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America and WWII: The War for the Pacific

America and WWII: The War for the Pacific . Allies Stem the Japanese Tide. Note: The war in the Pacific was extremely brutal and savage  a lot of up-close, hand-to-hand combat 6 months after Pearl Harbor Japan controlled: Hong Kong French Indochina Malaya. Burma Thailand Much of China

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America and WWII: The War for the Pacific

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  1. America and WWII:The War for the Pacific

  2. Allies Stem the Japanese Tide • Note: The war in the Pacific was extremely brutal and savage  a lot of up-close, hand-to-hand combat • 6 months after Pearl Harbor Japan controlled: • Hong Kong • French Indochina • Malaya • Burma • Thailand • Much of China • Dutch East Indies • Guam • Wake Island • Solomon Island • Many other small islands • Battling the Americans/Filipinos for the Philippines

  3. Allies Stem the Japanese Tide • Japan invaded the Philippines in December 1941 • Allied forces in the Pacific were led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur • March 11, 1942  Allied forces were forced to leave • MacArthur pledged to those who did not make it out : “I shall return”

  4. Allies Stem the Japanese Tide • Spring 1942  Allies began to turn the tide • Doolittle Raid • April 18, 1942  Lt. Co. James Doolittle • Led 16 bombers on an air raid over Tokyo and other Japanese cities • This lifted America’s spirits and dampened the Japanese • Battle of the Coral Sea • Main Allied forces in the Pacific were American and Australian • May 1942  5 day battle • Succeeded in stopping the Japanese drive towards Australia • 1st time Japanese invasion had been stopped and turned back

  5. Allies Stem the Japanese Tide • The Battle of Midway – Turing Point of the War! • Japan’s next move was to the strategic island of Midway (northwest of Hawaii) • Allies succeeded in stopping the Japanese  able to break Japanese code • Led by Admiral Nimitz, scout planes found the Japanese fleet  torpedo planes and dive bombers attacked • Japanese were caught with aircrafts still on the ships  total devastation • Lost 4 aircraft carriers, 1 cruiser • 250 planes • Allies began “island hopping” and moving towards Japan

  6. Frustrated by the Japanese code-breakers, the US Navy and Marines use Navajo Indians as radio men in the Pacific • Navajo language was very complexJapanese were never able to understand it

  7. Allies Go on the Offensive • First Offensive  August 1942 • Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands)  19,000 troops • Nicknamed the “Island of Death” • First Japanese defeat on land! • Continued leapfrogging across the Pacific • Leyte Island October 1944 • 178,000 ships, 738 ships converged on the Philippine island • General MacArthur after two years declared “People of the Philippines: I have returned”

  8. The Japanese Defense • The Japanese threw their entire fleet into the Battle of Leyte Gulf • Tested a new tactic  kamikaze (divine wind) suicide-plane attack • In the Philippines, 424 kamikaze pilots sunk 16 ships and damaged another 80 • After Leyte Gulf, Japan lost 3 battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, 13 cruisers, almost 500 planes  Imperial Navy only played a minor role afterwards

  9. The Japanese Defense • Americans had taken much of the Philippines and liberated American POWs  turned to Iwo Jima (1945) • Critical to the U.S. as a base from which heavily loaded bombers might reach Japan • 20,000+ Japanese in tunnels and caves  18,800+ died • 6,821 Marines died taking this island • 35 days of horrific fighting

  10. Treatment of U.S. POWs

  11. The Japanese Defense • The Battle for Okinawa (April – June 21, 1945) • 1,900 kamikaze attacks  sunk 30 ships, 300 damaged, 5,000 soldiers died • Even fiercer opposition than on Iwo Jima  7,600 American dead, 110,000 dead • Two generals committed ritual suicide over the shame of their surrender • This forecasted the potential opposition they could face on the island of Japan

  12. The Atomic Bomb Ends the War • Japan still had a huge army that would defend Japan their homeland • President Truman decided the only way to avoid an invasion of Japan was to use the new atomic bomb • July 25, 1945  Truman made final plans for dropping two atomic bombs • Warned Japan that it faced “prompt and utter destruction” • Truman stated that he “regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never had any doubt that it should be used”

  13. The Atomic Bomb Ends the War • August 6, 1945 • B-29 Bomber Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy” over Hiroshima (Japanese military center) • In 43 second the entire city collapsed into dust • Japanese leaders still hesitated to surrender • August 9, 1945 “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki • Half the city was leveled • By the end of 1945  200,000 people died from injuries and radiation poisoning

  14. The Atomic Bomb Ends the War • September 2, 1945 formal surrender ceremonies took place on U.S. battleship USS Missouri

  15. Rebuilding Begins • Yalta Conference – Feb. 1945 • “Big Three” – FDR, Churchill, Stalin • Stalin favored a harsh treatment of Germany  divide Germany into occupation zones • FDR disagreed, Churchill mediated • Compromises: • Temporary division of Germany into four zones • Stalin promised “free and unfettered elections” in Poland and other Soviet occupied European countries • Stalin agreed to help with Japan • Agreed to participate in an international conference  FDR’s dream of the UN would become a reality there

  16. Rebuilding Begins • The Nuremburg Trials • 24 Nazi officials tried  12 sentenced to death • 200 more Nazis were found guilty of war crimes in lesser trials • Many went free but set up the idea that individuals are responsible for their actions in war • Occupation of Japan • U.S. forces under Gen. MacArthur occupied Japan • 1,100+ Japanese were arrested and put on trial  7, including Tojo, were sentenced to death • 7 year occupation  reshaped Japan’s economy and government (with a new constitution)

  17. Total Casualties • Battle Deaths: 15,000,000 • Battle Wounded: 25,000,000 • Civilian Deaths: 45,000,000* * China alone might be 50,000,000 civilian deaths

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