Transcript the war in the pacific

THE WAR IN THE
PACIFIC
WORLD WAR II
Why did the Allies experience a
slow start in the Pacific?
 Due to losses suffered during the attack
on Pearl Harbor
 The decision to concentrate major efforts
on the war in Europe
Japan’s Advances
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Wake Island – late 1941
Guam
Hong Kong
Singapore – taken from British in 2 weeks
Dutch East Indies
British Borneo
Battle of Java Sea
Burma – gained control of rich oil reserves, vital to
military plans
 Philippines
Bataan Death March
 70,000 American & Filipino POW’s were
force-marched 63 miles
 7,000-10,000 died on the march in tropical
heat
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March
continues with Americans
improvising litters to carry
comrades who have collapsed
along the road from a total lack
of food and water. Over 5,000
Americans died on the march
which began April 10 and
lasted six days for some and
up to twelve days for others.
Reading from “The Great Raid”
page 36
Turning Points
 Doolittle’s Raids over Tokyo – 1st attack on
Japanese mainland during war;
psychological blow to Japanese
 Coral Sea – May 1942; 1st time the
Japanese advance had been halted
 Midway – Japanese navy suffered major
blow; they no longer had an advantage at
sea
U.S. Advances
 Guadalcanal
 Gilbert, Marshall and Mariana Islands
 Philippines
 Iwo Jima
 Okinawa
 Navajo Code Talkers
Guadalcanal
 Japanese presence threatened Australia
 Guadalcanal – Aug 1942-Feb 1943
 “Before that we weren’t looking for the
Japanese, they were looking for us . . . But
from there on out, they Japanese were on the
run.”
Guadalcanal Stats
U.S.
60,000 ground troops
1,768 ground dead
4,911 naval dead
420 aircrew dead
4 captured
29 ships sunk
Japan
36,200 ground troops
24,600-25,600 ground
dead
3,543 naval dead
1,200 aircrew dead
1,000 captured
38 ships sunk
Marines coming ashore on
August 7, 1942.
Images of Guadalcanal
Only a few supplies for the Americans
could be brought ashore before the
transports were ordered out of the area.
The lack of supplies made it very hard on
the Marines in the coming months.
Marines struggle up a jungle trail.
Japanese Dead on Guadalcanal
 Marines survey the
bodies of Japanese
soldiers covering
the battleground of
Edson's Ridge.
Iwo Jima
 Iwo Jima – 750 miles from Tokyo; better base to
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launch raids of the Japanese capital
Feb – March 1945
7,000 Americans killed
20,000 Japanese on Iwo Jima when U.S. troops
landed; all but 1,000 fought to the death
Navajo Code Talkers were important in the
taking of Mount Suribachi
The Beaches of Iwo Jima
Marines of the 5th Division inch their
way up a slope on Red Beach No.
1 toward Mount Suribachi on Iwo
Jima, defended by seven
Japanese Battalions. By nightfall,
566 Marines were killed and 1,854
wounded. February 19, 1945.
Soft Black Sand Beaches
Smashed by Japanese mortar and
shellfire and trapped by Iwo Jima's
soft black sands, amtracs and
other vehicles lay wrecked on the
beach. February 1945.
Okinawa
 350 miles from Japan
 To be the launching pad for the final
invasion of Japan
 Okinawa – 12,000 Americans died;
Japanese losses = 110,000
Death Valley
On Okinawa, just 350 miles from
Japan, a Marine dashes
through Japanese machine
gun fire while crossing a draw,
called 'Death Valley' by the
men fighting there. Marines
sustained more than 125
casualties in eight hours
crossing this valley. May 1945.