Pacific Battles of World War II

Ms. Krall Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 • Planned by Prime • Interesting note! For Minister Hideki Tojo torpedoes to work in • Attack began at 7:55 shallow water, am. Two waves. wooden fins were • Total US casualties: used. 3581, 21 ships • US declares war on damaged. 12/8/1941

Pearl Harbor Speech Welcome Back!!!

• Bell Ringer: What • Agenda: Notes, Story was the Date of Pearl time! Harbor? What was • Objective: Through one example of the discussion and notes attack that you student will identify observed in major battles of the yesterday’s film clip? pacific and the fighting experience.

US Response-Doolittle Raid April 1942 • Known as “Tokyo • Object was to bomb Project” led by Col. Tokyo (16 pilots) and James Doolittle land in Nationalist • Outcome: 16 B-25’s China. lost. 7 injured, 3 • Considered a moral killed, 8 taken victory prisoner.

Strategy in the Pacific

• “Island Hopping” • Fighting the Japanese • Led by General and defeating them Douglas MacArthur- Island by Island. move north to • And Admiral Chester Australia through New Nimitz-move west Guinea and back to from Hawaii towards the Philippines. Japanese outposts in the Pacific.

Battle of Coral Sea May 4-8 1942 • Allied objective was to • First time Japanese stop Japanese advance had been advance towards stopped. Australia. • 543 American • Air battle (ships did casualties not fire upon each other) Battle of Midway June 3-6 1942 • US intercept • US causalities-one Japanese fleet trying carrier, one destroyer, to take Islands 150 planes, 307 men • First defeat for the • Japanese casualties- Japanese in the 4 carriers, 3 Pacific destroyers, 275 • Japanese never fully planes, 4,800 men recover.

Battle of Guadalcanal August 1942 • Located in the • Involved a total of Solomon Islands seven naval battles • First Allied offensive • Was Japan’s first (19,000 troops) defeat on land • Took six months for the Japanese to abandoned. • Called “island of Death” for its hand-to- hand combat. Philippine Campaign October 1944 - August 1945

• March 1942, after 3 • Due to large numbers, months in the Bataan many had to walk up to peninsula, MacArthur 60 miles to reach a rail evacuated the Philippines center for transport to (“I shall return” )which led prison. to Japanese control of the • Known as the Bataan Islands. death march. • 76,000 Filipino and • Over 5,200 US soldiers American soldiers died. became captive

Philippine Campaign Battle of Leyte Gulf • MacArthur returns in • Japanese use the September 1944 on tactic of the Kamikaze the island of Leyte. (“divine wind”.) • Ground fighting lasted • An attack where for 2 months Japanese pilots • Japanese tried to crashed their planes destroy landing by on suicide missions launching a massive into Allied ships attack by sea • Ends up a disaster for Japan-500 planes lost. Welcome Back! Bell Ringer…

• What was the name • What was the of the plan to retaliate outcome of the battle against the Japanese of Midway? for Pearl Harbor? • What was the • Explain the strategy in outcome of the battle the Pacific. of Coral Sea? • What tactic did the Japanese use in the battle of Leyte Gulf?

Article Questions…Bataan Death March • What was the root of • What was the Japanese brutality? purpose of the “Clean • Why was the account up squad?” of Lt. Colonel Dyess originally withheld from the public?

Battle of IWO JIMA Feb. 19-March 16 1945 IWO JIMA (Sulfur Island) • US needed island for • 22,000 Japanese an airbase (660 miles defended the island south of Tokyo .) building caves. • Many large cannons • Between December- were hidden on February 1945 US Mount Suribachi, a continually bombed volcano in the middle the island. of the island

IWO JIMA

• On Feb. 19th first wave of Marines land (total 30,000). Within four days Mt. Suribachi was taken. • Would take another month to secure the island. • 6,000 Marines died, only 200 Japanese survived. Okinawa April-June 1945 • Considered Japanese • 7,600 US soldiers die territory along with 110,000 • First time US invades Japanese. Japanese land • Give US a naval base • More than 1900 350 miles from Kamikazi planes used mainland Japan http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com

• Soldiers passing through “Death Valley” on Okinawa • Took 8 hours and 125 lives lost. Navajo Code Talkers

• Throughout the • 400 Navajo were Pacific campaign recruited into the Navajo language was Marine Corps. Duty used to secure was to transmit information from the telephone and radio Japanese messages.