#4 - AIM: How did the US defeat the Japanese in the Pacific? 1942 – 1945 25.3

Japan unstoppable for 6 months: 12/41 – 5/42 Japan seizes most of S.E. Asia Wake, Guam, Philippines, 2 Aleutians 80,000 US and Filipinos surrender MacArthur “I shall return.” Bataan Death March, April

Doolittle Raid 4/18/42 16 small bombers raid Japan Shatters Japan’s invincibility Boosts US morale

Coral Sea May 7, 1942 US and Japan lose one carrier each 1st battle where opposing fleets do not see each other Stops Japanese advance from cutting off Australia

Why Midway?

Midway- The Turning Point – June 1942 Strategic– NW of Hawaii, midway across Pacific Yamamoto’s plan: Capture Midway Destroy US Carriers that were not at Pearl Harbor. Launch attack on Hawaii from Midway US code breakers knew the Japanese were coming - JUNE 3-6 1942 MIDWAY ISLANDS. U.S. STOPS AND DEFEATS JAPAN ( JAPAN LOST 4 CARRIERS,OTHER SHIPS) (U.S. LOST 1 CARRIER,1 DESTROYER) *TURNING POINT OF WAR IN THE PACIFIC -U.S GOES ON THE OFFENSIVE   - ÒISLAND HOPPINGÓ (LEAP FROGGING) CERTAIN ISLANDS TAKEN BY THE U.S. ( AUSTRALIANS FOLLOWED) GUAM,SAIPAN - GUADALCANAL SOLOMON ISLANDS AUG-1942-FEB 1943 TERRIBLE FIGHTING , U.S. VICTORY -5 SULLIVAN BROTHERS JUNO

Midway USA- 3 Carriers: Yorktown, Enterprise, Hornet against 4 Japanese: Kaga, Akagi, Soryu, Hiryu. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0NgnefqzDg US lost Yorktown. Japan loses all 4 carriers and PILOTS Japan will never regain the offensive.

US Offensive begins at Guadalcanal Allied offensive begins August 7 1942 “Operation Shoestring” US holds and defends Henderson Field US disrupts “Tokyo Express” Jungle fighting exhausts both sides Japan abandons GC February 9, 1943 25,000 J dead; 1,752 US dead - GUADALCANAL SOLOMON ISLANDS AUG-1942-FEB 1943 TERRIBLE FIGHTING , U.S. VICTORY -5 SULLIVAN BROTHERS JUNO   - U.S. RETURN____S TO THE PHILIPPINES JUNE 1944- FEB 1945 LEYTE GULF- Ò I HAVE RETURNED Ò NIMITZ AND MACARTHUR JAPAN LOST 340 PLANES- U.S. LOST 17 - KAMIKAZE PILOTS-

Island Hopping Begin Island Hopping: Capture key islands one after another Build air strips. Cut off “Tokyo Express” Get US bombers to within range of Japan “Hit ‘em where they ain’t!” Hit weak points – bypass strong points http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1671.html

Philippines, 10/44 MacArthur “I have returned.” Battle of Leyte Gulf ALMOST a J victory. Halsey lured away US ships at Leyte hold back superior J force New tactic – KAMIKAZE – “Devine Wind” Allows US to re-conquer the Philippines

Philippines 1/45 – 8-45 Bataan Death March Americans fight the Japanese for Luzon; Manila is re-captured in March 100,000 Filipino civilians killed. US: 10,000 killed; 36,000 wounded - Japan: 230,000 killed wounded or MIA Bataan Death March

Iwo Jima Feb 1945 - Battle of Iwo Jima Small volcanic island between Marshalls and J Critical as base - planes can reach Japan Met w/FIERCE resistance – tunnels/caves 6,000 US marines die; 20,700 Japanese die 200 taken prisoner Mount Suribachi - GUADALCANAL SOLOMON ISLANDS AUG-1942-FEB 1943 TERRIBLE FIGHTING , U.S. VICTORY -5 SULLIVAN BROTHERS JUNO - U.S. RETURN____S TO THE PHILIPPINES JUNE 1944- FEB 1945 LEYTE GULF- Ò I HAVE RETURNED Ò NIMITZ AND MACARTHUR JAPAN LOST 340 PLANES- U.S. LOST 17 - KAMIKAZE PILOTS- - APRIL 12, 1945 ROOSEVELT DIES- TRUMAN BECOMES PRESIDENT - IWO JIMA FEB-MARCH 1945

Okinawa- April 1 – June 22, 1945 Ferocious fighting – heavy casualties both sides Kamikazes target off-shore fleet 5,000 missions 30 ships sunk B June 1945: 7,500 Americans 110,000 Japanese Civilian suicides Invasion next?

B29s bomb Japan’s cities Cities bombed with name of US city of equal size Percentage of city destoyed

Manhattan Project $2 Billion Project to Create the A-Bomb Robert Oppenheimer

The Manhattan Project July 16, 1945- A-bomb tested in New Mexico desert – Los Alamos – Trinity Test July 26, 1945- Potsdam Declaration sent to Japan Accept unconditional surrender or face a “rain of ruin”.

Hiroshima Hiroshima August 6, 1945- 8:15am Paul Tibbits & Enola Gay drop bomb on Hiroshima 4.5 ton bomb: 75,000 dead- 70,000 injured

Nagasaki Nagasaki August 9, 1945 40,000 dead- 60,000 injured August 9, 1945 USSR Declares war on Japan Exactly three months after German surrender Soviets occupy Manchuria and northern Korea August 14, 1945: Emperor Hirohito accepted surrender demands. US occupies southern Korea- Soviets do not move south of the 38th parallel.

Hiroshima in Ruins

"Shadows" were left behind where objects shielded a surface from the heat. Where this happened, the shadow is the original color of the surface, and the area outside the shadow has been turned to a different color by the intense temperatures. By measuring the angles of the shadows it was possible to establish the exact location of the explosion.

V-J Day September 2, 1945: Japan officially surrenders. World War II ends. US begins occupation of Japan.

Why the bomb was needed or justified: Why the bomb was not needed, or unjustified: The Japanese had demonstrated near-fanatical resistance, fighting to almost the last man on Pacific islands, committing mass suicide on Saipan and unleashing kamikaze attacks at Okinawa. Fire bombing had killed 100,000 in Tokyo with no discernible political effect. Only the atomic bomb could jolt Japan's leadership to surrender. With only two bombs ready (and a third on the way by late August 1945) it was too risky to "waste" one in a demonstration over an unpopulated area. An invasion of Japan would have caused casualties on both sides that could easily have exceeded the toll at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two targeted cities would have been firebombed anyway. Immediate use of the bomb convinced the world of its horror and prevented future use when nuclear stockpiles were far larger. The bomb's use impressed the Soviet Union and halted the war quickly enough that the USSR did not demand joint occupation of Japan. Japan was ready to call it quits anyway. More than 60 of its cities had been destroyed by conventional bombing, the home islands were being blockaded by the American Navy, and the Soviet Union entered the war by attacking Japanese troops in Manchuria. American refusal to modify its "unconditional surrender" demand to allow the Japanese to keep their emperor needlessly prolonged Japan's resistance. A demonstration explosion over Tokyo harbor would have convinced Japan's leaders to quit without killing many people. Even if Hiroshima was necessary, the U.S. did not give enough time for word to filter out of its devastation before bombing Nagasaki. The bomb was used partly to justify the $2 billion spent on its development. The two cities were of limited military value. Civilians outnumbered troops in Hiroshima five or six to one. Japanese lives were sacrificed simply for power politics between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Conventional firebombing would have caused as much significant damage without making the U.S. the first nation to use nuclear weapons.