War in the Pacific

Tension on the western coast between Japan and United States had been building since the start of the war. The tension erupted when the Japanese initiated a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. One of the primary reasons behind the surprise attack was the hopes of crippling the U.S navy; this would leave the Pacific Ocean completely under Japan domination. However, the majority of submarines were unscathed. Also coincidently, U.S aircraft carriers were out at sea. As a result, the U.S was setback, but still commanded a formidable navy.

Six months after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese empire had expanded like a wild fire. The Japanese empire now consisted not only of Japan, but also Hong Kong, French Indochina, Malaya, Burma, Thailand, Dutch East Indies, Guam, Wake Island, Solomon Islands, part of Alaska, and a large portion of China. At the Philippines, there was a stalemate between 80,000 Americans and Filipino troops and 200,000 Japanese invading troops. After four months of brutal fighting, the Allied force had been cornered at Bataan Peninsula. On March 11, 1942, under President Roosevelt's orders, Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines.

The outlook had begun to change in spring 1942. Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, along with 16 bombers, led a risky attack on April 18 to raid Japanese cities. The success of the attack boosted America's morale. In May 1942, American and Australian troops halted the Japanese advance on Australia in a five-day battle later called Battle of the Coral Sea. Only aircraft participated in this battle; no surface ships fired any shots. Japan then redirected its thrust toward Midway, an island north-west of Hawaii. However, the Americans had broken the Japanese code and mounted a defense at Midway. Admiral Chester Nimitz, who was defending the island, sent out scout planes who on June 3, 1942 located the Japanese fleet. Nimitz quickly sent torpedo planes and dive bombers. This surprise attack ambushed the Japanese; their planes had not lifted off the decks of their carriers. As a consequence, the Japanese navy was crippled. They had lost four aircraft carriers, a cruiser and 250 planes.

Soon after the Battle of Midway, Allies began to liberate island after island, “island hopping”. The first Japanese defeat on land was at Guadacanal in the Solomon Islands. The Allies continued leap frogging and in October 1944, around 178,000 Allied troops escorted by 738 ships headed toward the Philippines. The Japanese began to use a new tactic, the kamikaze, at Leyte, Philippines. Despite the effectiveness of the kamikaze, the losses at Leyte eviscerated the Japanese navy. They had lost 3 battle ships, 4 air carriers, 13 cruisers, and almost 500 planes. From then on, the navy only played a minor role in the defense of Japan.

The Allies now focused on retaking a large portion of the Philippines and took heavy casualties on Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima was an island that was close enough to Japan that heavy bombers could refuel and load up armament. Okinawa was the last major obstacle that prevented the Allies from attacking Japan. At Okinawa there were huge casualties on both sides. However, the casualties on the Japanese side were staggering.

Knowing that a land invasion would possibly decimate both nations, President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb, named Little Boy, over Hiroshima. When the Japanese leaders still refused to surrender, another atomic bomb, named Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki. The Emperor Hirohinto promptly requested that the Japanese officials surrender to the U.S.

By: Eric and Johnny