Transcript Bataan Death March

Bell Quiz: Use Pages 578-583
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5.
Who was used in the pacific as radio
operators and spoke a “code” that the
Japanese could never break?
What was the importance of the American
victory at the Battle of the Coral Sea?
What battle in the Pacific was the turning
point in the war?
How many Japanese troops and U.S. troops
died in the Battle for Iwo Jima?
After the Battle For Okinawa how many
American lives did Churchill predict would
be lost in an allied invasion of Japan?
Answers
1. Navajo Indians “code talkers”
2. The U.S. saved Australia from
being taken over; first U.S. victory
against Japan.
3. The Battle of Midway.
4. Japanese troops=20,500.
U.S. troops=6,000
5. 1 million American lives
Objectives
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Identify key turning points in the
war in the Pacific.
Describe the Allied offensive
against the Japanese.
Japanese Acquisition
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6 months after Pearl Harbor, the
Japanese had conquered an empire
larger than the Third Reich.
The Japanese had control of Hong
Kong, French Indochina, Malaya,
Burma, Thailand, and much of China.
They also conquered many islands in
the pacific.
• The Dutch East Indies, Guam, Wake
Island, and the Solomon Islands.
Philippines
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The Japanese invaded the
Philippines on December 8,
1941 with their air attack on
Clark Air Base.
American and Filipino troops
battled the Japanese for
several months for control of
the islands before losing.
General Douglas MacArthur
was the commander of the
Allied forces on the islands.
On March 11, 1942 President
Roosevelt ordered MacArthur
to leave the Islands.
MacArthur escapes and leaves
the troops to be captured.
MacArthur utters the infamous
words, “I shall return!”
Bataan Death March
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The Bataan Death March was
the forcible 60 mile transfer
of 90,000 to 100,000
American and Filipino
prisoners of war on foot by
the Japanese army.
Prisoners were abused and
murdered -Beheadings, cut
throats and casual shootings
were the more common and
merciful actions — compared
to bayonet stabbings, rapes,
disembowelments, numerous
rifle butt beatings and a
deliberate refusal to allow the
prisoners food or water.
The march lasted for nearly a
week with temperatures
nearing 100 degrees.
Bataan Death March
Bataan Death March
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18,000 POW’s died on
the March to Camp
O’Donnell.
Men were weak and
dying from dysentery at
the camp at an alarming
rate.
Eventually the healthy
prisoners were
transferred to camps
outside of the
Philippines.
Bataan Death March
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This process began with
American prisoners moving
from Camp O’Donnell to
Cabanatuan-a prison camp
in the northeast part of the
island.
Many of these American
prisoners then were sent
from Cabanatuan to prison
camps in Japan, Korea, and
Manchuria working as slave
labor.
All prisoners were released
at the end of the war.
Bataan Death March
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The 512 prisoners-ofwar who still remained
at the Cabanatuan
Prison Camp as of
January 1945 were
freed during an attack
on the camp led by
United States Army
Rangers later known
as the Raid at
Cabanatuan.
All 512 prisoners were
rescued. Only 3
rangers were killed.
Bombing of Tokyo
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By spring of 1942, the
allies began to turn
the tide against the
Japanese.
On April 18th the U.S.
began a bombing raid
on Tokyo and other
Japanese cities.
Lieutenant Colonel
James Doolittle led the
attack with 16
bombers.
Battle of Midway
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Midway is an island which lies
northwest of Hawaii.
The island was of strategic
importance to both the U.S.
and Japan.
American code breakers were
able to determine the date
and location of the attack,
enabling the forewarned U.S.
Navy to set up an ambush of
its own.
The Allies successfully
defended Midway.
During the Battle of Midway
the Japanese lost four
aircraft carriers, a cruiser,
and 250 planes.
The Battle of Midway was a
turning point in the Pacific
War inflicting irreparable
damage to the Japanese
carrier fleet.
Island Hopping
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Leapfrogging or Island Hopping was a military
strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War
against Japan. It involved attacking some islands
but not others, effectively strangling the
unattacked islands by not allowing them to be
resupplied.
This saved time, men, and supplies.
General Douglas MacArthur greatly supported this
“island hopping" strategy in his effort to regain
the Philippines.
Battles in the Pacific
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The first Allied offensive began in August 1942.
19,000 troops stormed Guadalcanal in the
Solomon Islands.
Guadalcanal marked Japan’s first defeat on land.
In October 1944, the Allies defeated the
Japanese at the Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines).
178,000 Allied troops and 738 ships retook the
Philippines.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was a disaster for Japan.
They lost 3 battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, 13
cruisers, and almost 500 planes.
General MacArthur wades ashore announcing
“People of the Philippines: I have returned.”
Kamikaze
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The Japanese threw
their entire fleet into the
Battle of Leyte Gulf.
They tested a new war
tactic: kamikaze
attacks.
Pilots crashed their
planes loaded bombs
into Allied ships.
The Japanese launched
424 kamikaze pilots
during the Battle of
Leyte Gulf.
They sank 16 ships and
damaged 80 others.
Iwo Jima
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The Island of Iwo Jima
was critical to the U.S. as
a base.
From Iwo Jima the Allies
could launch bombing
raids against Japan.
Almost 21,000 Japanese
troops were ready to
defend the island rooted
in tunnels and caves.
More than 6,000 marines
died taking this island.
Only 200 Japanese
survived the invasion.
The only obstacle between
the Allies and a final
assault on Japan was the
island of Okinawa.
Video Clip: 10 Minutes
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yMgKtPlc&feature=related&safety_mode=true
&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active
Battle of Okinawa
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April 1945, U.S. Marines invaded Okinawa.
Fighting on Okinawa lasted until June 21,
1945.
The Japanese unleashed 1,900 kamikaze
attacks on the U.S., sinking 30 ships,
damaging 300 more, and killing 5,000.
7,500 American lost their lives.
110,000 Japanese died.
The lose of life at Iwo Jima and Okinawa left
the Allies searching for a new plan of
invasion for the island of Japan.
Navajo Code Talkers
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The Navajo Code Talkers, whose ranks exceed 400 during the
course of World War II in the Pacific Theater, have been
credited with saving countless lives and hastening the end of
the war. The Code Talker's served in all six Marine divisions
from 1942 to 1945.
The Code Talker's primary job was to talk and transmit
information on tactics, troop movements, orders and other
vital battlefield information via telegraphs and radios in their
native dialect.
A major advantage of the code talker system was its speed.
The method of using Morse code often took hours where as,
the Navajos handled a message in minutes. It has been said
that if was not for the Navajo Code Talker's, the Marines
would have never taken Iwo Jima.
The Navajo's unwritten language was understood by fewer
than 30 non-Navajo's at the time of WWII. The size and
complexity of the language made the code extremely difficult
to comprehend, much less decipher.
The Navajo code talkers finally received national recognition
in 1969.