1. Pearl Harbor
Dec. 7, 1941
*This surprise attack on the U.S. naval base prompted the US entrance into WWII.

2. Warring sides in the Pacific United States Japan
Emperor Hirohito
Admiral Chester Nimitz
General Douglas MacArthur
*Prime Minister Hideki Tojo

3. War in the Pacific In WWII America was fighting a two front war.
European Theater against Nazi Germany
Pacific Theater against the Japanese

4. Japanese Expansion
*The Japanese needed more resources to support their army and Industry
They took over many Asian territories

5. Japanese Internment Camps
After the attack on Pearl Harbor many Americans feared Japanese-Americans
*Japanese-Americans living on the West coast were rounded up and forced to live at internment camps just because of their ancestry.
The Japanese Americans were discriminated against based on their ancestry

6. *Island-Hopping The U.S. strategy in the Pacific was “island-hopping”
*The US hoped to cut off Japanese island forces

7. The Fall of the Philippines
April 1942
When the Japanese overran the Philippine Islands in Dec. 1941, combined U.S. and Filipino forces retreated to the Bataan Peninsula. There they fought until forced to surrender on April 9, 1942.
Commanding Gen. Douglas MacArthur swore “I shall return!” to save his captured soldiers.

8. April 9, 1942 The Bataan Death March
70,000 U.S. and Filipino forces were put on a sixty mile march to Japanese Prisoner of War camps.
Thousands of soldiers died on the march from fatigue,exhaustion, thirst and hunger. Many more were brutally beheaded, stabbed, and buried alive.

9. Lt. Col Doolittle and the USS Hornet
The Doolittle Raid
Lt. Col Doolittle and the USS Hornet
On April 18, 1942, Lt. Col. James Doolittle and 16 B-25 bombers took off from the Hornet and bombed targets in Tokyo and four other Japanese cities. This boosted American morale after the fall of the Philippines.

10. Midway
May 6 to May 8 , 1942
The Battle of Midway was the Turning Point in the Pacific.
After this battle the Japanese could not threaten the American homeland

11. Midway
Japanese losses included 4 aircraft carriers, two cruisers, three destroyers, and 200 airplanes.

12. Guadalcanal Summer 1942 - Aug. 1942
Guadalcanal was the first territory lost by the Japanese during the war. The Battle of Guadalcanal lasted over 6 months as 10,000 U.S. Marines inflicted over 25,000 casualties in the defending Japanese forces. The Japanese were told to fight to the death and never surrender.

13. The “Divine Wind” Kamikaze Pilots
Kamikaze pilots were first used at Leyte, then at Okinawa. 1,000 kamikaze pilots sank 34 ships and damaged 358 others.

14. Iwo Jima
In a 6 week battle for Iwo Jima in 1945, the Marines suffered 26,000 casualties.

15. Okinawa
April 1 - June 21, 1945
This was the last and largest of the Pacific island battles.
287,000 U.S. troops faced 130,000 Japanese forces.
The Japanese also used Kamikaze pilots.

16. MacArthur's RETURN!
In 1945, Douglas MacArthur orchestrated the retaking of the Philippine Islands. Never failing to forget his soldiers, the prisoner of war camps were liberated.

17. Casualties
The Japanese people were encouraged to fight to the death by their Emperor. While the island-hopping strategy was working, each island cost the lives of thousands of marines and naval-aircraft personnel.