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Events leading up to the battle of the coral sea
Events leading up to the battle of the coral sea
Events leading up to the battle of the coral sea
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Introduction In the spring of 1942 the U.S. Navy and Japanese Imperial Fleet engaged in battle at sea on more than one occasion. The Battle of Coral Sea, however, was the first time that these too forces would engage one another at sea using only aircraft. This will be the first battle in history where ships from both sides would never see the other like most conventional naval battles; this one will be fought entirely by aircraft. History In the morning hours of December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked the Hawaiian islands at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had been feeling the pressures of World War II (WWII) as did many others. With the resources of the Japanese dwindling, the Japanese decided to attack the U.S. while simultaneously planning the attack during the negotiations of continued peace between our two countries. The Japanese were able to cover up there planning for nearly a year. Planning for the attack and ultimately war in the pacific, started in January of 1941, and was finalized during the war games in November of 1941. The U.S. on the other hand would become a reactive force after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The inability to crack the Japanese code lead, to a lack of intelligence during this time making the plan of attack for the Japanese a successful one. It would seem that the year of planning and the strategies laid out in the “Combined Fleet Operations Top Secret Order 1” of the Japanese navy would become a reality in the pacific, allowing for an easy sweep of the military targets for the Japanese fleet. Planning and Preparation In the early months of 1941 the world was at war. Not all countries where involved in combat since the war was primarily focused on Europe, but many countries outsi... ... middle of paper ... ...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. References Battle of Coral Sea, WWII Archives Foundation Inc, 2000-2010 http://wwiiarchives.net/servlet/campaign/4/0 Henry, Chris. Battle of The Coral Sea. US Naval Institute Press: Great Naval Battles, NOV 2003 MacArthur, Douglas. Reports of General MacArthur, 1994 http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V1/index.htm Stille, Mark. The Coral Sea 1942. Osprey Publishing, Nov 24, 2009 The Battle of Coral Sea, History Learning Site, 2000-2012 http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_coral_sea.htm
Prior to the dispatch of September 24, the information which the Japanese sought and obtained about Pearl Harbor followed the general pattern of their interest in American Fleet movements in other localities. One might suspect this type of conventional espionage. With the dispatch of September 24, 1941, and those which followed, there was a significant and ominous change in the character of the information which the Japanese Government sought and obtained. The espionage then directed was of an unusual character outside the realm of reasonable suspicion. It was no longer merely directed to ascertaining the general whereabouts of ships of the fleet. It was directed to the presence of particular ships in particular areas; to such minute detail as what ships were double-docked at the same wharf….These Japanese instructions and reports pointed to an attack by Japan upon the ships in Pearl Harbor. The information sought and obtained, with such painstaking detail had no other conceivable usefulness from a military
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 ...
Thompson, Robert. "Battle of Cold Harbor." History Net: Where History Comes Alive. http://www.historynet.com/cold-harbor (accessed March 21, 2014).
This battle was the start of America taking control of the war over the Pacific. This battle took place six months after Japan first struck Pearl Harbor. Many historians say this was the greatest air battle of all time. America not only proved that numbers didn’t matter, but showed that only leaders with clear eyes and soldiers with heart can win a battle of any size. Even before the battle started, America saw his attack coming.
Ibid, 50>> At the same time, “for Japanese, too, Port Arthur possessed importance beyond its strategic significance, fought for and won as it had been by their troops in the Chinese War and then wrestled from them by the Europeans.”<<4
America responded to the attack at Pearl Harbor in a resounding manner. America won the race to nuclear weapons decisively. America made a profound statement to the world, placing all on notice who may think about attacking us ever again.
Historians overall say that the attack on pearl harbour doomed the Empire of Japan in that “It waked the sleeping giant”, which lead to the start up of the US industrial and military capability which once mobilized would be able to pour over whelming resources into both the pacific and Atlantic Battle fronts. This in turn was one of the factors that lead to an allied victory.
As the negotiations between the United States and Japan headed south, Japan decided to attack Pearl Harbor to show that the negotiations were over, it was time for war. Before we take a look at the specific intelligence failures, we have to mention the people who were involved in cracking the Japanese code. Years before the war, 1928, an American cryptanalyst, Herbert O. Yardley, and his assistants were able to crack a few codes transmitted by the Japanese. Since this happened more than ten years before the war, the United States didn’t think much of the crackdown. One year later, 1929, the Secretary of State at the time, Henry L. Stimson, made a crucial mistake.
Haufler, Hervie. “The Greatest Intelligence Achievement in Navy History.” World War II, July 2002. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor has always been considered a major Japanese victory. President Roosevelt called December 7, 1941 the “day that will forever live in infamy” because of the destruction following this assault. Japanese forces brutally impaired the American naval fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor and caused unimaginable horror for both the citizens of Hawaii and the United States as a whole. As a result of this attack, the United States entered World War II and four years later, was able achieve victory against the Axis Powers. However, was the bombing of Pearl Harbor truly a Japanese success? I will explore this question by studying journal entries written by Japanese officials involved in the attack, the writings of American military officials, informational texts, and an outlook by the American Department of Defense.
This is how the battle of the coral sea began. Japan was fighting against Australia and America for their land and ports. This is what happens during the battle of the coral sea. It first began when japan tried to invade the land that Australia owned. The war started on may, 4th 1942 over the coral sea. Australia began to fight back and made an alliance with America. America began helping Australia fight against Japan. They were fighting for the land in the pacific. Both of the sides began to bomb their opponents boats and aircrafts. Australia also bombed the port of moresby on the edge of japan.
Pearl Harbor was a very vicious attack by the Japanese on the US. On December 7, 1941 US Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese fighter jets. United States had been aware of a possible attack since the 1920s; the US became more involved when the Japanese invaded Manchuria. Attack on Pearl Harbor was the beginning of something big, a bloody war between the Japanese and the United States. United States was not expecting such an event; it was such an unannounced attack on the naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. That unexpected attack on December 7, 1941 was originally just a preventive effort for keeping the US from interfering with military action the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia. Japan wanted to cripple the pacific fleet so they wouldn’t foil their plan to create a defense perimeter in the Southwest Pacific. Japanese aircraft launched two aerial attack waves sinking four US Navy battleships and damaging two other battleships. The attacks also led to a high number of deaths. There original plan was to attack all of the US aircraft carriers. The attack on Pearl Harbor resulted in US entry into World War 2.
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).
April 1945, signaled an end to a lasting Battle and continued a new beginning for the invasion of Japan’s homeland. This battle was the Battle of Okinawa or known as the Typhoon of Steel (Battle of Okinawa). The main cause of this tragic battle was the U.S military being able to use Okinawa as a base to reach or invade Japan (Wukovits). Therefore, bombs were fired towards Japans homeland. In early June half of a million men, soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen were sent to surround thirty miles of the ocean. (Miller) Many of these ships were loaded with bombs. Okinawa was one of the biggest battles of the Pacific, but also one of the last battles overseas that will not be forgotten. This battle’s intentions were to expand the American opportunities which concluded in an intense approach in US History. They wanted to prove to the Americans that they had the power to win the war. By the end of this battle, many soldiers were wounded or killed. During this war, one may see the major effects in the environment and also how many were affected. In addition, many people experiencing the battle such as Eugene Sledge, Eugene Smith and even civilians all have different point of views, giving us insight on the battle.
The battle of Midway on June 3rd-6th of 1942 was one of the decisive naval battles of history. The engagement was entirely decided by air power with no surface gun action. At Midway, the Japanese repeated the pattern at Coral Sea one month before. Approaching in widely separated groups, seeking to draw out the American forces, the Japanese commands accelerated into the Solomon’s and New Guinea. This was to capture Midway and the Aleutians. Many of the objectives have been set forth in previous plans.