Key Terms – The Eastern Front Bataan Death March Battle of Coral Sea Battle of Midway Island Hopping Battle of Leyte Gulf The Atomic Bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki V-J Day

Background As the war raged on in Europe and the Allies were slowly whittling down the power of Hitler's Nazi forces, another theater of the war was raging in the Pacific The War in the Pacific was extremely gruesome and difficult and led to one of the biggest decisions ever made by any country while at war. The war in the Pacific would kick into full gear in 1942 and end in 1945.

The Philippines The Japanese had a major foothold in Asia and the American forces fought alongside the Filipinos in an attempt to prevent the capture of the Philippines. The Americans would hold out for three months but would ultimately lose control of the Philippines. The surviving American forces would be forced to march to a prison camp and many would not make it; this became known as the Bataan Death March.

Philippines

The Battle of the Coral Sea The Japanese sought to gain control of Australia creating a massive barrier to American forces coming from the east. The Battle of the Coral Sea would be fought in May The American naval forces would fight to a stalemate but win a strategic victory against the Japanese.

Battle of Coral Sea

Results of the Battle of the Coral Sea The Japanese intended to gain a strong foothold in Australia limiting the American capabilities in the Pacific. The battle mostly fought between naval aircraft carriers proved costly to both sides but was far more costly for the Japanese as they lost one carrier and had little to no aircraft complement for the other. The weakening of these carriers would prove to be very important in the upcoming Battle of Midway as the Japanese would have significantly less naval strength than they had earlier. This also marked the first time the Japanese were turned away from an invasion.

The Battle of Midway The Japanese would make an eastward advance with the intention of removing the remaining American naval forces. The Americans with their new advantage on the sea would be able to turn away the Japanese advance and would now be able to engage their island hopping strategy.

Battle of Midway

Results of the Battle of Midway The Japanese naval fleet believed that they had lured the Americans into a trap by drawing a majority of their fleet into battle. As it turns out, the U.S. had broken Japanese codes and launched an ambush of their own. They forced the Japanese to commit their carriers to the battle and since their formations could not support each other, were able to systematically wipe out four of Japan's carriers leaving them weak at sea. The Americans now had a means by which to attack Japan's territories vigorously.

Island Hopping The American forces, now with the ability to enter into Eastern Asia would start their strategy of Island Hopping. Island Hopping → moving from one island to the next to flush out Japanese forces and construct new bases to move on to the next island from.

Island Hopping

Results of Island Hopping The island hopping strategy employed by the Americans would bring about the more famous battles of the Pacific including Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. As the Americans would move from island to island, they would encounter many ambushes, tunnels, and traps raising the casualty count and making the strategy less viable in the long term. The Americans felt that this strategy while successful, was not yielding results fast enough and would lead to a protracted war.

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought over control of the Philippine Sea in an attempt to isolate Japan from its oil supplies in Southern Asia. The American navy would inflict a massive defeat upon the Japanese forcing Japan to abandon its naval missions and concentrate on defending its homeland.

Results of the Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf would provide a resounding victory for the Americans as the Japanese navy could no longer muster enough vehicles to engage on water again in the war. The Japanese made extensive use of kamikaze attacks to thwart the Americans to no avail as the Americans had a distinct advantage in numbers at this point. The Americans were now free to run bombing missions over Tokyo and attempt to bring an end to the war.

The Atomic Bomb As the Americans began to notice that the Japanese were not going to give in and the war would continue, Harry Truman decided to unveil the weapons the Manhattan Project yielded, the atomic bombs. Atomic bombs → nuclear weapons capable of devastating destruction. One bomb was dropped in Hiroshima and after the Japanese chose to continue the war, another would be dropped on Nagasaki. The devastation caused by the bombs would force the Japanese to surrender.

The Atomic Bomb

Hiroshima Before the Bomb

Devastation from the Atomic Bomb

V-J Day - The Japanese surrender was formally signed on September 2, This day was known as V-J Day. - The war was now over on both fronts with the Allies victorious. - The Allied Powers would now have to decide how to handle the warring nations.