二战之太平洋 World War II in the pacific.ppt

Offensive Phase
• “Twin Thrusts” • MacArthur from south • Purpose
– Push back and destroy the enemy – Pass enemy strongholds – Regain the Philippines
Twin Thrusts – Nimitz
3 days.
– Weather limited effectiveness of even this.
• 3, 4, 5 MARDIV
– 1st wave gets ashore, but when bombardment lifts for them to move inland, all hell breaks loose.
landings on island by the time the war ended. • 27 Medals of Honor awarded.
1945
• February-March Iwo Jima
• March Tokyo raids
• Low level incendiary bombing runs with much destruction. Designed to force surrender but didn’t.
• 1944
– February Kwajalein & Eniwetok (Marshalls)
– February-June New Guinea
– June-August Saipan, Tinian, Guam (Marianas)
• B29s able to bomb Japan
– October
• Patrol planes spot Japanese main body.
• US Midway-based A/C strike Japanese TF and inflict damage on ships while losing majority of planes.
• Japanese A/C attack Midway with little impact.
• April-June Okinawa
• August
• 6th Hiroshima • 9th Nagasaki • 14th Japan surrenders.
• September 2 VJ Day
A New Formula for Mass Destruction
• Japan warned, but refused to surrender. • Planners estimate 3-5x as many casualties as at
Okinawa. • Hiroshima
– 6 August 1945 – 60-70k killed or missing
• Nagasaki
– 9 August – 40k killed
• Logical outcome of “Total War”?
“Turning Point”
Hiroshima, Nagasaki
Midway - June 1942
• Japanese get greedy.
– Not satisfied w/ original perimeter. – Want base to bomb Hawaii. – Deliver killing blow to US fleet.
– Commerce raiding (submarines)
• South Pacific taken by Japan for resources vital to war effort. Nimitz wanted to deny this to them
Offensive in the Southern Pacific
War in the Pacific
Background
• Japan invades China in 1937. • Japan joins the Axis in Sept 1940. • US, British, and Dutch impose oil embargo
in July 1941 to put brakes on Japanese imperialism. • Japanese expect armed conflict, but buy time and surprise through negotiations. • US population focused on war in Europe.
• Southern half of island in US hands by D+2.
– Takes 34 more days to secure remainder of island (8 square miles total).
Iwo Jima
• Nothing fancy; simple but costly.
• US carrier-based torpedo ineffective, but distracts Jap. fighters and allows dive bombers to hit Jap. TF.
• Japanese lose four heavy carriers, all planes, and many of their best pilots; US loses A/CC USSYorktown.
• US Japanese code. • Complex plan with many targets.
– Aleutians, Midway, Fleet, etc.
• First naval battle fought entirely with airplanes.
Midway: The Tide Turns
MacArthur
Offensive in the Central Pacific
Nimitz
Tarawa
• 1943
– March Bismark Sea (limited Japanese reinforcement of Southern Pacific)
– November Tarawa and Makin (Gilberts)
• Nimitz from across the Pacific
– Carrier Fleet vulnerable to land air bases
• Purpose
– Cut the enemy in two – Break enemy will (airstrips)
• Firebombing
Situation
• Growing Japanese Empire starved for resources
– Needed for economy / war machine – Oil, rubber, rice, metals, etc
• Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
European and Mediterranean Theatres combined
Defensive Phase
Pearl Harbor Wake Is. Kiska/Attu – Aleutians Philippines (Bataan)
Offensive Phase
Tarawa Marianas (Saipan, Tinian, Guam) Iwo Jima Okinawa Firebombing Tokyo
– “Throwing human flesh against reinforced concrete.”
• 36 days, 26k US casualties including 6k KIA. • 1k of 20k defenders survived • 2400 B-29s w/ 27k crewmen made unscheduled
– Pre-emptive Strike
• Successful opening offensive
– Border now extended 14,200mi – Over half the earths circumference – Each offensive conducted in an area larger then
Leyte Gulf
• Destroyed much of Japanese Navy • Largest Naval Battle in History
The Low Road
• MacArthur leap-frogs through his AO.
– Skips heavily defended islands – leaves them to “wither on the vine” by taking
less defended surrounding islands and cutting off hard points.
• Seizure of New Guinea puts him in a position to retake Philippines.
Iwo Jima
• 9 Feb 1945 • Airfields again the objectives. • Pre-invasion bombardment shortened from 12 to