Using either the Leyte Gulf operation or the Falkland conflict as an example, select TWO of the Operational Functions listed below and discuss the impact they had on both belligerents during the planning, synchronization and conduct of the operation. Movement and Maneuver – The discussion should include how both sides conducted maneuver and movement as well as the capabilities each side possessed. Japanese Movement and Maneuver The first thing that should be noted was the reason why the Northern Force was used to lure the 3rd Fleet away from the Philippines. Four months earlier in June 1944 the battle of the Philippine sea took place. This was the Japanese attempt to defeat the US Carrier Force with everything they had. The end result was 3 Japanese aircraft carriers sunk and over 600 Japanese aircraft shot down or destroyed. After this engagement, the Japanese carrier force was virtually useless because of the lack of planes and pilots, especially experienced pilots. Because of the supplies and routes to/from the Philippines, the Japanese command knew that if the Philippines were lost, then the war was lost. The Japanese came up with another plan for an all out battle to destroy the US invasion force just as they tried to do before in the battle of the Philippine sea. This time they took extreme measures that if all worked as planned could possibly destroy the US invasion fleet. They knew that the US regarded aircraft carriers as the most valuable/dangerous targets in the Navy so they used their remaining four carriers to lure the 3rd Fleet away. Vice Admiral Ozawa, came down from the North and drew off the main American covering force. At the same time, the Central and Southern forces would try to penetrate the C... ... middle of paper ... ... in charge but not each other. Without having a proper chain of command with an intact plan allows things like this to happen. Halsey left Nimitz, did not tell him, and almost ruined the entire invasion. Luckily for the US, the IJN had the same problems. Total US Forces lost were: • 1,500+ dead; • 1 light aircraft carrier, • 2 escort carriers, • 2 destroyers, • 1 destroyer escort sunk Works Cited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf http://www.angelfire.com/fm/odyssey/LEYTE_GULF_Summary_of_the_Battle_.htm Page 58 Leyte: by Samuel Morison http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/BattleofLeyteGulf.23-26Oc.html Page 25 Leyte: The Return to the Philippines Page 29 Leyte: The Return to the Philippines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf Page 332 Nimitz, by E.B. Potter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf
In May of 1942, Japanese Admiral Isorosku Yamamoto devised a plan to draw the US Pacific fleet into battle where he could completely destroy it. To accomplish this master plan of his, he sought out the invasion of Midway Island which would provide a base for the Japan troops to attack Hawaii. Unfortunately for Yamamoto, America decrypted Japanese radio transmissions and Admiral Chester Nimitz was able to establish a counter attack against this offensive. Nimitz sent three aircraft carriers, The USS Enterprise, The USS Hornet and The USS Yorktown to destroy the Japanese. This is just a short overview of The Battle of Midway, or as commonly referred to as, the battle that changed the war. People argue that it had no affect on the war, but those critics couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Battle of Midway was the turning point of the war because it fully enters America into the war, it kicked off the Pacific Campaign, and it had Japan on the defensive, thus preventing them from helping The Axis Forces.
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 ...
Shortly after the Japanese suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Midway, the Imperial Army started to rethink their offensive strategy and started to plan to consolidate forces and begin to focus on defending what they had already captured. Within this strategy they realized that having an airfield built on Guadalcanal would give them the ability to secure their flanks as they continued to push on through the Pacific Ocean as well as allow them to severe the supply and communication lines between the United States and Australia. Guadalc...
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.
After the fall of Saipan, Imperial Japanese Army and Naval forces were deployed to the island of Iwo Jima; a very small island, approxim...
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Battle of Iwo Jima or Operation Detachment, the events that caused the battle and the after effects it had on the United States. The Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the most major battles of WWII of 1945. Although, during WWII many battles were fought this was one of the most important because, American invasion had the goal of capturing the entire island including its three airfields, to provide a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands. It was the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of War World II. The battles itself was immortalized by Joe Rosenthal's photograph of the raising of the U.S. flag on top of the Mount Suribachi by five U.S. Marines and one U.S. Navy battlefield Hospital Corpsman.
... the Tokyo Express began and continued until late in the Solomon Islands Campaign. Many warships were used in this from the Eighth Fleet. To make the victory over the Japanese in Guadalcanal official, General Alexander Patch, commander of land forces on the island, messaged his superior, Admiral William F. Halsley, that the Tokyo Express no longer had terminus on Guadalcanal.
Blair Jr., Clay (1975). Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott. p. 1072.
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.
"Military History Online - Battle of Okinawa." Military History Online - Battle of Okinawa. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. .
Leahy, Stephen M. "The Historical Battle over Dispatching American Troops." USA Today (Farmingdale). July 1999: 10-12. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 07 May. 2014.
In the spring of 1942, the Japanese had great gains in the Far East. The conquest of the Philippines, Burma, Malaya, and Dutch East Indies had cost the Japanese Navy 23 warships. Also, 67 transportation ships had also been lost. The naval command had expected a greater loss. Some of the people thought it would be best if they continue spearheading territorial gains, Admiral Nagano was a supporter of these. Others, followed Admiral Yamamoto, wanted to an all out attack on America's aircraft. Yamamoto believed that the destruction of America's aircraft, would make sure they had a security for Japan. Because of these, Yamamoto wanted an attack on Midway, as he believed that such an attack would definitely draw the American navy into a battle, which he believe that Japan would win.
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.
The Battle of Midway came about when the Japanese wished to extend their Pacific control, broaching the idea to initiate a battle against the U.S. Navy. After the Japanese success at Pearl Harbor and their success coming to a standstill at Coral Sea one month earlier, Japanese commander, Admiral Yamamoto, had belief that it was necessary to hold a full battle at Midway as a deciding engagement. He thought that the Japanese had an increased chance of success, being that the U.S. had a certain disadvantage, only having two carriers since they had sunk U.S.S. Yorktown at Coral Sea, compared to the Japanese's 6 carriers, but the ship had been repaired. He also wanted to get revenge for the Doolittle Raid, an air attack on Tokyo performed by U.S. forces. To receive the Pacific gain Yamamoto so desired, he wanted to first attract a large portion of the U.S. fleet away from Midway, where they would attack, bringing the American Navy a fatal surprise. Yamamoto attempted to pull this idea through by launching an attack on the Alaskan Coast to drag the Americans North, then proceeding to attack on Midway. The Alaskan trap was just a waste of resources, the submarines sent to attack the U.S. were too late, the U.S. already knew of their plans. To the Japanese's surprise, U.S. forces were awaiting the Japanese arrival on June 4, 1942. Yamamoto had to con...
This case study will introduce the events leading up to the largest surrender of US forces in history and examine the most daring rescue attempt of WWII. The paper follows the planning and execution of the 6th Ranger Battalion’s Great Raid on the Japanese prison camp of Cabanatuan. Lastly, the events of that raid will be examined in order to discover and evaluate the repercussions and lessons learned.