Japan’s Pacific Campaign Chapter 16 Section 2

Main Idea Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and brought the United States into World War II. World War II established the United States as a leading player in international affairs.

Introduction Japan’s military leaders had a dream of an empire, just like Hitler. Japan began to enter China in the late 1930s. The Chinese resisted and Japan’s economy weakened. Japan looks to European colonies in Southeast Asia to increase their resources.

Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor By October 1940, Americans were aware of Japan’s plan for Southeast Asia. U.S. is afraid that Japan will try to take the Philippines and Guam. Both controlled by the U.S. U.S. sends aid to strengthen Chinese resistance. July 1941 – Japan takes French Indochina. Roosevelt stops oil shipments to Japan.

Day of Infamy Japan continues their conquests. Admiral Yamamoto called for an attack on the U.S. fleet in Hawaii. December 7, 1941 – Pearl Harbor was attacked. U.S. military leaders knew that an attack might come, but they didn’t know when. Within two hours – 19 ships were damaged, 8 of those were battleships. 2,300+ Americans were killed; 1,100 wounded. Congress accepts FDR’s request to declare war on Japan and its allies.

The following images were found in an old brownie camera. A sailor took them the day that Pearl Harbor was bombed. The first Brownie was made in 1900…for the bargain price of $1.00! (Roughly $10-$15 today). The quality of the pictures is quite amazing for such a cheap camera.

Japan’s Other Attacks At the same time as Pearl Harbor, Japan attacks Hong Kong (British colony), Guam and Wake Island. Also attack Thailand.

Japanese Victories After quickly defeating Guam and Wake Island, Japan turned to the Philippines. After taking control of the Philippines, Japan moves on to Malaya.

Taking the Dutch East Indies Japan also takes the resource-rich Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).

Burma and India Japan now takes Burma. Also, plan to take over India, the largest of the Great Britain colonies.

Japanese Force By the time Japan conquered Burma, it had seized one million square miles. (about ¼ the size of the U.S.) Japanese conquered 150 million people. They ruled by force and were extremely cruel.

POWs Japanese were most cruel to the Allied prisoners of war. They forced 70,000 prisoners to march more than 50 miles up the Bataan Peninsula. Only 54,000 survived.

One POW reported: “I was questioned by a Japanese officer, who found out that I had been in a Philippine Scout Battalion. The (Japanese) hated the Scouts…Anyway, they took me outside and I was forced to watch as they buried six of my Scouts alive. They made the men dig their own graves, and then had them kneel down in a pit. The guards hit them over the head with shovels to stun them and piled earth on top.”

The Allies Strike Back Japanese seem unbeatable. The Allies – particularly the U.S. and Australia – want to fight back.

The Allies Turn the Tide Lieutenant Doolittle bombed Tokyo in April 1942. This raised American morale. Japanese no longer felt invincible.

Attempted Attack The next month, the Allies intercept a Japanese force ready to attack an Allied air base in New Guinea.

Battle of the Coral Sea This naval battle was unusual because the ships did not fire a single shot. Instead, ships were attacked by airplanes. Allies suffered more than the Japanese. However, they kept the Japanese from moving farther south.

The Battle of Midway Japan moves onto Midway Island. American airfield Once again, the Allies break the codes and are aware that the Japanese are coming. Allies waited until Japan launched the attack and then attacked the fleet. 332 Japanese planes were destroyed.

An Allied Offensive Due to their victory, the Allies were now on the offensive. Japan had taken over hundreds of islands across the ocean. General Douglas MacArthur developed a plan to take care of this problem. MacArthur felt that island hopping to seize islands that were not well defended would work best.

MacArthur U.S. learned that Japan was building a huge air base on Guadalcanal. Had to strike fast before it was completed. There was no problem in seizing the airfield. However, it was difficult to take over control of the land. U.S. had help from Australia.

Battle of Guadalcanal Both sides continue to bring in more troops. After fighting more than 6 months, the Japanese finally withdraw their troops. They lost 2/3rd of their soldiers. Called the Guadalcanal “The Island of Death”.

Future Plans Japan continues to work toward establishing a new order in Southeast Asia. Germany is focusing on how to deal with those he felt as “unfit” for the Third Reich.