Victory in the Pacific
HS724
Activity Introduction
Hi I’m (name) and today we’re gonna talk about how World War Two continued on into
the Pacific.
Once we were finished up in Europe it was time for Allied forces to turn their attention to
another part of the globe.
Things were already heating up in the Pacific and the action was about to get much
more intense.
Video 1 - Introduction
After the Battle of Midway the Allies put an end to Japanese expansion in the Pacific
and began a counteroffensive against the eastern Axis powers.
This meant that Japan was now fending off attacks by the Allied powers instead of the
other way around.
Watch this video and find out exactly how the Allies attempted to take back the Pacific
from the Japanese.
Video 1
The Southwest and Central prongs of the U.S. advances across the Pacific met after
the Invasions of the Philippines and Okinawa. The next step was the main Japanese
Islands, but it would be no easy task. After losing most of the Pacific, Japan could not
provide adequate air defenses against U.S. bombing. Huge areas of its main cities
were destroyed in massive fires set off by incendiary bombs. Great areas of Tokyo
residential areas were burnt.
The military, which dominated the Japanese government, chose to die with honor,
rather than surrender. Since the U.S. was able to shift its entire efforts towards the
defeat of Japan after the surrender of Germany in May of 1945, these military leaders
were expecting the U.S. to invade the Islands of Japan. However, the Japanese still
refused to contemplate surrender, turning down repeated proposals to end the war.
They even began training an army, civilians sometimes with sharpened sticks to repel
the invaders.
Just as the Japanese had suspected, the United States was planning an assault on
their homelands. The operation would’ve been more than twice as big as the D Day
Landing, placing more than 600,000 men on shore. It is impossible to estimate how
many soldiers and civilians would’ve been killed in the invasion. American planners
estimated that an assault of Japan’s southern main island could’ve resulted in losses of
250,000 men or more. However, the United States developed the atomic bomb in 1945
and after the successful test of it, President Truman ordered it used on Japan.
The United States had only two A bombs available in 1945. It may have taken more
than a year to manufacture another bomb, so these attempts had to work. The cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen as targets because they had been left
undisturbed during previous bombardments. Their destruction only by the A bomb
would allow scientists to better understand the damage the bombs were capable of.
The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945 by a B29 named the
Enola Gay. The bomb was named Little Boy. The second bomb was dropped on
Nagasaki on August 9th by a plane called Boxcar. The bomb was named Fat Man.
Thousands of people were immediately vaporized by the bombs, meaning they just
simply disappeared. Thousands more died later of burns and radiation poisoning.
The Japanese high command refused to surrender even after the first atomic bomb was
dropped, hoping to continue the war. Emperor Hirohito stepped in to bring the war to a
close. He told the Japanese people that they must bear the unbearable-that is,
occupation by the United States. Japanese leaders asked for an end to hostilities two
days after the second bomb was dropped. Japan officially surrendered aboard the
U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Harbor on September 2nd, 1945. However, August 15th,
1945 is traditionally considered V-J, victory over Japan Day.
The terms of the U.S. occupation of Japan were as follows. Japan was allowed to keep
its Emperor and occupation forces under the command of Douglas MacArthur instituted
democratic reforms, including the writing of a new Constitution. World War Two was
finally, completely over, but what was the world to do now? Some estimates say that
around 60 million people died between the soldiers on the battlefield, civilians from
starvation and disease and of course, all those who were murdered in Nazi
concentration camps. There were only two countries left that had any power, the U.S.
and the U.S.S.R. And although they had been allies, they had very different opinions
about government. Would they continue to work together?
Video 1 – Recap
The Allies really turned things around in the Pacific after Midway. They successfully
launched attacks on the islands of New Guinea, Iwo Jima, and the Philippines… just to
name a few. What a comeback!
How about that General MacArthur? He really wasn’t kidding when he told the people of
the Philippines “I shall return.”
His invasion was nearly as big as D-day. The Battle of Philippines left the Japanese
Imperial Navy
almost completely destroyed!
Reading Passage Introduction
O.K. Let’s take a little break from discussing the fighting abroad and look at some warrelated developments in the United States.
More specifically the development of atomic weapons. You see, they’re going to play a
big role in the war with Japan.
So read the following passage and find out how scientists in the U.S. brought about the
atomic bomb!
Reading Passage Introduction
Even now, over sixty years after the United States dropped the atomic bomb, the
debate continues as to whether or not President Truman made the right decision.
At the time, Truman was faced with two options: to get Japan to surrender or use the
atomic bomb to end the war.
Read the following passage to find out how he came to his conclusion and why it’s still
debated.
Video 2 - Introduction
On August sixth, nineteen-forty-five, the United States B-twenty-nine bomber, the Enola
Gay, dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan.
This event would not only change the course of the war, but change the course of world
events from that point on.
Watch this video and find out more on the dropping of the atomic bomb and the end of
World War Two.
Video 2
After the defeat at Midway, Japan could no longer conduct offensive operations. The
imperial high command turned to defending the islands it already controlled in the hopes
of making the cost of continuing the war too difficult for the allies. The Japanese hoped
that a negotiated peace, instead of a full military defeat would allow them to keep some
of their gains. The allies, however, had other plans in mind. So first let’s look at the
allies’ plans in the Southwest Pacific.
The U.S. and her allies decided to conduct a two pronged attack. Douglas MacArthur
would lead the push up through New Guinea to the Philippines. Chester Nimitz would
conduct amphibious assaults, meaning assaults by land and water from the Gilbert
Islands to the Island of Iwo Jima. MacArthur began by fighting across New Guinea and
the Northern Solomon Islands.
The Battle for New Guinea was fought in some of the thickest jungles in the world and
lasted almost six months from November, 1942 to April, 1943. After 1942, Japanese
naval and air commands were unable to resupply New Guinea and the Northern
Solomons with enough food and weapons. The allies were able to out supply and
outgun the Japanese defenders. After the fall of New Guinea, the Japanese fleet
withdrew to Truk Island. This left the South Pacific virtually free of any Japanese
presence. The Invasion of the Philippines was huge, comparable in size to the D Day
invasion of France. And it was there that the remaining parts of the Japanese fleet were
destroyed. After the fall of the Philippines, the Japanese no longer had an effective
naval fighting force, and this left the southern route to the main Japanese Islands
unprotected. Therefore, Japan was open to invasion by the U.S. and began to prepare
for it.
Meanwhile, in the Central Pacific, the U.S. naval, air and ground forces continued to
grow. More than 20 fleet carriers were added in 1943 and 1944. The third and fifth
fleets utilized an armada of fast aircraft carriers that made them the best air force in the
Pacific. The U.S. submarine fleet devastated Japanese commercial shipping, which
meant that Japan could not replace its losses of men or materials. Japanese controlled
outposts continued on without hope of relief or resupply, since the U.S. would not allow
Japan to send them more supplies. Almost every time the allies fought on these other
islands, Japanese soldiers chose to fight until the last man was killed.
Now, the amphibious assaults by the U.S. did not go very well at first. Poor planning
and inappropriate equipment gave the allies trouble early on. However, U.S. planners
learned from their mistakes and improved the machinery and techniques used in the
assaults. Here are a few of the more important battles. The Battle of the Philippine
Sea, during the Invasion of the Marianas destroyed the last effective Japanese naval
and air forces in the Central Pacific. The Battle for Okinawa witnessed the first
widespread use of suicide attacks by the Japanese. Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest
battles ever fought by the U.S. Marine Corps, but in the end, the allies would reign
victorious. The famous picture of Marines pushing up the U.S. flag came from this
battle. As a result of these ally victories, several things happened. Japan lost most of
her naval aviation force at the Battle of the Philippine Sea. U.S. B29’s could bomb the
main islands of Japan from bases in the Marianas. U.S. carrier forces could roam the
Central Pacific at will, bombing the main islands and attacking isolated Japanese bases.
After all of this, Japan was faced with disaster, but refused to even think about
surrender. Instead, it prepared to make the invasion of the homeland as costly as
possible for the invaders. Following the lead of the Kamikaze pilots, it was believed that
the nation was ready to fight to the death.
Video 2 - Recap
World War Two was fought on a massive scale. It’s hard to imagine that it was
responsible for the estimated deaths of over sixty million people!
And although the Allies prevailed, the victory celebration was short-lived for the events
that followed World War Two would pose a set of challenges unlike any other in United
States history.