Transcript Pacific Theater - Copley

WWII
The Pacific Theater
Timeline of Major Battles
Japanese Figures
Hirohito - Emperor of
Japan during WWII
Tojo - Minister of War
Yamamoto - Naval admiral.
Called for the attack on
Pearl Harbor
Bombing of PEarl Harbor
December 7, 1941
Admiral Yamamoto’s
decision
Sneak attack on US fleet
docked in Hawaii
Took only 2 hours
Next day, FDR declared
war on Japan
Doolittle Raid
April 1942
Revenge for Pearl Harbor
Air raid, bombing of Tokyo
& other cities
Provided a morale booster
for US
Japan could be made
vulnerable
Battle of Coral Sea
May 4-8, 1942
Ships not even in sight of each
other
Fought entirely from aircraft
Stopped Japan’s southward
advance
Battle of Midway
June 4 - 7, 1942
Turned the tide of war in Pacific to
US advantage
Caught Japanese fleet off guard.
Sank many aircraft carriers before
planes could take off
Called, “...the most stunning &
decisive blow in the history of
naval warfare.”
Battle of Guadalcanal
Aug. 7, 1942 - Feb. 9, 1943
“Operation Watchtower”
1st major battle of “Island
Hopping” campaign
Prevent Japanese building
airbase in Solomon Islands
Battle of Iwo Jima
Feb.19 - March 26, 1945
“Operation Detachment”
US fought for & secured 3
airfields on islands of Iwo
Jima
Allied victory from
beginning - superior
numbers, weaponry
Battle of Okinawa
April - June, 1945
“Operation Iceburg”
Last island on the way to Japan
Bloodiest battle in the Pacific
Known as “tetsu no ame” in
Japanese (Rain of steel)
100,000 Japanese casualties
50,000 US casualties
Atomic Bomb
July 16, 1945
Bomb is tested in desert of New
Mexico - called “Trinity Test”
“Manhattan Project” - code name
for development of the bomb
Chief Scientist: Oppenheimer
Used Einstein’s E = MC
2
Atomic Bomb
August 6, 1945
The “Enola Gay” bomber drops
“Little Boy” on Hiroshima
Atomic Bomb
August 9, 1945
The “Bockscar” (B-29 Bomber)
dropped “Fat Man” on Nagasaki
Atomic Bomb
September 2, 1945
Japan surrendered aboard the
USS Missouri
The war was over