Farthest Extent of Japanese Conquests

Farthest Extent of Japanese Conquests

Early WWII Battles in the Pacific

Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941) Japanese win Battle of the Philippines (Dec. 41)

Japanese win Doolittle’s Raid on Tokyo (Apr. 42) Little

damage inflicted – but a morale booster for the USA

Battle of the Coral Sea (May 42) No winner, but stopped Japan from invading Australia

Battle of Midway (June 42) Big US win Battle of Guadalcanal (Aug. 42) US win –

land victory using Navajo code-talkers

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Farthest Extent of Japanese Conquests

Farthest Extent of Japanese Conquests

The Philippines=Major U.S Colony

• Dec. 8, 1941--Japan attacks British, Dutch and American forces in the Pacific

• For over a month, Japanese troop push American and Filipino troops back

• Take Manila in Jan. 1942 U.S. forced out of S.E. Asia

• MacArthur leader of troops leaves in Feb. • Vows to return again

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“I shall return”3

Doolittle’s Raid on Tokyo

• Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle led 16 bombers in an attack on Tokyo and other cities – April 1942

• Attack did little damage, but boosted America’s morale by showing Japan we would fight back

Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle 4

Battle of Coral Sea

Off the coast of Australia

Completely an aerial battle between planes launched from carriers (first time in history)

No clear winner in the battle – but the U.S. did block the invasion of Australia – our ally

Plane-to-plane combat at the Battle of Coral Sea. This was the first ‘completely aerial’

battle ever

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Battle of Midway Island:June 4-6, 1942

Battle of Midway Island:June 4-6, 1942

Battle of Midway

Naval battle around Midway Island in the Central Pacific

U.S. destroyed 4 Japanese carriers and 250 planes

Turning point in the war First major US victory

American Dive Bomber in action at the Battle of Midway – June 1942

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Battle of Guadalcanal August 1942 –

Americans win first major LAND victory on the island of Guadalcanal

U.S. used Navajo Indians as “Code-talkers”

Helped the U.S. communicate safely without the Japanese translating our messages A Navajo “Code-Talker” in

action

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The Navajo Language

Only about 25 non-Navajo people in the entire world could speak the language

Made up words for terms that didn’t exist in their language (names of birds meant “airplanes” and the word “egg” actually meant “bomb”)

Guadalcanal

Aug. 1942 South Pacific Battle that the U.S.S. Yorktown was

sunk Stopped the Japanese Began island hopping campaign Secures most of the far South Pacific

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Island Hopping

• A term used to describe the fighting in the Pacific

• U.S. and Japan would go from island to island fighting for control

• Japan controlled most of the islands in the Pacific

• U.S. picked strategic islands to fight for--Why?

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Japanese “Kamikazes”

Japanese suicide pilots

Filled planes full of explosives and crashed them into Allied warships

Often were inexperienced pilots with outdated equipment

Kamikaze attack on a U.S. aircraft carrier

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Japanese Kamikaze Planes:

The Scourge of the South Pacific

Japanese Kamikaze Planes:

The Scourge of the South Pacific

Kamikaze Pilots

Suicide Bombers

They had long lost aerial dominance due to outdated aircraft and the loss of experienced pilots. On a macroeconomic scale, Japan experienced a decreasing capacity to wage war, and a rapidly declining industrial capacity relative to the United States.

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BANZAI !!!

• Although kamikaze was the most common and best-known form of Japanese suicide attack during World War II, they were similar to the "banzai charge" used by Japanese infantrymen (foot soldiers). The main difference between kamikaze and banzai is that death was inherent to the success of a kamikaze attack, whereas a banzai charge was only potentially fatal — that is, the infantrymen hoped to survive but did not expect to

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WHY ?

• ." Many of the kamikaze pilots believed their death would pay the debt they owed and show the love they had for their families, friends, and emperor. "So eager were many minimally trained pilots to take part in suicide missions that when their sorties were delayed or aborted, the pilots became deeply despondent. Many of those who were selected for a bodycrashing mission were described as being extraordinarily blissful immediately before their final sortie

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How Successful were The Kamikazees ?

• According to a U.S Air Force webpage:

• Approximately 2,800 Kamikaze attackers sunk 34 Navy ships, damaged 368 others, killed 4,900 sailors, and wounded over 4,800. Despite radar detection and cuing, airborne interception and attrition, and massive anti-aircraft barrages, a distressing 14 percent of Kamikazes survived to score a hit on a ship; nearly 8.5 percent of all ships hit by Kamikazes sank.[30]

Gen. MacArthur “Returns” to the

Philippines! [1944]

Gen. MacArthur “Returns” to the

Philippines! [1944]

Battle of Okinawa

Japanese defend island fiercely

Last hurdle before U.S. would invade Japan

Mass-suicide by Japanese started to make the U.S. wonder – “will they ever surrender?”

US Marines on Mt. Surbachi,

Iwo Jima [Feb. 19, 1945]

US Marines on Mt. Surbachi,

Iwo Jima [Feb. 19, 1945]

Southeast Asia Campaign

• U.S. troops in Vietnam• There to help locals fight the

Japanese• Also, ran bombing runs to bomb

Japanese positions in China• Vietnamese helped U.S. to

retrieve down airmen.US. and Vietnam fought together.Later in history they were enemies

• Helped Ho Chi Minh gain notoriety in region, remember this name!

The Manhattan Project

U.S. feared that an invasion of Japan would result in 200,000 American casualties – and perhaps 1-2 million Japanese casualties

U.S. considers using an “Atomic Bomb” to end the war quickly

Bomb had been developed as part of the “Manhattan Project” since 1942

Manhattan Project

A completely secret plan to develop the atom bomb

The Vice-President did not even know of the project