Transcript of THE WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN, 1941 - 1945 World War II in...
- Slide 1
- Slide 2
- THE WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE EMPIRE OF
JAPAN, 1941 - 1945 World War II in the Pacific Theatre
- Slide 3
- The Bataan Death March, April 1942 Resulting in the loss of
some 10,000 American and Filipino soldiers. The Japanese attacks
against Pearl Harbor and a host of other American possessions Wake
Island, Midway Island, the Philippines, Guam left the American
military reeling. In the Philippines, Americans under the
leadership of General Douglas MacArthur settled in for a long
siege. The initial battle against the Japanese would end in
catastrophic defeat and capture at the hands of a ruthless, brutal
foe.
- Slide 4
- The Bataan Death March
- Slide 5
- Bataan While most of the American soldiers involved in the
Philippines retreated to the tiny island of Corregidor, those
captured defending the Philippines were executed for transgressions
as simple as marching out of line or falling down from
fatigue.
- Slide 6
- General Douglas MacArthur
- Slide 7
- MacArthur, along with the lesser known Chester Nimitz, was the
commander of United States forces in the Pacific Theatre during
World War II. His most famous statements: I Shall Return upon
leaving the Philippine Islands when the Japanese occupied them in
April, 1942, and I Have Returned! when the United States reclaimed
the Philippine Islands. During the Korean War, MacArthur
masterminded the Inchon landing, and led United Nations forces in
preserving South Korean liberty.
- Slide 8
- The Doolittle Raids
- Slide 9
- The Doolittle Raids: April of 1942 Although the Doolittle raids
did not devastate mainland Japan, they were a morale lifter for
many Americans, who wanted to strike back against the fearful enemy
which had so far seemed invincible. Doolittle and his men bombed
Tokyo, but were forced to land in China. (They couldnt make it back
to the aircraft carrier on the limited fuel they had.) Sadly, eight
of the men were captured and executed by the Japanese.
- Slide 10
- The Battle of the Coral Sea May, 1942 The Battle of the Coral
Sea took place in May of 1942. Although it did not result in a
decisive victory for either side, Americans were able to stop the
rapid progress of the Japanese navy towards Australia. The battle
was essentially a draw - both sides suffered heavy losses. But the
United States was encouraged by the fact that our navy had finally
stopped the rapid progress of the Japanese forces in the Pacific,
and confidence grew.
- Slide 11
- The Battle of the Coral Sea
- Slide 12
- Midway
- Slide 13
- Midway Island Midway Island, which was purchased in 1867 by
William Seward, was little more than a port for refueling and
resupplying trade vessels. During World War II, it became an
airstrip and a supply depot. It was bombarded by the Japanese on
December 7, 1941, and targeted by the Japanese (along with several
Aleutian Islands an archipelago of islands off the coast of Alaska)
for attack.
- Slide 14
- The Battle of Midway Island Midway is considered THE TURNING
POINT IN THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC and resulted in the losses of four
Japanese aircraft carriers (out of six in the entire Japanese
Imperial Navy.) The American ship Yorktown, which was heavily
damaged at Coral Sea, was ultimately downed during the battle as
well. RIGHT: Japanese Carrier Akagi
- Slide 15
- The Battle of the Coral Sea, May of 1942 Guadalcanal, August
1942 February1943 Major Battles Between the US and Japan
- Slide 16
- Island Hopping The strategy devised by General Douglas
MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz in order to fight against the
Japanese Imperial military. The idea was to fight the Japanese at
their weakest positions to take over the islands which were only
modestly defended. Then, by establishing ports and airstrips on the
islands, the United States would be able to launch attacks on more
significant islands closer to the Japanese mainland.
- Slide 17
- The Code Talkers
- Slide 18
- Native American soldiers during World War II were charged with
the task of creating a secret code to relay messages using their
own languages. The Navajo would use their own languages words to
signify specific letters for example, the Navajo word for apple
would be the letter A. The code was never broken no one in Japan
spoke the Navajo tongue, and no captured Navajo soldiers would
submit to the Japanese.
- Slide 19
- The Battle of Leyte Gulf This battle in the Philippines was the
largest naval battle in world history at the time. Approximately
280 naval vessels participated in the battle between United States
and Japanese forces. At the end of the conflict, Americans
controlled the major port of the Philippines, and the Japanese Navy
was crippled.
- Slide 20
- The Battle of Leyte Gulf