JAPAN’S PACIFIC CAMPAIGN
Event What happened? What is the significance of the battle or attack?
1. Bombing of Pearl Harbor Surprise Attack; Sunk / damaged nearly all of the USA’s Pacific fleet U.S. declares war on Japan
2. Fall of Southeast Asian colonies Japan plans attacks to seize valuable European colonies Japan gained much needed resources
3. Doolittle’s raid on Japan Revenge for Pearl Harbor, US bombed 16 Japanese cities Showed Japanese ability to be bombed & raised American morale
Japan & US fight to a draw 4. Battle of the Coral Sea Japan & US fight to a draw Introduced a new Naval warfare method… all airplanes
5. Battle of Midway US defeats Japanese fleet preparing to attack US base at Midway island Reversed the tide of the war in the Pacific
US Marines w/ Australian support seize Japanese airfield. 6. Battle of Guadalcanal US Marines w/ Australian support seize Japanese airfield. Forced Japanese to abandon the island B. Started MacArthur’s “island hopping”