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Pearl Harbor
The raid was a complete surprise to the Americans, and most fighter planes never made it off the ground.Hundreds were damaged or destroyed where they sat.Japanese bmbs and torpedoes took a heavy toll on American warships in the harbor. The attack lasted barely two hours, but the Pacific Fleet was a tangled mass of smoking metal. The destruction was enormous. All eight battleships suffered damage, 200 aircraft were destroyed, and 2,400 Americans died. It was complete defeat for the United States. -
Battle of Java Sea
Allied powers suffered a loss against the Imperial Japanese Navy.The Allies lost almost their entire fleet. The Japanese launched two torpedoes, but only hit one ship. The battle lasted seven hours, with the Allies trying to attack the Japanese convoys to destroy them. Two Dutch cruisers were also hit by torpedoes and destroyed. Even though the Allies and Japan were evenly matched, the Japanese only lost one destroyer while the Alloes had overwhelming losses. -
Loss of Philippines & Bataan Death March
The Japanese gained ground, so General Douglass MacArthur planned to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula where he hoped to hold off the Japanese as long as possible. Food, medicine, and other supplies were terribly short. War planners decided that sending supplies were too risky. MacArthur and his forces fought bravely, but illness and hunger took their toll. MacArthur was ordered to leave his men, and later American and Filipino troops surrendered. -
Loss of Philippines & Bataan Death March
For five nights and days, the Japanese forced the starving and sick soldiers to march through the steaming forests of Bataan. Those that dropped out of line were beaten or shot. Those who fell were left for dead. The Japanese provided little food or water. Those who completed the journey did not fare much better. In the Japanese prison camps, lack of food and medicine claimed hundreds more American and Filipino lives. -
Doolittle Raid
James Doolittle led a group of 16 American bombers on a daring air raid of Tokyo and a few other Japanese cities. The airplanes had been launched from an aircraft carrier several hundred miles off the coast of Japan.The raid did not do major damage to the Japanese targets, but it did have significant effects.One was giving the American people somethign to celebrate, and the other was to worry and anger Japan's leaders.Their outrage would cloud their judgement and lead to major military mistakes. -
Island Hopping Strategy
This method would allow the Allies to reach Japan more quickly without wasting supplies, and give them an advantage of surprise and to keep Japan off balance. It involved a force led by Admiral Nimitz, with a small land force and large fleet to head north towards the island. The other force, led by General MacArthur, with larger land forces, would advance toward the Philippines. The strategy was possible because the Allies used submarine and air attacks to isolate Japanese bases. -
Battle of Coral Sea
The battle featured the part of the Pacific fleet that had not been damaged at Pearl Harbor- the aircraft carriers. Japanese forces were planning to invade the British controlled Port Moresby on the island of New Guinea. To prevent this attack Admiral Chester Nimitz sent two aricraft carriers to attack. In the battle that followed, the American and Japanese navies suffered damage. The Americans lost an aircraft carrier and several dozen aircraft, but the Japanese advance had been halted. -
Battle of Midway
The Japanese planned to attack the Midway Island to lure the American fleet into the area and destroy it. The Japanese had an advantage with the number of ships and carriers, bu the Americans had a great advantage. Naval intelligence officers broke the Japanese code and learned the plans of attacking Midway. They knew the date, and direction they were coming from. Nimitz planned to stop Japanese landing and avoid contact with the larger Japanese fleet. His plan worked perfectly. -
Battle of Midway
The first stage was an air attack. The Japanese planes took off from a group of four aircraft carriers that lead the assault on Midway, but the American air defenses were waiting and managed to fight off the air raid. The survivng Japanese planes reaced back to refuel and rearm, but were followed by American aircraft. The Japanese desperately fought off dozens of American bombers, who finally pushed through Japanese defenses. -
Battle of Midway
The American bombs damaged three of four carriers, along with supplies, planes, and fuel. Americans aircraft later destroyed the fourth carrier. The Japanese planes did manage to destroy one American carrier, the USS Yorktown. Nimitz had placed the rest of the ships perfectly. The surviving ships of the Japanese fleet were too far away to threaten them. It was a clear American victory. Japan's navy suffered a terrible blow, and their once great advantage on the seas no longer existed. -
Guadalcanal
The first step to take Japan was the Solomon Island, more importantly the island of Guadalcanal. The Japanese had moved into the area, and it threatened nearby Australia. The Allies, if they got control, would protect Australia and provide a base to puch back the Japanese. The Japanese had nearly completed an airfield in Guadalcanal.In spite of the swamps, jungles, high temperatures, and disease carrying insects, Americans came ashore on Guadalcanal. -
Guadalcanal
The fight lasted six months, and was a bloody combat with the Japanese forces. The battle took place on land, at sea, and in the air. Each side won small victories until the Japanese forces fled the island. It was a key moment in the war. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The first major action to take back the Philippines took place on the seas, the Battle of Leyte Gulf. 300 ships took part in the largest naval battle ever fought. By this time, the Allies held a huge advantage in number of ships. When the battle was over, the Japanese had lost four carriers, three battleships, and a number of other vessels. The rest of their fleet would play no major role in the rest of the war. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
This battle also showcased a major use of a new Japanese weapon, the kamikaze attack. A kamikaze was a pilot who loaded his aircraft with bombs and deliberately crashed into an enemy ship. It was understood that the attack would lead to the death of the pilot.These attacks did not change the outcome of the battle, but the Allies came to fear the suicidal attacks. MacArthur waded ashore to fulfill his promise to return to the Philippines, but it would take months of fighting to gain full control. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
American forces set out to capture Iwo Jima in order to provide a better base from which to launch raids. Iwo Jima is a tiny volcanic island that was heavily guarded by Japanese soldiers. American troops greatly outnumbered the defenders. For the first time, the Japanese were actually fighting for land that was apart of Japan. Hidden in caves and tunnels and protected by concrete bunkers, they fought ferociously. Marines managed to capture the island's tallest point, Mount Suribachi. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Some Americans thought the capture of Mount Suribachi meant the battle was over, but the Japanese refused to surrender. The fighting raged on for several more weeks. By the time it was over, nearly 7,000 Americans were dead and many more wounded. More than 20,000 Japanese defenders had been on Iwo Jima when the Americans landed. All but a thousand of them fought to the death. -
Battle of Okinawa
Okinawa was to be the launching pad for the final invasion of Japan itself, but first it had to be captured. This would be the bloodiest task the Americans would face in the Pacific. Allied troops invaded Okinawa, and the Japanese forces retreated to the southern tip of the island to plan their response. Five days later, they attacked. The island was filled with caves and tunnels that Japanese soldiers used to hide skillfully and launch deadly assaults. -
Battle of Okinawa
Over 12,000 Americans died and thousands more were injured. The Japanese lost 110,000 troops to fighting. As with Iwo Jima, their willingness to fight on when death was certain amazed the Americans. In spite of terrible losses, Americans finally gained control of the island. The lessons earned on Okinawa would have a major impact on the final days of the war. -
Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
The Mahattan Project continued throughout the war, and the leaders of the project declared that the bomb would be ready by 1945. Truman formed a group to advise him about using the bomb, and they debated where the bomb should be used and whether Japan should be warned. Truman decided to drop the bomb on a Japanese city without warning. They did give Japan one last chance before dropping the bomb. Japanese did not respond and the plan went forward. -
Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
Enola Gay, the American B-29, dropped it's atomic bomb. Seconds later, it exploded. In a single blast, most of Hiroshima was reduced to rubble. Some 80,000 residents died immediately, and 35,000 were injured. Two-thirds of the city's 90,000 builings were destroyed. Fires raged everywhere. Japan's leaders took no action to end the war, and Americans debated their next step. "Little Boy"-uranium gun type bomb. -
Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki
Three days later, the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. The death toll there was 40,000. Both bombings remain the only use of nuclear weapons fro warfare in history. During the following months, large numbers died from the effects of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition. "Fat Man"- plutonium implosion type bomb. -
VJ Day
Hirohito, Japanese emperor, favored surrender, but military leaders resisted. Some even tried to overthrow the Japanese government and continue the war. They failed. Hirohito finally announced the end of the war in a radio broadcast. It was the first time the Japanese people had ever heard the emperor's voice. On September 2, a formal surrender ceremony was held in Tokyo Bay.
