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WWII: USA Victories in the Pacific
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Pearl Harbor
Japan was already at war with China and they were taking over the many islands in the Pacific. They became scared that the US would become involved so they attacked the US fleet at Pearl Harbor. 2,402 were killed, sunk 4 battleships, and 188 aircraft were destroyed. This sneak attack stopped the US for 6 months. -
Battle of Midway
James Doolittle led planes on a day raid of Tokyo during the day due to the ships being detected early. The raid destroyed 100 buildings and 50 Japanese civilians. This offensive attack gave minimal gain for the military, but it boosted US morale because this raid showed that Japan could be attacked. -
Battle of Coral Sea
Japan moved to take New Guinea so it could easier take Australia. This battle was fought soley by planes, the ships never came in contact. The battle itself was a draw, but Japan called off its attack on New Guinea. This boosted the low USA morale. -
Battle of Midway
US codebreakers saved the day. The Japanese's plan was to lure the US aircraft carriers into a trap. They belieived this attack would further demorilize the US. The USA won this naval battle and were able push the Japanese back. -
Europe First Strategy
Stalin, Churchill, and FDR met and decided that Germany was the only long term threat. They believed Japan and Italy were only short term threats. Since all of the Axis powers had different goals, they wouldn't support eachother. The Allies decided to keep Japan subdued while they won Europe back from the Nazis. -
Manhattan Project
Great scientist such as Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer urge FDR to start trying to build an atom bomb. They knew Germany was so they didn't want the UA to fall behind. Some of the work was done in Tennessee but most was done at a remote location in New Mexico. -
Iwo Shima
Iwo Shima had nothing but an airstrip on its island. The US wanted this airstrip to bomb Japan from. 60000 marines hit the beaches that day and 6800 died. The victory led to a bombing campaign on Japan. -
Okinowa
The US was poised to take Okinowa because they could launch an attack on Tokyo. The US used 500,000 troops in this attack. The Japanese soldiers were holed up because the Navy bombed the island the night before. They waited until most of the US soldiers were on land before they open fire. The US lost 50,000 men but they won the battle, leaving Japan's main islands defensless. -
The Bombs Dropped
On the morning of August 6, 1945, the Little Boy atom bomb was dropped over Hiroshima. After falling for 46 seconds, the massive bomb went off, killing between 80,000 and 120,000. on August 9, the Fat Man atom bomb was dropped over 35,000-75,000 people. most of them were killed instantly. -
Japan Surrenders
Emperor Hirohito made the decision to surrender after the two atom bombs devistated two islands. Although they decided to surrender on the 15th, it wasn't until September 2, 1945 that General MacArthur accepted the surrender.
