The Battle of the Pacific

The Sleeping Giant Wakes Up

Six months after Pearl Harbor(May 7, 1942)

• Japan Controls Philippines

• 300,000 sq. Miles of Ocean / Islands

• Japan is ready to attack Australia

• U.S. is nervous - West Coast

• Japan has 3 times as many ships in Pacific as the U.S.

U.S.A. Plan to Win Pacific

• Two Pronged Attack-South Pacific

Central Pacific

• Island Hopping – Taking key islands to cut off Japanese supply

Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

Japan’s Empire within 6 months of Pearl Harbor

Doolittle Raid – April 18,1942

• Designed to boost American morale.

• B-25 Bombers launched from carriers.

• Bombed Tokyo• Crews are forced to

bail out over China.

Major Battles of the Pacific Campaign

• Coral Sea – May 1942

• Philippines – May 1942 and Oct. 1944

• Midway Island – June 1942

• Iwo Jima – February, 1945

• Okinawa – April, 1945

Battle of the Coral Sea

• May 1942

• Stops advance on Australia

• First battle at sea fought entirely in the air.

Philippines• May 1942

• Japan seizes Philippines.

• Americans soldiers surrender and are forced to march 75 miles to “camp”

• U.S. recaptures in October 1944Bataan Death March

Navajo Code Talkers:

Japanese could not understand the Navajo language

The U.S. used the “Code Breakers” to pin point locations of the

Japanese troops.

Battle of Midway – June 1942

• First Major victory for U.S.A. against Japan

• Stops advance of Japanese towards Hawaii

• U.S. sinks four Japanese carriers.

Kamikaze (Divine Wind) Pilots

• Japanese Pilots commit suicide with an airplane.

• Tactic begins in 1944 when Japanese Become desperate.

• Few Skilled Pilots left.

Fire Bombing of Japan – 1945

• U.S. uses napalm to incinerate the Japanese.

• Attacks are often at night and in areas with large concentrations of civilians.

• Hundreds of Thousands of civilians die in the raids.

• Tactic is questioned during and after the war.

IWO JIMA – February 1945

Battle of Okinawa - April 1945

• 400 Miles south of Japan

• Last step for U.S.A. / Last chance for Japan

• 1300 U.S. Ships for Invasion

• Japan Reinforced with 100,000 troops

Desmond T. Doss• Conscientious Objector.

• Refused to carry a weapon.

• Saved many lives during the Battle of Okinawa.

• Won the Medal of Honor

War Ends in Europe• May 7th , 1945 Germany Surrenders

• V-E Day May 8th, 1945

• Now ALL attention can be focused on Japan…………