The War in the Pacific

Six months after Pearl Harbor, Japan had acquired an enormous empire. In 1942, 80,000 American and Filipino troops under the lead of General Douglas MacArthur lost control of the Philippines and were forced to surrender it to the Japanese. The Japanese fleet continued to advance until they were stopped in May of 1942 at the Battle of Coral Sea. This was the first defeat of Japan since Pearl Harbor. The tide of the war in the pacific changed at the Battle of Midway when Admiral Chester Nimitz surprised the Japanese fleet on June 3, 1942. It was said to "avenge Pearl Harbor."

The American forces began to use the "Island Hopping" strategy, conquering one island at a time, while advancing towards Japan. The first such victory was on August 1942 in Guadacanal when 19,000 troops stormed the island, securing the first land victory for Americans in the war. This strategy continued until October 1944, when 178,000 troops and 738 ships arrived at Leyte Island, Philippines. At the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Japanese employed a new tactic, the kamikaze bomber. 424 kamikaze pilots attacked and sunk 15 ships and damaged 80. Despite this, the Japanese lost the battle and their naval fleet was severly damaged, causing it to be fairly inactive for the rest of the war. After liberating the Philippines the only islands between American forces and Japan were Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Iwo Jima was not going down without a fight. It was considered the most heavily defended spot on earth. During the assault, more than 6,000 marines died, but this pales in comparison to the lives lost by the Japanese: of 20,700 defenders, only 200 remained. The second island, Okinawa was the last defence of the Japanese, it fell on June 21, 1945. There were 1,900 kamikaze attacks by the Japanese. In the end 7,600 Americans died while over 110,000 Japanese lives were lost. After this, the United States was able to seige the island of Japan.

-Brett and Rainier