1. World War II 1939-1945 Part #4 – In the Pacific
WHII #40

2. War in the Pacific
Throughout the war, the Allied strategy had been to ____________________________________
After V-E Day, the Allies full attention is focused on the Pacific
However, the U.S. had pretty much been on its own _____________________before Britain and the USSR joined the fight
Just like Germany, the United States had been forced to fight a __________________________ __________________________

3. Enters the U.S.
When the war in the Pacific begins Japanese military _______________________Allied forces in the Pacific
Over the course of the war, ________________enabled the U.S. to have a _____________________________ ______________________________________
# of Japanese carriers at start of war – ___
# of Japanese carriers built during war – _
# of U.S. carriers at start of WWII –___
# of U.S. carriers built during WWII - ___
_________________________
commands U.S. forces in the Pacific

4. Early Key Battles in the Pacific
May 1942 – _______________________– despite significant losses on both sides, U.S. and Australian navies _______________________________for the first time
August 1942 – __________________– island in the South Pacific where U.S. Marines square off against fierce Japanese resistance
Japanese casualties – 31,000
Allied casualties – 8,000

5. Battle of Midway
U.S. intelligence knew that Japan was going to _________________________after Coral Sea
__________– __________________is fought near Midway Island – called Midway because the island is “midway” between the U.S. and Asia
_____________________________________with planes bombing enemy ships – all 4 Japanese carriers are destroyed
This battle would prove to be the _____________ ______________because Japan would never fully recover, and thus can never again go on the offensive

6. War in the Pacific
MacArthur and the Allies decide to take back tiny Japanese controlled islands in the Pacific by ______________________________________– Allied troops are going to retake one island and then “hop over” to the next
Many of the islands, despite their small size, are pivotal because they hold __________________ _______________________
While the Island Hopping is taking place, Admiral Nimitz and the navy begin __________ ___________________

7. Island Hopping Important Island Hopping battles:
________________(1945) – despite fierce Japanese resistance and high American casualties, Iwo Jima proves to be _____________________________ ____________________for the U.S.
Over ______________________
_________________(1945) – is the last major island standing in the way of U.S. invasion of the Japanese mainland, fierce Japanese fighting results in over _________________________________________
____________________________becomes common for Japanese soldiers

8. The Manhattan Project
After conversing with Albert Einstein over the possibility of a tremendous bomb, FDR orders the __________________________________________ – program is called the ___________________
April 12, 1945 – FDR dies of a stroke and Vice President __________________becomes president
Truman is informed that he has ________________ available to use
He orders that both be
dropped on Japan in an effort
__________________

9. The World Has Gone Atomic
________________– the plane named “Enola Gay” drops the first atomic bomb, called “Little Boy,” on the Japanese ________________– 70,000 Japanese are immediately killed
_____________– second bomb,
“Fatman,” is dropped on the
______________– 40,000 killed
__________________– Japan
surrenders and _______(Victory
in Japan) is celebrated
________________________

10. Did We Have to Drop the A-Bombs?
Truman and his military staff justified dropping the atomic bombs because they claimed that it would have cost ________________________________ __________________– the Japanese were showing that they wouldn’t surrender
Critics of the bombing say that Japan would eventually have surrendered from bombing and/or an American invasion, ________________________ _________________________________, but would have resulted in enormous U.S. soldier casualties
What do you think?