The War in the Pacific

Name______Class______Date______World War II Lesson 6 The War in the Pacific

Key Terms and People Douglas MacArthur American commander in the Philippines Bataan Death March Forced march of captured American and Filipino troops Chester Nimitz Commander of American naval forces in the Pacific Battle of Midway American victory that was the turning point in the Pacific War Island hopping Allies’ method of combining land, sea, and air forces to capture and secure islands kamikaze Japanese suicide flight

Before You Read In the last lesson you saw how the Allies made progress on the European front. In this lesson you will see how the Allies defeated Japan in the Pacific.

As You Read Use a chart to take notes on military actions in the Pacific and their significance.

A SLOW START FOR THE ALLIES to the Bataan Peninsula. Once there, Why were the early attacks by the supplies were short and no help came Japanese so successful? from U.S. officials. The troops fought In the first six months after Pearl for four months, but many died from Harbor, the Japanese military had great hunger, disease, and bombing attacks. success. They conquered huge areas of With the loss of many men, President the Asian mainland and many islands in Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to leave. the Pacific. The Allies were shocked by MacArthur left the Philippines but told Japan’s success. They had people left behind, “I shall return.” underestimated the skill and training of After MacArthur’s departure, the Japanese soldiers. soldiers who were left were captured. In December 1941 the Japanese Their suffering really began in what invaded the Philippines. At the time, the came to be called the Bataan Death American army in the Philippines was March. Prisoners were forced to journey under the command of General Douglas for five days and nights with little food MacArthur. He led a small force of or water. Those who could not continue American and Filipino soldiers. They were beaten or shot. Thousands died. were no match for the 200,000 Japanese. Those who survived were put in In March 1942 MacArthur retreated Japanese prison camps. In these camps,

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 192 Guided Reading Workbook Name______Class______Date______Lesson 6, continued with lack of food and medicine, Islands beginning with Guadalcanal. hundreds more died. Troops led by returning General 1. What was the significance of the MacArthur stormed Guadalcanal in loss of the Philippines? August 1942. This marked Japan’s first defeat on land. However, with all the islands the Japanese still controlled, the United States knew it would be costly and take a long time to attack them all. So FORTUNES SHIFT IN THE PACIFIC instead, they began island hopping. They What was so important about the avoided well-defended islands. Bases Battle of Midway? were built on captured islands from After the defeat in the Philippines, the which future military actions could take United States started to fight back place. against Japan. In the spring of 1942, Lt. In addition, the United States began Colonel James Doolittle led a bombing using Native Americans of the Navajo raid on Tokyo. Soon after, the U.S. Navy nation as code talkers. Using a coded defeated the Japanese at the Battle of version of their language, they Coral Sea, which ended Japan’s threat to transmitted messages that the Japanese invade Australia. could not figure out. Then, in June 1942 the Japanese In October 1944, led by MacArthur headed toward Midway, an island once again, Americans landed on the northwest of Hawaii. American forces island of Leyte in the Philippines. The broke the Japanese code and knew Japanese launched kamikaze raids. In Midway was Japan’s next target and the these suicide attacks, Japanese pilots date of the planned attack. Admiral crashed their bomb-laden planes into Chester Nimitz, commander of Allied ships. Despite the damage done American naval forces in the Pacific, by kamikazes, Japan lost so many ships defended the island. He and his forces in the Battle of Leyte Gulf that the destroyed four aircraft carriers, a cruiser, Japanese navy was essentially knocked and 250 planes. The Battle of Midway out of the war. was a turning point in the Pacific War MacArthur and his troops next took because it crippled the Japanese navy. the island of Iwo Jima, which was 2. Why was the Battle of Midway important to the United States because important? it became a base to launch bombers that might reach Japan. In addition, thousands of Japanese troops were in tunnels and caves here. Okinawa was the major obstacle that stood between the Allies and Japan. THE ALLIES GO ON When MacArthur and the U.S. marines THE OFFENSIVE invaded the island, the Japanese used What were the important battles more than 1,900 kamikaze attacks. On in the Pacific? land, a fierce battle raged. Okinawa was American forces turned their efforts Japan’s last defensive outpost. The toward winning control of the Solomon Americans finally won on June 22, 1945,

but it cost 7,600 American lives. Japan 3. Why was the Battle of Leyte Gulf so lost 110,000 men including two generals. important? The Allies feared the human cost of invading Japan.

Explain what made each event a critical moment or turning point in the war.

The War in the Pacific Date and Place Leader Involved What happened? 1. April 1942, Bataan

2. June 1942, Midway

3. August 1942, Guadalcanal

4. October 1944, Leyte Gulf

5. March 1945, Iwo Jima

6. June 1945, Okinawa