Chapter 12.2 Study Guide
• Main Idea: Japanese and American naval forces
battled for control of the Pacific.
1. Detail: A few hours after they bombed Pearl Harbor,
the Japanese attacked American airfields in the
Philippines
2. Detail: When the forces defending the Bataan
Peninsula surrendered in April of 1942, nearly 78,000
of them were forced to march 65 miles to a Japanese
prison camp. Thousands died on this march, which
came to be known as the Bataann Death March.
3. Detail: President Roosevelt wanted to bomb Tokyo,
but Japanese ships in the North Pacific prevented
carriers from getting close enough to Japan to launch
their short-range bombers
Doolittle Raid
• The plan was to launch B25 bombers from aircraft carriers
between 450-650 miles from Japan. The planes would bomb
selected targets and then fly 1200 miles to airfields in China
• All went well until Japan discovered the carriers 150 miles
outside their target launch area.
• Instead of cancelling, the bombers took off early. They
bombed targets but did not have enough fuel to make it to
China.
• Crews were forced to bail out and crash land their planes. 71
of 80 crewmembers survived.
Chapter 12.2 Study Guide
• Main Idea: Japanese and American naval forces battled for
control of the Pacific.
4. Detail: After the Doolittle raid, the Japanese decided the
American fleet had to be destroyed to protect Tokyo from
bombing, and they ordered all but three carriers to prepare
for an assault on Midway
5. Detail: Japan did not know that an American team of codebreakers had already broken the Japanese Navy’s secret code
for conducting operations.
6. Detail: Unaware that they were heading into an ambush, the
Japanese launched their aircraft against Midway on June 4,
1942.
Ch.12.4 - Pushing the Axis Back
12. The first part of America's two-pronged
attack on Japan called for the Pacific Fleet
to hop from ONE ISLAND TO THE NEXT
closer and closer to JAPAN
13. The geographical problem with the
central Pacific was that may of the islands
were CORAL REEF ATOLLS and the
water over them was not always deep
enough to allow landing craft to get to the
shore.
14. American military planners wanted to use the
MARIANA ISLANDS as a base for a new heavy
bomber, the B-29 SUPERFORTRESS that could
reach Japan from these islands.
15. The BATTLE OF LEYETE GULF was the largest
naval battle in history, and the first time that the
Japanese used KAMIKAZE attacks