The War in the PacificPearl Harbour and the

American Entrance into WWII

The war in the Pacific began when the Japanese decided that they needed to attack the American Fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl harbour.

The purpose of this was to give the Japanese navy control of the Pacific Ocean.

Without this control, the Japanese would not have secure access to their Asian colonies.

Results:

On December 8, the USA declared war on Japan!

To show support for the Japanese, Hitler declared war on the USA!He was hoping this would make the Japanese

declare war on the USSR.

The USA responded by declaring war on Germany.

Britain now had the ally they needed to win the war, so it declared war on Japan.

After Pearl Harbour:

The Japanese followed the attack on Pearl Harbour with a series of successful attacks all over Asia.

They even began to threaten Australia and India!

One of the places they attacked was Hong Kong, a British colony, on Christmas, 1941.Hong Kong was defended by Canadians!The Canadians who fought at the Battle of Hong Kong

were either killed, wounded or captured.267 of the Canadian POWs died while in Japanese

camps where they were treated as slaves.

The tide turns:

Once they became involved in the war, the Americans planned to win by outbuilding their enemies.

Result: By mid-1942, they were ready to begin their counterattack against the Japanese...

Battle of Midway:

This is the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

The Japanese were preparing to invade the Midway islands when they were surprised by the American fleet.

Results:The Japanese were defeated, and their best aircraft

carriers were sunk.

From this point on, the Japanese were on the defensive, and the Americans became the aggressors.

Island Hopping:

After Midway, the Americans focused on capturing large islands about 400 miles apart from each other.

Why?

They used these islands as bases for their airforce and navy.

Each new island brought them 400 miles closer to Japan.

The islands in between were ignored because the Japanese soldiers on them were cut off from their supplies.

Iwo Jima and Okinawa:

In the Spring of 1945, the Americans managed to capture these two islands which are very close to the coast of Japan.

This was the largest amphibious invasion in history, involving over 1500 ships and 150,000 men!

Significance:

From here, they were able to firebomb Japan in preparation for an invasion.

The atomic bomb would change these plans...

The Atomic Bomb:

In March of 1943, the USA began to fund a secret project to create an atomic bomb (Manhattan Project).

In 1945, they successfully tested their first atomic bomb in New Mexico.

When American planners informed American President Truman that invading Japan would cost over 1,000,000 casualties, he decided to use the atomic bomb.

Hiroshima:

On August 6, 1945, “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima.

The explosion created temperatures hotter than the surface of the sun on the ground!

60,000 buildings were immediately destroyed, and 78,000 people were immediately killed!

Another 60,000 people died later of diseases and injuries related to the blast!

Nagasaki:

On August 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb named “Fat Man” was dropped on the city of Nagasaki.

35,000 people were immediately killed!

Result:

Japan finally realized that it had to surrender.

On August 14, 1945, the Japanese government sued for peace and the war against Japan was over (VJ Day)!