Transcript Early Battles of WWII

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 35,00074,000 civilians
Aug. 15, 1945—V-J Day
• Japan agrees to
unconditional
surrender
• WWII is over!