The Pacific Theater of World War II

1
The Pacific Theaterof World War II

• July 7th, 1937-August 14th, 1945

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The Pacific Ocean
Japan
Canada
China
USA
SE Asia
Australia
3
Prelude to War

• Japan seeks to establish The Greater East Asia
  Co-Prosperity Sphere
• a block of Asian nations led by the Japanese and
  free of Western powers
• Invasions of Manchuria and Korea follow
• Three political forces in Japan
• Emperor Hirohito
• Civilian Government
• Military branches
• The army informs the civilian govt of the
  Manchuria campaign two months after it begins.

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The Pacific War

• Dates July 7, 1937 - August 14, 1945
• Began with the Second Sino-Japanese war, between
  China and Japan
• Concluded with Japans surrender to the Allied
  powers

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Prewar
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1932
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1937
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1940
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1941
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Attack on Pearl Harbour
Dec 7, 1941. A day that will live in infamy
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Pearl Harbor
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Fleet Admiral Yamamoto
The US fleet is a dagger pointed at our throat
and must be destroyed. I can run wild for six
months, after that, I have no expectation of
success. - Yamamoto, during discussions on the
planned Pearl Harbor Attack
Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
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Japanese Aircraft
Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter
Nakajima B5N torpedo bomber
Aichi D3A dive bomber
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The Attack
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The Attack
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Aftermath
"Being saturated and satiated with emotion and
sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of
the saved and thankful.
- Winston Churchill
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1941
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1942
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The Battle Of Midway
June 4-7 1942 6 months after Pearl Harbor
Yamamoto seeks to capture Midway island and thus
confront and destroy the US Navys carrier forces.
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Midway Order of Battle
Japanese forces 4 carriers 7 battleships 150
support ships 248 carrier aircraft 16 floatplanes
US forces 3 carriers 50 support ships 233
carrier aircraft 127 land-based aircraft
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Plan of Attack
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The Battle of Midway

• The first major carrier vs. carrier engagement
• Decided by cryptanalysis, tactics, radar, pilot
  skill, weather, and luck.

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The Battle of Midway

• Scouts from the US fleet find the Japanese Fleet
  first
• A delayed scout means the Japanese fleet receives
  a warning of US carriers only minutes before the
  first US planes attack
• After losing many planes in ineffective strikes,
  US dive bombers manage to set three Japanese
  carriers on fire.
• A Japanese counterstrike does heavy damage to one
  US carrier
• Japanese battleships never see combat

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Bellringer- Day 2

• What day did the attack on Pearl Harbor occur?
• A. January 4, 1956 B. December 7, 1941
• What president went to Congress and asked for the
  declaration of war on Japan?
• What were the countries that cut Japan off from
  their resources with the ABCD encirclement?

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The Battle of Midway
Japanese forces 4 carriers, 4 lost 7
battleships, 0 lost 150 support ships, 1 cruiser
lost 264 aircraft, 228 lost 3058 dead
US forces 3 carriers, 1 lost 50 support ships,
1 destroyer lost 360 aircraft, 98 lost 307 dead
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1943-1944
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Strategic Bombing
B-29 Superfortress bombers
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Video- Battle of GuadalcanalAugust 7, 1942 US
Marines Land on Guadalcanal

• The Pacific-HBO
• The landing (635)
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vm71CY-ztCDA
• Shootout on Guadalcanal (1001)
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v_9GSgzQ9eCs

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Island-Hopping Warfare
American and Australian troops land in Borneo
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Island-Hopping Warfare
American Troops assaulting Iwo Jima
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Video- Iwo JimaFebruary-March 1945

• History Channel Shootout- Iwo Jima (959)
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vfYxlRc1PiM0

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1944-1945
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The Final Year

• The US retakes the Philippines in a long and
  costly campaign.
• Borneo, Iwo Jima and the Okinawa fall, with heavy
  losses on both sides.
• The military leadership of Japan refuses to give
  up, in spite of the loss of the bulk of their
  forces.
• An edict is issued, ordering civilians on the
  main Japanese islands to construct bamboo spears
  and meet the invaders on the beaches.
• US Bombers produce a firestorm in Tokyo, killing
  100,000 people in two days.
• The US, Britain and China issue the Potsdam
  Declaration, demanding Japans surrender.

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Nuclear Strikes
Aug 6, 1945. Uranium bomb Little Boy dropped
on Hiroshima, killing 140,000
Aug 9, 1945. Plutonium bomb Fat Man dropped on
Nagasaki, killing 74,000
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Japan Surrenders
Representatives of Japans Foreign Ministry, Army
and Navy appear to sign the surrender aboard USS
Missouri in Tokyo Bay
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The Cost

• 2,000,000 Japanese Soldiers dead
• 300,000 Allied Soldiers dead
• 600,000 - 1,000,000 Japanese civilians dead
• 11,000 American civilians dead
• 60,000 Korean civilians dead
• Mass devastation of Japanese infrastructure
• Indigenous people of north and western Pacific
  islands devastated by disease, cultural
  contamination, collateral damage, and atrocities.
• The list continues