...The Battle of Guadalcanal, 1942 “General Vandegrift noted that the Japanese soldier "was trained to go to a place, stay there, fight and die. We train our men to go to a place, fight to win, and to live. I can assure you, it is a better theory." (Henry I. Shaw, 1992) World War II was possibly the largest and bloodiest war (John Miller, 2003) that America has been a part of. The war was engaged on land, on sea, and in the air, and lasted close to six years (Henry I. Shaw, 1992). The Battle of Guadalcanal was a decisive victory during WWII, and a turning point for the Americans and the Allies in the Pacific theater (staff, 2009) in 1942. America was forced into action when on December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese forces attacked the Asian waters into the Pacific with coinciding attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Wake, Guam, Hong Kong, and the Malay Peninsula (John Miller, 2003). The US maintained the "German first" course they had set against the Axis, but were immediately forced to stop the Japanese momentum; the Guadalcanal was a key piece of territory because it was part of the Solomon Islands, located north-eastern of Australia. Failure to stop the Japanese would threaten the lines of communication to Australia and New Zealand (John Miller, 2003). On August 8th, the Marines landed at Guadalcanal; with no resistance from the Japanese; the Marines wasted no time; they joined their positions and seized the airfield the Japanese started (Trueman, 2000), and forged a...
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...Also in 1942, a U.S. Naval base was captured just outside Japan. After that battle, the Japanese would attack the island of Bataan and take over the territory, a Japanese warship would be sunk by a U.S. submarine The Allied forces finally gained air supremacy in the Pacific. The U.S. would take many things from the Japanese in WW2 because of their strategy to push back the Japanese. One big thing that happen in The Pacific war was that The U.S. would capture a lot of generals or high ranked officers in that same year. Japanese descendants would have to be forcely moved from the U.S. gov’t to a remote camping facility where they will have to spend the rest of WW2 just because the gov’t feared of anyone being spies.They would also bounce from one island to another. The U.S. would defeat the Japanese in almost every battle and in every island. Since the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the U.S. did the same thing by bombing one of their cities before the atomic bomb was even made. The war would last until 1944 when the Japanese would surrender due to loss of troops and territory. The goals for the U.S. Navy was...
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...day earlier because many were doubtful about the idea of staying any longer. Several bombs hit civilian areas killing fifty people and injuring four-hundred. This attack was a huge blow for the Japanese (ushmm.org). Another major battle was the Battle of the Coral Sea. This was the first air-sea battle of history. The Japanese wanted to control the Coral Sea with an invasion of Port Moresby in southeast New Guinea. When the Japanese landed in this area, they came under attack from the United States’ aircraft. Both sides suffered damages, but this specifically left the Japanese without enough planes to control this port (nationalgeographic.com). A major turning point in WW2 was the Battle of Midway in 1942. Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan is defeated by the U.S. in the Battle of Midway . The Japanese had a decisive plan steamed from ships escaping Pearl Harbor. They wanted to trick the U.S. and surprise them with a grand military. However, the U.S. found a way to listen in on Japan's plan by radio. This was a huge downfall for Japan and they were set back (ushmm.org). The Battle of Guadalcanal was the most important victory of the allies in WW2. This was the first win for the allies in the pacific theater. Possession of Guadalcanal was...
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...months. In 1940, Germany launched its next initiative by attacking Denmark and Norway, followed shortly thereafter by attacks on Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. All of these nations were conquered rapidly. The Battle of Britain Later in the summer of 1940, Germany launched a further attack on Britain, this time exclusively from the air. The Battle of Britain was Germany’s first military failure, as the German air force, the Luftwaffe, was never able to overcome Britain’s Royal Air Force. Greece and North Africa As Hitler plotted his next steps, Italy, an ally of Germany, expanded the war even further by invading Greece and North Africa. The Greek campaign was a failure, and Germany was forced to come to Italy’s assistance in early 1941. The USSR Later in 1941, Germany began its most ambitious action yet, by invading the Soviet Union. Although the Germans initially made swift progress and advanced deep into the Russian heartland, the invasion of the USSR would prove to be the downfall of Germany’s war effort. The country was just too big, and although Russia’s initial resistance was weak, the nation’s strength and determination, combined with its brutal winters, would eventually be more than the German army could overcome. In 1943, after the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, Germany was forced into a full-scale retreat. During the course of 1944, the Germans were slowly but steadily forced completely out of Soviet territory, after which the Russians pursued them...
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...CHESTY PULLER Lewis Burwell Puller was born on June 26th, 1898 (HICKMAN,2009). He was born in West Point, Virginia to his mother Martha, and his father Matthew Puller. Lewis Puller grew up listening to old Civil War Veterans talk about the military because his father died when he was only ten years old. He soon wanted to join the United States Army in 1916, but could not join, because he was too young, and his mother would not sign his waiver. A year later he began to attend Virginia Military Institute, but left a year after enlisting in the institute. Lewis left because he went to enlist in the United States Marine Corps in Paris Island, South Carolina. Although, Lewis joined the Marines towards the end of World War I, he did not go into battle (HICKMAN,2009). Soon after graduating boot camp, Lewis attended Officer Candidate School (OCS), in Quantico, Virginia. After, graduating OCS on June 16th, 1919, Lewis was promoted to Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserves (BLASHEK,2009). The amount of Marines in the force reduced from 73,000 to 1,100. After being inactive for ten days, every soldier that was inactive was promoted to Corporal. When Lewis was a Corporal he was ordered to serve in the Gendarmerie d'Haiti as a lieutenant (BLASHEK,2009). He was involved in forty encounters in Haiti. He tried to regain his office rank twice, but in 1922 he was appointed to the assistant of Major Alexander Vandegrift . Lewis Puller soon returned home to the United States and was promoted...
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... |Dates |Allied objective |Major turning point |Outcome | |EXAMPLE: |October 1942 to May |Attack Germans from the southern side; |Battle at El Alamein: German forces driven|The American offensive finally drove the Germans from | | |1943 |expose the vulnerability of the Nazi |out of Egypt |Africa, allowing the Allies to move toward Italy | |North Africa | |empire | | | | |1943-1944 |Allies wanted defeat the German occupancy |Battle at Monte Cassion: Allies broke |The Germans and Italians were defeated on the Italian | |Italy | |of Italy and then they and moved toward |through German defenses and were able to |front, leading the Allies the opportunity to approach | | | |Germany from the South; topple Mussolini |move up the coast. Battle at Anzio led to|Germany from the south, as well as to remove a major | | | |...
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...In May of 1942, the first twenty-nine recruited Navajos arrived at Camp Elliott. Unfortunately though, the U.S. military was still skeptical of the idea of using Navajo code talkers. This was because after World War I, Germany and Japan sent students to the U.S. to ...
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...Allied objective Major turning point Outcome EXAMPLE: North Africa October 1942 to May 1943 Attack Germans from the southern side; expose the vulnerability of the Nazi empire Battle at El Alamein: German forces driven out of Egypt The American offensive finally drove the Germans from Africa, allowing the Allies to move toward Italy Italy July 10 1943 Aug 17 1943 Attack Germans and Italian and open the Mediterranean sea lanes Taking Sicily from the Germans and Italians by over throwing the Mussolini Over throwing the Mussolini Normandy June 6 1944 June 8 1944 To conquer the Germans and gain a second front within Europe. Breaking through the Atlantic wall and had pushed inland. Allies gaining control of a 50 mile stretch on the coast of France, allowing the allies to move toward Paris. Liberation of Paris August 19 1944 August 25 1944 To get the Germans out and to gain control of Paris. The capture of Aachen city German garrison surrendered Part 2: The Pacific Campaign, Battle, or Major Event Dates Allied objective or role Major turning point Outcome Battle of the Coral Sea May 4 1942 May 8 1942 To stop the Japanese from invading Australia Japanese fleet carrier Shokaku and Zuikaku was attacked and severely damaged. Japanese invasion repelled Battle of Midway June 4 1942 June 7 1942 The Japanese wanted to trap the U.S. remaining aircrafts The sinking of Akagi...
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...Connor Cohn 3/4/11 Curry, period 4 Final Aircraft Carriers in WWII Many of World War II’s greatest battles were fought at sea, making naval technologies crucial to all sides. Many kinds of ships, such as battleships, submarines, and aircraft carriers, had been used in previous wars, but the global nature of World War II made naval battles especially important. These vessels ranged from heavily armed warships to numerous support craft such as fuel ships and troop landing boats. Of all the ships used in the war, aircraft carriers were the largest. Thus, how and why were aircraft carriers so effective in World War II, specifically how was it more effective than a battleship, and how did both Japan and the US utilize this revolution in technology? An aircraft carrier is a ship whose primary purpose is to bring airplanes closer to distant battle areas. Since most World War II aircraft had a range of just a few hundred miles, it was necessary to bring the aircraft to the battlefront, and using a ship to do so made a lot of sense in the Pacific, where much of the fighting took place on islands and along coastal areas. The first true aircraft carriers were built by the Japanese in the 1920’s. Japan remained an innovator in aircraft carrier design and construction during the years leading to World War II, operating nine aircraft carriers by 1941. Their largest carriers of the war were the Akagi and Kaga, each capable of launching over 90 aircraft (doc. Navy), only 25% of these...
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...December 7, 1941 started a year of losses that devastated the United States Navy to a point that there were serious considerations that the U.S. may lose the war. The point most researchers don’t seem to connect with the Super Power Global U.S. Navy of today was based upon forced changes in strategy, Technology and Leadership that was forced by the losses of 1941 to the Imperial Japanese Navy. In the first year of the war the Imperial Japanese Navy used Strategy, Technology and Leadership to overwhelm the U.S. Navy. If we reflect on the state of the U.S. Navy in 1939, we can get a better understanding of just how much effect Admiral Halsey had just 2 years later when he was placed into a historic leadership role. The U.S. Navy believed firmly that it was the technology leader in the Pacific in 1939. They had the biggest battleship fleet in the world, a huge arsenal of planes and Men in the strategic locations that would easily stop any aggression by Japan if they dared even to consider attacking any American interest. They also knew that they had some of the oldest and seasoned Admirals in the world. Ones who did not need to know about new technology as long as they could command the leviathans, the dreadnaught battleships, which had been the center of U.S. Naval strategy for over 60 years. However as the last of Admiral Nagumo’s airplane banked triumphantly away from the smoking ruins of the US Pacific Fleet, most in America at first believed that American had indeed lost the...
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...The Battle of Midway John Hays ENG/102 November 10, 2013 Dr. Lisa Tilley The Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was fought over land and at sea near the small United States Pacific base of Midway Island; this sea and air battle “represents the high water mark of Japan's Pacific Ocean war.” (Naval History and Heritage Command, 2010, p.1) Thus, prior to this battle, Japan’s Navy possessed sea and air superiority over the United States and could choose when and where to attack. “After Midway the two opposing fleets were essentially equals, and the United States soon took the offensive.” (Naval History and Heritage Command, 2010, p.1) The Battle of Midway was a strategic point when the United States turned the tide of World War II in the Pacific because; the United States Navy stopped the Japanese advance and they put the Japanese Navy on the defensive. By March 1942, Japan’s Navy high command initial goals were achieved easier than what they had planed. Therefore, they had turned their sights into making an offensive war plan and not to transition into a “strategic defensive posture, but there were still disputes on how to maintain the offensive” (Hone, 2013, p.1). Most historians speculate, “Moving further south in the Pacific would isolate Australia, and possibly remove that nation as a threat to the freshly expanded Japanese Empire.” (Naval History and Heritage Command, 2010, p.1) Therefore, the June Midway Battle turned out to be the most damaging battle of the...
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...He led his battalion into battle where he is credited with saving the lives of 3 companies because of his quick thinking. Marines along the Matanikau were being surrounded by a much larger Japanese force. Puller takes action and rushes his men to shore as he signals a US Navy Destroyer to provide cover fire while rescue crafts load up the Marines to pull back. Lewis Puller was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat V for his actions. Puller also received his 3rd Navy Cross in the Battle for Henderson Field. Puller along with his 1st Battalion 7th Marines and an Army Infantry Regiment fought a 3 hour long attack against the overwhelming Japanese forces. At the end of the battle the US troops suffered 90 casualties and the Japanese over 1,400. Puller was then given the position of executive officer of the 7th Marine Regiment. He earned his 4th Navy Cross as successfully conquered a heavily fortified Japanese defense postion even while under fire from enemy machine gun and mortar fire. He promoted to Colonel on February 1, 1944 and given control of the 1st Marine...
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...recently conducted on nuclear fission, they might be able to construct a nuclear bomb and dominate the world with its destruction. He then convinced Albert Einstein of the impending Nazi threat and Einstein took the initiative to alert the United States by writing a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the letter sent in August 1939, right before the start of the war, Einstein advised that the United States be wary of the threat of nuclear weaponry in the hands of the enemy and that they should begin a weapons building program of their own. A very small committee was established to look into the science and development of a bomb, funded by a mere $6,000. President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized ten million dollars in funding by June 1942 as the United States Army Corps of Engineers was given the control of the project. The North Atlantic District of the corps was headquartered in New York City. In order to disguise the function of the office, it was named the “Manhattan Engineer District”, meaning the effort to build the bomb would be named the...
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...Pepper" or the "Electric Strawberry," in 1953, the nickname "Tropic Lightning" was officially adopted. In 1921, the United States Army formed the Hawaiian Division to protect the islands and our growing interests in the Pacific region. On October 1, 1941, the Hawaiian Division was split to create the 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions. The 25th Infantry Division was stationed at Schofield Barracks, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The Division was just over two months old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor thrusting the United States into World War Two. After the attack, the Division moved into beach defensive positions, preparing to defend Honolulu from invasion. The division continued in its role as protector of Oahu until November 1942, when they were ordered into action against the Japanese in the Solomon...
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...Japanese internment: Japanese americans on the Pacific coast; Washington top command feared that japanese would act as aboteurs for Japan in case of invasion, forcibly herded them together in concentration camps; internment camps deprived them of dignity, basic rights, and millions of dollars in property and foregone earnings 1. Korematsu vs. US: Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Japanese relocation in this case 2. Issei: “first”, legally barred from becoming citizens Nissei: American-born children; home of issei that they would reap the full benefits of their birthright by encouraging them to learn English, excel in school, etc. many grew up in 2 worlds 3. War Production Board: through this, American factories pored forth a mass of weapons; halted the production of nonessential items such as passenger cars assigned priorities for transportation and access to raw materials 4. Henry Kaiser: miracle-man shipbuilder; his prodigies of ship construction; one of his ships fully assembled in 14 days 5. Office of Price Admission: brought ascending prices under control with extensive regulations; formed after a crisis of full employment and scarce consumer goods; rationing held down the consumption of critical goods such as meat and butter 6. War Labor Board: imposed ceilings on wage increases; labor unions hated this; there were many labor walkouts (most famous: United Mine Worker); you pay this with overtime pay 7. Smith-Conally Anti...
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