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Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise air attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. After just two hours of bombing, more than 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships had either been sunk or damaged, and more than 188 U.S. aircrafts destroyed.
The attack at Pearl Harbor outraged Americans that the U.S. abandoned its policy of isolationism and declared war on Japan the following day -- officially bringing the United States into World War II. -
Bataan and Corregidor: Loss of the Phillipines
After the April 9, 1942, U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War II (1939-45), the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March. -
Doolittle Raid
As a means of striking back after the events at Pearl Harbor, the Doolittle Raid was an attempt to bring war home to the Japanese. The hope was to deliver bomb's to the Japanese's national pride, Tokyo. The mission was theortically possible, but barely practical and eventually unsuccessful. -
Battle of Coral Sea
This battle marked the first air-sea battle in history. The Japanese were seeking to control the Coral Sea with an invasion of Port Moresby in southeast New Guinea, but their plans were intercepted by Allied forces. When the Japanese landed in the area, they came under attack from the aircraft carrier planes of the American task force commanded by Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher. American carriers Yorktown was destroyed. -
Battle of Midway
Six months after Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of WWII. Due to major advances in code breaking, the US was able to preempt and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. The victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position. Four Japanese aircraft carriers - Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu - were sunk, and the Yorktown of the US. -
Battle of Guadacanal
This was the first major offensive and decisive victory for the Allies in the Pacific theater (August 1942–February 1943). With Japanese troops stationed in this section of the Solomon Islands, U.S. marines launched a surprise attack in August 1942 and took control of an air base under construction. Both sides endured heavy losses to their warship contingents. American casualties reach about 8,000. -
Battle of Peleliu
US Marines fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island. In total, about 2,000 Americans were killed and 8,200 were wounded or missing. The importance of this battle is contemplated, because so many Americans came back wounded. The purpose if this battle was only to aquire a small airstrip.
