Notes 4: War in the Pacific Modern US History Unit 3 WWII April 5th, 2011

The United States entered war with Japan on December 9 th, 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although FDR agreed with the other Allied powers that Hitler was the main threat, he did not wait until victory in Europe to send troops to the Pacific. FDR was able to utilize several aircraft carriers and submarines that had not been harmed during Pearl Harbor. Many of the damaged ships from the attack were repaired and returned to service.

The Philippines and Baatan Death March In the 6 months following Pearl Harbor, the Japanese began to conquer country after country on the Asia mainland and throughout the Pacific. One such nation was the Philippines. For four months 80,000 American and Filipino troops attempted to hold their ground against 200,000 Japanese soldiers. Nearly 14,000 were killed and 48,000 were wounded.

The Philippines and Baatan Death March Seeing no way out, FDR ordered General Douglas MacArthur – the commander of the Allied forces in the Philippines – to abandon the mission. As he fled the country he pledged to those unable to leave that “I shall return.”

The Philippines and Baatan Death March Following the battle nearly 75,000 Allied troops were taken prisoner by Japanese forces. The nearly 60,000 Filipinos and 15, 000 Americans were forced to walk some 60 miles from the battle site to a prison camp.

The Philippines and Baatan Death March Many of these prisoners were already ill which made walking in the sun with little food or water much more dangerous. Thousands died on this march –from heat exhaustion, dehydration, disease or were out right executed by their captors. This became know as the Baatan Death March.

The Philippines and Baatan Death March

The Battle of the Coral Sea After several losses to Japanese forces early in the war, the Allies had their first big success in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Early in May of 1942, American and Australian forces intercepted a Japanese strike force that was intended for Australia. The fighting during the battle only lasted five days and was executed by carrier-based airplanes. The opposing ships didn’t even see each other. Although the Allies technically lost more ships, because of the encounter Japanese ships ran out of fuel and were forced to turn around.

The Battle of Midway and Island Hopping A month later, American intelligence intercepted a Japanese message that detailed a plan to attack the island of Midway – a very strategic island in the Pacific. From there they hoped to move on to Hawaii.

The Battle of Midway and Island Hopping Outnumbered 4-1, the Allied forces planed a surprise reception for Japanese forces. As they drew closer carrier planes were ordered into the air in hopes of causing as much damage as possible. By the end of the battle, the Japanese had lost four aircraft carriers, a cruiser and 322 planes.

The Battle of Midway and Island Hopping It was after this battle that the character of the war in the Pacific changed. The Japanese occupied hundreds of islands throughout the Pacific. Recognizing that to take each island would take too long and cost too much, MacArthur suggested a strategy called island hopping. The idea was to leap frog over Japanese strongholds, take weaker islands and build airfields on them. From these bases Allied forces would use airpower to cut supplies to the strong points.

Code Talkers Codes became a very important part of the war, as Allied forces were able to discover important information about Japanese intentions through the breaking of their codes. Knowing this, American forces wanted to ensure that their codes were not broken. The son of a missionary who had lived on an Indian reservation suggested that the Marines use the traditional Navajo language as their code.

Code Talkers Navajo Indians come from the Southwestern part of the United States. Their language does not have a written component, which made it ideal, as the Navajo were merely talking rather than translating code through a machine. They created a special dictionary for words like dive-bomber or tank, as these were not part of the language. The Navajo code was not cracked during the war and was kept a secret until 1969 when the information was declassified.

Guadacanal The first land offensive in the Pacific Theater began in August 1942, when 19,000 Marines stormed Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. By the time Japanese fled the island six months later, they called it the Island of Death.

Guadacanal Guerrilla warfare was the primary type of engagement – including sneak attacks and hand-to- hand combat. This was Japan’s first defeat on land. After the victory in Guadalcanal, Allied forces continued to island hope towards Japan.

Leyte Gulf and Kamikazes In October 1944, MacArthur made his triumphant return to the Philippines - 178,000 troops and 738 ships moved in on Leyte Gulf. The Japanese sent their entire fleet to meet them and put into effect a new defensive strategy called Kamikaze (which means divine wind in Japanese).

Leyte Gulf and Kamikazes Kamikaze pilots were essentially suicide planes. These pilots would crash their bomb- laden planes into Allied ships in hopes of destroying them. By the end of the battle, 424 kamikaze pilots had managed to sink 16 ships and damage another 80.

Leyte Gulf and Kamikazes This battle was a disaster for Japan. In three days Japan lost 3 battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, 13 cruisers and almost 400 planes. Following this the Imperial Navy played a very small role in the defense of Japan.

Iwo Jima Once the Allies had retaken the Philippines and liberated the American prisoner’s of war (POW’s), they turned to Iwo Jima. Strategically, this island was important because as a base it would provide a place from which heavily loaded bombers could reach Japan. It was however one of the most heavily guarded strong holds, with 20,700 Japanese troops hidden away in tunnels and caves.

Iwo Jima The Japanese were able to utilize these tunnels and caves during the battle to ambush Allied forces, costing 6,000 marines their lives as they took the island. Of the Japanese soldiers however, only 200 survived.

Okinawa After the Allies took Iwo Jima, the last Japanese defensive outpost was in Okinawa. In early April 1945, Allied forces moved to take Okinawa. The Japanese responded by sending almost 2,000 kamikaze pilots to attack the ships – sinking 30 and damaging more than 300.

Okinawa The fighting lasted a little over two months but cost a little more than 7,600 Allied lives. The Japanese toll however was much larger – 110,000 Japanese soldiers died defending Okinawa.

The Pacific Theater