WW2 Pacific Front (1942-1945)
This is my second article on the Pacific theater of war you can see my first article if you haven't WW2 Pacific Front
After the attack on pearl harbor on that following day, the Japanese also launched their invasion of Singapore which was the capital of British Malaya at that time on 10th Dec the Japanese bombers based out of Saigon, Indochina which sunk Force Z which was a British force consisting of 1 battleship and one battlecruiser which were the prince of wales and repulse which were sunk in south china sea while returning to Singapore. The US Carrier Enterprise was the first ship to sink a Japanese warship after the declaration of the pacific war which was the I-70 submarine on 10th Dec. On 16th Dec the Japanese attacked Borneo the campaign lasted for 4 months which the Japanese lost around 600+ casualties and 2 destroyers and 1 minesweeper and some transport ships sunk and beached while the allies lost 2,300 casualties which were either killed or captured and one flying boat and one submarine sunk.
The Japanese gave a decisive blow to the allies combined forces under ABDA (American, British, Dutch, and Australian) in the battle of the java sea and successfully landing on java and conquering Indonesia in just 10 days.
After that On April 18th, The Americans raided Tokyo and many places in Japan which is famously known as the Doolittle's raid where for the first time a tactical bomber was launched from an aircraft carrier which was the first raid conduct by the Americans from the starting of the war and which convinced the Japanese emperor that even Tokyo is not safe from Americans.
In April 1942 The Japanese Imperial High Command started preparing for Operation Port Moresby. On 3rd-4th may the Japanese successfully invaded on Tulagi and the battle of the coral sea is a long article which I will write an article about it later. But the results were allies claimed a strategic victory because they stopped the first Japanese offensive in the pacific and prevented the landings on Port Moresby. On the Japanese side, they claimed a tactical victory on tonnage.
After that On June 4th and June 7th, the Japanese and the US clased in the battle of midway where the USA gave a decisive blow to the Japanese which know as the turning point at midway where Americans sunk 4 Japanese carriers and losing only one carrier USS Yorktown it is also a long battle so I will write an individual article for it. which is the last Japanese offensive in the pacific and the starting of the American offensives in the pacific.
After that On August 7th, the Americans launched its first offensive on the pacific where they launched a surprise attack on Guadalcanal and taking an under construction airfield which they named Henderson field and which they fight a brutal campaign to take control of the island for 6 months and many naval engagements which consist of the battle of Santa Cruz island where the Americans lost another aircraft carrier which is USS Hornet and another carrier USS wasp which was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. which left the only operational carrier in the pacific which is USS Enterprise or Big E but the Americans heavily damaged two of their carriers and after some weeks they engaged the Japanese cruiser fleet when they sneak into the Guadalcanal Harbor and the Americans and Australian cruiser force attack in the battle of Savo island which is known as one of the worst American defeats in the war where they lost 3 of their cruisers and 1 cruiser scuttled and 1 cruiser damaged after that in the following days they engaged in some more naval battles but the Americans understood that the Japanese carrier force is only weakened not the surface fleet and the Japanese still has the most powerful surface fleet in the world.
After the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Americans started getting new ships in 1943 and they launch some naval invasions. In 1943 which is the invasion of marshall and gilbert islands after that in 1944 when the Americans were invading Mariana and Palau islands they engaged in the battle of the Philippine Sea with the imperial Japanese navy and given a stunning blow to the Japanese navy where they sunk 3 fleet carriers and 2 oiler tankers and some other ships damaged. In the invasion of the islands, they fight for a bloody 5 months to get control of the islands and in Saipan, they got control of the island in less than a month and started the strategic bombing of japan which continued till the end of the war.
After that, the Americans prepared for the invasion of the Philippines to take it back from the Japanese.
On October 24th the Americans engaged the Japanese fleet on Sibuyan sea where the sunk Musashi sister ship of Yamato. On Oct 25th, many battles happened and it was the first where the Japanese first used kamikaze strikes on allied ships. the battles are the battle off cape engano- where the American battleships and carriers sunk the last remaining carriers of the imperial Japanese navy and then the Battle off Samar where American escort carriers face the Japanese under the command of Admiral Kurita where Americans showed very bravery and where the destroyer Johnston showed very bravery and The destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts which is known as the destroyer escort scared away a battleship it is said because when destroyer got closure to Yamato the ship tried to disengage. then at night, two Japanese battleships were ambushed by Americans when they were trying to get away from the Philippines through the Surigao strait where the American battleships which survived the attack on pearl harbor took avenge on the Japanese ships. The Phillippines campaign was a success and the casualties are the Japanese lost over 400,000 men and the allies lost around 60,000.
After that, the Americans attacked Iwo Jima because of many reasons the first was for emergency landings and the bombers being intercepted and it was one of the states of japan and after the landings on Mount Suribachi the first American flag was raised in a Japanese state in the fight for the Americans exceeded the number of casualties which they faced 26,000 casualties and Japanese lost around 20,000 casualties.
After that On April 1st on April fools day the allies launched operation iceberg invasion of Okinawa where they landed 50,000 troops the largest amphibious landings throughout the war and fight for a bloody 3 months to take the island and which force the US to use the atomic because of the fierce resistance in Okinawa and that if they invade mainland japan the cost will be enormous when 100 of thousands will die which was unacceptable and the Japanese super battleship Yamato was sent on a suicide mission codenamed operation ten go to attack the American ships at Okinawa and it was spotted by American subs on Ryukyu islands and was sunk by American carriers the day after but the American ships were attacked by kamikaze aircraft.
After that In August, the Americans dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and on 8th August, the Soviets invaded Japanese held Manchuria and after that, on 15th August, the Japanese emperor broadcast news and unconditional surrender to the allies the peace was signed on USS Missouri on 2nd Sept and then the war came to an end but a new war which is the cold war between the capitalist and communist.
Thanks for reading the article That's it for today's article it's the last ww2 article on the Pacific front a new article will come this time some important battles in the pacific. You can support us by donating on Patreon:- https://www.patreon.com/historywithirfan
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