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Learn about major players in the Pacific Theater, Hideki Tojo, Admiral Yamamoto, General MacArthur, and others. Discover key events like the Doolittle Raid, Bataan Death March, Battle of the Coral Sea, and the significance of the Navajo Code Talkers in World War II. Explore the U.S. strategy of "island hopping" in the Pacific and the decisive Battle of Midway. Dive into the tactics, struggles, and triumphs of the Allies against the Japanese forces.
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Last reading quiz of the semester!
Chester Nimitz - Who was he? - What did he do?
The Pacific Theater
The Major Players Hideki Tojo Emperor Hirohito Admiral Isorouku Yamamoto
The Major Players General Douglas MacArthur Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman
Even though it was the Japanese who attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, military planners believed the Nazis were the bigger threat. Thus, the U.S. government and military adopted a “Europe first” policy.
However, President Roosevelt did want to make some sort of blow against the Japanese, not necessarily for military purposes, but more to bolster the morale of Americans.
On April 18, 1942 the U.S. Navy and Army Air Corp carried out a bombing mission over Tokyo know as the. . . Doolittle Raid
Of the 16 planes, 15 landed in China, one landed in Russia. 8 airmen were captured by Japanese forces, 3 of who were executed.
While the raid was a military failure, it bolstered American morale and embarrassed the Japanese military. For his actions, Doolittle received the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan rapidly expanded its empire.
The most brutal example occurred in the Philippines in April, 1942 in an event known as the Bataan Death March.
12,000 U.S., and 67,000 Filipino soldiers surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942.
The Japanese then forcibly marched these “prisoners of war” 90 miles inland to a prison camp. Over the course of the journey, over 20,000 U.S. and Filipino soldiers died, often in brutal ways.
Prisoners were forced to march for five to six days with no food and a very little water. They were punished for collapsing, or for stopping to help those who did collapse due to exhaustion and dehydration.
With all of this, and Pearl Harbor in mind, the U.S. set about defeating the Japanese.
What was the main weapon used by both sides in the Pacific Theater?
Coral Sea May 1942
In March, 1942 the Japanese fleet sailed for New Guinea and Australia. A combined U.S. and Australian force successfully turned back the Japanese ships during the 5 day Battle of the Coral Sea in May. This battle is important for two reasons.
The Battle of the Coral Sea 1. The battle was fought almost exclusively between aircraft carriers and the planes they carried. Battleships and destroyers played almost no role in the outcome.
2. It marked the first major defeat of the war for the Japanese.
U.S. forces broke the secret Japanese military code early in the war. As a result, military planners knew where the Japanese would strike next.
Midway June 1942 Coral Sea May 1942
Japan hoped to make one last effort to expand. Taking Midway, the believed, would set them up for further attacks on mainland America. They didn’t know the U.S. had broken their codes, and they couldn’t break ours.
The Japanese lost four of their six aircraft carriers at Midway. They did not have the resources to replace them.
The U.S. went on the offensive. Military leaders had to decide how to best take down the Japanese empire.
The U.S. had two choices: 1. Take back all of the islands and nations captured by the Japanese. 2. Take only the most important islands, cutting a path toward mainland Japan.
President Roosevelt approved of the second strategy and military planners laid the groundwork for a policy of “island hopping.”
As the U.S grew closer to Japan, Japanese resistance and tactics grew more and more fierce To that end, the American military grew closer to using a secret weapon to defeat the Japanese once and for all. . .
