Pacific War

Japan Has Many Early Victories At the start of the war in the Pacific, Japan succeeded in a number of victories. After a string of victories Japanese seemed unbeatable.

Island Hopping U.S did not have to invade every island. Strategy of moving from Island to Island past Japanese Strong points. Only invade the key islands. Other islands will starve. Goal: Get closer to Japanese mainland by going from Island to Island.

Bataan Death March Philippines fall to Japan. Subjected prisoners to terrible cruelty Not all Americans get off the islands. Forced to march 75 miles If fell behind were killed.

Doolittle Raid Named after Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle. Bombed Tokyo and other major Japanese cities. Did little damage but shook the confidence of Japan and raised American Morale. Slowly the Allies began to turn the tide of the war.

Battle of Coral Sea Stopped Japanese Southward advancement. First naval battle done with just planes Ships never saw each other.

Battle of Midway

Battle of Midway If Japan captures the island they can attack Hawaii. U.S victory stops Japanese expansion. Considered turning point in War in the Pacific. Japan is on the defensive for the rest of the war.

Two Wars at once As Japan worked to establish a new order in Southeast Asia and the pacific, the Nazis moved ahead with Hitler's plan for a new order in Europe. In essence WWII had two different wars going on at the same time. War in the Pacific War in Europe

Iwo Jima and Okinawa In March 1945, after a month of bitter fighting and heavy losses, American Marines took Iwo Jima. By June, they had also won control of Okinawa. An Island just 350 miles away from Japan.

By the fall of 1944 the Allies were advancing in on Japan. Although the war in Europe was over, the Allies were still fighting that Japanese in the Pacific. By the fall of 1944 the Allies were advancing in on Japan. The Allies had landed troops in the Philippines. Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 1944) Japanese Lost badly and there navy was crushed. Americans marched even closer to Japan.

Kamikazes After the defeat at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Japan was nearly defeated. Only hope was the kamikaze - Japanese suicide pilots. Kamikazes would sink Allied ships by crash-diving into them in their bomb-filled planes.

Japan is Next Japan was the next stop. However, the U.S. military feared that an invasion of Japan would cost half a million Allied lives. Due to the extreme fighting that would occur. This left the U.S. in a Dilemma The U.S. President Truman had to make a decision on what to do with Japan.

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was headed by General Leslie Groves and chief scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer. This project developed a top secret powerful new weapon called the atomic bomb. It was determined that the A-bomb may be the quickest possible end to the war. President Truman was made aware of the bombs existence when he became president.

A Decision was Made The Atomic bombs were tested and President Truman warned the Japanese of a possible attack. He told them….. That unless they surrendered, they could expect a “rain of ruin from the air.” The Japanese did not reply

Dropping of the A-Bomb On August 6th, 1945 the United states dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. (Little Boy) Killed almost 73,000 people Three days later a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. (Fat Man) Killed about 37,500 people. Radiation would prove to kill many more.

Japanese Surrender The Japanese surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur (US Commander in Chief in the Pacific) on September 2, 1945. With Japan’s surrender, the war had ended. Now countries had the task of rebuilding a war-torn world.

Death Toll 48 Million dead total 27 million civilian USSR lost 20 million U.S lost 400,000 Germany 4.2 million Japan 2.3 million

Rebuilding Japan The U.S. Army occupied Japan under the command of General MacArthur. MacArthur disbanded the Japanese Army and took steps to give farmers and workers more power in the economy. Led effort to write a new constitution for Japan. Emperor was forced to declare that he was not a god. Constitution gave power to the Japanese people. 1951 other nations finally agreed to sign a formal peace with Japan, and soon the U.S. occupation ended.