Part II: Pacific Front

Path to Pearl Harbor

1. 1921- Japanese forced to keep fewer battleships/cruisers than British and American forces. Does not however mention carriers

2. 1937 (a) The Japanese begin the invasion of mainland China; American government responds by placing trade embargoes on items with Japanese. (b) The Pearl Buck novel The Good Earth and later, the film version, humanized the victims of Japanese aggression in China. (c) Panay Incident: Despite American sympathies, no desire to enter into war with Japan. U.S.S. Panay sunk by Japanese bombers as it was anchored in the Yangtze river.

Path to Pearl Harbor

After the Panay incident there was still little interest for war. In fact, the opposite occurred. Indiana Rep. Louis Ludlow proposed a constitutional amendment requiring a national referendum for a declaration of war (except in case of invasion)

•Gallup poll showed bill had 73% approval by public •Failed in the House by a vote of 209 to 188

3. Nov. 26, 1941 - Cordell Hull sends message demanding Japanese remove troops from China and recognize Chiang Kai-shek as leader of China. Hull’s message states US will relax boycott, only if Japanese surrender Chinese territory (a humiliation to Japanese)

4. Nov. 27, 1945 - Hideki Tojo gives the go ahead with Operation Z

Planning for the Attack

Pearl Harbor Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto planned attack

- admired America (witnessed industrial power) - did not believe in success of a Japanese-American war - Yamamoto set up special groups of fighters who would target specific ships - a mock harbor was constructed for practice in 1945

Hiding Operation Z - Nagumo mandated radio silence of all ships in weeks prior - scout ship sails the same voyage in October of ’41 - Nagumo sails Japanese fleet inside a major ocean storm to hide the ships

Pearl Harbor - December 7th, 1941The strike on Pearl Harbor

6 Japanese Carriers send 183 planes on two bombing runs to Pearl Harbor (7:49 AM)

American defenses were terrible

only 4 of 33 flak batteries were operational

3/4 of the 780 anti-aircraft weapons on the ships were unmanned

By 8:12 the Arizona, Oklahoma, Utah and Ca l i fo r n i a were destroyed.

American losses... 8 battleships, 11 other warships, 188 military aircraft and 2,403 lives lost.

The Fall of the PhilippinesDec. 8, 1941 - Japanese coordinate attack on Philippines with attack on American base at Pearl Harbor

Massive air raids take place from 2 Japanese carriers, suppor ted by another 30 destroyers Forces of US Navy retreat in the area (abandoning thousands of US troops)

•G e n . D o u g l a s M a c A r t h u r commands 16,000 US troops, plus 12,000 Filipino soldiers

•MacArthur improperly defends the flanks and his group is forced to retreat further down the Bataan Peninsula

•MacArthur is forced to leave but claims “I shall return”

Bataan death march• American and Filipino troops number 83,000

plus another 26,000 civilians are forced to surrender on April 8, 1942

• POWs forced to march 50 miles uphill and through jungle to reach prisoner camp.

• Over 25,000 die of wounds, disease or starvation

Battle of Coral Sea - May 4-8, 1942

The Battle of the Coral Sea is the first major sea battle where the main combatant ships never see each other. The Battle of the Coral Sea developed from US Navy counter-moves to oppose the Japanese the invasion of Port Moresby on the southern coast of New Guinea. The Battle of Coral Sea was a strategic allied victory(stalemate): •Port Moresby was saved. •Weakened Japanese navy prior to

Midway battle •In the first carrier-to-carrier

confrontation, the US Navy was found to be an effective opponent (built confidence)

Yorktown damaged, but repaired in time for Midway

Midway - June 4-7 1942The Doolittle Raid

April 18 - USS Hornet launches 16 B-25 bombers at Tokyo

- 13 of 16 successfully bomb Japanese targets and 71 of the 80 pilots survive

- Raid creates fear in Japanese high command for Emperor Hirohito’s safety - Yamamoto suggests extending Japanese Pacific control further to the S. East

Decryption

Japanese became careless with signals

American cryptanalysts identify radio traffic noting “Operation MI” which has AF as the target.

Believing the location to be Midway Is a message is sent from Midway claiming to be short on fresh water.

Message is mentioned by Japanese as originating from target AF (cover blown)

Midway - June 4-7 1942

The Fatal Five Minutes

American Navy overmatched by Japanese fleet at Midway 4 to 3

Land-based aircraft the one key advantage for US (B-29 bombers pose serious threat to Japanese carriers)

Japanese 1st bombing raid

concern over land based bombers leads to first attack by Japanese on Midway Island naval bases

Japanese 2nd bombing raid

Still concerned - Admiral Nagumo decides to bomb Midway Island again

While Japanese planes are away, Americans attack but are largely unsuccessful. Most planes are shot down by Japanese Zeros

Luck....? and the Fatal Strike

Because Japanese Zeros were engaged in fighting at sea level, they failed to spot Enterprise’s bombing squadron

Lt.-Com Wade McClusky - leads a dive bombing raid

Within 5 minutes (10:25 and 10:30) three Japanese carriers were destroyed

Midway - June 4-7 1942

Outcome

The outcome of the Battle of Midway is a decisive American victory:

• The Japanese carrier force had been smashed, losing all 4 of the fleet carriers present - 4 of the 6 total available to Japan and 322 planes and top pilots

• The Japanese naval air units, the best in the world had been destroyed, mostly sunk with their carriers. All the replacements produced from here on were of a lesser quality. The survivors had also been dealt a blow to their morale - a proof that they were not invincible.

Japanese naval advantage was lost permanently. • 1942-44 Japanese launch 6 fleet carriers to 17

American carriers (plus 86 smaller carriers) •The “tide stick” of the war

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Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere pt.2

Guadalcanal Aug. 7 - Feb. 9, 1943•After the Japanese are halted at Midway, the allied powers begin a push back towards the Japanese mainland.

•Guadalcanal (Aug. 7-Feb 9, 1943) also known as Operation Watchtower is the start of the allied offensive against the Japanese.

•Tarawa - Nov. 1943 - the capture of Tarawa and later the Marshall Islands was necessary to establish a launch point toward the Philippines islands.

•Tarawa - Japanese make a ‘death charge’ resulting in 325 deaths. Nimitz switches to a ‘wither on the vine’ policy toward smaller island fortifications.

On the second day of Guadalcanal we captured a big Jap supply hut with all kinds of beer and supplies ... But they also found a lot of pictures of Marines that had been cut up and mutilated on Wake Island. The next thing you know there are Marines walking around with Jap ears stuck on their belts with safety pins. They issued an order reminding Marines that mutilation was a court-martial offense ... You get into a nasty frame of mind in combat. You see what's been done to you. You'd find a dead Marine that the Japs had booby-trapped. We found dead Japs that were booby-trapped. And they mutilated the dead. We began to get down to their level.

Island Hopping campaign

Campaign starts in 1944 as a way to speed up the Pacific War and reduce casualties

Philippines are liberated in Oct. of 1944

•American submarine corp is key component

Island Hopping - a campaign used by the allies in the Pacific to reduce casualties and speed up the war towards Japan

Leyte Gulf - Oct. 23-26,1944

•Japanese extremely outnumbered with less skilled pilots

•Battle of Leyte Gulf destroys remaining Japanese Navy

•US navy now unmatched in the Pacific War •For Douglas MacArthur it is his moment of the war.

FDR’s Strategic Dilemma

Failure of Chiang Kai-shek to stabilize China created unrest on the part of the US

Soviet Union was finishing up military offensives in Europe and would now be shifting to the pacific

1904-5 Russian loss to Japan bothered Stalin

FDR weakens his stance in dealing with Stalin to delay his entry into the Pacific Front

Iwo Jima - Feb. 1945 - Okinawa - Apr. 1945Iwo Jima - Feb 19, 1945 - 20,500 Japanese Killed to 6,000 Americans

1/3 of all Marines who fought on Iwo Jima died

Okinawa - March to June 1945 - was the last defensive outpost before mainland Japan. Most soldiers fought to the death

66,000 Japanese died...only 17,000 wounded U.S. 12,000 died and 39,000 wounded

Firebombing vs. Atomic Bomb

Before Hiroshima•Firebombing - more deaths and damage occurred because of firebombing than the two atomic bombs.

•Examples–Dresden - killed 300,000 people–Tokyo - killed 100,000 people

•Most of the deaths in firebombing were innocent civilians of no military importance.

Dresden

Dresden

Dresden

Dresden

The Start of the Nuclear Age

Should the U.S. have used atomic weapons on Japan?

Reasons For Reasons Against

• Japan would have surrendered by Nov 1945

• Inflated casualty estimates • Did not give Japan significant

warning • Why 2? • Forever change nature of warfare • Bombs were untested on people

and destruction was relatively unknown.

• Killed civilians—women and children

• Radiation poisoning, birth defects and contamination would have negative effects on the population.

• To end the war quickly •US officials estimated conquest of Japan’s

empire would last an additional 18 months to 2 years.

• To avoid invasion of Japan—save American lives

• US officials estimated Allied casualties at 1/2 to 1 1/2 million, in addition to huge Japanese losses if there was an invasion of Japan.

• Japanese refused to surrender. It was estimated an invasion similar to D-Day was needed to bring the war to an end.

• To intimidate the Soviet Union • Justifying $2 billion spent on the

Manhattan project • Racism • Japan was asked to surrender

before the bombs

Manhattan Project - 1939-1946

Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves in charge

The program accelerated into production starting in 1942; 3 bombs are built:

Trinity Test in Los Alamos, NM - bomb named “the Gadget” - 1st test, July 16, 1945...and it worked

Much debate on whether or not the U.S. should use such as weapon

Dr. Robert Oppenheimer

Major General Lesley R. Groves

Robert Oppenheimer: the Manhattan Project“ Now I am become

Death, the destroyer of worlds”

Tragedy of the USS Indianapolis

USS Indianapolis top secret mission to deliver the Atomic Bomb

Was hit by two torpedoes from a Japanese sub on July 30, 1945

Of the 1,196 aboard, about 900 made it into the water in the twelve minutes before she sank.

Shark attacks began with sunrise of the first day and continued until the men were physically removed from the water, almost five days later.

Only 317 survived.

Start of the Atomic Age

•FDR Dies: April 12, 1945

•Leaves President Truman in the midst of a crisis.

•Potsdam Conference - July 26, 1945 - President Truman issued an ultimatum of unconditional surrender to the Japanese or face “utter destruction”

Hiroshima and NagasakiAugust 6, 1945 Paul Tebitts in B-29 bomber “Enola Gay” drops the first bomb “little boy” 70,000 instantly killed in Hiroshima Most Buildings within 1.5 mile radius were destroyed

August 9, 1945 2nd bomb is dropped “Fat Man” 85,000 killed in Nagasaki

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Surrender ceremonies on the USS Missouri

Japanese Surrender on the USS Missouri Sept 2, 1945

Hiroshima, Aug 6 à Nagasaki, Aug 9Sep 2, 1945 à unconditional surrender

300,000 dead, over 800K wounded

$320 billion cost National debt rose from

$50 Billion in 1941 to $250 billion by 1945

End of Depression Joined United Nations Only major power

without significant physical damage

RESULTS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

7 Future American Presidents Views of the World Were Formed by

Service in WWII