Battles+of+the+Pacific

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==[|Battle of Midway] (April, 1942) == Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor the US naval fleet defeated the Imperial Japanese Navy attack on the isla media type="youtube" key="1v4I6RGRW50" height="323" width="400" align="right"nd Midway Atoll. The defeat caused dents in the Imperial Japanese Navy’s man power and boats that was irreversible. The attack by the Japanese was to gain a strategic point and also to give the US a demoralizing defeat that might make them negotiate an end to the Pacific War with Japan having more favorable conditions. The biggest part of the success for the US Navy was the fact that US code breakers were able to determine the date of the attack, also where the attack was to take place. The battle was important because before Japan held naval superiority, but afterwards the two naval fleets were considered to be equal. Although the base at Midway was damaged by a Japanese airplane attack, the base remained functional throughout the war. Several mistakes by the Imperial Japanese Navy also were a big cause in the defeat by the US Navy. The Japanese ended the battle with a loss of four carriers, one cruiser, two hundred and forty-eight aircraft shot down. The Imperial Japanese Navy left with 2,013 killed. However the US Navy ended the battle with a loss of one carrier, one destroyer, one hundred and fifty airplanes shot down and 307 people killed.

==[|Battle of the Coral Sea] (May,1942) == This was the first battle of the Pacific war. It originally started out as a Japanese operation that was to take place at sea. Japan was sending a small aircraft carrier, several cruisers, seaplane tenders and gunboats. They were to attack two main ports, one in the Solomons, and the main attac​k in Port Moresby, New Guinea. There were also too much larger aircraft carriers, the Zuikaku and the Shokaku, standing by. Land-based airpower would be there to ​back up the air power supplied from the aircraft carriers. The United States was informed about the enemy’s plans by superior communications intelligence. They countered Japan’s attack with their own carriers, destroyers, submarines, and cruises sent to help from Australia. They main fight took place from May 3-8, 1942. Near the end, Japan was forced to retreat from their invasion on Port Moresby.

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**Battle of Guadalcanal** **(1942)** =====

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The Guadalcanal was a strategic point for both sides of the war. If the Japanese could control the island they would have the ability to cut through the route between Australia and America. However if control of the island was in the hands of the US they would have a better way to defend the Allied build up on Australia that would play a big role in some big assaults. The attack on the island seemed easy enough but many of the marines that would first land had no combat experience. Due to lack of information on the water region surrounding the island and the fact that the naval crews had not worked together before the attack date was pushed back two times. When the Americans first arrived there was no Japanese on the beach to be found. In fact the American forces did not make contact with Japanese forces in the first twenty four hours of landing on the island. However, the climate on the island was an issue for the men. The heat and humidity hit the men hard and also the jungle affected the radio signal between advancing forces and the forces on the beach. However the three islands surrounding Guadalcanal that the US had to take was a different story. It took twenty four hours on some island to eliminate the Japanese defending the islands. When the marines made it to the airfield on the island there was no Japanese because they had fled into the jungle. But then a Japanese cruiser force attacked the allied naval force and made the ships retreat. The Japanese attacked several times the American Marines. There first time the marines stopped the Japanese attack letting a handful get way down the coast. The second Japanese attack was expected and also the leader Vandergrift knew which way the attack would come from based on where bombshells were landing from Japanese Naval ships. In the month of October 5,600 Japanese attacked the East defensive positions of the US. The next day 7000 men attacked again. A small number broke the perimeter however animal style fighting drove them back. In all 50 percent of the Japanese died. Even in defeat Japan was strong and the Americans had to be careful. The government of Japan decided to send more ships to reinforce the troops. Of the eleven ships four had to be beached, one was severely injured and six were sunk. In all due to the taking of the island Australia was safe. ===== ==Battle of Okinwa (April,1945) == The Battle of Okinawa was apart of the Allies plan to win the war in the Far East. This war was started in April 1945 and didn’t end until June 1945. This battle consisted of a series of frontal assaults, America’s land commander was lieutenant-General Simon Bolivar-Buckner. With 180,000 men under his command, they began to bombard Okinawa. Meanwhile, anchored off Okinawa, the American Navy was being attacked by kamikaze planes. However, out of the 193 planes launched against America, 169 of them were destroyed. For Buckner’s real invasion, America gathered 300 warships and 1,139 other ships. The Marines officially landed on Okinawa on April 1st, and 60,000 American’s landed at Hagushi. Despite all of the guriella warfare attacks, the real war of Okinawa was on the south side of the island. On April 4th, the American’s ran into the Machinato line, which stopped America’s progression to South Okinawa. This line was breached on April 24th, despite this victory; our troops ran into the Shuri Line. At this time, the kamikazes had taken their toll on the American battle ships with 21 sunk and 66 others damaged. On the Suri line, there was brutal frontal battle taking place, on May 3rd Ushijima tried sending a counter attack, which wamedia type="youtube" key="EqextaZtkPQ" height="288" width="358" align="right"s far from successful, by May 21st, he pulled his men back. By July 2nd America has fully taken over Okinawa and some days before this victory Ushijima committed suicide. This battle was proven to be the bloodiest out of all of the Pacific Wars. For there were 107,539 soldiers killed, 23,746 sealed in caves and 10,755 surrendered.

Battle Of Iwo Jima (Feb 19- Mar 26 1945)
Iwo Jima is a small island in the pacific that is four an

[[image:http://blog.ktnxbi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/pulitzer-1945-iwo-jima-flag.jpg width="473" height="214" align="right" caption="Soldiers resurrecting the Americn flag."]]
d a half miles long and two and a half miles wide at its widest spot. There were several reasons why Commander Curtis Lemay wanted to take Iwo Jima. One reason was he wanted to bomb the Japanese home islands and Iwo Jima posed a threat for two reasons. One was the zero fighters that posed a physical threat to the airplanes and also it was a warning station. The base gave Tokyo two hours of preparation before the bomber planes could arrive. Another reason for taking Iwo Jima was the fact that the island would be able to act as an additional airfield for the US to land and take of planes. The defense of the island was waiting for the US marines. The Japanese were under the command of Tadamichi Kuribayashi. Each Japanese soldier was prepared to die and was willing to take as many marines as possible with them. There were seven hundred and fifty defensive installments on the island that were almost all connected by 13,000 yards of tunnels. On the mountain Suribachi there were close to 1000 cave entrances. In the mountain 21000 Japanese soldiers waited to defend their countries. First the US bombed the island with naval guns and airplanes. But the bombardment was little more than a tickle to the defenders. The marines that landed saw how resilient the Japanese were and both sides faced heavy casualties. Iwo Jima was officially declared conquered on March 26 1945. The Allied army faced nearly 25000 casualties with close to 7000 dead. Over one fourth of the Medals of Honors awarded to marines in World War II were given for con media type="youtube" key="3ReobqmexdU" height="241" width="300" align="left"duct in the invasion of Iwo Jima. Of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers defending the island only around 200 were taken prisoner. The battle showed that the Japanese were willing fight to the end to defend their homeland.

Works Cited
"The Battle of Guadalcanal." //History Learning Site//. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. . "The Battle of Iwo Jima." //History Learning Site//. Web. 30 Mar. 2010. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_iwo_jima.htm>. "The Battle of Midway, 1942." //EyeWitness to History - History through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It//. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. <http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/midway.htm>. "Battle of Okinawa." //GlobalSecurity.org - Reliable Security Information//. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/okinawa-battle.htm>. "Battle of the Coral Sea." //Naval History and Heritage Command//. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. <http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/coralsea/coralsea.htm>. //"Historylearningsight.co.uk//". Historylearningsight.co.uk. Web. 30 Mar. 2010. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_okinawa.htm>. //"Howstuffworks//". Adiscoverycompany. Web. 30 Mar. 2010. <http://history.howstuffworks.com/world-war-ii/d-day-invasion15.htm>. "Japan Focus.org." Data Momentum. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. <http://www.japanfocus.org/-Aniya-Masaaki/2629>.