|
Section 3
Japan -Pearl Harbor wasn’t the only thing Japan attacked in December -Attacked all over Pacific -Conquered lots of land -Battle of Philippines -Invaded Dec. 1941 -Pushed US troops to Bataan Peninsula -Gen. Douglas MacArthur in charge -FDR orders MacArthur to withdraw -Barely escapes (“I shall return”) -Bataan Death March -70,000 US/Filipino troops captured -Forced to march to prison camp -10,000 died along way (beaten, shot)
Allies Fight in the Pacific -Spring 1942àUS raids Japanese cities -Doolittle Raids -Little damage, but boosted morale -Battle of Coral Sea (May 1942)à“Battle of Mistakes” -Air attacks -Battle of Midway (June 1942) -Turning point of war in Pacific -Had deciphered Japanese code (no one knew US knew code)
Allies Advance -US had strategy of “island hopping” -Take little jumps from island to island -Slowly work towards Japan -Battle of Guadalcanal (August 1942) -Japan was building an airport on Solomon islands -Too close to Australia -US winsàkeeps Japan from expanding -Navajo Code Talkers kept Japan from breaking US code -October 1944àUS returns to Philippines -Battle of Leyte Gulf -Nearly 300 ships involved -March 1945àPhilippines liberated -Japan used “kamikaze” missions
Final Battles -Feb. 1945àUS attacks Iwo Jima -Flag raising at Mt. Suribachi -4K US killed; 20K Japanese killed -Battle of Okinawa (April 1945) -49K US casualties (Japan had 100K) -Despite devastation, Japan continues on -Allies planned for invasion of Japan in November -Estimated 200,000 US troops would die
Atomic Weapons End the War -Manhattan Project -Set up in 1942 -Top secret program to develop atomic bomb -Led by Robert Oppenheimer -Oak Ridge, TN chosen to get uranium -Got plutonium from Washington -Employed 200K people -Cost 2 billion (about 26 billion today) -August 6, 1945 -Enola Gay (plane) dropped atomic bomb (Little Boy) on Hiroshima -Killed 75K+ -August 9, 1945 -Atomic bomb (Fat Man) dropped on Nagasaki -Over 240,000 deaths attributed to 2 bombs -Japan surrenders on August 15, 1945 -Sign papers on Sept. 2, 1945 on USS Missouri
|