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Pearl Harbor was attacked
This was the day that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Which was where most of 7th Pacific fleet was located for the United States Navy. This event is what propeled the US into World War 2. -
Period: to
Pacific
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Executive Order 9066
This was the order President Roosevelt authorized in early 1942. It was the order that American Japanese citizens be shipped to detention camps. It was a matter of National Security to Roosevelt. -
General Douglas MacArthur
General Douglas MacArthur was one of the greatest Generals ever in US history. He was given commander of all Allied forces in the southeast Pacific. He directed the successful defense of New Guniea in later 1942. In 1944 he directed the successful invasion of Leyte Gulf. Right before the end of 1944 he was promoted to General of the Army. -
Battle of Midway
This battle was dubbed as the "turning point in the Pacific". When Japan had this island they basically could attack anywhere at any time. When the US took in mid 1942 we took the offensive. After this battle we led on a series of island hopping campaingns. Eventually we wore the Japanese Navy down enough and we claimed the win in the Pacific. Not only was it a big naval battle, it was also a really big air battle. -
Battle of Quadalcanal
This battle took the US six months to defeat the Japanese. This battle was basically a battle of attrition. This battle was a part of the Solomon islands campaign. It was a vital island to both sides. If Japan got it they could cut off the shipping lanes from America to Australia. If the US got it they would be in a better position ot defend Australia. The US Marines fought through and won this battle. -
Battle of Saipan
This was a bloody, nasty battle where most of the people that were there tried to forget it for the rest of their lives. The marines that landed encountered heavy and accurate shell fire from the Japanese artillery. They had to fight for every inch they got. The US had battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and every other ship firing shell after shell to counterattack the Japanese artillery. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
This is the battle where the US and Japan fighting foorces battled for 3 days. It was the largest naval battle of the war and one of the biggest ever. This battle crippled the Japanese navy bad and prevented them from rebuilding and eventually falling to the US in the Pacific. -
Iwo Jima
The battle of Iwo Jima produced one of the highest casualty rates of World War 2. This island was vital to the US because it was closer to Tokyo. Japan needed it because this was their last defence before the Japanes homeland. It was only 600 miles away, which was close enough for American bombers to reach Tokyo. -
Battle of Okinawa
This battle was the last and biggest of the Pacific theatre in World War 2. This was the last island before the Japanese mainland. Japan basically had nothing else to loose and had to protect this in order to keep from the invasion of the Japances mainland. The Japanese fought back for over a month but the US Army finally pushed through and won this final battle of World War 2 before the A- bomb was dropped and Japan surrendered. -
A- Bomb dropped on Japan
In 1945 we dropped two nuclear bombs developed by the Manhattan Project. We dropped "Little Boy" on Hiroshima and "Fat Man" on Nagasaki. We told the Japanese government to surrender or we would cause utter destruction. They ignored and we kept to our word. The first bomb was dropped by the B-29 flying fortress the Enola Gay.
