Farthest Extent
of Japanese Conquests
1 Early WWII Battles in the Pacific






Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941) Japanese win
Battle of the Philippines (Dec. 41)
Japanese win
Doolittle’s Raid on Tokyo (Apr. 42) Little
damage inflicted – but a morale booster
for the USA
Battle of the Coral Sea (May 42) No
winner, but stopped Japan from invading
Australia
Battle of Midway (June 42) Big US win
Battle of Guadalcanal (Aug. 42) US win –
land victory using Navajo code-talkers
Farthest Extent
of Japanese Conquests
2
The Philippines=Major U.S
Colony
• Dec. 8, 1941--Japan attacks British, Dutch
and American forces in the Pacific
• For over a month, Japanese troop push
American and Filipino troops back
• Take Manila in Jan. 1942 U.S. forced out of
S.E. Asia
• MacArthur leader of troops leaves in Feb.
• Vows to return again
3
“I shall return”
Doolittle’s Raid on Tokyo
• Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle led
16 bombers in an attack on
Tokyo and other cities –
April 1942
• Attack did little damage, but
boosted America’s morale
by showing Japan we would
fight back
Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle
4
5,6



Battle of Coral Sea
Off the coast of
Australia
Completely an aerial
battle between planes
launched from carriers
(first time in history)
No clear winner in the
battle – but the U.S.
did block the invasion
of Australia – our ally
Plane-to-plane combat at the
Battle of Coral Sea. This was
the first ‘completely aerial’
battle ever
Battle of Midway Island:
June 4-6, 1942
Battle of Midway



American Dive Bomber in action at the
Battle of Midway – June 1942
7
Naval battle
around Midway
Island in the
Central Pacific
U.S. destroyed 4
Japanese carriers
and 250 planes
Turning point in
the war First major
US victory
8,9



Battle of Guadalcanal
August 1942 –
Americans win first
major LAND victory on
the island of
Guadalcanal
U.S. used Navajo
Indians as “Codetalkers”
Helped the U.S.
communicate safely
without the Japanese
translating our
messages
A Navajo “Code-Talker” in
action
The Navajo Language


Only about 25 non-Navajo people in
the entire world could speak the
language
Made up words for terms that didn’t
exist in their language (names of
birds meant “airplanes” and the word
“egg” actually meant “bomb”)
Guadalcanal






10
Aug. 1942
South Pacific
Battle that the U.S.S. Yorktown was
sunk
Stopped the Japanese
Began island hopping campaign
Secures most of the far South
Pacific
Island Hopping
11
• A term used to describe the fighting in the
Pacific
• U.S. and Japan would go from island to island
fighting for control
• Japan controlled most of the islands in the
Pacific
• U.S. picked strategic islands to fight for-Why?
12



Japanese “Kamikazes”
Japanese suicide
pilots
Filled planes full of
explosives and
crashed them into
Allied warships
Often were
inexperienced
pilots with
outdated
equipment
Kamikaze attack on a U.S.
aircraft carrier
Japanese Kamikaze Planes:
The Scourge of the South Pacific
They had long lost aerial dominance due to
outdated aircraft and the loss of experienced
pilots. On a macroeconomic scale, Japan Kamikaze Pilots
experienced a decreasing capacity to wage
war, and a rapidly declining industrial
capacity relative to the United States.
13
Suicide
14
BANZAI !!!
• Although kamikaze was the most common and
best-known form of Japanese suicide attack
during World War II, they were similar to the
"banzai charge" used by Japanese infantrymen
(foot soldiers). The main difference between
kamikaze and banzai is that death was inherent
to the success of a kamikaze attack, whereas a
banzai charge was only potentially fatal — that
is, the infantrymen hoped to survive but did
not expect to
15
WHY ?
• ." Many of the kamikaze pilots believed their
death would pay the debt they owed and
show the love they had for their families,
friends, and emperor. "So eager were many
minimally trained pilots to take part in suicide
missions that when their sorties were delayed
or aborted, the pilots became deeply
despondent. Many of those who were
selected for a bodycrashing mission were
described as being extraordinarily blissful
immediately before their final sortie
How Successful were The
Kamikazees ?
• According to a U.S Air Force webpage:
• Approximately 2,800 Kamikaze attackers
sunk 34 Navy ships, damaged 368 others,
killed 4,900 sailors, and wounded over
4,800. Despite radar detection and cuing,
airborne interception and attrition, and
massive anti-aircraft barrages, a distressing
14 percent of Kamikazes survived to
score a hit on a ship; nearly 8.5 percent of
all ships hit by Kamikazes sank.[30]
Gen. MacArthur “Returns” to
the Philippines! [1944]
Battle of Okinawa



Japanese defend
island fiercely
Last hurdle before
U.S. would invade
Japan
Mass-suicide by
Japanese started
to make the U.S.
wonder – “will they
ever surrender?”
US Marines on Mt. Surbachi,
Iwo Jima [Feb. 19, 1945]
Southeast Asia Campaign
• U.S. troops in Vietnam
• There to help locals fight the Japanese
• Also, ran bombing runs to bomb Japanese
positions in China
• Vietnamese helped U.S. to retrieve down
airmen.US. and Vietnam fought
together.Later in history they were
enemies
• Helped Ho Chi Minh gain notoriety in
region, remember this name!
The Manhattan Project



U.S. feared that an invasion of Japan
would result in 200,000 American
casualties – and perhaps 1-2 million
Japanese casualties
U.S. considers using an “Atomic
Bomb” to end the war quickly
Bomb had been developed as part of
the “Manhattan Project” since 1942
Manhattan Project


A completely secret plan to
develop the atom bomb
The Vice-President did not even
know of the project