U.S. Hist. 5.03

Japan had two needs that drove its quest for power

1.overpopulated and needed more territory 2.lacked natural resources such as coal, iron ore, and oil

major new technological development after World War I, They could travel as fast as the fastest battleships

Aircraft carriers

Japanese troops invaded the American-controlled Philippine Islands.

American general Douglas MacArthur led the American troops stationed in the Philippines, as well as Filipino soldiers, in defense of the islands.

1944 allowed the Allies to push farther into Japan with bombing raids January 1940 and first flown in 1942, the B-29 Superfortress bomber rolled off production lines across the United States in order to be put into service in the war. B-29 bomber was able to go on round trip flights as long as 3,000 miles. It could carry up to 20,000 pounds of bombs. However, the Allies needed a launching location closer to the Japanese mainland.

B-29

in April 1941, forced march of U.S. troops through the jungles of the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines after surrender to the Japanese; thousands of soldiers died during the march due to abuse and starvation.

Bataan Death March

U.S. leaders planned to first take Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands to get control of the Japanese airfield there. In August 1942, troops came ashore on Guadalcanal. For months, they fought Japanese forces. Some of the battle raged on land in the hot, dense jungles filled with mosquitoes. Air and sea battles also took place, with each side making small gains, only to lose ground later. Finally, in February 1943, the Japanese fled the island. They had lost some 24,000 troops, while the Americans had lost 1,600. Thousands more on both sides had died from tropical diseases. The Battle of Guadalcanal was a major victory for the Americans. Along with Midway, the Battle of Guadalcanal helped turn the Pacific war in the Allies' favor. The victory at Guadalcanal convinced Allied leaders to put more offensive operations in place. The Battle of the Eastern Solomon Islands was the early offensive during the Battle of Guadalcanal. During the air battle, the Japanese lost a carrier, a destroyer, and a submarine but also managed to sink an Allied destroyer.

Battle of Guadalcanal

U.S. forces retook Guam in the Mariana Islands in July 1944. The island had been captured and occupied by the Japanese early in the war.

Battle of Guam

In October the Allies fought japs the largest naval battle ever fought. During the battle, much of the Japanese fleet was destroyed, including four aircraft carriers and three battleships. Japanese fleet was so decimated that it could no longer wage a naval war against the Allies. The same month, the Allies, including General Douglas MacArthur who had left the Philippines more than two years earlier, came ashore in the Philippines. However, it would be several more months before the area was under full Allied control.

Battle of Leyte Gulf

key naval battle in June 1942 between the United States and Japan during World War II during which Japan's naval forces were heavily damaged, equalizing the strength of the two sides and destroying Japan's naval advantage in the war in the Pacific

Battle of Midway

June 1942 Japanese plan to dominate in the Pacific Theater was to take Midway Island, a U.S. possession important stop for airplanes flying from San Francisco to the Philippines and was also home to a new U.S. air and submarine base American forces discovered Japan's plan to take Midway by deciphering the communications code used by Japanese naval leaders. Japanese were hoping to destroy what remained of the U.S. Pacific fleet and were sending most of their own fleet to Midway, along with their best pilots. Admiral Chester A. Nimitz, sent the three remaining Pacific aircraft carriers to Midway, around 115 land-based airplanes were stationed at Midway and Hawaii and could be used in the attack June 4, 1942 the Japanese began an air raid on Midway U.S. forces prepared, fight off the bombers. American planes followed the Japanese bombers back to their aircraft carriers and launched an attack on the carriers. damaged three of the four Japanese carriers. The fourth carrier was destroyed one of the American aircraft carriers destroyed

Battle of Midway in-depth

U.S. leaders sent two aircraft carriers to attack Japanese ships in the Coral Sea. One of the aircraft carriers was destroyed, along with many aircraft. U.S. forces succeeded in stopping the Japanese advance, damaged an aircraft carrier, and destroyed many aircraft.

Battle of the Coral Sea

first battle in which opposing sides used a new type of warfare focused around the aircraft carrier

Battle of the Coral Sea

In June 1944, the Allies fought Japanese forces largest battle involving aircraft carriers ever to be fought. The Japanese attempted to attack U.S. forces with airplanes but during the process lost some 300 planes and three aircraft carriers.

Battle of the Philippine Sea

The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in October 1942 was one of the major aircraft carrier battles of the war. In carrier warfare, the ships on each side rarely came in contact with one another. Airplanes took off from either an airfield on an island base or from an aircraft carrier, and the battle was waged almost entirely in the air over the ocean. In the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, U.S. and Japanese pilots were very closely matched, but the Allies were victorious because of better intelligence gathering.

Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands

1937, Japan invaded

China

May 1942 the Allies scored a victory when they stopped the Japanese occupation of Port Moresby, New Guinea. The Japanese had hoped to capture Port Moresby as well as part of the Solomon Islands. This would give them control of the Coral Sea. It would also allow them to block interaction between the U.S. and Australia in preparation for a possible invasion of Australia. In the Battle of the Coral Sea, U.S. forces succeeded in stopping the Japanese advance, however, and damaged an aircraft carrier and destroyed many aircraft. This photograph shows a U.S. Navy plane bombing a Japanese aircraft carrier.

Coral Sea

attack damaged or sank much of the U.S. Pacific naval fleet

December 7, 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor

U.S. leaders were able to launch an air attack on the Japanese city of Tokyo, using an aircraft carrier as a base. Army Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle led the April 1942 attacks.

Doolittle Raid

events in Europe enabled Japan to take control of colonial possessions held by the

Dutch, French, and British

The fighting at Tarawa, an atoll in the Gilbert islands, in November was extremely bloody.

Gilbert islands

Japanese leaders hoped to launch quick, offensive attacks to take over most of the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia. This would enable them to control not only territory but also resources to supply the war effort.

If the Japanese armed forces could accomplish this goal, Japanese leaders believed the Allies would be forced to negotiate peace.

The Japanese quickly took control of most of the islands U.S. forces were forced to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island. Trapped on Bataan, the U.S. forces ran out of food, medicine, and other supplies. MacArthur requested more supplies, too risky.

In March 1942, MacArthur escaped to Australia, leaving with the promise, "I shall return." His troops continued to defend Bataan. Less than a month later, they were forced to surrender.

The attacks at Pearl Harbor and the Philippines were the first part of the Japanese strategy against the United States and Great Britain.

In early 1942, Japanese forces attacked American-held Wake Island and Guam, British-held Hong Kong, Singapore, and Borneo, as well as Burma and present-day Indonesia.

World War II battle that took place in February 1945 after the Allies set out to capture the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, which was heavily guarded by Japanese troops; American troops faced fierce opposition from heavily fortified positions on the island, and fighting continued for weeks, killing some 19,000 Japanese troops and almost 7,000 American troops

Iwo Jima

trained Japanese pilots who loaded their planes with bombs and extra gasoline and purposefully crashed them into enemy ships in a suicide mission during World War II

Kamikaze

1931, Japan invaded and captured

Manchuria

World War II battle in the Pacific that took place from March to June 1945 that killed more than 12,000 Americans and 110,00 Japanese; battle convinced Allied commanders that invading Japan might not be the best plan of action

Okinawa

the area of military operations in the Pacific Ocean region during World War II in which the United States and other Allies fought the Japanese

Pacific Theater

Pacific Theater

Resources were limited after the attack at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Battles were fought mostly in the air and at sea; some ground combat on small islands. Battles fought in tropical island locations and at sea; soldiers often died from malaria and other tropical illnesses. Navy played biggest role, with Marines fighting ground war on islands. Some captured islands were used as airfields as Allied forces advanced.

The Battle of Midway began early on June 4, 1942. Japanese planes launched an air raid on Midway, but U.S. forces fought off the bombers. American planes then attacked and damaged or destroyed Japanese aircraft carriers. The Battle of Midway put an end to Japan's naval advantage in World War II.

The Battle of Midway

May 1942, the Allies scored a victory when they stopped the Japanese occupation of Port Moresby, New Guinea. The Japanese had hoped to capture Port Moresby as well as part of the Solomon Islands.

This would give them control of the Coral Sea, and allow them to strike at Australia.

European Theater

U.S. leaders determined that resources should be focused on defeating Germany and the Axis Powers in Europe when the nation first joined the war. Battles were fought mostly on land over the large landmasses of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Many battles fought in extreme cold, where soldiers suffered from freezing temperatures and trench foot. Ground troops played biggest role. Army air force bombers attacked positions in the way that battleships did for sea-based attacks.

Japan also signed an agreement with the Axis Powers. In response, the United States froze Japanese assets and placed an embargo on oil shipments to Japan. It was this conflict over oil that set

events in motion for the attack on Pearl Harbor and further Japanese expansion.

Torpedo-carrying dive-bombers could hit enemy ships accurately at low altitudes. Fighter planes could fly faster than earlier aircraft and carry up to eight machine guns in their wings

new aircraft were built that made the war in the air and on the ground much more dangerous.

Japanese military made a plan for war that took advantage of the geography of the region mostly islands, some of which already had Japanese bases on them. In the east, there was mostly ocean, with the exception of Hawaii

no bases the Allies could use Allies did not have many troops stationed in the western Pacific and, therefore, Allied military presence there was not very strong.