Chapter 25 section 4
The War in the Pacific
Bataan Death March
• Brutal March of
American and Filipino
prisoners by Japanese
soldiers in 1942
– Denied water and rest
– Many beaten and
tortured
– More than 10,000 died
during the 6-10 day
ordeal
Geneva Convention
• Conducted in 1929
• Stated that “prisoners
of war shall at all times
be humanely treated
and protected,
particularly against acts
of violence.”
• Bataan Death March a
clear violation of the
Geneva Convention
Why was the United States unable to
defend the Philippines successfully?
• American troops were
surprised by the
Japanese
• The Philippines were
too distant from the
U.S. to reinforce with
more American troops
to make a difference
Battle of the Coral Sea
• May 1942- US and
Australian forces
intercept Japanese
fleet targeting
Australia-Battle of the
Coral Sea
• New Warfare-all
fighting done with
carrier-based planesopposing ships never
saw each other
Why was the Battle of the Coral Sea
important to the Allies?
• Allies lost more ships
than Japanese
• Japanese fleet too
short of fuel to
continue to Australia1st time Japanese had
been stopped
• Moral victory for the
US
Battle of Midway
• June 1942- Chester
Nimitz-commander of
American forces in
Pacific- learned
Japanese invasion
force heading for
Midway then on to
Pearl Harbor
• 110 Japanese ships
– Largest assemblage of
naval power in history
Battle of Midway
• US outnumbered 4 to
1-prepared a surprise
for Japanese at
Midway
• Americans ordered to
inflict maximum
damage on the
enemy
Battle of Midway
• Japanese lose 4
aircraft carriers, a
cruiser, 322 planes
• Americans avenged
Pearl Harbor
Battle of Guadalcanal
• 1st land offensive of
Japanese warGuadalcanal in
Solomon Islands
• 19,000 marines
• 6 months laterJapanese leave
• 1st Japanese defeat
on land
How did the Battle of Midway and the
Battle of Guadalcanal change the
course of the war in the Pacific?
• The losses sustained by
Japan during the Battle
of Midway prevented
the Japanese from
launching any further
offensive operations in
the Pacific
• In the Battle of
Guadalcanal, the
Americans conquered
their first piece of
Japanese-held territory
Island Hopping
• Lots of distance
between island on in
the Pacific
• Japanese troops dug
in on hundreds of
islands
• Taking each island
would be long and
costly
• Americans
“leapfrogged”
Japanese strongholds
• Seized less-fortified
islands, built airfields,
used airpower to cut
Japanese supply lines
• Starved out Japanese
strong points
Why were aircraft carriers crucial to
the Japanese and American war
efforts?
• Carrier-based aircraft
could attack the
opposing fleet from a
great distance without
the need for a land base
• Carriers are highly
mobile
– Air strikes could be
carried out anywhere in
the Pacific
Battle of Leyte Gulf
• October 1944• In the Philippines178,000 Allied troops
424 kamikazes-sunk
& 280 ships converge
16 US ships and
on Leyte Island in the
damaged another 80
Philippines
• Japanese throw entire • Leyte Gulf a disaster
for Japan
fleet into the battle
– Lost 3 battleships
• Japanese introduce
– 4 aircraft carriers
kamikaze-suicide
– 13 cruisers
plane
– 400 planes
Kamikaze
• Japanese suicide plane
• Effective because they
inflicted massive
amounts of damage
Battle of Iwo Jima
• US could use this as
abase to attack Japan
• Most heavily
defended spot on
earth
• 20,700 Japanese dug
into Iwo Jima
– 6,000 marines died
taking Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
• 200 Japanese
survived
• Last obstacle was
Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
• Japan’s last defensive
outpost
• Unleashed 1,900
kamikazes
• Sunk 30 allied ships
• Killed 5,000 US sailors
• Fighting ends June 22,
1945
• More than 7,600
Americans died
• 110,000 Japanese die
• If Okinawa was
defended this fiercely,
what would an invasion
of Japan be like?
• Churchill predicted
1million American lives
and 500,000 British
How did the Battle of Okinawa
influence the decision to use the
atomic bomb against Japan?
• If Okinawa was
defended this fiercely,
what would an
invasion of Japan be
like?
• Churchill predicted
1million American
lives and 500,000
British
Manhattan Project
• Manhattan Projectproject to develop the
atomic bomb
• Most ambitious
scientific project in
history
• Best kept secret of he
war
• More than 600,000
Americans were
involved in the projectfew actually knew the
purpose
How was the atomic bomb different
from other war technology?
• It was the most
powerful weapon ever
created and had the
potential to destroy
hundreds of thousands
of lives with a single
bomb
Alternatives to dropping the atomic
bombs
• 1. A massive invasion of Japan, expected to
cause million of Allied casualties
• 2. A naval blockade to starve Japan, along
with continued conventional bombing
• 3. A demonstration of the new weapon on a
deserted island to pressure Japan to surrender
• 4. A softening of Allied demands for
unconditional surrender
Hiroshima
• August 6, 1945
– Enola Gay released
atomic bomb code
named Little Boy over
Hiroshima
• an important Japanese
military center
• 43 seconds later, the
city collapsed to dust
• Japanese leaders still
hesitated to surrender
Nagasaki
• August 9, 1945- a
second atomic bombFat Man- was
dropped on Nagasaki
• Leveled half the city
• By the end of 1945200,000 people had
died due to the atomic
bombs
Japanese Surrender
• September 2, 1945Japanese formally
surrender on board
the USS Missouri