Warinfo
The 2nd World War, in all its briefness.
The Pacific Theatre
7th December 1941 to 2nd September 1945
The Pacific Theatre of war is considered to be a considerably important theatre as its foundations decided upon the fait of America and Eastern Asia. This theatre's main belligerents were Imperial Japan, America, Australia and part of the British Empire - who controlled Hong Kong, India and Malaya.
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On this page, you can learn about major battles, events, decisions and facts made during this critical time.
Background
The lead up to Operation Hawaii, step by step.
The United States oficially entered the 2nd World War on the 8th of December 1941, with members of congress voting yes for war with Japan and Germany after the infamous Operation Hawaii, the attack of Pearl Harbour by Japanese forces. But a question arises in one's mind as what made Japan so dire enough to attack an industrial global superpower with whom they were allies with in the 1st World War. Lets find out.
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Picture above : Aerial bomb hitting the USS Arizona BB-39 docked at Battleship Row, Pearl Harbour.
1) Japan in isolation
Samurai Japan was the stereotypical east-asian country that anyone would have thought during the mid-1800s. The country had isolated itself from other western powers' trade until the Americans had come to Japan and imposed the "trade or war" treaty which Japan had called "unfair treaties imposed by the west". All would go well for Japan in this era of time and in 1868, after the Meiji-restoration, Japan had become more industrialized like other western powers. However, the era of trade with the Americans and other western powers wasn't as well as you would think it was. Due to financial and economical differences, Japan's economy was getting smaller and smaller, more closer to a financial crisis. What was worse was that Japan had no natural resources and did not profit as much from the trade but also had a close-to-banckrupt economy. It was clear there was only one way out of this desperate position and that was to go to neighboring mainland Asia, Korea, and get some resources.
2) The Russo - Japanese War and initial expansions into Eastern Asia
The Russo-Japanese war and the annexation of Korea.
In 1904, after a series of growing concerns concerning the now mighty industrialised Japan and Empire of Russia about the Manchuria area, which Russia had asserted control over at the time and the Boxer rebellion, a protest against European settlers in Japan, which Russia had used as an excuse to station her troops there at the time though she wanted to march troops through Manchuria to get to Korea, the Imperial Japanese navy, at the height of their tensions with the Empire of Japan, attacked Port Arthur Naval Base in modern day Vladivostock. This was the start of the Russo-Japanese war which lasted between 1904 and 1905 and had resulted in a crippling defeat for the Empire of Russia. This had astonished the western (European) powers and ended with the Treaty of Portsmouth which was signed at the Portsmouth Naval Yard in Maine, US with president Franklin D Roosevelt as mediator of the treaty. After this, Japan was given authority to the Liaodong Peninsula and Southern Manchuria and Korea.
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Japan is probably at a good enough stage now with control. of the South Manchuria railway and Korea, one would think, in World War 1 Japan, who was on the side of the British, French and American forces had also used the factor of Germany being an enemy to take away their colonies in the Pacific thus expanding their empire. All went well until 1929, when the great depression hit. This was shambolic for the Japanese as they became more and more reliant on foreign exports to keep their military up to scratch. And again, Japan had still been not very self-reliant on their own in terms of Natural resources as said before and marched into the rest of Manchuria in 1931. Though this act was totally against the League of Nation's rules, no actions were taken and this act triggered an escalation of tensions with Western powers though they were not the first to break the rules of the treaty as later on in 1936, Italy would take Abyssinia with again no action taken.
3) The last straw - Oil embargo, Nanking Massacre and Operation Hawaii.
The straw that broke the camel's back.
As said before in the previous section, Japan had made their empire in Eastern Asia, now taking Manchuria as a whole. At present their empire looked a bit like the picture below. Their empire consisted of Manchuria, Machukako, Taiwan, The Kuril islands, Korea as well as Germany's ex-pre-World War 1 colonies such as the Carolines and Samoa.
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To Emperor Hirohito though, this was not a large enough sphere of influence and he wanted to expand Japan's reach in the East of Asia as well as the South Pacific. In 1937, the Marco-Polo bridge incident in Manchuria which was a fabricated exchange of gunfire between Chinese and Japanese troops had led to the Sino-Japanese wars in which Japan had swept through China through the Yangtze Valley, Shanghai, Guazongh and then advanced to the then capital of the Republic of China, Nanking. The bloody Battle for Nanking, which lasted between the 9th of October 1937 and the 31st of January 1938 for a gruesome 6 months and finally, by the end of January, the Imperial Japanese troops managed to make a break through the Nanking defences and expressed the frustration of longness of the conquest of Nanking on the civilians. The Nanking Massacre occurred between the 13th of December 1937 and January 1938. The United States, who was in a close alliance with the Chinese forces there would watch uneasily from the sidelines as the atrocities towards the Chinese people were unfolded step by step. it was at this point that Franklin Roosevelt, the sitting president at the time had issued a trade embargo that would not be lifted until the Japanese forces had resumed their empire of Korea, Taiwan, etc. On the 26th of July 1941, the trade embargo was issued and this would be an absolute disaster for Japan.
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The 1941 trade embargo was so bad because Japan, who had become quite reliant on international exports as said before with 80% coming from overseas, would have their military expansion stop in just 2 years at the rate of fuel consumption at the time. However, Japan wasn't in what you would say "fully doomed" as just south of their current territory were the East Indies, modern day Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Papua new Guinea and Borneo, though heavily colonized by other European superpowers such as the Dutch mainly, British, French - of who's territories of Indo-China were taken by Japan recently and Portugal. You would think making a dash for this "treasure" was a good idea but geography had cursed them. on the way down south to the East Indies lay the Philippines, a US territory which was heavily colonized. There was no way Japan could fund a war with the US due to economical reasons and either way, the US would have no trouble fighting the Japanese as their industrial might was nowhere near that of the US's.
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Well, there is not much left to say, under the planning of Isoroku Yamamoto, codenamed Operation Hawaii the Kido Butai strike force attacked Pearl Harbour Naval Bases in Hawaii, hoping to cripple the the unprepared Pacific fleet which had moved to Hawaii following rising tensions recently. Hoping to gain an upper hand in the Asian conquest, the bombers and torpedo bombers failed to destroy fuel storage facilities, repair facilities, the submarine base and most importantly aircraft carriers, which would prove to be more lethal to Japanese warships than the high priority battleships.
Major Events: The attack on Pearl Harbour - "The day that would live in infamy"
The picture below shows the legendary battleship Arizona being sunk after a bomb hit her ammunition mag. This photograph was captured on the 7th December 1941, when imperial Japanese Forces attacked the US Pacific Naval base stationed at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. On the morning of Sunday, 7th December 1941, the Kido Butai Strikeforce was sent to Hawaii to attack Pearl Harbour. The strikeforce consisted of 6 carriers. The attack of Pearl Harbour took the lives of 2403 American Marines, 18 warships that were sunk or run aground, including 5 battleships and 169 marine and army warplanes.
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Why?
The Imperial Japanese Armed forces were in a real struggle after the 1800s, they had a desperate need for natural resources and so went to war with China to go and get some. This campaign went well and they continued this push until America had chosen to involve. As the push into China was a hard one, the Japanese had chosen to massacre the people of Nanking, the then capital, to be recognised today as The Nanking Massacre, in which 50,000 to 300,000 people had lost their lives. America would watch uneasily from the sidelines and issued an oil embargo on Japan, but it would be lifted if they resumed back to their original empire. No problem, the Japanese would just get oil from the Dutch East Indies, but it really wasn't that easy. Geography had cursed them as The Philippines, a major US colony, could be used as a base to attack and disturb The Expansion. Secondly, the Pacific fleet had been re-stationed at Pearl Harbour to almost warn Japan. So the tide was set and Japan went ahead to try and crush the American fleet which would make expansion easier.
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Mistakes
The attack victory was short lived as Japan had failed to deliver the major blows on repair Facilities, oil storages depots and most importantly, Aircraft carriers; as none of the carriers were in dock that day, none were destroyed. Though they were not the main attack priority (which were battleships) they would proven to impose a much more bigger threat to the Empire than that of the Battleships.
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The Battle of Wake Island
The Battle of Wake Island took place between the 8th of December and 23rd of December 1941. The battle's main objective was to capture the newly assigned US naval airbase on Wake Atoll as it would provide a decent foothold for a Pacific war with the Americans.
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After the execution of Order 8682, the moving of the US Pacific fleet from San Diego to Oahu, Hawaii, as said before, more minute military bases were constructed in the Pacific in hopes to dissuade Japanese expansion. One of the minute military bases was Wake Atoll, about 2,000 miles away from Pearl Harbour and a mere 600 miles away from the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
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Though this airbase wasn't a major one in the Pacific, it was still armed with 12 Wildcat fighters for self defence. During the 7th of December raiding of Pearl Harbour, the next day, when the United States had formally entered the War, a fierce bombardment of the island from airbases in the Marshall Islands had started leading up to the 11th.
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However, early that day, a Japanese invasion fleet consisting of 6 destroyers, 2 troop carriers and 3 light cruisers were closing in onto the islands shore. Though the repelling of the Japanese bombers with anti-aircraft artillery had been successful, the coastal bombardment would not be so as the more decisive end of the battle would now play out.
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After a fierce sea to island artillery bombardment, wave after wave, troops would pour out onto the island's beaches with the island's marines desperately firing away at the coming Japanese soldiers. By the 23rd of December, the weakly defended island's troops would be outnumbered and with the Japanese military superiority the island fell to Japanese hands. The island would be held by the Japanese for the durationof the war until the Americans managed to reach closer and closer to the homeland islands in which many Overseas Territories of the United States were liberated.
The Battle of Malaya
Japanese occupation of the British-held Malaya, East Indies
The Battle of Malaya was the Japanese occupation of the British held Malaya, modern day Singapore in the East Indies, on part of the East Indian campaign. This was one step to the goal of achieving economic independence and getting a much more larger amount of oil to power the Japanese military in their expansion of East Asia. On the 8th of December 1941, a day after the infamous attack on Pearl harbour by Japanese forces, the Imperial Japanese army swept to take the American held Philippines, The Marshall and Gilbert Islands, Wake Atoll and Guam and many more smaller islands in the Pacific. Malaya was one of many of these premeditated lands to take because as well as 40% of the worlds oil and 60% of the World's tin, Malaya would also stage an appropriate and stable platform to launch attacks into the East Indies, to get more oil and natural resources.
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As Britain had already seen the rise in tensions between the Empire of Japan and the United States, they had already re-enforced their troops from the Commonwealth in areas closer to Japanese-held territories such as on the borders of India, Malaya as we will talk about and many more. On the 6th of December the invasion task force consisting of Amphibious assault ships and other surface warships left the coasts of Indo - China and headed towards the coasts of Malaya under the command of General Yamashita, though the task force was picked up by British reconnaissance planes, bad weather had provided the Japanese invaders with a window of time.
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The Battle for Malaya had started. The Japanese 5th XX Corps, 18th XX Corps and 56th and 18th III Corps landed on the shores of Thailand and Malaya. After making an agreement with the Thai officials, so that troops could be marched through Thailand to get to Malaya, landings on Kota Bharu, on Malayan soil, met with fierce resistance from inexperienced Australian and Indian divisions but nevertheless, Japanese forces managed to push through and advance deeper into Malaya.
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On the 8th of December 1941, a day after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the Japanese sent the first air raid on the City of Singapore with help from Thai airfields to launch and refuel the Japanese planes.
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The next few months would result in bloody fighting between Japanese and British Commonwealth troops and month by month, battle by battle the Japanese slowly squeezed the British out of Malaya creating a stable platform to launch attacks on the oil-rich haven of the East Indies. The fall of Singapore, marking the end of the British rule in Malaya for the duration of the 2nd World War. The loss of Malaya is to date considered one of the most humiliating military defeats for the British in their history. In Japan, it is considered to be one of the mist successful military campaigns ever, The Malayan Campaign.
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By the end of the Malayan campaign, The Battle of Malaya, ending in one of the most disastrous defeats for the Allied forces in South-East asia, saw the casualties of 145,703 British and commonwealth troops. The Battle also saw the sinking of the HMS King George V and HMS Repulse were also sunk due to a lack of air cover by Japanese long-range bombers.
The Battle of Coral Sea: The Battle that saved Australia
The Battle of the Coral sea was a key, major battle that took part in the Pacific Theatre of World War 2 north of Australia in the Coral Sea area. This decisive battle would decide the fate of Australia and also made its mark in history as the first aircraft carrier battle to take place. As neither side had mastered the art of carrier warfare yet, it would take long for them to track the carriers, thus many mistakes were made along the way.
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On the 7th of December 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbour, the US Pacific fleet was down but not out. Although the Japanese managed to strike blows on the battleships, cruisers, destroyers, they failed to deliver the decisive blow on the American aircraft carriers. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto draws up plans to lure these aircraft carriers and sink them. Yamamoto plans to make invasion on the Island of Timor, north of Australia as well as the today capital of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby. Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue, commander of the 4th IJN Fleet, also known as the south seas fleet, would lead the MO Striking force, which would strike Port Moresby. However, little did the Japanese commanders know that the American intelligence officers were listening in on every plan of the Japanese navy and now, they had full idea of where the Japanese carriers were going to be and what they had in mind.
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As soon as this intel is scrambled, Admiral Chester Nimitz, of the American navy, assigns the carriers USS Lexington and USS Yorktown to defend Port Moresby and the Island of Timor. This battle would be one of the most salient naval battles in history as if the Americans had lost to the Japanese, Australia would be in great peril and the chances of invasion would be very likely, this would have extended the war as we know it.
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As said before, both sides had not yet mastered the art of carrier warfare and so many mistakes were made. Radar was not used well and so before the 4th of May, the date recorded that the battle had actually started, there were many searches for the enemy carriers. Both sides made many mistakes and were at times so close to the enemy within striking range, that they didn't even know !
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The first main military movement of the battle occurred on the 7th of May 1942, when aircraft from the Japanese carrier Shokaku, when her floatplanes had a confirmation of the American carriers position, launched a torpedo attack. This would mark the first main military movement of the first aircraft battle in history.
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Bombs and torpedoes rained down on the ships of both sides for the next day and at last by the 8th of May 1942, Japan withdrew from the Coral Sea, delaying the Port Moresby invasion plans. The American planes had found and sunk One light aircraft carrier, the IJN Shoho, while severely damaging a fleet carrier.
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The overall losses of the Battle of the Coral sea, Japanese, were:
One light aircraft carrier, IJN Shoho
One destroyer
3 Minesweepers
69 - 97 naval aircraft
966 servicemen​
American losses of the Battle of the Coral sea were :
One Aircraft carrier, the USS Lexington, damaged during the battle and sunk due to damage on the way to Pearl Harbour.​
One destroyer, USS Sims.
One oiler, USS Neosho.
69 Aircraft.
656 servicemen.
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The Battle of the Coral sea played a significant part in deciding the fate of Australia in WW2 as if the battle had been won by the Japanese, they would have the capacity to reach Australia with their long-range bombers from various airbases across the southern coast of Guinea.
The Bombing of Darwin
On the 8th of December 1941, a day after the attack on Pearl Harbour, Australia declared war on Japan. Japan's expansion was a fierce one and officials had gone on a free for all on the colonies of the Dutch East Indies and by January 1942, were threatening the shores of Australia and the Southern East Indies, the islands of the Celebes, Java and were now putting their eyes on the Island of Timor.
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After Australia entered the war on the allied side, America had been given the permission to construct military bases in the north of Australia, in the Northern Territory as it would be a good launching place to reach the Japanese held East Indies, one of which was Darwin Port. As tensions between Japan and the rest of the Allied forces in the Pacific were growing in the lead up to 1941, ports and military bases had been set up anyway on the Northern shores of Australia. When war broke out, the defences at Darwin had been strengthened. Japan had, as said before, been looking keenly at the island of Timor, but if thy were to get the island, they would have to face the military might of Australia, just a few hundred miles south of Timor. Like Pearl Harbour, Yamamoto again thought it would be best to catch the Australians off guard in Darwin, where as well as Australian Navy ships, American ships had also been docked.
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The surprise attack occurred on the 19th of February 1942 consisting of 242 aircraft in all being launched from the Kido-Butai Strikeforce comprising of the Aircraft Carriers Hiryu, Soryu, Akagi and Kaga all of which were to be sunk in the Battle of Midway. The First wave came during the early morning of the 19th comprising of 188 torpedo bombers, dive bombers and fighters, all of which were carrier-based airplanes.
The Marshall-Gilberts Raid
The Marshall-Gilberts Raid was a small insignificant bombing raid of Japanese shipping in the Japanese held Marshall islands, that they had acquired during the 1st World War as it was previously a German Pacific colony.
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The Marshall islands provided the imperial Japanese Navy with an air base and dockyard which was an advantage in the Pacific War.
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On the 1st of February 1942, Task forces 17 and 8 were sent out to the Marshall Islands, the task forces comprised of 2 aircraft carriers, the USS Yorktown, which was later to be sunk during the Battle of Midway and the USS Enterprise with more heavy and light cruisers as well as destroyers and more auxiliary ships.
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Fighters and bombers from the aircraft carriers as well as float recon planes from the Cruisers USS Chester, USS Louisville and USS Salt Lake City. As well as an aerial bombing of the harbours in the islands, a fierce coastal barrage from warships of the US Navy occurred as well.
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Though the Marshall-Gilberts raid played no long-term impact on the Japanese Navy in whole, 3 auxiliary ships, 1 minelayer and 4 transports were sunk. 18 aircraft were destroyed along with 1 light cruisers being damaged and 2 auxiliary ships being damaged as well. In terms of American losses, 1 cruiser, the USS Chester, was damaged by a coastal shell and 14 aircraft were destroyed.
The Doolittle Raid
The first time a bomber flies of an aircraft carrier.
The photograph above shows a B-25 bomber taking off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet during the famous Doolittle raid over Tokyo.
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After the bombing of Pearl Harbour on the 7th of December 1941, President Franklin D Roosevelt is disgraced and order something big to hit the Japanese hard. Designed to dwindle morale, the Doolittle raid was the first direct bombing of Japan from US planes. The planes would take off from the carrier USS Hornet, and fly to drop their payloads on Tokyo and then fly west to the friendly territory of North-Eastern China where they would land as bombers are not like fighters, when they can just land back on to the aircraft carrier due to their size and weight. Under the planning of Colonel James Doolittle, the bomber selected for the mission, the B-25, was loaded on to the USS Hornet and left Hawaii and headed for Japan.
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On the day of the raid, the 18th of February 1942, the carriers, which were supposed to be launched from a closer range to the capital had been detected by Japanese radar and that meant that the bombers would have to be launched as soon as possible in order to reduce damage to the aircraft carriers Hornet and Enterprise, the sister ship. The B-25 Mitchell bombers were launched and above in the picture you can make out Doolittle's bomber taking off from the deck of the Hornet. All 15 bombers had taken off from the deck and were headed to Japan in no time, as soon as the bombers were off, the task force steamed due east back towards Hawaii.
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All bombers dropped their payloads on Tokyo and none were shot down, though one airman was killed in action. All bombers turned west towards the Soviet Union and China with all 15 planes crashing. 1 B-25 was confiscated by the Soviet Union while the others all crashed. 3 men were killed, in action and during the landing, 18 were taken as POWs, of which 4 would live to tell the tale, 4 had been executed and 1 had died of disease.
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In terms of Japanese losses,5 patrol boats had been sunk, 5 sailors were taken as POWs, 3 aircraft were shot down, around 50 civilians had died and 400 had been wounded.
The Aleutian Islands campaign
The Aleutian Islands campaign between the 3rd of June 1942 and the 15th of August 1943 was the fighting on the islands of Attu and Kiska in the Alaskan islands. This campaign is noted for being the only battle fought on American soil.
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The beginning of the campaign started when under the command of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the islands would be attacked in order to divert American forces there to reduce their presence in Midway Atoll, in the Centre of The Pacific in order to make capturing the island more easier as there would be no military presence around the atoll. The Aleutians were also, as well as a distraction point during the Battle of Midway, a decisive island chain that could be used to launch attacks on Japan from the North, the islands of Kiska and Attu.
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On the 6th of June 1942, after the buildup of military presence in the seas around the western end of the Aleutians, a ground invasion came from the Japanese side and the Island of Kiska was taken quite easily. The following day, on the 7th, the island of Attu also fell to Japanese hands. The United States would not watch silently and they were quick to react, while the Battle of Midway was unfolding south in the Central Pacific, Operation Landcrab, the act of repelling the Japanese forces, had also played out as the Americans and Canadians had landed on the beaches of Attu and Kiska.
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For the Japanese, Kiska was of primary importance as there was a fully operational harbour on that island. Through the dense fog, cold weather and rain, the American and other allied troops trudged through the islands' terrain and fought to re-capture the pivotal islands of the Aleutians. After bloody fighting between Japanese, American and Canadian troops, the Japanese were squeezed out of the Aleutians. On the 15th of August 1943, after a year, 2 months, a week and 5 days, The Allied powers re-captured the Aleutian islands.
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In all the Aleutian Islands campaign took the lives of 1,481 American troops, 640 of whom were missing, 3,416 of who where injured and 8 of who were taken as POWs by the Japanese. As well as this, 225 aircraft were lost and Destroyer USS Worden, Submarines USS SS-27 and USS Grunion were lost. Heavily damaged warships consisted of the USS Salt Lake City and the USS Abner Reed. In terms of the Japanese losses, 4,350 soldiers were killed, of which 28 were taken as POWs, 7 surface warships were sunk as well as 9 merchant cargo ships.
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The Aleutian Islands campaign is nicknamed the "Forgotten Battle" as it is often overshadowed by the famous Guadalcanal Campaign.
The Battle of Midway: The turning point of the Pacific
The Battle of Midway is considered to be one of the most pivotal battles in the whole war. This battle would decide the fate of the American fleet and mostly decided the whole Pacific War.
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The Japanese objective of the Battle of Midway was to capture the strategic air base island of Midway Atoll, in the central Pacific. If the Japanese managed to take this island, it could be used as an air base to launch aircraft to attack Pearl Harbour, which was a dangerous few 100 miles away. If the Japanese took Midway, the US Fleet would have to re-station back to the original Naval Base at San Diego, and there was no way the Americans could fight a war so far away, navally.
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Yamamoto begins drawing up plans for one of the most decisive Naval Battles in history. His plan is simple, to get American carriers out of Pearl Harbour, he needs to set up a small and insignificant decoy, which would be the invasion of the Aleutian Islands. Hoping that the American main task force would deviate here leaving the seas around Midway unoccupied, the Kido Butai strikeforce, comprising of the IJN Kaga, IJN Akagi, IJN Hiryu and IJN Soryu under the command of Admiral Nagumo, would begin an aerial raid on Midway, catching the forces there unprepared. After neutralizing the defences on the air base, a landing force, under the command of Vice-Admiral Kondo, would land a certain amount of troops on the island, thus crushing any surviving defences and take the island. While all this unveiled, Yamamoto would sit comfortably in his office aboard the IJN Yamato, which was an non strikeable distance away.
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However, there was one flaw in this plan, there was no radio silence. This had allowed codebreakers in Hawaii to easily break Japanese naval codes which meant that the Americans could calculate the exact movements of the enemy. This had given Chester Nimitz, the commander of the Navy, an opportunity to assemble together a task force that would defend the Midway Atoll. Nimitz scrambled a small, insignificant task force to meet the decoy at the Aleutians, while doing this, at the same time, he kept the major task forces, TF-17 and TF-18 ready to meet the Kido Butai.
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On the 4th of June, after days of Travelling, the Kido Butai reached the striking distance of Midway Island and the battle commenced. The raid on Midway commences as planned, but the Americans, already knowing the Japanese moves, prepares to attack the strikeforce. Ensign Jack Reed of Patrol Squadron 44 who was flying his PBY-Catalina recon plane west of Midway, spots Kondo's invasion fleet mistaking it for the main fleet. After relaying the message back to Midway, 9 B-17 bombers are dispatched from the airfield to attack the ships. No hits are scored. It is though, at this point, when the battle starts to lean away from the Japanese. Kondo, adhering to a radio-silence policy, doesn't inform Nagumo of the attack and now, the admiral has no idea of an American ambush.
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After the American carriers arrive, the exact location of the Kido Butai is uncovered and the Battle of Midway enters the most critical stages and so, the Battle unfolds. By the 7th of June, the Japanese carrier fleet suffers a devastating blow with a loss of all carriers commissioned to Midway. The battle signals a turning point in the war for Imperial Japan and any talk of victory seems to fade away. By the end of the battle, the americans, on the other hand, managed to restore Midway and it continued to be used as an airbase and bomber-refuelling stop throughout the war.
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The losses of the Battle of Midway consisted of : Japanese
All four carriers, IJN Akagi, IJN Hiryu ( Fleet Flagship ), IJN Soryu and IJN Kaga.
1 cruiser, IJN Mikuma, as well as one heavily damaged.
292 Naval torpedo, fighter and bomber aircraft.
Around 2500 casualties.
Losses at Midway, American :​
One capital aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown.
One destroyer : USS Hamman.
145 Naval Torpedo, Bomber and fighter aircraft.
307 casualties.
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After this pivotal naval battle between the 2 sides, as said before, Japan would stop reaching out into the Pacific and the gruesome battle for Guadalcanal would soon make it's debut.
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Image credits : Google maps
Content credit : HISTORY
The Guadalcanal Campaign: Deciding the fait
The Guadalcanal Campaign was the attempt to capture Guadalcanal Airbase on Guadalcanal Island, the Solomons. This battle would be imperative in deciding the fait of the Pacific theatre as capturing an airbase in such a strategic position: between Australia and US stationed units, would be very convenient in terms of supplies. This would be a huge loss for allied powers because Japan would have an upper hand in the war if they captured Guadalcanal.
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The 6 month long campaign started on the 7th August 1942 and continued until 9th February 1943. The long battle's aim was to capture the airbase situated on Guadalcanal Island, in the Solomons, the airbase was known as Henderson Field. This airbase was imperative to Imperial forces as it would provide cover for bombers to launch attacks onto Australia. At the end of the campaign, Guadalcanal airbase was taken over by allied forces and re-named Henderson Field. The bloody battles ranged from those fought in the air, those fought in the sea and on the ground. Amphibious landings were made, new battleships were commissioned and many aircraft were lost but the allied forces stationed in the Pacific, mainly the Americans, managed to win the campaign through strategic ways.
The battle claimed the lives of 7100 Japanese soldiers, 1 carrier, 1 light carrier, 6 cruisers, 14 destroyers and 615 aircraft. The allied losses were 19,200 deaths, 1 light carrier, 2 battleships, 3 cruisers and 683 aircraft. In all, the allies lost 38 warships and the Japanese lost 29 warships.
Death of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Our Background
In 1943, the overall morale of Japanese servicemen was at an all time low. Multiple defeats in the Pacific were a large blame for this. The Admiral of the Fleet, as read before, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, decided to go an a South-Pacific inspection tour also tasked with improving the morale of the Japanese servicemen and encouraging them to fight more.
Yamamoto's journey was all set but American codebreakers had deciphered the details of his tour and in Operation Magic, as the hunt for Yamamoto would be called, P-38 heavy fighters were scrambled to intercept his transport.
After taking off from Rabaul, over Bougainville Island, the battle ensued and Yamamoto's plane was shot down. As it caught fire and became closer to the dense jungle below, it crashed.
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Yamamoto's body was found and he was in a posture of holding his katana upright like a true samurai. This was indeed one of the greatest losses for the Imperial Japanese Army.
The Simultaneous attack on Makin Atoll and Tarawa Island.
The Gillbert Island is one of the most strategic chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean. After Japanese imperialism had dominated them, it was time for the Allied forces to strike back and re-claim them. Makin Atoll and Tarawa Island are one of many islands in this Island chain, both are large enough to hold airfields and are situated in very tactical and strategic positions - they were incredibly important for both the Allied forces and the Japanese. On the 19th of November 1943 , one of many allied re-capture offensives that were planned, had been executed - the re-capture of Tarawa and Makin Atolls. Taking part in the offensive were the V Amphiibous Corps of the US Marines and the 27th Division of the US Army. Both Atolls are to be taken at the same time with the Marine Corps spread over both of them.
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As any battle that saw an amphibious assault, there was always a softening up - the usage of naval or air support to provide bombardment that would hopefully wipe out the majority of enemy pill boxes, anti-tank guns or anti-aircraft outposts in order for the to-come waves of infantry to face as little resistance as possible. The USS Enterprise - nicknamed the Grey beast - assisted in the aerial bombardment of the fortified beaches of Butaritari Island - a seaplane and ground-based aircraft base off the coast of Makin Atoll. As well as this, the procedure saw the shelling of the US Fifth Fleet - under the command of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Over 100s of Aircraft took place in the attack and afterwards, the V Amphibious Corps of the US Marines began the Sea to land assault. Under the command of Major General Julian Smith and Holland Smith, 5th Amphibious corps and 2nd Marine Division respectively in command, the marines began the advance deep into the Islands of Betio, Butaritari, Makin and Tarawa. A bloody battel was put up between the never-surrendering Japanese defending batallions and the US Marine 2nd, 6th, 8th, 10th and 18th attack regiments. The 3 day battle lasted between the 20th and the 23rd of November 1943 and had resulted in the loss of 1,000 American infantry with 2,000 odd injured on the battlefield. The sole Japanese defending commander - Rear Admiral Sheiji Shibazaki was killed in action along with the 4,700 odd Japanese infantry that took part in the defence of the Atolls. The capture of these strategic island airbases was extremely beneficial to the allied forces and assisted heavily in the storage of aerial ordnance and heavy long range bombers.
The Battle of The Philippine Sea: Part of the Philippines Islands Campaign
The Battle of The Phillippine Sea was a larger campaign called The Phillippine Islands campaign. The Battle lasted between 19th June to 20th 19th June 1944. This Battle was significant in temrs of disabling Imperial Japan to use carrier based aviation on large scales. It is also known as the battle which saw the most aircraft carriers: 24 and around 1,350 carrier based planes.
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The aim of the battle was to re-capture the Mariana islands through a variety of amphibious assaults and air strikes. Due to the amount of aircraft shot down by US marines compared to the number that was shot down by imperial Japanese forces had a very large window and this pert of the battle was nicknamed "The great Mariana turkeyshoot".
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The battle saw the re-capture of the Phillipinne islands of Guam, Saipan and many more. It also saw one of the largest banzai charges (suicidal attempts to stop a much larger enemy force).
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The battle saw the losses of around 600 odd Japanese aircraft, 3 carriers and an estimated 2987 deaths, compared to America's 123 naval aircraft, 109 servicemen and 1 damaged battleship.
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This battle was severe blow to Japanese carrier aviation because their carrier airforce had been reduced to a handful of carriers and virtually no aircraft to put on them whatsoever.
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The Battle of Leyte Gulf: the largest naval combat and last time a battleship would fire a shell on one another
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval warship to warship combat in history. The battle was fought off the island of Leyte and was so big because Imperial Japan was throwing everything they had at the Americans to save the empire and stop their advance.
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The battle took place on the 23rd October 1944 to 26th October 1944 and its belligerents were Australia, Japan and the US. The battle was the first battle in which the Japanese used Kamikaze attacks - deliberately crashing a plane into a ship as a last ditch attempt to save the empire.
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The battle consisted of many smaller scale battles - which were The Battle of Samar, The battle of the subeyan sea and the battle of the surigao straight.
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The Battle resulted in both japanese strikeforces meeting with the allies launching an amphibious assault on the island of leyte. However big the forces were, the allied forces successfully repelled Imperial forces and the phillipines were safely in allied control.
The battle saw the involvement of IJN Yamato, the heaviest warship in the world at the time and the sinking of the Musashi, a battleship of the same class.
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Losses comprised of 4 carriers, 11 destroyers, 4-6 light and heavy cruisers, 3 battleships, 10500 sailors and several hundred aircraft. These were the Japanese statistics. The Allied stats, on the other hand, were much less - 2 escort carriers, 1 light carrier, 2 destroyers and 1 destroyer escort.
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The battle of leyte gulf decreased japanese warplane power to a handful and put the phillipine islands firmly in allied hands. It was now virtually impossible to transport resources around the empire, this would be very bad for the Japanese as there would be a problem in transporting oil, which would be a problem as there was a really big demand for it as it was required to keep ships at sea.
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Truk Atoll: The raid on Param, the 2nd Pearl harbour
The raid on Truk Atoll happened between the 17th and 18th of February 1944 at an archipelago of islands in the Caroline Islands. Truk was being used by Imperial Japanese forces as a naval base and airbase and would be a good base for allied planes to launch air raids on other parts of the Imperial Japanese empire. Many veterans would refer to Truk Atoll as the 2nd Pearl Harbour.
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The atoll consisted of islands Fefen, Tol, Param, Uman, Dublon Moen and many more.
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Despite heavy AA fire, American planes managed to render Truk Atoll useless. In total, 2 light cruisers, 4 destroyers, 3 auxiliary cruisers and 6 auxiliary ships, 1 aircraft ferry, 2 submarine tenders, 32 merchant ships, 250+ aircraft and 4500 servicemen of the Imperial Japanese Navy were lost. On the other hand, American losses were 25 aircraft and 40 servicemen with 1 damaged aircraft carrier, 1 slightly damaged surface warship - Battleship.
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The background picture shows the bombing raids on Chuuk and Param harbours.
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Battle of Peleliu
During mid-1944, allied victories all over the Pacific had brought the Pacific war closer to the Japanese homeland. With the aid of bombers situated on captured islands in the Marianas and the capture of Okinawa earlier that year, Japan's likes of winning the war starting to diminish gradually. Peleliu was an island to the east of the Philippines situated in the Palau Island chain. Peleliu was occupied by the Japanese since early 1942 and was not as strategic as the other positions such as Guam, Tarawa or Makin Atoll. Though the island was large enough to sustain an Airbase, it was mainly used for infantry storage and was occupied by 33,000 Japanese infantrymen. Peleliu would come under General Douglas MacArthur's Eastern flank - one of many islands that he was tasked with liberating.
It should be no surprise to you that there had to be an amphibious assault performed by the US Marines in order to sustain land-dominance. Also before this, extensive shelling and aerial bombardment takes place in order to destroy enemy pillboxes, ordnance huts and AA Batteries. The US Third Fleet - under the command of Admiral of Fleet Chester Nimitz - began the shelling with 7 cruisers and 5 Battleships. As well as naval firepower, naval aviation was used to neutralise the two airbases situated on the islands of Peleliu. On the 15th of September at 08:32, the allied landings began on the beaches of Peleliu. As Peleliu was home to more than one island, there were multiple troop dispersals on all sides of the island. The III Amphibious Corps - under the command of Major General Julian C Smith began the push. The 323rd and 321st infantry divisions were deployed on the western coast of the island whereas the 11,000 Japanese defenders of the Peleliu Garrison - under the command of Lt General Nakagawa - were concentrated more around the elevated mountain peaks in the middle of the island.
By the 30th of September, the allied forces secured the northern tip of the main island. By the 19th and 18th of September, the unit forces had secured much of the western part of the island as well as the airbase. After having achieved naval and air superiority around and over the island respectively, the Marines began a two month long push to completely occupy the island. This was considered very inefficient mainly due to the fact that the allied infantry were better armed and numbered than the defending Japanese infantry. For this battle, the Japanese had put on an extremely strong defence - possibly the strongest in the Pacific - as they fended off the allied infantry for over two months. Due to some extremely in tactical decisions that were decided by General William Rupertus - which involved increasing the shelling period and being caught up at the highly elevated peaks in the middle of the
island - there were more casualties than necessary. Also, General MacArthur had presumed that with the 47,000 strong division of the III Amphibious Corps, Rupertus should have no problem with overthrowing the 11,000 strong Japanese fortified positions of the Peleliu Garrison. What was expected to take 3 days had prolonged to over two months. Though Peleliu must have been liberated sooner or later, the amount of casualties that were endured due to the in-efficient decisions of General Rupertus. The Japanese sustained a total of 13,600 infantrymen.
Battle of Guam
The Battle of Guam was the American re-capture of the American island of Guam in the Mariana island chain located in the central Pacific Ocean. Like any other island in the pacific, Guam was held a major strategic position between the allied forces and the Japanese forces. Guam was taken during the 8th of October Japanese offensive in which Imperial Japanese military quickly swept through most of the Eastern Asian region - taking with them Central Pacific island chains as well. After 1943, Japan's military power had been drastically reduced due to in tactical decisions and naval losses after ensuing clashes with American naval aviation, land based units and naval and air firepower. This led to a decrease in concentration of defences around the Japanese controlled territories and the militaristically dominant allied powers to start to focus on conducting offensives themselves. In 1944, the United States of America began one of the most powerful offensives in the history of the second world war and it was the peak of its glory. As many countries around Eastern Asia were now being liberated, the allied powers began the push northward through the Mariana islands.
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On the 14th July, the Naval bombardment of the shores of Guam began with the US Fifth Fleet - under the command of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Along with Naval fire-power and shelling, the Fifth Fleet's Naval Aviation too took place in the aerial bombardment of enemy pillboxes, AA Batteries and ordnance huts. By the 21st of July, infantry divisions of the III Marine Corps had landed on the shores of Guam Island and the land-based offensive had begun. The first provisional marine brigade, the third Marine division and the 77th Division landed on the west of the island and began the push northward. The Provisional Marine brigade and the 77th division held a siege on the west of the island whereas the third marine Corps had taken up offensive arms - only to be joined by the 77th and Provisional brigades a few days later.
By the 7th of August, allied infantry had taken over two thirds of the island and had put up one of the last front lines aligned with Mt Santa Rosa on the East coast of the island. By the 10th of August, all remaining Japanese fortified positions had either been infiltrated or destroyed by aerial bombardment. Allied forces had also achieved naval superiority and air superiority and the island was firmly in allied hands. Of the 59,400 infantry dispensed by allied powers, 7,794 had been killed and of the 22,500 infantry that had been deployed as defence by the Japanese army of the 29th Division, all commanding officers had been killed in action along with 19,587 infantrymen. Guam was the largest island in the Mariana island chain and would prove to be extremely efficient to position bomber bases for long range allied aircraft.
Battle of Saipan
One of the most major battles of the Pacific Theatre.
The Battle of Saipan was an American offensive against invading Japanese forces during the spring of 1944. Towards the end of 1943 and the beginning of 1944, Allied offensives were taking place all over the Pacific and strategic and tactical positions were being captured very quickly and very effectively. As the Allied amphibious forces made the push to the north, they had to overcome the Marianas Islands - where the infamous Great Mariana Turkey shoot occurred - in which 100s of Japanese Naval aircraft were shot down by American anti-aircraft gunners.
Saipan was a strategic position in the Mariana islands and the allied re-capture of this island would suit well for American heavy bombers such as the B-29 and the B-17 which were supposed to take the aerial war to Japan.
The Allied offensive began on the 13th of June 1944 - where American battleships, light cruisers and heavy cruisers of the 5th Fleet, Taskforce 52 under the Command of Admiral Raymond Spruance took part in the naval bombardment of Saipan's shores - clearing the way for an effective allied amphibious landing. After the bombardment had finished - the aerial bombing of the fortified positions on the Saipanian coast. The amphibious assault officially began on the 15th of June - as LCVs from the USS Indianapolis and USS Birmingham started to make the delivery of the Amphibious V Corps. The progress of the allied forces can be mapped on the picture below Credits : Wikimedia Commons. The allied landings were lodged on the west side of the island
After the whole of the marines division taking place in the attack had been beached, the advances had begun. With additional Naval and air support, a 24 day battle had ensued with the allied amphibious force which were tasked with overcoming the fortified Japanese positions. The terrain of the island was extremely rocky with elevation rising as we came into the middle of the island. Though the Japanese army put up an extremely fierce resistance with 32,0000 enlisted members in the 31st Army. This was however no match for the fierce 71,000 infantry and land brigades of the V Amphibious Corps. Also something that caused the Japanese huge losses and major disadvantages during the defence was the use of banzai charges against invading allied troops along with the coerced suicides of Japanese soldiers and civilians that were situated on the island. By the 9th of July 1944, the Americans had established Naval, land and air superiority over the island of Saipan while also killing 24,000 of the 31st Army's infantry. Another long term loss to the Japanese army as a whole was the loss of all unit commanders Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito, Admiral Takeo Takagi, Admiral Chuichi Nagumo - who was second in command during the Battle of Midway - and Commander Matsuji Iljuin (posthumously promoted to the rank of Admiral after his death during the Battle of Saipan). On the other hand, the Americans had lost 3,426 infantrymen.
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Saipan is often regarded as the D-Day in the Pacific often because of the scale of the Amphibious assault and the fact that it was conducted just a few weeks before the execution of Operation Overlord - the Battle for Normandy.
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Japanese Last stand: The battle of Iwo Jima
On the left, you can see the famous photograph, Raising the flag on Iwo Jima, this was captured after the capture of Iwo Jima, an island south of the Japanese Mainland. What we have to understand is the at this point in time, Japan has lost most of its empire to allied forces and has been stripped of most its power. It is true that only a miracle can save The land of the rising sun. Now, it has been ordered that planes deliberately crash into ships, famously known as kamikaze attacks.
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They year is 1945 and japan has lost some of its empire in the pacific and allied forces are advancing closer and closer to the Japanese mainland. Allied forces chose Iwo Jima Island as the next target. This island would be an imperative part of the allied invasion as it would provide an airbase for American B-29 Superfortress Medium range bombers to launch attacks on the Japanese mainland. The battle of the island started on the 19th of February and finished on the 26th March 1945 resulting in an American victory.
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The plan was pretty simple, firstly, air units from nearby carriers would attack enemy defences and shells from nearby battleships, destroyers and cruisers would pummel on the island providing easy cover for an allied amphibious landing. Japan would not lose this island and was giving its all into defending the island. But it was all in vain and the battle cost the lives of 6821 soldiers, 137 tanks and 1 escort carrier, these were american losses. The Japanese, on the other hand, lost around 17845 to 18375 soldiers, with around 3000 missing
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It was a strategic American victory.
The Battle of Okinawa: The deadliest battle of the Pacific theatre of WW2. The land of the rising sun's last stand
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was the invasion of the Japanese island of Okinawa, south of the Japanese heartland. This battle is famously mistaken with the battle of Iwo Jima, please do not be confused by the two.
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Okinawa was an island south of Japan and was being heavily defended by fortresses as Japanese did not want the allied troops to make any further advance to the heartland.
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Similar to what happened at Iwo Jima, the plan was almost same, planes and warships would soften up the landing marines and soldiers by destroying pillboxes, AA guns and more. Then, marines and army units would flock out of landing craft as well as tanks and more. Finally, allied units would fight with Japanese forces on the island.
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The Japanese were so desperate to save the island that they had made it mandatory for males between the age of 18 and 45 to fight on the island.
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The island of Okinawa was imperative to allied forces as it would again provide an airbase for American B-29 Superfortress medium ranged bombers to launch attacks on mainland Japan.
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The battle for Okinawa started on the 1st April 1945 and lasted until the 22nd June 1945. It was gruesome for the both sides that endured it, Japanese looses comprised of around 17166 to 110000 servicemen, 7000 captured servicemen, 1 battleship, 1 light cruiser, 5 destroyers, 9 other surface warships and 1430 warplanes and 27 tanks. On the other hand there were the allied forces (comprised of Americans, Australian, British, Canadian and Maori ( New Zealand)), these losses comprised of 14,009 to 20,195 dead, 221 tanks, 12 destroyers, 15 amphibious ships and 9 other ships.
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Operation Ten Go: Yamato and her samurai mission
Also included with the Battle of Okinawa, is the sinking of Battleship IJN Yamato, a symbol of Japanese sea and fire power. The battleship, as well as 5 other surface warships were sent to patrol and defend the island of Okinawa. However, insufficient fuel and anti aircraft cover turned an ordinary patrol into a suicide mission. So, on the 7th April 1945, Yamato was struck by 386 aircraft launched from carriers around 300 miles away and sunk. Yamato is a great example of a samurai spirit. Yamato took with her 3,055 estimated members of her crew.
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Nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: the sue for surrender
On the 6th and 9th of August 1945, the Manhattan project was put into play and 2 nuclear bombs - little boy and fat boy were dropped on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Though the city of Kokura was also chosen to be bombed, cloud cover would later prove it to not be very safe. On the respective dates from above, the cities were bombed by bombers having taken off from the islands of Tinnian, near saipan.
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Many Japanese people had dies, the bombing resulted in the deaths of 20,000 soldiers and 70,000–126,000 civilians at Hiroshima. In Nagasaki, there were the deaths of 39,000–80,000 and at least 150 soldiers.
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This action was considered to be a major event leading to the sue for surrender.
The end of the Pacific Theatre: The Japanese Instrument of Surrender
Well, there really is no other way to explain this, it has been clear to those in Japanese high authority that Japan cannot withstand allied firepower any longer. So on the 2nd of September, allied ships sailed into Tokyo Bay and the Japanese instrument of Surrender on the battleship USS Missouri - Mighty Mo.
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The Pacific theatre of war was gruesome for all forces that experienced it. The Japanese people had been shown that the emperor wasn't as powerful as he really was. Then, officers had been made to write a letter to the families of all troops he had sent to death by kamikaze attacks and committed ritual suicide. The pacific theatre saw the losses of 4,000,000 allied servicemen and 26,000,000 allied civilians. In terms of Japanese losses, there were 2,500,000 military deaths and 1,000,000+ civilian deaths.
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In terms of territorial changes, Japan was stripped of its colonies in the central Pacific ( The Caroline islands and Mariana islands(, southeast Asia, french Indo-china (modernly Thailand, Cambodia and Burma , mainland china and Manchuria ( Korea).
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