Download The War in the Pacfic

Changing Gears…
 The war with Japan began on December 8, 1941
 In the months that followed Pearl Harbor Japan began
to the take control of surrounding territories.
 At this time Japan had approximately 200,000 men.
Why were these men so successful with their territorial
endeavors on their home front?
The United States strikes Back
 It took six months for the United States to rebuild its
naval forces in the Pacific.
 The Battle of the Coral Sea
 The Battle of Midway
 “Island Hopping” was the most common strategy of
the US Navy and Marines during 1942-1944 in the
Pacific
 The Battle of the Philippine Sea
The struggle for the Philippians
 The battles of the Philippians Sea and Leyte Gulf.
 Marines take on Iwo Jima
 By the end of 1944 the Philippians were free of
Japanese control but a high price.
Easter 1945
 The Battle of Okinawa
 This invasion was the biggest attempted by the Untied
States
 To counter the Japanese used pilots
on suicide missions
 By the end of the encounter more
American soldiers had lost their lives
at Okinawa than at the beaches at
Normandy.
The end is near
 With the War in Europe ended the allies focused its
remaining strength on Japan.
 With the capture of Guam, American bombers were
no able to reach the main land of Japan and bomb
major cities and cause mass destruction to the cities
 With the war not ending soon enough President
Truman would soon have to make the decisive decision
of the War in the Pacific…
 Whether or not to Drop the Atomic Bomb
The Atomic Bombs
 The first of two Atomic Bombs was dropped on
Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
 The Second was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9,
1945
 Five days later Japan surrendered to the United States