Hard Notes
Soft Notes
The War in the Pacific
The Allies Stem the Japanese Tide
Japanese Advances
• In first 6 months after Pearl Harbor, Japan conquers empire
• Gen. Douglas MacArthur leads Allied forces in Philippines
• March 1942 U.S., Filipino troops trapped on Bataan Peninsula
• FDR orders MacArthur to leave; thousands of troops remain

Doolittle’s Raid
• April 1942, Lt. Col. James Doolittle leads raid on Tokyo

Continued The Allies Stem the Japanese Tide
Battle of the Coral Sea
• May 1942, U.S., Australian soldiers stop Japanese drive to Australia
• For first time since Pearl Harbor, Japanese invasion turned back

The Battle of Midway
• Admiral Chester Nimitz commands U.S. naval forces in Pacific
• Allies break Japanese code, win Battle of Midway, stop Japan again
• Allies advance island by island to Japan

The Allies Go on the Offensive
The Allied Offensive
• Allied offensive begins August 1942 in Guadalcanal
• October 1944, Allies converge on Leyte Island in Philippines
- return of MacArthur

The Japanese Defense
• Japan uses kamikaze attack—pilots crash bomb-laden planes into ships
• Battle of Leyte Gulf is a disaster for Japan
- Imperial Navy severely damaged; plays minor role after

Continued The Allies Go on the Offensive
Iwo Jima
• Iwo Jima critical as base from which planes can reach Japan
• 6,000 marines die taking island; of 20,700 Japanese, 200 survive

The Battle for Okinawa
• April 1945 U.S. Marines invade Okinawa
• April–June: 7,600 U.S. troops, 110,000 Japanese die
• Allies fear invasion of Japan may mean 1.5 million Allied casualties

The Atomic Bomb Ends the War
The Manhattan Project
• J. Robert Oppenheimer is research director of Manhattan Project
• July 1945, atomic bomb tested in New Mexico desert
• President Truman orders military to drop 2 atomic bombs on Japan

Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• August 6, Hiroshima, major military center, destroyed by bomb
• 3 days later, bomb dropped on city of Nagasaki
• September 2, 1945 Japan surrenders

Rebuilding