WW II IN THE PACIFIC

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http//www.nrotc.web.arizona.edu/data/310/20.ppt
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Learning Objectives

• Summarize the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
• Explain US and Japanese strategy at the opening
  of WWII.
• Be familiar with the timeline of key events in
  the Pacific Theater.
• Summarize the battles for Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima,
  and Okinawa.
• Describe the decisions that led to the employment
  of the atomic bomb.

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The Road to War

• Japan sought to control of East Asia for
  additional markets and sources of raw materials
• Invades China in 1931.
• Invades French Indochina in 1940.
• Colonial governments begin imposing embargoes
  to put brakes on Japanese expansion.
• Japanese armed forces argue that they must strike
  to relieve pressure of embargoes.
• Expect conflict, but buy time and surprise
  through negotiations.
• US and UK focused on war in Europe.

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Japanese Strategy

• Three Phases
• Phase I Surprise attacks, then strategic
  defense.
• Knock out US fleet seize vital areas establish
  defensive perimeter.
• Phase II Strengthen perimeter make any
  offensive action by the US prohibitively costly.
• Phase III Defeat and destroy any forces that
  attempt to penetrate the perimeter.
• Long US LOC and natural strength of defense
  should almost guarantee success.

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Pearl Harbor

• Surprise
• Deception operations
• First significant use of carriers.
• Tactical home run, but strategic foul ballor
  strikeout?
• Critical Vulnerability??
• US Pacific Fleet
• Destruction of battleships proved
  counterproductive.
• US carriers proved to be surface that cost
  Japanese the war.
• Fog and friction?

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Whos in charge?

• General MacArthur
• SWPA
• Southwestern Pacific
• Many large land masses
• Maneuver
• Retake PI
• Island Hop, but larger land masses.

• Admiral Nimitz
• POA
• North, Central, Southern Pacific
• Primarily open ocean
• Carrier Air
• Island Hop

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Island Hopping Campaign

• LtCol (then Maj) Pete Ellis develops OPLAN 712
  Advanced Base Operations in Micronesia (aka
  the Orange Plan) in 1921.
• Predicts that Japan will strike first.
• " . . . it will be necessary for us to project
  our fleetand landing forces across the Pacific
  and wage war in Japanese waters. To effect this
  requires that we have sufficient bases to support
  the fleet, both during its projection and
  afterwards. To effect an amphibious landing in
  the face of enemy resistance requires careful
  training and preparation to say the least and
  this along Marine lines. It is not enough that
  the troops be skilled infantrymen or artillery
  men of high morale they must be skilled watermen
  and jungle-men whoknow it can be done--Marines
  with Marine training."

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MajGen Lejeune circa 1923

• "... on both flanks of a fleet crossing the
  Pacific are numerous islands suitable for
  utilization by an enemy for radio stations,
  aviation, submarine, or destroyer bases. All
  should be mopped up as progress is made. . . The
  presence of an expeditionary force with the fleet
  would add greatly to the striking power of the
  Commander-in-Chief of the fleet. . . . The
  maintenance, equipping, and training of its
  expeditionary force so that it will be in instant
  readiness to support the fleet in the event of
  war, I deem to be the most important Marine Corps
  duty in time of peace."

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Logistics

• Logistics plays a crucial role in the Pacific.
• Island Hopping to seize advanced (primarily air)
  bases and cut Japanese LOC.
• Japanese have qualitative edge in military
  hardware at the beginning of war.
• Choose quality over quantity (Zero, Yamato).
• Unable to replace assets quickly.
• US is master of mass production.
• Average quality, tremendous quantity.
• Implement ideas from captured equipment.
• US subs operate independently and sink Japanese
  ships faster than Japan can produce them.

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1941

• December 7 Pearl Harbor
• Dec 8 US GB declare war on Japan
• Dec 9 China declares war on Japan
• Dec 10 Prince of Wales and Repulse sunk
• Japan invades Burma, Hong Kong, Philippines,
  Guam, Wake, Borneo

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1942 The Empire Expands

• February Singapore falls
• March New Guinea
• April Bataan
• May Corregidor

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1942

• April Doolittle Raid on Tokyo
• Tactical evolution with strategic impact.
• Shifts morale in both countries
• Adapt and overcome
• May Coral Sea
• Stop the enemy
• Tactical victory for Japan
• Strategic victory for US
• June Midway
• July-November Guadalcanal
• Island not officially secured until Feb 43.

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Battle of Midway June 1942

• Original perimeter not sufficient.
• Doolittle raid concerns Japanese.
• Want base to bomb Hawaii.
• Deliver killing blow to US fleet.
• Security
• Simplicity
• Yamamoto uses operational push tactics.
• Attacks island before locating US fleet.
• First naval battle fought entirely with airplanes.

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Midway The Tide Turns

• Patrol planes spot Japanese main body just as
  they are about to RTB.
• Midway-based A/C strike Japanese TF
• Japanese A/C attack Midway with little impact.
• Rearm w/ bombs or torpedoes?
• US carrier-based torpedo attack has same outcome
  as land-based attack, but distract fighters and
  allow dive bombers to hit TF while planes
  rearm/refuel.
• Aviation combined arms?
• Japanese lose four heavy carriers, all planes,
  and many of their best pilots US loses
  Yorktown.

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Guadalcanal

• 7 August 1942
• First offensive action of the war.
• Critical airfield.
• First plane makes emergency landing on 12 Aug.
• 2 USMC squadrons arrive on 20 Aug.
• Only one healthy carrier left by end of battle.
• Strategic offense tactical defense
• Navy bugs out, taking majority of supplies with
  them.
• Redeem themselves during critical 12 Nov naval
  battle when they turn back major Japanese force.

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Guadalcanal

• Japanese piecemeal counterattacks.
• Maneuver, mass, and surprise all hampered by
  jungle.
• 8 day forced march
• USMC conducts vigorous patrols as part of active
  defense.
• 2d Raider Bn conducts month-long patrol.
• Japanese attempt to reinforce by sea, but suffer
  significant losses in the process. (7 of 11
  transports)
• Jungle causes significant casualties.
• Over 1k new cases of malaria per week.
• Army comes in to mop up in November.

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Results

• Island secured in Feb 43.
• Japan suffers critical losses in all areas.
• 600 a/c, 2300 aircrew
• 25k soldiers (1/2 in combat, ½ to illness)
• 2 BB, 3 CV, 12 Cruisers, 25 destroyers
• Roughly same number as US, but Japan unable to
  replace.
• Institution of CATF/CLF.

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1st Marine Division Staff 23 Generals, 1 Admiral,
3 Commandants 40 officers with 700 yrs of
combined service.
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• 1943
• March Bismark Sea (limited Japanese
  reinforcement of Southern Pacific)
• November Tarawa and Makin (Gilberts)
• 1944
• February Kwajalein Eniwetok (Marshalls)
• February-June New Guinea
• June-August Saipan, Tinian, Guam (Marianas)
• B29s now able to be recovered after hitting Japan
• October Leyte Gulf
• Destroyed much of Japanese Navy

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The Low Road

• MacAurthur leap-frogs through his AO.
• Skips heavily defended islands and areas and
  leaves them to wither on the vine by taking
  less well defended surrounding islands and
  cutting off LOC.
• Seizure of New Guinea puts him in a position to
  retake Philippines.
• Works around coast of NG to take advantage of
  naval superiority, again bypassing and cutting
  off strong points.
• Critical vulnerabilities?

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1945

• February-March Iwo Jima
• March Tokyo raids
• Low level incendiary bombing runs with much
  destruction. Designed to force surrender but
  didnt.
• April-June Okinawa
• August
• 6th Hiroshima
• 9th Nagasaki
• 14th Japan surrenders.
• September 2 VJ Day

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Iwo Jima

• D-Day 9 Feb 1945
• Airfields again the objectives.
• 450 ships
• Pre-invasion bombardment shortened from 12 to 3
  days.
• Weather limited effectiveness of even this.
• 3rd, 4th, 5th MARDIVs
• 1st wave gets ashore, but when bombardment lifts
  for them to move inland, all hell breaks loose.
• Southern half of island in US hands by D2.
• Takes 34 more days to secure remainder of island
  (8 square miles total).

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Iwo Jima

• Nothing fancy simple but costly.
• Throwing human flesh against reinforced
  concrete.
• 36 days, 26k US casualites including 6k KIA.
• 1 of every 3 US personnel that went ashore was
  wounded or killed.   
• 1k of 20k defenders survived   
• 2400 B-29s w/ 27k crewmen made unscheduled
  landings on island by the time the war ended.
• 27 Medals of Honor awarded. 

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"The battle of Iwo Island has been won. The
United States Marines by their individual and
collective courage have conquered a base which is
as necessary to us in our continuing forward
movement toward final victory as it was vital to
the enemy in staving off off ultimate defeat. By
their victory, the 3d, 4th and 5th Marine
Divisions and other units of the 5th Amphibious
Corps have made an accounting to their country
which only history will be able to value fully.
Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island,
uncommon valor was a common virtue. "Admiral
Chester W. Nimitz
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Okinawa

• D Day 1 April
• Last stop before the mainland.
• 1200 ships
• 1, 2, 6 MARDIV 3 Army divisions
• USMC heads north secures northern ½ of island by
  D4.
• Combined Army/USMC battle determined Japanese
  defenders until late June.
• Gen Geiger named to command Tenth Army when
  Buckner is KIA.
• Better job of using combined-arms, but still
  ugly.

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Desperation

• Kamikaze Divine Wind
• 1900 planes launched against US during Battle for
  Okinawa.
• 6 April
• 355 launched
• 22 get through defenses
• 3 US ships sunk.

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The Costs

• US
• 7k KIA
• 31k WIA
• Japan
• 130k KIA
• 10k POW
• Lost 700 aircraft

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Victory was never in doubtWhat was in doubt, in
all our minds, was whether there would be any of
us left to dedicate our cemetery at the end, or
whether the last Marine would die knocking out
the last Japanese gun and gunner. Let the world
count our crosses. MajGen Graves Erskine, CG 3d
Marine Division, following the Battle for Iwo
Jima What platoon are you guys? Platoon, hell!
Were the 2nd Battalion, 22d Marines, whats left
of us anyway. Exchange between Marines following
the Battle for Sugarloaf Hill on Okinawa, May 1945
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A New Formula for Mass

• Japan warned, but refused to surrender.
• Planners estimated invasion would result in 3-5x
  as many casualties as at Okinawa.
• Hiroshima
• 6 August 1945
• HQ, Japanese 2nd Army
• 60-70k killed or missing
• Nagasaki
• 9 August
• 40k killed
• Compare
• Dresden 35-135k
• Tokyo 120k KIA/WIA
• Logical outcome of Total War?

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For Further Study

• At Dawn We Slept Prange
• Guadalcanal Frank
• Goodbye Darkness Manchester
• Battle Cry Uris
• With the Old Breed Sledge
• Iwo Jima, Legacy of Valor Ross
• A Marine Named Mitch Paige
• Once a Legend Hoffman
• Once a Marine Vandergrift

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Questions?