The Pacific Theater

1941 – 1945

Japan vs. United States

Building TensionsBuilding Tensions

• 1940 Japan takes French Indo China and begins to cut China off from the outside world.

• U.S. cuts off all oil exports to the Japanese• Sept. 27th, 1940 Japan allies with Germany

(Tripartite Pact)• U.S. President freezes all Japanese assets and

moves General Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines.

• U.S. and japan are heading for War

French Indo China

Pearl Harbor

• Nov. 26th 1941 Japanese Carrier fleet sets out on a 5000 mile journey to Hawaii to crush the American Pacific Fleet.

• Goal is to deliver a knock out blow by a surprise attack. This would allow Japan to invade Southeast Asia.

• Dec. 7th 1941 350 Japanese plains would strike while the Americans were still sleeping in their beds.

Damage

• 19 ships disabled including the sinking of two battle ships the USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma.

• 150 air planes destroyed

• 2400 American dead.

Bad News for Japan

• They never sunk any Aircraft Carriers like the USS Enterprise.

• They only destroyed ships and not the Harbor.

• They left the fuel reserves untouched.• Dec. 8th 1941 America Declares war.• Dec. 11th Germany and Italy declare war on

America.

Japanese Invasion

• Japan captures American bases at Guam, Wake Island, Gilbert Islands, Hong Kong (British), Singapore, and Java.

• Dec. 27th MacArthur is forced to give up the Philippines. He vows he will return.

• Japan Sets their sights on New Guinea and then Australia.

The Coral Sea

• Japan is caught moving troops to Southern New Guinea.

• The Americans surprise them and sinking one Aircraft carrier and disable another.

• Unfortunately the U.S. lose two Aircraft carriers the Yorktown and Lexington.(so the Japanese think.)

• The positive is that the U.S. stops the invasion.

Midway June 1942

• Americans decode Japans invasion plans for the US airbase at Midway.

• Admiral Nimitz scrambles 3 carriers: Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown (She got fixed)

• American bombers catch the Japanese carriers with all their planes on the decks fully loaded with torpedoes and fuel.

• Japanese lose four carriers and the US would lose the Yorktown.

• The Importance = America controls the Seas

The Island Campaign

• Goal is to use islands as stepping stones to get to Japan. Get close enough and you can use your bombers.

• America would take: Guadalcanal 1942, New Guinea 1943, Marinas 1944, Philippines 1944.

• 1945 the bloodiest fights for Iwo Jima (20 000 cas.) and Okinawa (50 000 cas.)

The Bomb

• President Roosevelt dies in April 1945.• Harry Truman takes over and he learns of a

new weapon that could end the war in weeks.

• Aug. 6th 1945 the Hiroshima • Aug. 9th Nagasaki• Aug 14th the Emperor announces Japan’s

surrender.

World War Two Ends

Sept. 2, 1945

Douglas MacArthur accepts the Japanese official surrender