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Pearl Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Many Americans were killed and wounded from the Japanese surprise attack. -
Doolittle's Raid
Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle led an air raid on Tokyo, Japan that consisted of 16 American bombers. This attack raised the hopes of all Americans after hearing the news. -
Battle of the Coral Sea
During May of 1942, American and Australian forces fought against Japan in the Coral Sea. This battle was only fought in the air, not a single shot was fired from a surface ship. The victory of American and Australian forces stopped Japan's attempt to invade Australia. -
The Battle of Midway
Japan made another attempt to seize an island just north of Hawaii, Midway. Admiral Chester Nimitz defended the island by using his scout planes to find the Japanese fleet. After spotting the Japanese, Americans then sent torpedo planes and dive bombers to attack the fleet. This battle was a huge turning point for the Pacific Theater. -
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Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials took place in Nuremberg, Germany. Twenty four of the most important Nazi leaders were tried. Half of these men were sentenced to death. -
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The Occupation of Japan
The Occupation of Japan lasted seven years. U.S. forces occupied the country with the leadership of General MacArthur. More that 1,100 Japanese were tried. Seven of them were sentence to death. MacArthur changed Japan's economy and government. He gave them a free-market economy. He also gave them a new constitution. -
The Yalta Conference
In February of 1945, the three leaders of the Allies met in the city of Yalta in the Soviet Union. The three leaders discussed the fate of Germany. They came to a decision of temperarily deviding Germany. Stalin also agreed to take part in the war against Japan. -
Iwo Jima
On February 19, 1945, 70,000 American marines invade the small island of Iwo Jima. -
Capture of Mount Suribachi
Four days after invading Iwo Jima, marines captured the highest point of Iwo Jima, Mount Suribachi. Marines mounted an American flag there twice. They decided the first was too small and replaced it with a bigger one. -
Capturing of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima lasted for a month. The island was heavily defended by the Japanese. It had 20,700 Japanese troops defending it with trenches and tunnel systems throughout the island. America lost 6,000 marine lives on this island, more than any other battle in the Pacific Theater. Only 200 Japanese soldiers survived Iwo Jima. -
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Battle of Okinawa
U.S. Marines invaded Okinawa in April of 1945. During the battle more than 1,900 kamikaze took place. The Japanese sunk 30 ships, damaged more than 300 ships, and killed near 5,000 seamen. When the fighting finally ended on June 21, 1945, more than 7,600 U.S. Marines had lost lives, but the Japanese lost 110,000 lives. -
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The Manhattan Project
The first test of the atomic bomb was July 16, 1945 in a desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The flash from the bomb was visible an incredible 180 miles away from the site of the drop zone. The new bomb was a success. On July 25, 1945, President Truman gave orders to drop two atomic bombs on two strategic Japanese targets. -
Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber, Enola Gay, droped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb completely destroied the city without a problem. After the bombing, Japan did not surrender. -
Nagasaki
Three days later after not surrending after Hiroshima, the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on Japan. This time it was Nagasaki. The bomb took out half of the city. By the end of 1945, about 200,000 people died from injuries and radiation from the bomb. -
Japanese Formal Surrender
Emeror Hirochito made his formal surrender on September 2, 1945, on the U.S. battleship, Missouri, in Tokyo Bay.
