America and WWII: The War for the Pacific

Allies Stem the Japanese Tide Note: The war in the Pacific was extremely brutal and savage  a lot of up-close, hand- to-hand combat 6 months after Pearl Harbor Japan controlled: Hong Kong French Indochina Malaya Burma Thailand Much of China Dutch East Indies Guam Wake Island Solomon Island Many other small islands Battling the Americans/Filipinos for the Philippines

Allies Stem the Japanese Tide Japan invaded the Philippines in December 1941 Allied forces in the Pacific were led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur March 11, 1942  Allied forces were forced to leave MacArthur pledged to those who did not make it out : “I shall return”

Allies Stem the Japanese Tide Spring 1942  Allies began to turn the tide Doolittle Raid April 18, 1942  Lt. Co. James Doolittle Led 16 bombers on an air raid over Tokyo and other Japanese cities This lifted America’s spirits and dampened the Japanese Battle of the Coral Sea Main Allied forces in the Pacific were American and Australian May 1942  5 day battle Succeeded in stopping the Japanese drive towards Australia 1 st time Japanese invasion had been stopped and turned back

Allies Stem the Japanese Tide The Battle of Midway – Turing Point of the War! Japan’s next move was to the strategic island of Midway (northwest of Hawaii) Allies succeeded in stopping the Japanese  able to break Japanese code Led by Admiral Nimitz, scout planes found the Japanese fleet  torpedo planes and dive bombers attacked Japanese were caught with aircrafts still on the ships  total devastation Lost 4 aircraft carriers, 1 cruiser 250 planes Allies began “island hopping” and moving towards Japan

Frustrated by the Japanese code-breakers, the US Navy and Marines use Navajo Indians as radio men in the Pacific Navajo language was very complex  Japanese were never able to understand it

Allies Go on the Offensive First Offensive  August 1942 Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands)  19,000 troops Nicknamed the “Island of Death” First Japanese defeat on land! Continued leapfrogging across the Pacific Leyte Island  October ,000 ships, 738 ships converged on the Philippine island General MacArthur after two years declared “People of the Philippines: I have returned”

The Japanese Defense The Japanese threw their entire fleet into the Battle of Leyte Gulf Tested a new tactic  kamikaze (divine wind) suicide- plane attack In the Philippines, 424 kamikaze pilots sunk 16 ships and damaged another 80 After Leyte Gulf, Japan lost 3 battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, 13 cruisers, almost 500 planes  Imperial Navy only played a minor role afterwards

The Japanese Defense Americans had taken much of the Philippines and liberated American POWs  turned to Iwo Jima (1945) Critical to the U.S. as a base from which heavily loaded bombers might reach Japan 20,000+ Japanese in tunnels and caves  18,800+ died 6,821 Marines died taking this island 35 days of horrific fighting

Treatment of U.S. POWs

The Japanese Defense The Battle for Okinawa (April – June 21, 1945) 1,900 kamikaze attacks  sunk 30 ships, 300 damaged, 5,000 soldiers died Even fiercer opposition than on Iwo Jima  7,600 American dead, 110,000 dead Two generals committed ritual suicide over the shame of their surrender This forecasted the potential opposition they could face on the island of Japan

The Atomic Bomb Ends the War Japan still had a huge army that would defend Japan their homeland President Truman decided the only way to avoid an invasion of Japan was to use the new atomic bomb July 25, 1945  Truman made final plans for dropping two atomic bombs Warned Japan that it faced “prompt and utter destruction” Truman stated that he “regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never had any doubt that it should be used”

The Atomic Bomb Ends the War August 6, 1945 B-29 Bomber Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy” over Hiroshima (Japanese military center) In 43 second the entire city collapsed into dust Japanese leaders still hesitated to surrender August 9, 1945 “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki Half the city was leveled By the end of 1945  200,000 people died from injuries and radiation poisoning

The Atomic Bomb Ends the War September 2, 1945 formal surrender ceremonies took place on U.S. battleship USS Missouri

Rebuilding Begins Yalta Conference – Feb “Big Three” – FDR, Churchill, Stalin Stalin favored a harsh treatment of Germany  divide Germany into occupation zones FDR disagreed, Churchill mediated Compromises: Temporary division of Germany into four zones Stalin promised “free and unfettered elections” in Poland and other Soviet occupied European countries Stalin agreed to help with Japan Agreed to participate in an international conference  FDR’s dream of the UN would become a reality there

Rebuilding Begins The Nuremburg Trials 24 Nazi officials tried  12 sentenced to death 200 more Nazis were found guilty of war crimes in lesser trials Many went free but set up the idea that individuals are responsible for their actions in war Occupation of Japan U.S. forces under Gen. MacArthur occupied Japan 1,100+ Japanese were arrested and put on trial  7, including Tojo, were sentenced to death 7 year occupation  reshaped Japan’s economy and government (with a new constitution)

Total Casualties Battle Deaths: 15,000,000 Battle Wounded: 25,000,000 Civilian Deaths: 45,000,000* * China alone might be 50,000,000 civilian deaths