1. The Pacific Theater of the War

2. “Island Hopping” Strategy
Recapture islands closer and closer to Japan
Goals:
Use them as military bases to eventually invade Japan itself
Cut off Japanese shipping

3. Difficulties in the Pacific
Distance across the Pacific was 3 times longer than across the Atlantic
Could take up to 5 months to ship supplies and troops
Pacific forces had outdated equipment and shortages of supplies
Japanese forces were brutal and relentless
The climate of Pacific region was harsh, difficult to traverse, and caused food supplies to spoil easily

4. The Battle of Midway June 1942
Midway Island was an American refueling station in the Pacific
Japan hoped to trap and sink American aircraft carriers off the coast of Midway

5. The Battle of Midway
The U.S. had gained intelligence information that the attack was coming and lured the Japanese into the waiting American forces
The U.S. destroyed 4 Japanese aircraft carriers while losing only 1 American carrier

6. The Battle of Midway Most important naval engagement of the Pacific
Huge morale boost for the U.S.
The Japanese never recovered from this defeat
Threat to Hawaii was gone
U.S. was able to begin Island Hopping and gain control of other important islands in the Pacific

7. The Battle of Iwo Jima February, 1945
Strategic location for the U.S. to use when attacking Japanese mainland
U.S. Generals thought it would be an easy defeat
Sent planes and battleships to bomb the island
1st day- 30,000 U.S. marines landed on the shores of Iwo Jima and weren't attacked by the Japanese
They thought that the bombings may have killed the Japanese 

8. The Battle of Iwo Jima
The Japanese had dug 11 miles of tunnels all over the 8 square mile island
Once many of the marines were on shore they attacked
They would move from area to area in their secret tunnels and attack American marines from behind

9. The Battle of Iwo Jima
The U.S. eventually succeeded in taking the Island but at a heavy cost on both sides
Japanese forces refused to surrender
Of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers on the island, 18,844 died from fighting or by suicide
Only 216 were captured during the battle
After Iwo Jima, 3,000 hid in the tunnels and refused to surrender
Only Pacific battle where Americans had more casualties than the Japanese

10. The Battle of Okinawa April to June 1945
Last major battle of WWII
Last stop before invading Japan
Americans effortlessly stormed the beaches
The Japanese waited for the perfect moment to finally attack

11. The Battle of Okinawa
To encourage surrender, Americans dropped millions of pamphlets declaring Japan was going to lose the war
About 7,000 Japanese surrendered, but many chose to commit suicide instead
Some jumped from cliffs, others blew themselves up with grenades
When the Japanese Generals realized they had lost the battle, they committed ritual suicide

12. Bloodiest battle of the Pacific
The Battle of Okinawa
Bloodiest battle of the Pacific
1/3 of civilian population killed
About 49,000 Americans casualties
About 110,000 Japanese deaths

13. Truman Becomes President
In April 1945, President Franklin Roosevelt died
His Vice President, Harry S. Truman, took over

14. Truman Becomes President
After many casualties and mass Japanese suicides at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the president had to make a decision: Invade Japan at the risk of many American and Japanese lives Or Use a new weapon with the potential to end the war quickly and without costing American lives

15. The Manhattan Project
In the early 1930s, German scientists, such as Albert Einstein, fled Nazi Germany
They warned the Allied Powers that Hitler was attempting to create an atomic weapon and urged the U.S. to start their own program

16. The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was the code name for a secret research and development program whose goal was to build an atomic weapon during World War II
Created numerous research labs, where 3 atomic weapons were created

17. Manhattan Project
One research lab was located in Los Alamos, New Mexico
This was the location of the first atomic weapon test

18. The Atomic Bomb
President Truman ordered use of an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima to try to force Japan to surrender
The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city
About 80,000 people were instantly killed
About 60,000 survivors died of injuries and radiation exposure by 1950

19. The Atomic Bomb
After the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan still refused to surrender
The U.S. declared they would drop another bomb if Japan did not surrender
3 days later, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki
40,000 people were killed instantly

20. Effects of the Atomic Bomb
The military’s use of these atomic bombs led to two important developments:
Japan surrendered 6 days later and World War II ended (V-J Day)
A dangerous arms race began between the Soviet Union and the U.S.