War in the Pacific December 1941 – August 1945

War in the Pacific Non-traditional warfare…no major armies facing off against each other like war in Europe Non-traditional warfare…no major armies facing off against each other like war in Europe Use of Aircraft and battleships Use of Aircraft and battleships “Guerrilla Warfare”… “Guerrilla Warfare”… Culture of Honor…BUSHIDO…honor the Emperor and Family above all else!!! Culture of Honor…BUSHIDO…honor the Emperor and Family above all else!!! –Kamikaze –Iwo Jima and Okinawa

Philippines 80,000 US and Filipino troops v. 200,000 Japanese 80,000 US and Filipino troops v. 200,000 Japanese 14,000 killed and 48,000 wounded Allies forced General Douglas MacArthur to abandon the Philippines, and said, “I shall return” 14,000 killed and 48,000 wounded Allies forced General Douglas MacArthur to abandon the Philippines, and said, “I shall return”

Bataan Death March

70,000 – largest US army to surrender 60 miles, intense heat, almost no food/water Btwn 5,000-11,000 never made it to the end camp, torture began 2 out of 3 soldiers never survived POW camps in the Philippines

After US loss at Philippines… Air strikes on Tokyo April 18, 1942 Lift US spirits; Japan’s not invincible

Battle of the Coral Sea US and Australian forces to stop Jap attack on Australia All fighting: carrier-based airplanes, enemy ships never saw ea. Other or exchanged gunfire Allies lost more ships (Japan declared victory) Allies: Japanese fleet was lacking too much fuel to continue onto Australia

Battle of Midway Admiral Chester Nimitz: commander of US naval forces in the Pacific, intercepted messages – Japanese invasion of Midway (110 ships; the largest naval assembly in history); then planned to head to Hawaii (June ’42) Outnumbered 4:1, led a surprise attack. Destroyed 4 irreplaceable aircraft carriers, a cruiser, and 322 planes Midway “avenged Pearl Harbor”

Island Hopping  US strategy in the Pacific against Japan  Japanese were spread across hundreds of islands and across thousands of miles of ocean  “leapfrog” Japanese strongholds  1 st seize weaker islands, build airfields, and use airpower to cut enemy supply lines

Guadalcanal – (Solomon Islands) Aug. 1942, 1 st land battle in Pac. 19,000 troops Eventually, Japan abandoned 6 months later and called it the Island of Death, to the US it was called simply “hell” (1/3 Amer. Died) (6 months) Japan’s 1 st land defeat

Leyte Island (Philippines) October 1944; 3 days of battle 178,000 Allied troops and 738 ships landed on Leyte (Jap used entire fleet at this battle, used new tactic  kamikazes) General MacArthur returned

424 kamikazes sunk 16 ships and damaged another 80 Destroyed Japan’s navy Liberated US P.O.W.’s

Iwo Jima The Japanese strategy was unique for three reasons: 1. The Japanese didn't fight above ground. They fought the battle entirely from beneath the ground. They dug 1,500 rooms into the rock. These were connected with 16 miles of tunnels. 2. Japanese strategy called for "no Japanese survivors." They planned not to survive. 3. Japanese strategy was for each soldier to kill 10 Americans before they themselves are killed.

Iwo Jima cont. Iwo Jima was Japanese home soil, part of Japan No foreign army in Japan's 5000 year history had trod on Japanese soil. To the US, Iwo Jima's importance lay in its location, midway between Japan and American bomber bases in the Marianas. It was also an ideal sanctuary for crippled bombers returning from Japan.

In Tokyo months before the invasion, General Kuribayashi had been told "if America's casualties are high enough, Washington will think twice before launching an another invasion against Japanese territory.“

More US Marines earned the Medal of Honor on Iwo Jima than in any other battle in US History. In 36 days of fighting there were 25,851 US casualties (1 in 3 were killed or wounded). Of these, 6,825 American boys were killed. Virtually all 22,000 Japanese perished.

The Marines' effort provided a vital link in the U.S. chain of bomber bases. By war's end, 2,400 B-29 bombers carrying 27,000 crewman had made emergency landings on Iwo Jima.

FDR Unprecedented 4 th term as president Nov. ’44 w/ Harry Truman as running mate On April 12, 1945: FDR was posing for a picture in Warm Springs, had a stroke, and died hrs. later Harry S. Truman is now President

Battle of Okinawa Japan’s last defensive outpost Largest and last campaign 1,900 kamikaze attacks on US Ended June 22, 1945; about 13,000 Americans died (Jap: 110,000 lives) 2 Generals chose ritual suicide over surrender

Result from 2 kamikazes

Operation Downfall Fall 1945

Pilot, Col. Paul W. Tibbets, before he bombs Hiroshima

August 6 – Hiroshima August 9 – Nagasaki August 15 – V-J Day Hiroshima