Battle of Midway and Guadalcanal Japanese Possessions 6
Battle of Midway and Guadalcanal
Japanese Possessions 6 December 1941
Japanese Possessions 1 August 1942
How Long Did It Last? The Battle of Midway lasted from June 3 -6, 1942
Description of Battle A naval battle that was fought around the Midway Islands on the Pacific Japan was on the offensive Planned to capture Midway as an advance base and entrap and destroy U. S. Pacific Fleet
Description of Battle continued… U. S. Pacific Fleet surprised Japan by sinking 4 of Japan’s carriers that had attacked Pearl Harbor 6 months before After Americans and allies took the offensive.
Events Leading Up to Battle One month after the battle of the Coral Sea 6 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard worked around the clock to repair everything and get ready for another battle Japan suffered losses of ships that needed replacing due to the participation of the Battle of the Coral Sea
Goals for Japan • Eliminate the U. S. as a strategic power in the Pacific • Knock the U. S. out of the Pacific War • Lure U. S. aircraft carriers into a trap -They thought this could work from previous mistakes by the U. S.
Goals for the U. S. • They had a chance to redeem themselves -They proved the Japanese wrong -American code breakers were able to determine the date and location of the attack -They were able to warn the U. S. Navy and they set up an ambush of their own
Losses of Japan • 3, 057 Japanese died • 4 sunken carriers • Total of 2, 181 casualties • 2 heavy cruisers • Total of 792 casualties • Floatplanes were also lost
Outcome of War The U. S. Navy won Japanese public were kept in the dark after their defeat Japanese navy realized they need to change after what happened in battle As a result, Japanese naval air groups declined overall quality during the war After the war, Japanese continued to try to advance in the S. Pacific with their new adjustments
Battle of Midway Japanese Objectives: óCapture Midway óUse Midway to launch air strikes on Pearl Harbor óEliminate the bombing threat to the home islands óLure the remnants of the U. S. Pacific Fleet into battle and destroy it
Results of Midway: Tactical Victory for United States óU. S. lost fleet carrier Yorktown óJapanese lost fleet carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu and heavy cruiser Mikuma óHeavy cruiser Mogami seriously damaged Strategic Victory for United States óEnded Japanese naval supremacy in the Pacific óProved to be the turning point in the Pacific war óGave the United States the strategic initiative
NEW U. S. STRATEGY Japanese Islands óThe Japanese had firm control of hundreds of islands in the Pacific óTo attack each would take a tremendous amount of time and cost many lives Island Hopping óGeneral Douglas Mac. Arthur decides to “hop” from one island to another attacking certain ones óHopes this will cut off the islands from Japanese reinforcements ó 1 st target: Guadalcanal
BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL Guadalcanal ó Japan was planning on making it a huge air base ó Called “Island of Death” by Japan ó Allies (U. S. & Australia) need to attack before that happens Battle of Guadalcanal ó Mac. Arthur attacks and Allies easily take control of the air base ó Battle become brutal after that ó Six months of fighting later, the Japanese abandoned the island having lost 24, 000 soldiers
The Battle of Guadalcanal A 1942 -1943 battle in which Allied troops drove Japanese forces from the Japanese island of Guadalcanal Battle lasted for 6 months and was fought on both the land at sea After losing more than 24, 000 out of 36, 000 troops, the Japanese abandoned the “Island of Death” ó Hell was red furry spiders as big as your fist…enormous rats and bats everywhere, and rivers with waiting crocodiles. Hell was the sour, foul smell of the squishy jungle, humidity that rotted a body within hours…Hell was an enemy…so fanatic that it used its own dead as booby traps.
- Slides: 16