WWII in the Pacific

Introduction

The U.S. victory over the Japanese Navy at Midway succeeded in stopping the Axis advance in the Pacific, and by early 1943 the Marines had driven the Japanese from Guadalcanal. Thus began the long, slow process of forcing the enemy out of a series of fortified positions in the Central and South Pacific. The strategy employed was often called "island-hopping" or "leap-frogging"—concentrating on certain critical enemy bases while bypassing others in the hope that, cut off from their supply routes, they would "wither on the vine," as the American commander, Douglas MacArthur, put it. By early 1945 the noose was tightening around Japan itself, as Allied forces captured islands close enough to be used as airbases for bombing raids against Japanese cities. One by one the largest cities in Japan were hammered from the air—a strategy that culminated in the use of the first atomic bombs, at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in August 1945. The government in Tokyo announced its surrender soon thereafter, bringing World War II to an end.

Activity

Part I

Read over the following documents and answer the questions that follow based on the reading:

F JCS 287/1, the Strategic Plan for the Defeat of Japan

Report by the Joint War Plans Committee on operations in the Pacific and Far East in 1943-44

1) What had to occur before Allied forces could concentrate solely on the Pacific Front?

2) What had to occur before an invasion of Japan could take place? Why?

3) Why was China so important to success in the war against Japan?

4) Why were lines of communication so important to military planners?

5) What were planners hoping would happen once the United States gained control of the seas?

6) What were the primary objectives of U.S. operations for 1943-44?

Part II

Next using locations 18 - 36 on the the interactive map, answer the following scavenger hunt questions.

1) Operation Flintlock was the name given to the invasion of these islands.

2) U.S. forces decided to land on this Mariana Island first so that it could be used to invade the other two.

3) By August 10, 1944 these two islands, which were in striking distance of the Japanese mainland, were firmly in allied hands.

4) This 1944 battle is sometimes called “The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.”

5) Even though this was the only one of the Solomon Islands that the Japanese still controlled in August of 1943, they had over 33,000 soldiers defending it.

6) MacArthur knew that this battle would be difficult as 250,000 Japanese soldiers controlled the island. Therefore, he decided to hold off his invasion until January 1945.

7) This island would become a major US base, as it was close enough for US bombers to make raids against Japanese cities.

8) The first incendiary bombing raid against this city destroyed more than sixteen square miles.

9) During this battle, Japan lost nearly all its remaining naval force.

10) Japan, in an effort to forestall an attack against these islands, formulated a plan to attack and destroy the U.S. Carrier forces.

11) This was the largest naval battle in history and the last major attempt by the Japanese navy to affect the course of the war. This was also where the Japanese began to use the technique of “kamikaze”.

12) The capture of this mountain on Iwo Jima is one of the most photographed scenes of the war.

13) After the fighting to regain Attu, the Allies assembled a force of 34,000 to attack this island, only to discover that the Japanese had left the previous month.

14) The last two Japanese soldiers on this island did not lay down their arms until 1951.

15) Japan decided to keep these two Alaskan islands to prevent the United States from using them as bases from which to attack the Japanese mainland.

16) These islands were to serve as a staging area for an invasion of Japan.

17) General MacArthur decided that he needed an air base on this island in order to support an invasion of the Solomon Islands.

18) This was the codename for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands.

19) These were considered the three most important of the Mariana Islands.

20) This was the costliest battle of the pacific theater.

21) The Japanese, rather than meeting the allies on the beaches of New Georgia, decided to defend this air field on the southwestern tip of the island.

22) MacArthur considered this island secure after March 1944, even though it was not completely purged of Japanese soldiers.

23) Even though some unarmed Japanese still remained in the mountains, this island was in allied hands by the end of the summer of 1944.

24) Even though these islands were of little strategic value, their liberation was a matter of prestige.

25) During this year-long battle, the Japanese suffered losses of nearly 24,000.

26) By the end of August, 1943, U.S. forces had complete control of this island.

27) Before an operation against these islands could occur, Allied Military planners wanted to drive the Japanese from the western half of New Guinea.

Sources: This lesson was slightly modified from the Lesson Plan Four of the Curriculum Unit: "The Proper Application of Overwhelming Force": The United States in World War II EDSITEment - Lesson Plans

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