2. Pacific Theatre in World War II

4. General Hiddeki Tojo Prime Minister of Japan during World War II led country to war with the U.S.

5. Because of the distraction of fighting Germany in Europe, the Japanese viewed British weakness as an opportunity for expansion into Southeast Asia. [Image source: http://www.library.vcu.edu/pdfgif/speccoll/sykes/sykes005.jpg]

6. The Japanese biggest obstacle to realizing their dream of a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was the United States of America.

7. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor

8. “In the first twelve months of a war with the United States and Great Britain I will run wild and win victory upon victory. But then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of success.” - Admiral Yamamoto to a member of the Cabinet in 1940

9. Britain gives Yamamoto the idea that a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor is possible.

13. “If all men are brothers, then why do the wind and the waves rage?” Haiku sent by Emperor Hirohito to the Cabinet on the eve of war with the United States

14. Following a period of prevarication, Ambassador Nomura was directed by his government to deliver a formal declaration of war to the United States minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

15. As negotiations progressed supposedly aimed at averting war, Vice-Admiral Nagumo had already set-sail with an armada to attack Pearl Harbor.

16. “Climb Mount Niitaka.”

17. Commander Mitsuo Fuchida trained and commanded the Pearl Harbor strike force.

18. Pearl Harbor, 7th December 1941

20. “Tora, Tora, Tora!”

22. U. S. S. Arizona 1,104 men were killed when a bomb blew up the forward magazine.

23. U. S. S. West Virginia

24. The Japanese declaration of war arrived after the attack on Pearl Harbor had begun.

25. America found itself embroiled in a new kind of war requiring a new set of rules-of-engagement.

26. “We have awakened a sleeping giant and instilled in it a terrible resolve.” - Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

27. Many Americans viewed Japan’s behaviour as treacherous and wanted to extract revenge.

28. “We have awakened a sleeping giant and instilled in it a terrible resolve.” - Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

29. Doolittle’s Raid provided a much- needed boost to morale.

30. The United States suddenly found itself having to mobilize for war on a global scale. [Image source: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USNatWar/USN-King-1.html]

31. Japanese treatment of American POWs only reinforced stereotyping and the vilification of an entire people, heightening the desire for revenge.

32. With the U.S. Navy neutralized, Japan quickly conquered large portions of Asia and the Pacific.

33. Midway Island The Battle of Midway was the turning point of the Pacific War.

34. At the battle of Midway, the Japanese lost four of the six carriers that had attacked Pearl Harbor.

35. The victory at Midway allowed the United States to go on the offensive.

36. American forces fought in the jungles of Guadalcanal, Papua- New Guinea, and Burma.

37. Navajo Indians, known as “code-talkers”, often operated as radiomen, their transmissions confounding Japanese Intelligence.

38. American forces pursued a campaign of island- hopping through the central and southern Pacific.

39. Japan, like her erstwhile-ally Germany, had an Achilles Heel: a two-front war; she had the bulk of her army committed to conquering China.

40. Many peoples saw World War II as more than a war to combat fascism.

41. Many of these pilots were trained to fly kamikaze suicide attacks on American warships.

42. As the war progressed, out of desperation, the Japanese were forced to use younger and younger pilots.

43. When the Marines captured Iwo Jima, the end of the war was near.

45. The United States hastened the end of the war when it dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

46. The resulting carnage convinced Japan that continued resistance was futile.

47. The Japanese surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur on board the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay.