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Part II: The Pacific
Dec. 1941-April 1942—Fall of the Philippines
• Douglas MacArthur: Philippine commander– has to retreat troops to the Bataan Peninsula– MacArthur recalled to Australia—vows to return– his troops hold out in the Philippines for 3 months
• Bataan Death March– April 9, 1942: 75,000 American and Filipino troops
surrender to Japan– Captives marched 100miles to POW camps– 1,000s are executed or die of starvation or thirst– March also includes beheadings, throat cuts, bayonet
stabbings, disembowelments• could be attacked if you helped a fallen soldier
April 18, 1942—The Doolittle Raid
• Planned as direct retaliation for Pearl Harbor by Lt. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle
• Problem with B-25 bombers– Could launch from aircraft carrier but would have to land in
friendly territory of China or Russia
• 1st time bombs dropped on Japan– Would be another 2yrs before bombs dropped again
• 71 out of 80 pilots survive• Had little military effect, but a psychological boost to
American morale• Causes change of Japan’s strategy
May 4-8, 1942—Battle of the Coral Sea
• Japan aimed to invade Australia to cut off US supply line
• US Navy planes severely damage Japanese fleet– 1st time ships don’t engage in battle
• All fighting carried out by planes
– Plan failed b/c US had deciphered Japanese code
June 3-6, 1942—Battle of Midway
• Japan trying to lure US fleet into trap
• Defeat for Japan– b/c US had broken code they were able to set up
their own ambush of the Japanese– Japan lost 38 planes, 4 aircraft carriers, many of
best trained pilots
• US sustained damage to Yorktown
• Turning point of the war in the Pacific
August 1942—MacArthur’s “I Shall Return”
• General MacArthur’s troops would advance through the Solomon Islands, capture the north coast of New Guinea, and retake the Philippines.
• 1st invasion at Guadalcanal (Aug. 7, 1942)– Takes 4 months to gain control
– US Marines cut off from supplies…reduced to eating roots
• By 1944 MacArthur in position to take Rabaul– main Japanese base in the region
• After Rabaul—Hollandia—New Guinea—Morotai– then on to the Philippines!!
Recapturing the Philippines• Oct. 1944—700 ships with 160,000 soldiers sail for
the Leyte Gulf • Japanese sent 4 aircraft carriers from the North and
a secret mission to the West of Leyte Gulf– US not knowing of W. attack left the Gulf to meet the
ships from the North– Japan used moment to ambush US ships
• Ensuing battle the largest naval battle in US history• 1st use of kamikaze pilots
– Eventually leads to the loss of about 400 US ships and 10,000 sailors
• Eventually Japanese retreat, but Manila not captured till March 1945
• Left 100,000 Filipino civilians dead
Fall 1943: Nimitz’s Island Hopping Begins
• Nimitz’s plan is to take control of Marshall Islands and then move on to Mariana Islands
• Major obstacle: coral reefs– Battle of Tarawa claims 3,381 Marine lives
trapped in tricky tides– Solution: the use of amphtrac (LVT) boats
• Conquers Tarawa, Kwajalein, moving to Mariana Islands for better B-29 bomber positioning– Bombers not able to hit targets and successfully
return to friendly territory unless closer to mainland of Japan
Feb. 19-Mar.26, 1945—Invasion of Iwo Jima
• Iwo Jima would allow for more successful bombing raids of Japan
• Feb. 19, 1945—60,000 US Marines land on the island– Physical obstacles: island covered with ash,
jagged cliffs, Japanese had built series of caves/bunkers
• By March 26, 25,000 Marine deaths, but the island had been captured
Brutality of Iwo Jima
• Robert Sherrod, who had been on Tarawa, was shocked: "[The marines] died with the greatest possible violence. Nowhere in the Pacific have I seen such badly mangled bodies. Many were cut squarely in half. Legs and arms lay 50 feet (15 m) away from any body."
February 1945—Firebombing of Japan
• b/c B-29 bombers unsuccessful at hitting targets General Curtis LeMay orders use of napalm– type of jellied gasoline
• Napalm controversial because it targets civilians• Once exploded napalm bombs spread massive
fires• Bombing of Tokyo alone kills 80,000 civilians
and destroys 250,000 buildings• US almost completely destroys 6 major
Japanese cities– In total firebombs 67 cities
Mar. 18-June 23, 1945—Invasion of Okinawa
• a ground invasion of Japan appears imminent
• Okinawa chosen as launching point– 350 miles off the coast of Japan– Supplies and troops stockpiled on the island
• April 1, 1945 troops land
• By June 22 US has captured the island– 12,500 American casualties
Manhattan Project
• 1939 Albert Einstein sends letter to FDR warning of possible German development of uranium bomb
• Code name for building of bomb: Manhattan Project
• 1942 world’s 1st nuclear reactor built at the University of Chicago
• Continuation of project done at secret lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico
• World’s 1st atomic bomb detonated on July 16, 1945 near Alamogordo, New Mexico
August 6, 1945--Hiroshima
• Truman warns Japan of weapon that could cause “utter destruction”—gets no response from Japanese
• Aug. 6, 1945—Enola Gay drops “little boy” atomic bomb on industrial city of Hiroshima
• 63% of the city destroyed• 80,000-120,000 deaths instantly• 1,000s more due to burns and radiation
posioning
Aug 9, 1945—Nagasaki, Soviets Join Pacific
• Soviets declare war on Japan
• US drops “Fat Man” on Nagasaki– Hydrogen bomb
• Kills 35,000-74,000 civilians
Aug. 15, 1945—V-J Day
• Japan agrees to unconditional surrender
• WWII is over!
