War in the Pacific

Preview

Think back to September 11, 2001. How did you feel when the Twin Towers and Pentagon were attacked? (Boston Bombing-April 15, 2013)

What were some of your immediate thoughts about the terrorist who committed this attack?

Would you have enlisted in the military if the President had asked?

Pearl Harbor

Japan was mad at U.S. for interfering with expansion

Dec 7, 1941 – Japan bombed Pearl Harbor (Hawaii); U.S. declared war on Japan

Wanted to take out U.S. Navy so could freely conquer Dutch East Indies

Used planes to destroy 18 battleships and kill 2403 sailors in 2 hours

Pearl Harbor was not only U.S. naval based attacked – Japan also bombed US navy in Manila, Bataan, Corregidor, Wake Island, and Guam on its way to taking – in Pacific Ocean by June 1942

Wanted “Asian for Asian” and hoped to stretch empire from Japan to Australia

War in the Pacific

USA Pacific forces led by Douglas MacArthur and Chester Nimitz fought to defeat Japan; needed to conquer Japanese-controlled island to get to Japan

May 1942 – Battle of Midway - first successful US defeat of Japanese navy

U.S. and Australian troops fought to defeat Japan; Japanese refused to surrender and fought to the man; made fighting for island difficult

August 1942 – Guadalcanal – 6 month land, air, sea battle; Japanese kamikaze (suicide) pilots bombed U.S. Ships and bases

Allies could never take all Japanese-controlled islands (too costly), so U.S. began island hopping strategy – capture some islands, skipped others; hoped to cut off Japanese supply lines and “starve” other Japanese-controlled islands

By 1945, U.S. won Iwo Jima and Okinawa in the worst fighting of Pacific War – U.S. suffered most marine causalities in these 2 island invasions

V-J

Needed these islands as bases to use for invasion of Japan

Despite heavy losses, Japan refused to surrender to Allies; continued to fight to last man and used suicide missions to kill as many Allies as possible

U.S. faced with decision; invaded Japan OR use new weapon – atomic bomb

Atomic Bomb secretly developed in New Mexico desert during Manhattan Project

August 6, 1945 – new U.S. President Harry Truman ordered drop of atomic bomb on Hiroshima; Japan issued no response; 2nd atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later

Video

August 14, 1945 - Japan surrendered – Victory in Japan

World War II was over