2. JAPANESE EXPANSION Japan attacked Pearl Harbor to prevent the U.S. from stopping Japan’s aggressive expansion in the Pacific. By 1942 Japan had taken Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Burma, and Indonesia. Japan took U.S. territories of Guam and Wake Island, also Aleutian Islands and the Philippines.

3. US RESISTANCE U.S. General Douglas MacArthur leads U.S and Filipino forces against Japanese invasion of Philippines. MacArthur and his troops were forced to retreat in March 1942. MacArthur was ordered to Australia, but vowed “I shall return”

4. BATAAN DEATH MARCH 70,000 U.S. and Filipino troops surrendered to the Japanese. They were forced on a 65-mile march to prison camps. Thousands of sick and wounded prisoners died.

5. BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA In 1942 the U.S. began to turn the tide of the war in the Pacific. Admiral Chester Nimitz defeats the Japanese in the Battle of the Coral Sea. First time the U.S. had turned back a Japanese advance.

6. BATTLE OF MIDWAY Nimitz again defeated the Japanese at the Battle of Midway. The Japanese lost 4 aircraft carriers, the U.S. lost only 1. After Midway, the Japanese were on the defensive for the rest of the war.

7. BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL Japanese try building strategic air strip on Guadalcanal Island. U.S. attacks, battle fought on land, sea, and in the air. Allies win control after months of fighting in 1943.

8. U.S. GOES ON THE OFFENSIVE Japanese forces still strong in Pacific. U.S. strategy called island- hopping. Conquer one island at a time, bypassing (and cutting off troops) heavily fortified islands. This allowed U.S. to set up bases for bombing runs.

9. MACARTHUR RETURNS Island hopping proved to be a good strategy for U.S. Eventually, Gen MacArthur wants to take back the Philippines, resulting in the Battle of Leyte Gulf – the largest naval battle in history. The Allies were victorious.

10. THE WAR’S FINAL PHASE The closer the U.S. got to Japan, bloodier the battles became. Allied bombers hit Japanese targets at night, destroying much of Tokyo. Japan refused to surrender U.S. feared that an invasion of mainland Japan would be necessary to end the war.

11. DESPARATE LAST MEASURES Over 22,000 Japanese soldiers died defending the island of Iwo Jima in February 1945. In the battle of Okinawa the Japanese air force began using kamikaze planes to attack ships. Planes would purposely crash into Allied ships and carriers causing massive damage. Japanese lose 110,000 troops in battle.