War in the Pacific

War in the Pacific America at war with Japan

Snow on deck. USS Philippine Sea North Pacific 1945

People to Know • Douglas MacArthur • J. Robert Oppenheimer • Chester Nimitz • Harry S. Truman

After Pearl Harbor • Japanese continued to attack throughout the Pacific • Hong Kong • French Indochina • Thailand • Much of China • Malaya • Guam • Wake Islands • Solomon Islands • Dutch East Indies • Aleutian Islands (Alaska)

Allies vs. Japan • Douglas MacArthur commanded allied troops in the Phillipines. • Japan attacked in 1941 • Roosevelt ordered MacArthur and troops to leave. • MacArthur vowed, “I shall return”, and return he did…

Deck crew climbing up to get the pilot out. He did. That's a fuel tank his foot is on. Empty?

Doolittle’s Raid • April 1942 • Allies began to push back against the Japanese • 16 bombers launched a surprise attack on Tokyo • Helped lift the spirits of the Americans, while damaging that of the Japanese

Battle of Midway • Americans had broken Japanese code and knew that Midway was to be the next to be attacked by Japan. • Nimitz moved the Pacific fleet to protect the island. • Launched surprise air raids and bombing runs on Japanese carriers, causing heavy damage • Japan lost 4 carriers, a cruiser and 250 planes. • The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war in the favor of the allies

Island Hopping • After the Battle of Midway, the allies began “island hopping”. • They went island to island taking territory from the Japanese, and inching closer to Japan itself. • Eventually, MacArthur was able to keep his promise and return to the Philippines.

Guam

Iwo Jima • Strategic location for the allies to gain control. • Needed it as a base to launch air bombing attacks on Japan • However, it was heavily defended by over 20,000 Japanese troops dug into the sides of the mountain • 6000 U.S. Marines died taking the island.

Okinawa • The last obstacle to overcome before reaching Japan • Even more heavily defended than Iwo Jima • Japanese continued using kamikaze attacks • About 8000 U.S. soldiers lost their lives • More than 100,000 Japanese died • Churchill forecasted the loss of 1 million U.S. soldiers and 500,000 British… • Atomic Bomb???

Japanese Internment Camps • There was much prejudice against Japanese-Americans in the U.S. • Eventually Japanese-Americans were forced into internment camps against their will • Many lost their homes, businesses and personal belongings • JACL – Japanese American Citizens League was formed after the war to fight for compensation for those who lost their property. • 1965, congress authorized spending $38 billion to reimburse for losses. This was only a very small percentage of actual losses.

Decision to Drop the Bomb • J. Robert Oppenheimer led the research on the Manhattan project • Tested the bomb in July of 1945 in New Mexico • Truman didn’t learn about the atomic program until he became president • Now he had a decision to make… • What would you do given the same information that Truman was given?

Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Truman decided to use the atomic bomb. • Tried to get the Japanese to surrender with the threat of using this weapon on them. Japan would not surrender. • On August 6, 1945 the Enola Gay dropped the Little Boy over Hiroshima • Three days later the Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki • Over 200,000 Japanese died

Japan surrenders • September 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan surrenders • Emperor Hirohito didn’t want his people to suffer anymore.

MacArthur’s occupation • U.S. forces occupied Japan for 7 years after the war. • Helped rebuild their economy and established a democratic government. Their constitution is still called the “MacArthur constitution”

Yalta Conference • Before Roosevelt died, he met with Churchill and Stalin in the Soviet Union to discuss what would happen when Germany was defeated. • Germany was divided into four zones (U.S., British, French, Soviet) • United Nations created to replace the failed League of Nations

War in the Pacific