield information via telegraphs and
radios in their native dialect. A major advantage of the
code talker system was its speed.
• Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima: the Navajo code
talkers took part in every assault the U.S. Marines
conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945.
• They served in all six Marine divisions, Marine Raider
battalions and Marine parachute units, transmitting
messages by telephone and radio in their native
language -- a code that the Japanese never broke.
World War II: Navajo Code Talkers in the United States Military (02:33)
Leyte Gulf and the Philippines
• The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval battle
in history.
• It was fought during the Pacific Theatre of
Operations PTO of World War II, in the seas
surrounding the Philippine island of Leyte from 23
October to 26 October 1944
• Between the Allies and the Empire of Japan.
• "The Japanese fleet had [effectively] ceased to exist,
and, except by land-based aircraft, their opponents
had won undisputed command of the sea. When
Admiral Ozawa was questioned on the battle after
the war he replied 'After this battle the surface forces
became strictly auxiliary, so that we relied on land
forces, special [Kamikaze] attack, and air power .
. there was no further use assigned to surface
vessels, with the exception of some special ships.'
Japanese Kamikaze Pilots (00:34)
Leyte Gulf and the Philippines
At the start
Navy
Large
carriers
Small
Carriers
Aircraft
Embarked
Battleships
Cruisers
Destroyers
United
States
8
24
1712
12
24
141
Japan
1
3
117
9
20
34
Navy
Large
carriers
Small
Carriers
Battleships
Cruisers
Destroyers
Destroyer
Escorts
US
-
3
-
-
2
1
Japan
1
3
3
10
11
-
Losses
The Allies Make Progress
• What were the major events that marked
Allied progress in the late stages of the
Civil War?
• Describe – What was Guadacanal?
• Analyze – Why were the Solomon Island
important to both Japan and the United
States?
• Elaborate – Why do you think the
Americans wanted to capture
Guadacanal?
The Allies Make Progress
• Identify – What was the largest naval
battle fought during the war?
• Evalate – How did the Japanese kamkaze
attacks affect the psychological side of the
war?
The Yalta Conference- 3:15
The Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa (01:07)
Iwo Jima's Strategic Location and the Initial Invasion (03:56)
Iwo Jima and Okinawa
• Explain – What was significant about the
Battle of Iwo Jima?
• Predict – What do you think might have
happened if Japanese troops had
surrendered on Okinawa and Iwo Jima?