war in the pacific
DESCRIPTION
War in the Pacific. Pearl Harbor. Japan was mad at US for interfering with expansion Dec 7, 1941—Japan bombed Pearl Harbor (Hawaii); US declared war on Japan Wanted to defeat US navy so they could create an Asian Empire . - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Pearl HarborJapan was mad at US for interfering
with expansionDec 7, 1941—Japan
bombed Pearl HarborPearl Harbor (Hawaii); US declared war on Japan
Wanted to defeat US navy so they could create an Asian Empire
Pearl HarborKamikaze planes destroyed 18
battleships & 2,403 sailors in 2 hoursPearl Harbor was not the only US
naval base attacked—Japan also bombed US navy in ManilaManila, BataanBataan, CorregidorCorregidor, Wake IslandWake Island, & GuamGuam on its way to taking a huge empire in Pacific Ocean by June 1942
Wanted “Asia for Asians” & hoped to stretch empire from Japan to Australia
War in the Pacific USA Pacific forces led by
Douglas MacArthur fought against Japan; needed to conquer Japanese-controlled islands to get to Japan
May 1942- Battle of Midway-1st successful US defeat of Japanese navy
War in the PacificUS & Australian troops fought
Japan; Japanese refused to surrender & fought to the last man; made fighting for islands difficult
August 1942—Guadalcanal— 6-month land, air, sea battle; Japanese kamikaze (suicide) pilots bombed US ships & bases
War in the PacificAllies could not take all Japanese-
controlled islands, so US began island-hopping strategy
capture some islands, skip others; cut off supply lines & “starve” Japanese-controlled islands
War in the PacificBy 1945, US won Iwo Jima &
Okinawa in the worst fighting of Pacific War
most marine casualties
at these 2 islands
Needed these islands as bases for invasion of Japan
V-JDespite their heavy losses, Japan
refused to surrender to Alliescontinued to fight to last man & used
suicide missions to kill Allied forcesUS faced with decision: invade OR
use new weapon—atomic bombatomic bomb
V-JAugust 6,1945—new
US President Harry Truman ordered drop of atomic bomb on Hiroshima; Japan issued no response; 2nd atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later