War in the Pacific Island Hopping Campaign seizing

War in the Pacific

� Island Hopping Campaign – seizing islands closer and closer to Japan and using them as bases for air attacks on Japan and cutting off Japanese supplies through submarine warfare against Japanese shipping

� Following Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded the Philippines and Indonesia and planned to invade both Hawaii and Australia � Japanese leaders hoped America would accept Japanese predominance in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, rather than conduct a bloody and costly war to reverse Japanese gains

� American warships and airplanes damaged 2 Japanese fleets during the battles of Coral Sea and Midway weakened Japanese naval power and stopped the Japanese advance toward Hawaii http: //www. ijnafphotos. com/jbw 1. htm

� � � American strategy to win World War II in the Pacific Capture a few strategic Japanese-held islands and isolating the rest Began with Guadalcanal

Mac. Arthur began to retake the Philippines

Part of the Island Hopping Campaign Americans suffered heavy casualties (6, 800 Americans died)

� "Bloodiest island fight in the Pacific War" � 12, 000 Americans died � By capturing Okinawa, Americans gained more airbases for raids against Japan (began bombing Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka)

New Mexico U. S. successfully tested the first atomic bomb (Manhattan Project plans to build the first atomic bomb)

Atomic Bomb dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima

Japan surrendered V-J Day (Victory in Japan Day)