Reading – The War in the Pacific

Japan Advances across the Pacific

In 1931, years before Tarawa, Japan had conquered Manchuria in China. Under General Hideki Tojo (hee-
dek-ee toh-joh), Japan continued its policy of expansion. Japanese troops spread throughout East Asia and
the Pacific. By early 1942 Japan had taken the British colonies of Hong Kong and Singapore. Advancing
through the independent country of Thailand, Japanese forces invaded the British colony of Burma. They then
took control of the oil-rich Dutch East Indies (now called Indonesia).
At the same time, the Japanese expected a U.S. counterattack in the Pacific. After Pearl Harbor, Japanese
forces tried to press their advantage, moving quickly to grab U.S. territories in the Pacific. Japan captured
Guam and Wake Island, both U.S. territories since 1898. Japanese forces then landed on the U.S.-owned
Aleutian Islands of Kiska and Attu, near mainland Alaska. Japan also invaded the Philippines, another U.S.
possession.
Under General Douglas MacArthur, U.S. and Filipino forces made their stand against the Japanese
invasion. When the capital, Manila, fell quickly to the Japanese, MacArthur's troops retreated across Manila
Bay to the Bataan Peninsula. In March 1942, President Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to go to Australia. "I shall
return," the general vowed before making his escape.
Weak and hungry, U.S. and Filipino units remaining on the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor surrendered
soon afterward. The Japanese then marched more than 70,000 Americans and Filipinos—many of whom were
sick and wounded—to prison camps. The Japanese treated the prisoners harshly during their 65-mile forced
march up the peninsula. No one knows just how many deaths took place on the Bataan Death March.
However, historians estimate that between 400 and 1,000 Americans and possibly as many as 10,000 Filipinos
died.

Halting Japan’s Advance

In early 1942 the Japanese seemed unstoppable. They appeared to be ready to strike at Australia, Hawaii,
and India. Americans even feared a Japanese invasion of the West Coast of the United States. During 1942,
however, Allied forces began to turn the tide of the war against Japan.
To stop Japan's advance, the Allies had to defeat the Japanese navy. Admiral Chester Nimitz,
commander of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, had an important, top secret advantage against the Japanese.
Navy experts had cracked the Japanese naval code and could therefore read secret Japanese messages. As a
result, Nimitz knew that the Japanese planned to capture Port Moresby, New Guinea.
Nimitz moved to cut the Japanese forces off. In early May 1942, he sent an Allied fleet to attack the
Japanese invasion force. The fleet met the Japanese northeast of Australia in the Battle of the Coral Sea.
U.S. planes sank one Japanese carrier and damaged another. The U.S. Navy suffered losses as well. Japanese
planes sank the aircraft carrier Lexington and damaged the Yorktown. Despite their losses, the Allies had
turned back the Japanese advance for the first time.
Just weeks after victory in the Coral Sea, Nimitz learned about another Japanese plan. Japanese forces
hoped to seize the Midway Islands, located northwest of Hawaii. Nimitz ordered U.S. carriers to intercept the
Japanese fleet. The Battle of Midway, which took place between June 3 and 6, was a battle of carrier-based
airplanes. Japanese and U.S. warplanes fought in the air, trying to sink each other's aircraft carriers. When
the battle was over, the U.S. Navy had crippled the Japanese navy by sinking four of its carriers, while losing
only one of its own.

After its defeat at Midway, the Japanese navy was on the defensive for the rest of the war. The U.S. Navy
had finally stopped the advance of Japanese forces in the Pacific. The Allies then began to put the pressure on
Japan. They turned their efforts toward Guadalcanal, one of the Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific.
Japanese troops were building an airstrip there. From Guadalcanal, Japanese forces could threaten the
important sea link between Australia and the United States. In August 1942 the United States began landing
marines on the island. The fight for Guadalcanal took place on land, at sea, and in the air. For months neither
side could gain a clear advantage. Finally, the Allies won control of the island in early 1943.

Taking the Offensive

After Guadalcanal, Allied commanders began to develop plans to attack Japan itself. Japanese forces in the
Pacific were still strong. In Asia, they controlled China and were continuing to advance through Burma toward
India. The Allies planned to conquer one Pacific island after another, landing only on the most important
islands. Gradually, they would move closer to Japan while isolating Japanese troops on bypassed islands. This
strategy, called island-hopping, would help the Allies gain new bases. From these bases, the Allies could
bomb and later invade Japan. U.S. leaders used the strategy quite effectively. The U.S. Navy's Construction
Battalions, known as Seabees, played an important role in the campaign. They built airstrips, naval bases, and
roads to keep the Allied forces on the move.
The island-hopping campaign began in late 1943. Forces under General MacArthur battled the Japanese on
New Guinea in November. Other troops launched a series of attacks on the Gilbert, Bonin, Mariana, Marshall,
and Volcano Islands. U.S. forces captured the islands of Saipan and Tinian in the Marianas. From these bases,
U.S. planes began bombing the main islands of Japan. U.S. submarines were attacking Japanese cargo ships,
cutting off the flow of raw materials to Japan.
With New Guinea under Allied control, General MacArthur planned to take back the Philippines. The
Japanese navy gathered to block the Allied invasion force in October 1944. The two sides met in the Battle of
Leyte Gulf—the largest naval battle in history. Both sides took heavy losses from airplane raids and artillery
fire. In the end, however, the Allies won, greatly reducing the strength of the Japanese fleet.
Shortly after the battle, MacArthur waded ashore on Leyte. He had kept his promise to return to the
Philippines. Aided by Filipino guerrillas, Allied forces began the advance toward Manila. In January 1945, Allied
troops landed on the main island of Luzon. On March 3 they captured Manila. However, the Japanese put up
fierce resistance. Summer came before the main towns, roads, and airfields in the Philippines were in Allied
hands.

Closer to Japan

By spring 1945 the war against Japan had entered its final phase. U.S. bombers hit targets in Japan during
massive nighttime raids. These attacks caused great damage. A raid on Tokyo in March 1945 destroyed about
one fourth of the Japanese capital. The Allies also bombed other major Japanese cities into ruins and killed
tens of thousands of Japanese. Despite great destruction and loss of life, Japan still refused to surrender. As
Allied forces got closer to Japan, they faced some of the fiercest fighting of World War II. For example, several
thousand Americans and most of the 22,000 Japanese defenders died in the February 1945 battle for Iwo Jima
(ee-woh jee-mah).
In the battle for Okinawa, which lasted from April through June 1945, the Japanese airforce used a deadly
tactic involving crashing piloted planes into Allied ships. Many of these kamikaze planes found their targets
off the island of Okinawa. They caused heavy damage to Allied ships and killed nearly 5,000 Allied sailors.
Despite the kamikaze attacks, the Allies stuck to their goal—the complete defeat of Japan. The losses
during nearly three months of fighting on Okinawa were staggering. More than 110,000 Japanese troops—
almost the entire force on Okinawa—died. The Allies suffered some 12,000 dead and about 37,000 wounded.
With the fall of Okinawa, Allied leaders looked to attack Japan itself for final victory.