Turning Points in the Pacific

Transcript

t the question for this lesson. How did the United States turn the tide in the Pacific? When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they hoped to destroy the bulk of the United States Pacific fleet. They did, in fact, inflict enormous damage, sinking 21 ships, including 4 battleships. But the Japanese weren't as successful as they hoped to be. 00:00:22Three US aircraft carriers that made up the heart of the fleet were not at Pearl Harbor that day and escaped destruction. In the days ahead, the fleet would reorganize around these carriers, and America would begin its assault at sea. Section 2 00:00:01TEACHER: In May of 1942, the Japanese were in command of the war and were pressing that advantage. Japan sent a fleet to attack Port Moresby on the island of New Guinea, which could be used as a base from which to attack Australia. US intelligence learned of the Japanese plans and combined a battle group of US and Australian warships to intercept the Japanese fleet. 00:00:25The Battle of Coral Sea is what followed. The battle was fought by carrier-based warplanes. It took place over a wide expanse over the Coral Sea. It was the first naval battle in which warring ships never were within sight of each other. Each side lost a carrier and other warships were badly damaged. There was no clear victor, but Japan lost many aircraft. 00:00:48Without those planes, Japan had to call off the attack on Port Moresby without any chance of a direct attack on Australia. The battle represented a first for the Allies and marked a turning point in the war. Section 4 00:00:01TEACHER: The Battle of the Coral Sea was a setback for Japan, but it still had a major advantage over the US in ships and warplanes. In early June 1942, a large Japanese task force under Admiral Yamamoto headed for a showdown with America's still rebuilding fleet. That showdown was the Battle of Midway. Japan had planned a surprise for US forces by seizing the 00:00:26American island of Midway to use as an air base. But US intelligence had broken the Japanese navy's code and deciphered radio messages laying out Yamamoto's entire plan. The information allowed US Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to ambush the oncoming Japanese task force. American warplanes attacked the Japanese fleet while it was still hundreds of miles away from Midway. 00:00:52The Battle of Midway proved to be a key turning point in the war. The battle began on June 4, 1942 and continued for 3 more days. Unlike the Battle of the Coral Sea, this battle was a decided victory for the United States. The US sank all four of the Japanese carriers involved in the battle. 00:01:12Japan also lost 300 warplanes and around 3,000 men. The US lost one carrier, 150 planes, and about 300 men. Up until the Battle of Midway, Japan had a numerical advantage in ships and warplanes. This battle evened out the naval strength of the two powers. Unlike the US, with its vast resources, Japan was not able to replace its losses. 00:01:39Its navy could no longer continue its advance across the Pacific. Now the US could go on the attack. Part of the success at Midway was because of Admiral Chester Nimitz, who led US forces in the Pacific. He became commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet about three weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Much to the displeasure of a Congress that wanted immediate 00:02:04results following the Japanese attack, Nimitz took his time and oversaw the rebuilding of a disabled fleet. He was not necessarily a cautious leader, but he refused to rush into battle until we knew the Navy and Marines under his command were properly equipped, fully armed, supplied, and well-trained. Admiral Nimitz was a brilliant strategist who played a major role in developing the key strategies to win the war. 00:02:31He implemented these strategies at sea and led the fleet to victory in many battles, including the Battle of Midway. Section 6 00:00:00--Take a look at the lesson question again, How did the United States turn the tide in the Pacific? You already know that by June of 1942, the united states had turned the tide of the war stopping the Japanese advance in the Battle of the Coral Sea. And then crippling Japan's navy at the Battle of Midway. Following the victory at the Battle of Midway The United States One on the offensive. 00:00:23The goal was to push the Japanese backward and recapture the islands that have been taken over by Japan, slowly island by island. The US would advance toward the Japanese mainland itself. Section 7 00:00:02TEACHER: US forces had been pushing back against Japan two months after their victory at the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Guadalcanal began in August of 1942. Japan had previously captured the small island of Guadalcanal and had begun building an air base there to attack Allied shipping. The US decided to capture the island. Guadalcanal was the first major Allied offensive of the 00:00:27war and was a brutal battle. The fighting raged on land, at sea, and in the air. The battle lasted six months and was enormously costly for both sides. Japan lost 24,000 soldiers. US losses were lighter, though 1,600 were killed and 4,200 injured. Thousands more were lost to tropical illnesses. 00:00:51Japan was defeated and forced to retreat towards its homeland. Following the victory at Guadalcanal, the United States continued on the offensive. The US strategy was called "island hopping." The US would invade and recapture islands that had strategic importance, bypassing those that were considered unimportant, then attack Japan from this newly-gained territory. 00:01:15In carrying out their strategy, the US used amphibious landings to storm the beaches. In an amphibious landing, ground troops are sent to shore from ships. Infantry are brought close to the shore, then put on specialized landing vessels to reach the beaches. US forces developed a high level of skill in amphibious landings. 00:01:37As they leapfrogged from island to island, the US bypassed many Japanese strongholds and cut them off from supplies. The Japanese soldiers that occupied these islands were then forced to sit out the rest of the war. Island hopping sped up the war and saved lives of countless US servicemen who would have been killed trying to capture these islands that had no strategic importance. Section 9 00:00:00How did the United States turn the tide in the Pacific? You know that the United States and its allies permanently stopped the Japanese advance at Guadalcanal. With that victory, they seized the initiative, and begin using an island hopping strategy to push the Japanese back towards their homeland. In this final section, you'll see how the American strategy 00:00:21paid off, as they recapture the islands lost in the first few months of the war, and pushed to the doorstep of Japan itself. You will then learn how the US used in atomic weapon to end the war in the Pacific. Section 10 00:00:00Douglas MacArthur was stationed in the Philippines at the beginning of the war. He commanded a stubborn defense of the islands when the Japanese attacked December 7, 1941. He fought a strong and effective delaying strategy against superior forces for which he was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Near the end, when he was bottled up on the tiny island 00:00:23of Corregidor, MacArthur was recalled by President Roosevelt to become commander of the Allied forces in the southwest Pacific. MacArthur reluctantly left his forces behind to assume his new duties, but he declared that, "I shall return." He spent the next three years of the war fighting to keep that promise. During that time, he led American ground forces in 00:00:46driving the Japanese from New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, and various other islands of the southwest Pacific. MacArthur did keep his promise to return when he recaptured the Philippines in 1944, one of the steps in the American island hopping strategy. Section 12 00:00:01TEACHER: The Allies were inching closer to victory. After recapturing the Philippines, the US moved on to attack the island of Iwo Jima. It proved to be one of the costliest American victories in the Pacific. The Americans wanted to capture Iwo Jima to use as an air base to attack Japan. It was located just 750 miles from the main islands, an easy 00:00:23flight for US bombers. But Iwo Jima was not just significant for military reasons. It was also the first piece of Japanese territory to be invaded by Allied ground troops. The US attacked Iwo Jima in February of 1945 with bombs, rockets, and naval guns. Eventually, they launched an amphibious attack with 00:00:43hundreds of ships, and more than 100,000 men. Over 25,000 Americans were killed or wounded. The Japanese regarded Iwo Jima as part of their homeland. It was a volcanic island with many caves and rough terrain, making it easy to defend. The Japanese strategy called for no survivors. Almost all of the 20,000 defenders were killed. Just 216 were taken prisoner. 00:01:12One of the strategies the Japanese began to use in the final year of the war were kamikaze attacks, suicide attacks carried out by Japanese pilots. As 1945 progressed, Japan grew increasingly desperate. Kamikaze attacks began in October of 1944, and grew more and more frequent as the war progressed and the US got nearer to the Japanese main islands. Kamikazes were effective in damaging and sinking ships and 00:01:43killing American servicemen. Kamikaze attacks made an impression on American military leaders. They began to understand that the Japanese would fight even more fiercely as the Americans got closer to the home islands. And the cost for the US would be very high. The final target of the US island-hopping campaign was 00:02:05Okinawa, which lay just 350 miles from Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's main islands. It would be an excellent location for a base from which to attack Japan's main islands. The Allies had been bombing Okinawa since October of 1944. But like Iwo Jima, it would be a difficult battle. It was defended by 100,000 Japanese soldiers. The US attacked the island in April of 1945. 00:02:3460,000 US troops landed on the beaches in the largest American amphibious landing of the Pacific war. The Japanese fought back with kamikaze raids, and employed a huge kamikaze battleship, the Amato, which had only enough fuel for a one-way trip. The Battle of Okinawa, which ended July 2, 1945, resulted in extremely heavy casualties for both sides. 12,000 Americans were killed, along with more than 100,000 00:03:03Japanese soldiers. Along with the Japanese and American military servicemen killed, more than 100,000 civilians living on the island also died. The home islands were now within reach of American forces. Section 14 00:00:00Theories on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Questions for America arose. How could the war finally be ended? How many US servicemen would die if America invaded the Japanese home islands? The US military leaders feared that a traditional invasion might cost more than 100,000 American lives. Were there are any alternatives? 00:00:21The answer to this question came in the form of atomic bombs that the US dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The US dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima August 6, 1945. Between 70,000 and 100,000 people were killed in Hiroshima. Tens of thousands more died in the 00:00:41following months and years. It is important to note that in the month of April, more than 100,000 Japanese civilians in Tokyo were killed using traditional bombs. Despite the destruction, the Japanese refused to surrender. A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, August 9, 1945. Approximately 40,000 people were killed in Nagasaki in the initial blast. 00:01:07On August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's unconditional surrender over the objections of many Japanese military leaders. On July 16, 1945, the world's first atomic bomb was detonated in a remote part of the New Mexican desert. The bomb, which used the tremendous energy contained within tiny atoms, was far more powerful than any weapon previously developed. Until the moment it exploded in a flash of brilliant light and rising mushroom cloud, no one, including the men who had created it, knew for a fact whether it would even work. Now that it had been proven to work, a decision had to be made about whether or how to use the atomic bomb. That decision rested solely in the hands of President Harry S Truman. The atomic bomb had been developed in total secrecy. President Roosevelt had authorized its development in October 1939 when concern grew that Germany might be working on one. From the beginning, one thought had been apparent to those who knew about the secret project: If the bomb became available and if it would shorten the war and save American lives, it would be used. Neither Roosevelt, nor Truman when he became president, nor any of the other people who knew about it questioned this idea. 1945 But by the spring and summer of 1945, events had moved forward and new facts clouded the decision. First, the war in Europe had ended; Germany had surrendered in May. The massive war machine that had been assembled in Europe could now be transferred to the Pacific. Overwhelming numbers of troops, ships, warplanes, and war materials would be available to throw at Japan. Japan would know this. Wouldn't their leaders realize that they had no hope of victory or even survival if those forces were brought into play? Secondly, for all intents and purposes Japan was already defeated. Its fleet was virtually gone, its air force was badly crippled, and the United States had taken over the air base on Okinawa, just 350 miles from the Japanese mainland. The United States could send wave after wave of bombers to destroy the cities of Japan, and Japan could do little to prevent it. The United States had already firebombed Tokyo in March 1945.Sixteen square miles of Tokyo had been completely destroyed, and between 80,000 and 100,000 civilian lives had been lost.So, would the atomic bomb be necessary or even useful? Events had turned sharply in favor of the Allies, but other factors still weighed in favor of using the bomb to shorten the war. For example, despite the destructive effect of the firebombing of Tokyo, the Japanese government refused to surrender. It was controlled by the military, and the military leaders seemed blind to reality. They could not win and they could not defend their people, yet they turned down offers to surrender. And although the Japanese war machine was crippled, it could still inflict destruction on any invasion force. The Japanese had demonstrated their tenacious will to fight to the death very clearly at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The United States had suffered 75,000 casualties in those two conflicts. The Japanese had fought desperately and almost literally to the last man. Wouldn't their resistance be even more determined and more ferocious if they were fighting to protect their homeland? And they had ample supplies of armaments and two million troops in Japan.

Question and Answer2

Why did Truman decide to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima An invasion of Japan would cost too many American lives. Japan's leaders seemed determined not to surrender. Truman didn't believe that a blockade or bombing would end the war. Why did President Truman hesitate to use the atomic bomb? Using the atomic bomb would change the world forever by making it a more dangerous place. Why didn't President Truman authorize a demonstration of the atomic bomb first instead of choosing to drop it on Japan? Check all of the boxes that apply. He wasn't sure if a demonstration bomb would work and couldn't afford to have it be a dud. He only had two, and it was believed that two were needed to end the war.

Definition

island hopping: the strategy of invading and recapturing only strategic islands held by the Japanese in the Pacific kamikaze: a Japanese fighter trained to make a suicide attack

Question and Answer1

What other choices did Truman struggle with in the summer of 1945? He could authorize an invasion of Japan. He could blockade Japan and continue bombing. He could demonstrate the bomb in some remote area. He could drop the bomb on a Japanese city.

QUESTIONA AND ANSWERSS

Which of these statements about the early days of the war in the Pacific are true? The United States had lost many planes and ships during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan quickly captured many islands and parts of South Asia. Japan was defeating Allied forces and capturing many prisoners. Japan was suffering few losses of its own. How did the Battle of the Coral Sea impact Japan's war strategy? It prevented Japan from attacking Australia. Why was the Battle of the Coral Sea so crucial for the United States? The battle halted Japan's push toward Australia. What contributed to the American victory at Midway? Admiral Nimitz knew that the Japanese were going to attack Midway Island. Why was the victory so important? Japan's loss of ships and planes prevented it from continuing to advance across the Pacific. Why did the United States develop the island-hopping strategy? The strategy sped up the war. The strategy saved the lives of US soldiers. Why do you think the fulfillment of MacArthur's promise to return was such a boost to American morale? It showed that the United States would live up to its commitments at any cost. Why were so many Japanese lives lost in the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa? The Japanese commanders refused to surrender, even when the battle had been lost. Why did President Roosevelt originally authorize the development of the atomic bomb? He believed that Germany was trying to develop one. What did Presidents Roosevelt and Truman both believe about the bomb from the beginning? that it should be used if it would shorten the war or save American lives What was the situation in the spring and summer of 1945, when Truman had to make his decision? The Allies were ready to transfer their war resources from Europe to the Pacific. Japan's leaders were refusing to surrender. Japan's ability to make war had been badly crippled. The United States was inflicting heavy damage by bombing Japan's cities.