Changing Gears… The war with Japan began on December 8, 1941 In the months that followed Pearl Harbor Japan began to the take control of surrounding territories. At this time Japan had approximately 200,000 men. Why were these men so successful with their territorial endeavors on their home front?

The United States strikes Back It took six months for the United States to rebuild its naval forces in the Pacific. The Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of Midway “Island Hopping” was the most common strategy of the US Navy and Marines during in the Pacific The Battle of the Philippine Sea

The struggle for the Philippians The battles of the Philippians Sea and Leyte Gulf. Marines take on Iwo Jima By the end of 1944 the Philippians were free of Japanese control but a high price.

Easter 1945 The Battle of Okinawa This invasion was the biggest attempted by the Untied States To counter the Japanese used pilots on suicide missions By the end of the encounter more American soldiers had lost their lives at Okinawa than at the beaches at Normandy.

The end is near With the War in Europe ended the allies focused its remaining strength on Japan. With the capture of Guam, American bombers were no able to reach the main land of Japan and bomb major cities and cause mass destruction to the cities With the war not ending soon enough President Truman would soon have to make the decisive decision of the War in the Pacific… Whether or not to Drop the Atomic Bomb

The Atomic Bombs The first of two Atomic Bombs was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, The Second was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 Five days later Japan surrendered to the United States