Download 1.Pearl Harbor DIRECTIONS: Visit the following website: http://www

1.Pearl Harbor
DIRECTIONS:
 Visit the following website:
 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/ax/frameset.html
 Read the first paragraph
 Click “Begin’ (bottom right)
QUESTIONS:
0610 hrs: What did the Japanese use to guide their navigation?
0702 hrs: How long had a radar system been operational in Hawaii?
0720 hrs: Describe what happened at 0720 hrs.
0733 hrs: Why did General Marshall’s warning telegraph not reach Pearl Harbor in time?
0749 hrs: What was the message “tora, tora, tora” intended to mean by Japanese Commander
Fuchida? What does “tora” mean in Japanese?
0755 hrs: How did the 105 men, whose bodies were later found on the U.S.S. West Virginia
die? How long after the attack had they survived?
2. What was Island Hopping and how did it help the U.S. win the war?
 Island Hopping = capturing small islands one at a time, gradually getting closer to Japan


Island hopping would allow the U.S. to gain land in order to build runways to launch B-29s
from them to bomb Japan.
Island hopping begins in 1942 after the United States wins the decisive Battle of Midway
(June 4-7, 1942). Japan’s plan to
further weaken and demoralize America at
Midway backfires when the U.S. is able to
break their codes and anticipate the attack.
Japan is permanently weakened by heavy
losses of four aircraft carriers and a heavy
cruiser.
3. U.S. Captures the Solomon Islands Feb. 1943-Nov. 1944




The Japanese were trying to build an airbase on Guadalcanal
that would allow Japanese planes to reach Australia.
The U.S. wanted to re-take the air-strip and halt Japanese
advancement towards Australia.
The U.S. navy and marines fight the Japanese for 4 months
By February 1943 the U.S. was able to defeat the Japanese and
take the island of Guadalcanal.
5. Phillipines
Questions:
Which famous WWII General uttered the words “I shall return”?
Did he return and was he eventually successful in re-capturing the
Philippines?
6. Marshall Islands 1945



After capturing these islands, the United States began using the islands to conduct atomic and
thermonuclear test weapons from 1946-1958.
On March 1, 1946 the “Bravo Test” was the largest thermonuclear device ever tested. It was the
equivalent of more than 1,000 Hiroshima bombs.
The Bravo Test exposed the Marshallese people to near-fatal amounts of radiation and resulted
in widespread radiological contamination of the people and the environment.
7. Capture of the Mariana Islands (Guam, Tinian, and Saipan)
 Gen. MacArthur with the navy and marines were able to capture the
Mariana Islands (most notably the island of Guam)
 The air force was able to build a base on Guam to house B-29s
“Super-fortress”
 On November 24th, 1944 B-29s dropped bombs on Tokyo
 Many B-29s had a hard time getting back to Guam because the
planes could hold just enough gas to fly straight there and straight
back
8. Iwo Jima
Please use “Google” to look up the following question.
QUESTION:
Why was winning the island of Iwo Jima so important for the United States?
NOW GO TO THIS SITE: http://www.iwojima.com/battle/battlec.htm
QUESTIONS:
Complete the following quote: “For 36 days, Iwo Jima was ………
How did the Japanese fight? What weapon did U.S. soldiers find to be effective against this
type of warfare?
What was the casualty rate (%) for the company who famously rose the American flag on the
island of Iwo Jima (Easy Company)
9. Firebombing of Japan
DIRECTIONS: Please use “Google” to answer the questions below.
QUESTIONS:
What is Napalm? What kind of airplanes dropped napalm?
How many Japanese were killed on the first night of fire-bombing raids on March 9, 1945?
* By the end of the war, the United States had firebombed 67 cities.
10. Okinawa April –June 1945
DIRECTIONS: Please use “Google” to answer the questions below.
QUESTION:
How many days did the Battle for Okinawa last?
Why was Okinawa an important strategic island for the United
States?
What major decision did this battle influence President Truman to make?