The Pacific War, part 2

As mentioned in the previous post, Japan and America found themselves at war after Japan aggressively attacked the American Pacific naval base, Pearl Harbour.

So what exactly happened after Pearl Harbour??

Guam, Wake Island, and Hong Kong fell to the Japanese by late December 1941.Singapore fell on February 15, 1942. The Dutch gave way to the aggressive powers of Japan in March 1942 and surrendered the Dutch East Indies. The Japanese still had further Pacific nations in their sight, and this expansion resulted in the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 8, 1942), and the unsuccessful Battle of Midway (June '42). After Midway the Japanese turned back. They then went on to suffer losses and defeats in the Solomon Islands (August '42), the Guadalcanal (forced Japanese withdrawal in February 1943) and later New Guinea (May 1943). The Americans, under General MacArthur also wanted to free the Phillipines from Japanese control.

On the continent, Japan was also suffering losses to the allies (America and Britain) in Burma and in the Chinese War. A million Japanese troops were stationed in China, and over two hundred thousand died during the Burma campaign (October '44-May '45). Unlike the bigger nations, Japan's servicemen weren't unlimited and these losses were costing the Japanese heavily. The tough Japanese spirit was exhibited during the Battle of Saipan (ending July 1944), where the determined forces fought to the bitter end, conducting banzai (Suicidal) charges. This notion of never surrendering or becoming prisoners of war, sadly, also gained momentum amongst the civilian population and over ten thousand civilians committed suicide at the soldiers' urgings.

The Japanese also experienced the devastating loss of Tinian and Guam, both strategic naval and air bases. It was fron Tinian that the planes that dropped the Atomic bombs took off. These losses also put Tokyo at great risk. This battle for key islands on the way to Japan continued. By June 1944 the Japanese had lost 250,000 soldiers whereas the Americans had lost 8,140 and another 29,557 wounded.

Iwo Jima was another strategic island which the Americans gained control over in March 1945. War in Europe was drawing to a close and it seemed as though the Americans (and their allies) were gaining the upper hand in the Pacific. What then, led to the Atomic Bomb???