Ch 14 World War II 1930 1945 Sec

Ch. 14: World War II, 1930 -1945 Sec. 2: The Allied Response Pacific Theatre

The Early Years after Pearl Harbor �Followed by string of Japanese victories Singapore, Hong Kong, Burma, several pacific islands, and the Philippines fell in April, 1942 �The Bataan Death March Japanese forced 70, 000 American & Filipino POWs to march up Bataan Peninsula to distant prison camp Tropical heat, starvation, lack of water, and brutal treatment resulted in 600 American deaths; thousands more died while at the prison camp

Bataan POWs

Pacific Battles, 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea (May, 1942) � Japanese plan to attack British in New Guinea (Northeast of Australia) � Allies attack Japan first; both lose a carrier but 1 st time Japan had been stopped Battle of Midway (June, 1942) � Japanese hoped to capture U. S. base at Midway Island lure U. S. navy into sea battle � Although U. S. outnumbered, it had broken Japanese code so was able to plan defense in advance � Tremendous U. S. victory as they sunk 4 Japanese carriers while losing only one; turning pt. of war in Pacific

Island Hopping or Leapfrogging U. S. followed strategy known as leapfrogging �Took weaker islands while skipping over Japanese strongholds, moving ever closer to Japan itself �Cut off from its supply routes, the strongholds would eventually fall on their own 1942 -’ 44: US Marines fought series of death struggles with Japanese forces entrenched on island fortresses �Guadalcanal; the Solomon, Gilbert, Marshall, Caroline, and Mariana Islands

By 1944, Japan’s Navy in Retreat Battle of Leyte Gulf- October, 1944 �Largest naval battle ever in history of world �First major battle in U. S. ’s attempt to retake the Philippines �Japanese 1 st use of kamikazes, sinking tons of Allied ships but failing to win the battle �It would still take several more months of war to defeat Japan, but her control of the Pacific had come to an end