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american imperialism of japan
american imperialism of japan
guadalcanal battle in ww2
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Operation Hawaii:
Yamamoto had plans on neutralizing and sinking the U.S. Fleet in Hawaii Waters, this would allow japan the time to consolidate its empire. The war would begin with a massive blow against the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Americans were unaware of the plan and they see the Japanese to be inferior to them and unsuited as soldiers and aviators.
On November 26, 1941, 6:00 am, the task force sailed to pearl harbor, staying undetected. There was no sun, moon nor stars so the weather was in their favor until the morning they launched their attack, which made navigation difficult. On December 2, they received the message, giving them authorization to attack their prey. By that time the Japanese government was convinced that war was necessary. On December 7, they reached their launch position. At 5:30 a, nagumo launched two scout planes. One to overfly pearl itself and the other to fly over the Lahaina anchorage. The Americans actually tracked the planes but assumed they were friendlies. A little before 6 am, Nagumo turned his carriers into the wind and began to launch the first wave. Then fired a second wave. Nagumo now had 351 aircraft spending toward Pearl, about 90 minutes due south. The Submarines and other crafts arrived in Hawaiian waters some days before. At 6:45 am destroyer ward had opened fired at the Japanese midgets.
The Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal
For the next year, the United States engaged Japan in a protracted struggle for theSolomon Islands, which lay near vital Allied shipping routes. Between August 1942 and February 1943, Allied forces carried out an invasion on the island of Guadalcanal—the beginning of a long series of Allied offensives that would eventually force the Japanese out of the Solomons and t...
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...were proud American citizens. Thus, it was psychologically and politically important.
The Marianas were essential to the maintenance of the Japanese Empire for the same strategic military reasons that the Americans desired them. The Japanese initiated Operation A – go in an effort to deal a blow to the American Navy but the battle have come sooner than he had anticipated because of the arrival of the American Task force off the island of Saipan.
On June 11, 1944, Mitcher’s fast carrier task force had begun neutralizing the island’s defenses. The Japanese garrison numbered 30,000 men – two full divisions, in effect. Saito contested the islands water line, as the second and fourth divisions discovered when they landed. Resistance was more than they bargained for. Nagumo lived long enough to witness the sinking of ships by the work of his aviators at Pearl Harbor.
Midway itself was not that important in the larger scheme of Japan's intentions. Japan was concentrating on the Samoa Islands, Fiji and Australia to expand their newly acquired SE Pacific territory than Midway. Midway was the closest remaining US base to Japan, and would therefore be heavily defended by the US. Admiral Yamamoto's battle plan was bold. Like most Imperial Japanese Navy strategies, it was designed to lure major parts of the US Fleet into a fatal situation. Yamamoto's main force trailed his carriers and was intended to take out whatever part of the US Fleet that might come to Midway's support. The plan was complicated because it was put together very rapidly in the wake of the Tokyo Air Raid by US Army B-25's flying...
The Battle of Guadalcanal was a very important battleground that ended the Japanese ground advancement in the Pacific area of operations. Also, after they were defeated and removed from the island it showed that they were not an unstoppable foe that resulted in boasting the confidence of the United States and its allies. The amphibious assault that occurred on Guadalcanal was the first amphibious counteroffensive for the United States after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese were attempting to build an airfield on the island and gain a foothold that would help to protect their flanks as they continued their offensive campaign through the Pacific. Having an established foothold on Guadalcanal would also give the Japanese the ability to severe the supply and communication lines that ran between Australia and the United States. The US attack was originally set for 1 August 1942 and the mission was assigned to the 1st Marine Division out of North Carolina.1 Their mission would be to perform an amphibious assault and seize control of the nearly completed airfield and defend it from any Japanese counterattacks as well as removing the Japanese completely from the island.
The motive for Japan’s plan to attack Midway Island was to claim dominant power over the Pacific Ocean and to...
Starting in the early 1930’s, the Japanese began to display their great imperialistic dreams with ambition and aggression. Their goal was to create a "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere" where they controlled a vast empire in the western Pacific.1 In September of 1939, Japan signed the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis Treaty, allying themselves with Germany and Italy in an effort to safeguard their interests in China from the Soviet Union. Japan’s only major obstacle left lay in the significant size of the United States Pacific Fleet. To rid themselves of this, Japan attacked the United States Pacific Fleet in hopes of crippling it enough to prevent any further hindrance from the US. Although Japan began the War in the Pacific on the offensive, winning many battles and gaining significant territories, the tide quickly turned in favor of the US because of the their dominating industrial capacity. Thus, the Japanese began to resort to ghastly measures to prevent a humiliating defeat.
Initially, Japanese strategists assumed that the tiny island would be overwhelmed in a matter of hours. However, they underestimated the fighting spirit of the military personnel and civilians stationed on the island. For sixteen days these brave men fought against overwhelming odds, but demonstrated both to the Japanese and to their fellow Americans back at home that the Americans could and would put up a courageous fight.
On 9 July 1944, 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith, defeated the 43rd Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito, capturing the Saipan (Moore, 2002), a 44.55 sq. mile island located Northern Mariana Islands, approximately 1,465 miles south of Tokyo, Japan. The capture of Saipan was strategically important for U.S. and Allied Forces, as it was logistically relevant, due to its location from Tokyo. "It was the decisive battle of the Pacific offensive [...] it opened the way to the Japanese home islands (Nalty, Shaw, & Turnbladh, 1966)." By November 1944, U.S. B29 bombers had commenced bombing operations on the Japanese capital city, Tokyo, from airfields located on the U.S. control island of Saipan.
Both the Americans and the Japanese had specific reasons to become involved in this battle, with goals of victory. The Japanese wanted to fight so that they could cut off sea routes between Australia and America. If the Japanese could keep control of the island, they would be able to begin building an airfield, made for both fighters and bombers. This meant that the U.S. Marines and Navy had an important job to secure the region in a method known as Island Hopping. Americans wanted to fight so that they could protect the allies from the Japanese. If Americans ended up controlling the island, they would be better able to protect Australia from the Japanese Invasion. They could also protect allied build-up in Australia that would act as a “springboard” for major assault on the Japanese. Both sides were completely against each other’s goals. USA wanted to protect Australia, and Japan wanted to prevent the help from the U.S.
... in the fighting for Iwo Jima are a subject of debate. Depending from 17,845, to as high as 21,570. During the battle only about 216 Japanese soldiers were captured. When the island was declared secured again, on March 26, there was approximately 3,000 Japanese remained alive in the tunnel system. American losses for the battle were 6,821 killed/missing and 19,217 wounded. In the end , Iwo Jima was not only by the fighting spirit of the Marines, but by the great planning and support provided by the Navy and Army through supply efforts, medical care, and air and naval gunfire.
Even before the battle started, America saw his attack coming. Japan had bombed the Dutch harbor in Alaska on the days of June 3rd and 4th. Japan landed there instead of on the islands of Attu and Kiska, in fear the United States might be there. There attacks failed when the plan to get the American fleet from Midway to aid the freshly bombed Dutch harbor. At 0900 hours an American patrol boat spotted the Japanese fleet seven hundred miles from Midway. At that point admiral Soroku Yamamoto’s plans of a sneak attack were over. Admiral fletcher commanded the U.S.S. Yorktown before it was sunk by the Japanese. Then at 0750, japan spots nine enemy (American) planes fifteen miles out. Tones, a Japanese cruiser, opened fire on the American pilots. Almost instantly if an American bomber plane were hit it would explode and go down. The bombers dropped their torpedoes to far from their targets, so the torpedoes didn’t land a single blow to Japan. At 1040 japan sent from Hiryu,...
On 7 December 1941 the Japanese Military launched a destructive surprise attack on United States Military Forces in Pearl Harbor, HI. This forced the United States into the ongoing war that they had hoped to avoid. With a Naval Fleet that suffered significant losses in the attack at Pearl Harbor, the US began offensive and defensive campaigns throughout the Pacific region ranging from open water naval battles to close combat engagements in the Philippines. America was quickly losing ground and desperately needed positive news after suffering heavy loses early in the war. President Franklin Roosevelt turned to his senior military advisors in Washington, DC and asked what it would take to strike a blow the Japanese mainland as they had done to America. At the time, the US Army Air Corps had no bases in Asia within bomber range. The Navy had aircraft capable of accomplishing the mission but was reluctant to bring its ships within the bombers range for fear of losing what few ships still remained in the region. It was then that a Navy Captain named Francis Low, an Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer serving on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Ernest King, suggest...
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...
On December 22, 1941, the Japanese main attack on the Philippines began.1 The Japanese initial goal was to capture the island of Luzon, which was home to both the capital city of Manila and the majority of the US forces. The initial Japanese attack on the Allied forces consisted of air raids followed by a 50,000 man ground assault lead by Gen. Masaharu Homma.2 The Allied forces consisted of a combined US and Filipino army, numbering around 100,000 men, lead by Gen. Douglas MacArthur.3 US forces had the advantage in numbers; however, the Japanese had the advantage in technology. US and Filipino forces were supplied primarily with World War I (WWI) and pre-WWI weapons.4 This meant that while the Allied forces had superior numbers, the Allied forces were ultimately outgunned.
Initially, the US had planned to invade Japan in what was to be known as Operation Downfall. America would have provided most of the forces for the operation. The rest were to come from the British Commonwealth. However, the U.S projected that the operation would cost the country more than half a million soldiers. Furthermore, the U.S feared that an invasion would hav...