The Battle of Coral Sea was the first major sea battle between allied fleet forces, including those of the United States and Australian Navies, and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Pivotal in terms of allied naval fleet operations during the war, the Battle of Coral Sea was also the first naval battle that featured opposing air craft carriers in close proximity to each other, resulting in air battles initiated by sea, rather than from traditional land bases. The following provides relevant details.
The plan calling for expansion of Japanese forces throughout the Pacific theater was developed by the IJN and Japanese Army. As detailed by Stille, “This called for a series of sequenced operations designed to bring key areas under Japanese control in order to construct the ‘Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.” (6) It was ultimately felt by the Japanese military that once their goals of solidification had been achieved, they would be far better poised to negotiate a peace settlement with allied forces, but primarily with the United States (Stille 6). Initial portions of this plan achieved positive results for the Japanese “In the first ship action of the war at the battle of the Java Sea, an Allied naval force was shattered by a Japanese force of similar size demonstrating the superiority of the IJN’s destroyer and cruiser forces.” (Stille 7). Subsequent responses by the U.S. Navy had little effect on diminishing Japanese naval forces after these initial skirmishes until an attack was launched on March 10, 1942, when aircraft from the carriers Yorktown and Lexington attacked Japanese ships surrounding New Guinea. These would cause the IJN to postpone further operations on allied operations until efforts were...
... middle of paper ...
...ty of naval operations, as well as their strategic capabilities. As the first sea battle in World War II to pit carrier forces against each other, and as such, the Battle of Coral Sea would be pivotal in terms of naval strategies on both sides. More significantly, it would be viewed as a major step in the deterrence of the Japanese ware effort, and put the Japanese Navy on the defensive throughout the remainder of World War II.
Works Cited
"Battle of the Coral Sea." Royal Australian Navy. Royal Australian Navy, n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2011.
Henry, Chris. The battle of the Coral Sea. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press, 2003. Print.
Trueman , Chris. "The Battle of Coral Sea." History Learning Site. Chris Trueman, n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. .
Battle of Midway, 4th June -- 7th June, 1942." » Maintenance Mode. N.p., n.d. Web. 17
To begin, the attack on Pearl Harbour was devastating to U.S. naval capabilities in the Pacific at the onset of their entry into the war. Japanese officials had grown tired of the U.S. oil embargo, which was meant to limit their territorial expansion and aggression in South-East Asia as well as China, and as negotiations weren’t reaching any conclusions they decided that the only course of action was a first strike on the aircraft carriers at Pearl Harbour to cripple U.S. naval capability in the Pacific (Rosenberg 1). The attack, which lasted about two hours, had resulted in the sinking of four battleships, among ...
Poirier, Michel Thomas. “Results of the American Pacific Submarine Campaign.” Accessed November 25, 2013. http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/history/pac-campaign.html.
Morison, Samuel, E. (1960). Victory in the pacific, 1945 – history of the united states naval operations in world war ii. (Vol. 14, p. 389). Boston: Little Brown.
In the early morning of 19 February 1945, United States Marines assigned to the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Division led the initial assault on the Japanese controlled island of Iwo Jima, with the objective of capturing and securing the island. This was the beginning of one of the fiercest and bloodiest; and more decisively, the most strategically important battles fought during World War II. After the dust had settled, and the smoke had cleared, the causalities and losses were astounding. 6,821 U.S. Marines along with 18,844 members of the Imperial Japanese Army had paid the ultimate sacrifice. A decisive US victory on the island of Iwo Jima later played a pivotal role in the overarching defeat of the Japanese Empire and its Armed Forces (Morison, 1945).
Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy (1941–1945). US Naval Institute Press.
On December 7th 1941, Japanese Planes and submarines attacked the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor. This event singlehandedly brought the U.S from its then neutral stance in World War Two to a fighting member of the “Allied Powers.” Pearl Harbor was the first of a long series of confrontations between the U.S and the Japanese in an effort to gain control of the Pacific. Unlike the “War in Europe” the Pacific strategy was dominated by naval and aerial battles, with the occasional land-based “Island Hopping” Campaign. As such, one of the most important factors in the war in the pacific was Fleet Size, the more ships a country could send to war, the better. Pearl Harbor was the Japanese’s way of trying to deal with the massive U.S Pacific fleet. However, Pearl Harbor was not the turning point of the war. After December 7th the United States began work on numerous technological developments which would ultimately help them in one of the most important battles of WWII, the largest naval confrontation of the war, The Battle of Midway. The battle, which took place from June 4th to June 7th , 1942 is widely considered the turning point of the Pacific Theater (James & Wells). Through the Post-Pearl Harbor desire for “Revenge” and various technological advantages including code breaking and radar, the U.S were able to outsmart the Japanese at Midway and ultimately win the battle, eventually leading to a victory in the Pacific.
The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 by the Japanese signaled the start of Japanese military control throughout the Pacific and the start of World War II. June of 1942 the Japanese Navy is defeated at the Battle of Midway and it is considered by most to be the turning point of the war. The American military began a campaign of island hoping to take control of strategic islands in the south pacific. Even with the islands they had already controlled Americans knew if they wanted to win they would have to capture the entire island of Iwo Jima, including its three airfields, to provide an area for damaged bombers and other aircrafts. Iwo Jima is needed to save the lives of the Americans flying the B-29 bombers to help prevent losing more Americans in the dangerous Pacific Ocean. The decision was quickly made to attack and take the island of Iwo Jima, code named operation detachment. June 1944, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi was chosen as command of Iwo Jima (National Geographics). Kuribayashi had lived and trained in the United States so knew the only way to have a chance against the American’s superior fire power was to fight the battle from underground where they would be protected (Hickman). Iwo Jima was an important island for the Japanese because it provided an area of attack and functioned as a buffer zone for Americans attempting to bomb their homeland. Initial bombing raids against Iwo Jima began in June 1944 (Navy Department Library). The B-29’s and naval ships’ bombing destroyed ...
The battle occurred in the island of Okinawa. Okinawa is the largest of the islands in the Ryukyus. Running generally north to south, it is 60 miles long and 18 miles wide, with an area of 483 square miles. It is entirely fringed with reefs: on the western side the reef lies fairly close to shore and is seldom over a mile wide; on the eastern side, where the coast is more sheltered, the reef extends for some distance off shore, the widest a...
In the fall of 1931, the Atlantic Ocean was the boiling point of a criminal battle between the British and Germans. Most people think that the Battle of the Atlantic may have decided World War II’s outcome. This battle was the dominating factor throughout the war. The Battle of the Atlantic was a violent and destructive battle. Many people lost their lives fighting in this battle. New technology was one of the major factors in the Allies winning the long and crucial Battle of the Atlantic.
Schroeder, Richard C. “Should We Scuttle the Admiral of the Ocean Sea?” The Times of the Americas. 29 May 1991: 20+. (CIRS Schroed1.ART)
After a quick examination of the recurring theme of Japanese military arrogance, I will argue that the three most compelling strategies that the Japanese could have pursued in the spring of 1942 were, one – to consolidate the most important resource gains that were already made; two – commence immediate planning for a strong anti-submarine warfare campaign; and three – coordinate significant operations with Japan’s Axis partners, particularly in the Indian Ocean and Southwest Asia theaters of conflict.
...Battle of Coral Sea was seen by the Japanese as a win by sheer numbers for the loss of the U.S.S. Lexington, but the Americans would see it as a victory for stopping the Japanese from attacking and controlling Port Moresby and the failure of the Japanese in cutting off the Australians and controlling the south pacific.
The loss of the Spanish Armada, off the coast of England in 1588, was a military disaster for the Spanish. Not only did it mean an end for Spanish plans to invade England, but the losses the Spanish suffered, particularly when it came to ships, were extremely expensive to replace. However, while the English did have a hand in defeating the Spanish fleet, it was the weather,that truly destroyed the Spanish Armada. For those Spanish who were lucky enough to survive, but were unfortunate enough to fall into English hands or to the local population, a horrible fate awaited them, for the English saw them as subhuman, but the Spanish also thought the same way about the English.
Fish, Bob. "Battle of Midway (CV-8)." USS Hornet. USS Hornet Museum, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.