WWII: PACIFIC THEATRE
Island Hopping
• Securing island by island to ensure
shorter/safer routes for bombing campaigns
against Japan.
• Resources needed:
– Strong Navy / Effective engineering of bases
U.S. Evacuates the Philippines: Dec.
22, 1941
• U.S. forced to evacuate
when they were
overran.
• 200,000 POW’s forced
to march to Camp ‘O
Donnell
- 5 Day trip / 25% died
- 37% of POW’s died
in Japanese camps.
DOOLITTLE RAID: APRIL 18, 1942
• In response to: Pearl
Harbor
• Length of aircraft carriers:
490 ft.
• Min. # of feet it took a
bomber to take off: 600 ft.
– Modified the planes
• Objective: Bomb key
factory areas of Japan
– Little damage but proved to
the Japanese they could be
attacked and our carriers
needed to be sunk.
BATTLE OF MIDWAY: JUNE 4-6, 1942
• U.S. controlled airstrip
on the island.
• U.S. broke the
Japanese code = totally
caught off guard
• Japan lost four carriers
• U.S. lost the Yorktown
• Turning point of the
war in the Pacific.
• By late 1942, Japan was
losing both in the air
and on the water.
GUADALCANAL (Island of Death):
AUG. 7, 1942
• Japanese airstrip already
on island.
– Taken w/o a fight
• Japanese let them come
inland before attacking
• If held by the Japanese,
Australia and supply lines
would be under Japanese
control
• 1,600 U.S. killed / 4,700
wounded
• 24,000 Japanese dead
• 6 month battle
U.S. Lands on Saipan: June 15, 1944
Leyte Gulf (Philippines): Oct. 23–26,
1944
• Largest naval battle in
history
• Japan threw the entire
fleet into the fight
– Japan lost its last four
carriers, three battleships, 13
cruisers and 400 planes
• First use of Kamikaze
attacks
• Philippines taken backGeneral MacArthur freed
our prisoners
• Last effort for Japan to
dictate how the Pacific war
would be fought.
Iwo Jima
• Iwo is considered part of
Japan
– 650 miles from Tokoyo
• No foreign army in
Japan’s 5000 year history
has been successful on
Japanese soil
• 7.5 miles (1/3 the size of
Manhattan)
• 3 Major airfields
Iwo Jima: February 19, 1945
• Gen. Kuribashi: “A million men
could not take this island in 100
years.” “No survivors!”
• Japanese strategy: Let the
Americans into the mainland of
the island
– 1500 underground rooms were
connected by 16 miles of tunnels
– Kill 10 Americans before you can
kill yourself.
• Iwo was officially part of Japan
• 21,000 Japanese at the on-set /
1,100 survived
• 6,800 U.S. casualties/28,000
wounded
• U.S. inching closer to Japan
Okinawa: April 1, 1945
• Last stepping-stone for an
invasion of the Japanese
home islands
– Guarded by 80,000 Japanese
– Bloodiest battle America
fought in the Pacific (7,600
Americans died/110,000
Japanese)
• Kamikazes heavily used
(1900 attacks)
• By mid-May, beginning of
surrender = Japanese
morale was fading.
• FDR died of a stroke before
this battle was over
U.S.S. Indianapolis
• Delivered the 1st test Abomb to Tinian
• Sank by Japanese sub.
• 1,196 men on board
• 900 men left
• 4 days in the water
• 316 survived