On August 24, 1942, while operating off the coast of the Solomon Islands, the USS Enterprise suffered heavy attacks by Japanese bombers. Stripped of carrier planes, the Japanese fleet fled westward, but American planes in pursuit were able to sink several vessels, including three carriers. In a massive air battle that took place on June 19, 4 days after landings on Saipan, the Japanese lost more than 400 planes to an American loss of less than 30. naval contingents under Admiral Spruance. They hastily reassembled their fleet from Biak and the Philippines and sailed north to defend the Marianas area, but lack of land-based air support made it impossible to surprise the U.S. The Japanese sallied forth to offer battle to the U.S. Loss of Saipan precipitated a political crisis in Tokyo and brought about the fall of the Tojo Cabinet. All three islands were strongly garrisoned by Japanese troops who contested every yard of ground. Amphibious assaults were made on Saipan on June 15, on Guam on July 20, and on Tinian on July 23, 1944. warships and transporters, on September 25, 1942, at an unknown location in the Pacific Ocean.Īdmiral Nimitz invaded the Marianas in June 1944. Japanese bomber planes sweep in very low for an attack on U.S. Instead, Nimitz drew up plans for an invasion of the Marianas in June, to be followed in September by an advance into the western Carolines. This raid revealed that the Japanese had virtually abandoned Truk as a naval base, and a plan to assault that atoll in June was abandoned. Meanwhile, on February 16, Nimitz had launched a massive carrier raid on Truk in the central Carolines, long considered Japan’s key bastion in the central Pacific. The principal islands taken were Kwajalein, which was invaded by an Army force on February 1, and the islands of Roi and Namur, which were invaded by Marines on February 3 and 6.įrom Kwajalein a naval task force, moving west 340 miles with a regiment each of Marines and infantry, captured a Japanese air base on Engebi in the Eniwetok Atoll on February 17-19, 1944. Campaigns against the Aleutians and Rabaul succeeded in stopping the Japanese advances and secured bases for Allied advances on Japan.Ī helmeted Australian soldier, rifle in hand, looks out over a typical New Guinea landscape in the vicinity of Milne Bay on October 31, 1942, where an earlier Japanese attempt at invasion was defeated by the Australian defenders.ĭuring January and February 1944, Admiral Nimitz proceeded to positions in the central and western Marshalls. After long, bloody struggles, both campaigns succeeded.įrom this point on, Nimitz and MacArthur engaged in island-hopping campaigns that bypassed strongly-held islands to strike at the enemy’s weak points. The first stage of the offensive began with the Navy under Admiral Nimitz and Marine landings on Guadalcanal and nearby islands in the Solomons.Īt the same time, the Army under General MacArthur with Australian allies set out to take New Guinea’s Papuan peninsula. After the Battle of Midway, the Japanese were forced to fall back and defend their holdings.Īfter the Battle of Midway, the Allies were able to launch a counter-offensive. The plot to capture Midway collapsed, and Japan lost much of its offensive capability in the process. After the smoke had cleared, four Japanese aircraft carriers had been destroyed. American naval commanders led by Chester Nimitz, therefore, knew the assault was coming.įollowing in the cover of a tank, American infantrymen secure an area on Bougainville, Solomon Islands, in March 1944, after Japanese forces infiltrated their lines during the night.Īirplane combat decided the Battle at Midway. The United States was still benefiting from being able to decipher Japanese radio messages. Midway could have been used as a staging point for future attacks on Pearl Harbor. In June 1942, Japan hoped to capture Midway Island, an American-held base about 1000 miles from Hawaii. The turning point in the Pacific theatre came in mid-1942 with history’s first great carrier battles. Once the Allies became strong enough to threaten their perimeter from several directions, the advantage would be lost, since Japan did not have and could not produce enough planes and ships to defend in force at all points. While the Japanese enjoyed the advantage of interior lines of communication, they had somewhat overextended themselves. The Pacific Theater in rare pictures, 1942-1945Īfter Pearl Harbor, the Japanese quickly gained control over a huge area of the Pacific, from the Philippines to Burma to the Aleutians to the Solomons.
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