Lesson 9 – Pacific Theatre of War
Outcomes (SWBAT)
 Identify the key battles and turning points in the Pacific Theatre
Activities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
pre-lesson responder quiz.
PPT – Divine Wind – discuss kamikaze tactics
Notes on attack on Pearl Harbour on map.
DVD – “Pearl Harbour ” from 1:20 minutes to 1:45:00
Notes on Pacific Theatre with map
Materials
 Pre-lesson quiz
 Notes on Pacific Theatre and map
 DVD – “Pearl Harbour – Legacy of Attack” from Pen-Hi library
PACIFIC THEATRE OF WWII – Lecture Notes
War in the Pacific
Japanese leaders
 Emperor Hirohito
 General Tojo
 Admiral Yamamoto
Japan had throughout its modern history, feared that westernization would
disrupt their social structure
Japan had a population of 60 million, which it had not the resources to sustain.
1931 – invaded Manchuria for resources
1940 – signs the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Germany
Pearl Harbour
-Sunday was always treated as a “day of rest”
-Japanese knew this and knew their attack should be a surprise
3 stages…
1.
Attack Pearl Harbour and seize territories in Malaysia & Philippines while
setting up a defensive perimeter around Japan
2.
Construct bases off Siberian shores, as well as Malaysia and Philippines
3.
Intercept & destroy Allied forces that approach this perimeter
Radar protected Pearl Harbour and at 7am on December 7th, 1941, the radar
operator detected the largest concentration of aircraft he had seen on his screen.
The naval duty officer believes it is just a scheduled flight of Flying Fortresses
and tells him to ignore it.
7:49am  attack begins
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183 torpedo- and dive-bombers attack
Espionage had revealed where every battleship & cruiser lay
¾ of US anti-aircraft guns on US ships were unmanned and many without
ammunition
Only 4 out of 31 batteries of the army were operational

Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma, California and 4 other battleships are sunk
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By 9am, West Virginia, Maryland & Tennessee were destroyed or
damaged
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11 smaller ships were destroyed an 188 aircraft
South Pacific
Japan then turned its attention to capturing colonial countries in Malaysia,
between Sumatra and Borneo
Dec 10  Japan sinks UK’s new battleships, the “Prince of Wales” & “Repulse”
Both Wake & Guam are captured, Hong Kong capitulates on Christmas Day.
Canadian POW’s experience the harsh brutalities of being a Japanese prisoner.
By January 15, 1942, Japan had advanced 400 miles in 5 weeks
By February 15, the UK surrenders Malaysia
East Indies
Attacks now extend into this region for the valuable resources like oil & rubber.
(Borneo, Celebes, Timor, Sumatra, Java)
The Dutch colonial powers were defeated at sea and on land
Many natives weren’t upset at “liberation” as the Japanese claimed to be offering
them guidance under their Asian “Sphere of Co-Prosperity”
Britain failed to defend Burma and retreated into India. (At one point they blew
up a bridge that had their soldiers fighting on the other side of it)
Philippines
Led by General Douglas MacArthur, the US had to fight off the Japanese
advances into Manila from Formosa (Taiwan)
MacArthur is forced back to the Bataan Peninsula until Roosevelt orders
MacArthur to retreat to Australia (“I shall return”).
April 8th, 1942 – Philippines surrenders
By the middle of 1942, the Japanese had conquered:
Guam, Wake, Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, Burma, the Philippines, the Dutch
East Indies, and parts of New Guinea
The already held large portion of China, Indochina, and Thailand before Pearl
Harbour… now they were threatening Australia.
The Battle of the Coral Sea – May, 1942
A unique battle in that the whole battle is planes vs. planes, with support by
aircraft carriers)
The battle itself was a draw, but could be seen as a setback for the Japanese
because it prevented them from taking Port Moresby from which they could have
bombed Australia
Japan outnumbers the US carrier fleet 10 to 3 and their navy 6 to 3
US Carriers were formidable (Lexington, Saratoga, Enterprise, Yorktown &
Hornet), but Japanese were a national elite force.
1942 – Japan bombs Darwin, Ceylon & East Africa
“Doolittle Raid” – long-range bomber attack on Tokyo that doesn’t inflict much
damage…
But it alerts Japan to the importance of securing Midway.
They remove their forces from PNG and start an offensive in Midway
“Magic” intercepts and decrypts Japanese plans, allowing the US to “win” the
Battle of the Coral Sea and be ready for the attack on Midway
Coral Sea… 2 effects:
1.
Checked the Japanese advance to Australia
2.
reassured the US they were on par with Japan
Battle of Midway - June, 1942 – Turning Point in the Pacific
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10:25 am  led by Lieutenant Commander Wade McClusky, 37 Dauntless
dive-bombers plunged at Japanese flight decks
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Japanese destroy 2/3 of US fighters without a single loss
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Enterprise, Hornet & Yorktown move to attacking positions
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Sky fills with 150 US aircraft
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9:36 am  all of Hornet’s and 10 of Enterprises torpedo-bombers are shot
down, some ran out of fuel and fell into the sea
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2/3 of US strike aircraft were repelled or destroyed
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One of Enterprise’s remaining dive-bomber groups gets lost, loses contact
and takes a wrong course…
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They find the Japanese fleet by luck and guesswork
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The decks were littered with high-octane hoses, bombs and aircraft
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Within 5 minutes, the First Air Fleet of Japan had been devastated
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This Allied victory forced Japan into a defensive war
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However, they managed to keep their vast territorial conquests and
continued their “Co-Prosperity Sphere”
Stop notes here  “The Pacific”, section on
Guadalcanal
Ichi-Go Offensive
“The best defense is a good offense”
Japan attacks China through Burma
Battle of Leyte Gulf
This became the largest and most decisive battle in naval history
Japan knew that holding the Philippines hung on the defense at Leyte
They resorted to kamikaze tactics on the last day of the losing battle… the first
time the Allies witnessed this suicidal force
Burma
Battle of Kohima  British Commonwealth Forces
Burma Road was a vital supply route
Allied forces, under General Louis Mountbatten were to clear the Japanese out of
Burma
Chiang Kai-Shek’s motives 
Allies assumed his forces would take the offensive against the Japanese
occupying forces
Roosevelt had faith and sent Chiang vast quantities of military supplies
This was misplaced faith. Chiang had more interest in defeating Mao’s
Communists
Significance:
It looked like an attack on Japan through China wouldn’t work – an alternate
solution would have to be found… atom bomb?
Iwo Jima
First in a two-part series of amphibious attacks (sailor + soldier + airmen +
marine)
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This form of attack was developed and credited to the Marine corps
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Goal was to land troops with heaviest available firepower
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Take up 1st position NOT on beach, but on dry ground inland
 Needed…
1. dive bomber operating from a carrier
2. 3 dedicated landing craft (high speed, can beach and disembark without
tides)
First amphtrac is armoured and can drive out of water and across beach
Second is larger and carries 2nd wave of attackers
Third is capable of landing an beaching tanks
Iwo Jima landing was the worst of the war for the Marines
Battle is won by the Allies by March 16th
 26 000 US casualties, 7 000 dead
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21 000 Japanese defenders all died, many committing ritual suicide
Okinawa
The landing lasted an entire week
120 000 Japanese vs. 50 000 US (would grow to 250 000)
April 6th
 Dense waves of aircraft attacks
 900 aircraft in total – 300 of which were on suicide missions
April 7th
 A repeat of kamikaze attacks
A total of 1900 kamikaze missions were executed in 2 months
They also sacrificed a fuel-laden battleship, which was sunk by the Allies
14 US destroyers were sunk along with ammunition ships and landing craft
5 000 US dead
Ultimately the kamikaze attacks had to end
By the end of June, some 4 000 Japanese surrendered, but all officers committed
ritual suicide
Of the POWs – 7400 were too wounded to commit suicide, but 110 000 soldiers
refused to surrender and died.
The US dilemma and results:
Problem – although Japanese are doomed to defeat, enormous casualties would
certainly result… Truman was told he could expect 1 – 1.5 million
American casualties over 12 -18 months more of fighting if taking
Japan by sea and land.
This dilemma resolved with agreement of British government to drop atomic
bombs on two Japanese cities
Warning leaflets were dropped – “failure” of Japanese response results in Enola
Gay launched
August 6, 1945 – Hiroshima
Colonel Paul Tibbets carried “Little Boy” = 20 000 tonnes of TNT based on
uranium 235
Killed 70 000… flattened 20 km2
After Nazi defeat it was possible to bring complete might to Japan
Since November 1944 – constant bombings by US B29 Super Fortresses
April 1945 – Admiral Suzuki now Prime Minister
He tries to sue for peace and preserve a portion of Japanese Empire
Approaches the still officially neutral USSR – Stalin did not pass on Japanese
proposals for peace (although the US knew of them)
By August 1945  Suzuki’s peace – not one that would give fanatics in the
Japanese Army an excuse to overthrow the government (suicidal resistance)
Stalin was ready to send troops against Japanese positions in Manchuria
August 6-7  Russia declared war on Japan – wants the spoils
US and Britain are alarmed at the prospect of Soviet penetration into Asia
Nagasaki – 40 000 died
This “Fat Man” bomb was based on plutonium
Manhattan Project
Einstein’s nuclear project – provided 3 bombs… 1 in reserve
Emperor Hirohito proposed surrender provided they could retain imperial dynasty
2nd Sept 1945 – MacArthur accepted formal Japanese surrender on the US
Missouri in Tokyo Bay
Japan would be occupied but unlike Germany, not divided into zones
Demilitarized and demoralized
History 12
Ms. Lacroix
Name __________________________________
WWII GROUP PROJECT
PROJECT: Visual/Graphic with text (video clips optional)/skit/puppet
show/diorama/ other ideas? See me first!
THEMES:
 Impact of technology
 Strategies and tactics
 Turning points
 Key players
 Moral issues
FORMAT: A visual project. You choose the format.
 Objectives of battle campaign
 Outline of major events
 Leadership roles
 Assessment of success or failure (event’s historical significance)
Topics: (Groups of 3 or 4)
The Eastern Front
Battle of Britain
The War in the Air
Battle of the Atlantic
The North African Campaign and Italy
Inventions and Technology
D-Day (Operation Overlord) June 1944 to V. Europe Day
The Propaganda War (choose 2 Axis and 2 Allied powers to profile)
Battle of the Pacific (Pearl Harbour to Hiroshima and Nagasaki) – VJ Day
Evaluation: criterion referenced out of 30 marks
Timeline:
library – 1 class
Computer lab / classroom work time - 2 classes
Presentations – 2 classes
References: text books, encyclopedias, internet (include a bibliography of
sources)
Incorporate these elements:
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Title page of topic
Relevant maps (so we know countries involved and geographic locations)
Battle explanation
Timelines
Strategies
Key Players/roles
What’s happening with axis/allies regarding your topic
Conclusions/historical significance
***Remember! – you must incorporate WWII vocabulary relevant to your topic
in your presentation
Topics you need to cover within your main topic: From summary notes:
1.
Battle of Britain
attack – mistake – blitz
2.
Eastern Front 1939-41
Operation Barbarossa – goals – attack – winter – Battle of Stalingrad
Eastern Front 1942-45
Battle of Stalingrad – road to liberation of Eastern Europe
Red Army enters Poland 1944
Red Army enters berlin April 1945
3.
North Africa 1942-43/ Italy 1943
The Suez Canal and Oil
El Alamein
Allies defeat Axis in N. Africa – significance?
Italy: pre-requisite for liberation of Europe
4.
Battle of the Atlantic 1941-43
U-boats
U-boats vs. convoys
Battle of Atlantic concerning Axis and Allies
5.
Second Front – D-Day to VE Day 1942-1944
Strategic Bombing
Operation Overlord
Liberating France
Operation Market Garden
Battle of the Bulge
D-Day to V-E Day
6.
Pacific 1941-1945
Pearl Harbour
Coral Sea – Midway – Island Hopping – Leyte Gulf
Manhattan Project
Hiroshima & Nagasaki
7.
Technology
Total War – “necessity as the mother of invention”
Examples of Axis and Allies technology
8.
The War in the Air
Major air battles between Axis/Allies
Turning Points
Technology for Axis/Allies
Impacts on War
9.
Propaganda
concepts plus visuals
Need to use two Axis and two Allies for research
(Br/USA/Ger/USSR/Japan)