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WWII: PACIFIC THEATRE

WWII: PACIFIC THEATRE. Island Hopping. Securing island by island to ensure shorter/safer routes for bombing campaigns against Japan. Resources needed: Strong Navy / Effective engineering of bases. U.S. Evacuates the Philippines: Dec. 22, 1941 .

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WWII: PACIFIC THEATRE

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  1. WWII: PACIFIC THEATRE

  2. Island Hopping • Securing island by island to ensure shorter/safer routes for bombing campaigns against Japan. • Resources needed: • Strong Navy / Effective engineering of bases

  3. U.S. Evacuates the Philippines: Dec. 22, 1941 • U.S. forced to evacuate when they were overran. • 200,000 POW’s forced to march to Camp ‘O Donnell • 5 Day trip / 25% died • 37% of POW’s died in Japanese camps.

  4. DOOLITTLE RAID: APRIL 18, 1942 • In response to: Pearl Harbor • Length of aircraft carriers: 490 ft. • Min. # of feet it took a bomber to take off: 600 ft. • Modified the planes • Objective: Bomb key factory areas of Japan • Little damage but proved to the Japanese they could be attacked and our carriers needed to be sunk.

  5. BATTLE OF MIDWAY: JUNE 4-6, 1942 • U.S. controlled airstrip on the island. • U.S. broke the Japanese code = totally caught off guard • Japan lost four carriers • U.S. lost the Yorktown • Turning point of the war in the Pacific. • By late 1942, Japan was losing both in the air and on the water.

  6. GUADALCANAL: AUG. 7, 1942 • Japanese airstrip already on island. • Taken w/o a fight • Japanese let them come inland before attacking • If held by the Japanese, Australia and supply lines would be under Japanese control • 1,600 U.S. killed / 4,700 wounded • 24,000 Japanese dead

  7. U.S. Lands on Saipan: June 15, 1944

  8. Leyte Gulf: Oct. 23–26, 1944 • Largest naval battle in history • Japan through entire fleet into the fight • Japan lost its last four carriers, three battleships, 13 cruisers and 400 planes • First use of Kamikaze attacks • Philippines taken back • Last effort for Japan to dictate how the Pacific war would be fought.

  9. Iwo Jima • Iwo is considered part of Japan • 650 miles from Tokoyo • No foreign army in Japan’s 5000 year history has been successful on Japanese soil • 7.5 miles (1/3 the size of Manhattan) • 3 Major airfields

  10. Iwo Jima: February 19, 1945 • Gen. Kuribashi: “A million men could not take this island in 100 years.” “No survivors!” • Japanese strategy: Let the Americans into the mainland of the island • 1500 underground rooms were connected by 16 miles of tunnels • Kill 10 Americans before you can kill yourself. • Iwo was officially part of Japan • 21,000 Japanese at the on-set / 1,100 survived • 25,000 U.S. casualties • U.S. inching closer to Japan

  11. Okinawa: April 1, 1945 • Last stepping-stone for an invasion of the Japanese home islands • Guarded by 80,000 Japanese • Kamikazes heavily used • By mid-May, beginning of surrender = Japanese morale was fading.

  12. U.S.S. Indianapolis • Delivered the 1st test A-bomb to Tinian • Sank by Japanese sub. • 1,196 men on board • 900 men left • 4 days in the water • 316 survived

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