A-12

__To ex____plain how Japanese expansionism led to war wtih the Allies in Asia and the strategies used by the Allies to turn the tide of war against Japan.__

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=__Japanese Expansionism__ =

In 1936, Italy, Nazi Germany, and Japan signed an agreement called the Anti-Comintern Treaty. "This officially united the three countries, forming the Axis of World War 2. The Japanese government was largely dominated by militarists, extremists in the army and navy who wanted military forces to control and organize Japan"(Japan's New Goals). They believed Japans true mission was to conquer new territory and gain natural resources Japan lacked. With this principal in mind, Japan had begun expanding its army since the 1930s. It fought a brutal war against China in 1937, in which Japan conquered great cities but could not gain a complete victory.

Japan had came up with a new technique to conquer China. This involved cutting them off from other countries they relied on for resources, such as France, Britain, and the United States. "The only way the Chinese army received resources was from the Burma Road, a road that ran through the British mountains of Burma, and a railroad that ran from China to northern Vietnam, which was part of the French colony Indochina"(Japan's Strategy for the War). Japan began their plan of action. "In 1940, after France surrendered to Germany, Japan demanded rights to station troops in northern Vietnam"(Japan's New Goals). Their next target was Britain. Britain was threatened by a German invasion and couldn't risk another war with Japan, so they accepted Japanese demands to close the Burma Road in July 1940.

Another major country that Japan needed in its grasp was the Dutch. They had large amounts of oil, rubber, and important metals such as tin that Japan needed. By Fall of 1940, Japanese government decided to invade British, French, and Dutch colonies for these resources. The military leaders were confident they could defeat the British and Dutch. France wasn't a threat because of Germany's domination over it. However, Japan had one major country that gave them fear over their plans. That country was the United States of America, the largest power force in the Pacific. America would not allow Japan to expand and conquer over these territories because that would shut the United States out of economically important areas, eventually leading to more Japanese expansion in the future.

Japanese leaders were convinced that their plans of westward expansion could only occur if they went to war with United States. Since America was continuing to build up its navy, it made most sense to Japanese leaders to attack earlier, while their navy isn't 100% complete. The longer Japan waited, the stronger America got. On top of that, with Britain being preoccupied, this offered the best senario for a war.

=**__The Allies Strike Back and the Stunning Raid__** =

"After the devisitating attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, America was left in anger"(Japan Attacks and America Goes to War). They lost over 2,000 soldiers in the blink of an eye. The Japanese army was pleased that their raid was successful in stopping the America Pacific Fleet to interfere with their plans. On December 8th, 1941, president Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a declaration stating that America was officially in a war against Japan.

America had great war tactics during the war. Their plan was to attack the small islands around Japan, eventually working their way up to the mainland also known as island hopping, "They fought at the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, Burma, and the Dutch East Indies"(Japan's Strategy for the War). However one of the most important battles was in April 1942. An American aircraft carrier called Hornet launched sixteen B-25 bombers towards Japan. These bombers had one mission and one mission only, to bomb Japan. The commander of all sixteen planes was Colonel James Doolittle of the American army. On the 18th of April, 12 of the 16 bombers landed on Japan and bombed three of Japans major cities, including Tokyo.

Although the raid itself was quite unsuccessful, it still left a significant mark on history. "The attack showed that America was ready to strike back with all they have. On top of that, it proved that Japan was vulnerable to an attack by America"(The Doolittle Raid). It also left Japanese military leaders in shock, as they did not know how this raid happened. Angered, the Japanese were determined to prevent any further strikes by destroying American aircraft carriers in the future.

= **__The Allies Turn The Tide__** =

__**Battle of Coral Sea**__
According to Naval History Heritage Command, "The Battle of the Coral Sea was the first of the six pacific wars fought between japan and the allied forces in may 1942" (Battle of the Coral Sea). This battle took place in the waters southwest of the Solomon Islands. Japan had devised up a plan to capture Port Moresby and to then threaten northeastern Australia to leave the war. They were eventually working there way up to gain an ocean empire of the South Pacific. According to the __Eyewitness Series Book: World War 2__, "By May 1942, they had overrun Burma, Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, Singapore, and the Philippines and were advancing island by island across the Pacific" (Adams 38). In order to capture Port Moresby, the Japanese had to send out naval and air force attacks on the surrounding land of Southern Solomon. The main invasion was aimed directly at Port Moresby to ensure all of the damage was done. U.S navy got a hold of the Japanese plans and sent out counter attacks to protect the port. The overall battle lasted up to two days resulting in the U.S. losing one carrier and Japan canceling there invasion of the Port Moresby.The significance of this battle was that the allies stopped Japan from expanding southward and gaining more power. If the port was successfully captured by the Japanese, there empire would increase greatly and whip out any other competition that headed there way. Also, the Allies gain moremental pride and motivation to carry on their duties in the war.

__**New Naval Warfare**__
A new kind of naval warfare was developed as a result of the battle. Gale Student Resources states that "Carrier warfare in 1942 was risky"( Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway). Both sides used this new kind of fighting tactic trying to take out each others carriers. Each of the opposing ships could not fire a single shot at one another. The carriers held air planes that did all of the firing at the ships. __Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History 2009__ states that "These planes were the eyes and ears of the fleet"(Battle of Coral Sea and Midway). Even though the allies lost more men and ships from battling, they still ended up defeating the Japanese by causing them to retreat. The airplanes provided better views and angles for attacking the opposing enemy. Each of the carriers could hardly see there enemy that was facing them. Todays naval fighting tactics are much similar to what they used in the battle of coral sea. Now a days it is more modernized and advanced with faster jets.

= **__The Battle of Midway__** =

__**Japanese Send Fleet to Midway Island**__
Another naval battle that took place with the Japanese was the Battle of Midway. The battle lasted from June 3rd to June 6th in 1942 with furious fighting between the U.S. and the Japanese. Before the Japanes decided to try take over the island Midway, they took over many American islands along the Pacific Ocean. This gave the Japanese navy much confide- nce that they went into the battle thinking that they could get another victory with no problems.

Isoroku Yamamoto was the admiral of the Japanese navy fleet. He had a major responsability in controlling Japans largest navy fleet ever assembled. U.X.L Encyclopedia of U.S. HIstory, 2009 staes that "The Japanese had 185 warships, including 4 aircraft carriers"(Battle of Midway).The American Navy got a hold of Japans secret attack that they had planned, so the American Navy forces had the upper hand before the battle began. Before the battle took place, the U.S. were on the edge of losing almost all of their primerey land along the pacific coast.

__**Significance of Battle**__
On June 3 the Americans started the battle off by dropping bombs on the Japanese fleets. Admiral Yamamotos was clueless that the Americans knew when there attack was going to happen. His fleet attacks were counter attacked due to the Americans knowledge of the attacks. On June 5, the Japanese began to retreat due to the fact that they lost too many carriers to continue. This battle almost permantly weakend the japanese fleet which helped the U.S. to drive the Japanese furhter back from the pacific. The significance of this battle was that the Japanese were losing ground and power because their navy was weakened. This paved the way for the U.S. to start getting the upper hand in the war and gaining nationalism. According to U.X.L Encyclopedia of U.S. HIstory, 2009, "The Battle of Midway is remembered as a astonishing American victoy that marked a turning point in the war in the Pacific"(Battle of Midway).

= **__An Allied Offensive and MacArthur's Plan__** =

__**Who was Douglas MacArthur?**__
Douglas MacArthur was born January 26, 1880 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was raised in the 13th infantry post of Little Rock born to father Arthur MacArthur a decorated officer who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for battle at the Missionary Ridge. According to the Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History, "Douglas's mother often referred to as Pinky who was just a young belle from Virginia at the time of Douglas's birth"(Douglas MacArthur). Douglas spent must of his childhood at forts in New Mexico and Kansas, Fort Wingate and Selden was where Douglas spent most of is childhood Towards Douglas's adult years he enrolled at West Point in 1899, where he was rumored to be hazed due to the ranking is father Arthur held. At the time Douglas was in West Point his father was brigadier general witch put a lot of pressure on Douglas to have a very decorated and successful military career. Douglas would achieve this collecting countless war medals and being appointed Army Chief of Staff by President Herbert Hoover.

Douglas may be the most well known for regrouping his poorly equipped army in battles at Luzon. He saved the island from destruction in what he considered a small victory. He protected the small island in the Philippines against the attacking Japanese with small resources and an army with very experience. Douglas was honored for his heroics and he soon made a small appearance to run for President of The United States, but this short run made no significant effect on the election and Douglas dropped out of the race.

After his retirement from the military Doulas resided to New York city where he died April 5th, 1964 at the age of 84.

__** What did it mean to "island-hop" past strongholds and attacks? **__

Island hopping was first implemented by the 93rd division, this strategy helped show where Japanese weaknesses and drew a clear picture as to where the Japanese were being beaten by American troops. Island hopping was a strategy introduced by the United States on their attacks on Japan. Their plan was to slowly conquer every island between themselves and Japan. Taking out Japanese outposts on every island would assure the marines had a safe path to mainland Japan.

Harriet Truman was not fond of the method of island hopping. He wanted to strike directly at the mainland of Japan, island hopping was too slow for his war tactics and he was very impatient with the military moving one island at a time. Not only did island hopping prolong the war it also cost countless lives, battles that could have been avoided on these islands by simply going for the mainland. The most beneficial aspect of island hopping was that the Japanese islands would be sustained. With sustained islands the american troops would have a clear path to mainland Japan for a military attack on the country.

Island hopping was a very conservative war strategy but it was a more reliable and safe way to reach mainland Japan for a successful attack.

__**What was the significance of the Battle of Guadalcanal?**__
The battle over the territory of the Guadalcanal lasted nearly six months between The United States and Japan. This was one of the bloodiest battles in American warfare, and a important victory for the allies in World War II.

Guadalcanal was a small island in the Solomon islands. Rumors of Japanese violence in warfare had spread throughout the marine corps and had the military on high alert. Violence such as enemies decapitating their enemies in battle had made the Guadalcanal a fearful place for battle. Marines stormed the island of Guadalcanl on August 7th, 1942 with much success. They put down beachhead on Guadalcanal and the neighboring islands of, Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tanambogo. The marines controlled Guadalcanal for less then a day before the Japanese sent a small army to retake the island. Japan viewed Guadalcanl as a very important defensive point in the war and attempted to take it back almost immediately after the Marine's captured the island. Four U.S. cruisers are destroyed in this battle and three other ships are damaged severely.

After months of battle over Guadalcanal Japan and the United States were fatigued of fighting. By this time the United States had collected many ships surrounding Guadalcanal and its neighboring islands. These gathering ships put a major dent in Japanese supply routes. The marines made their last attempt to control Guadalcanal and had forced all Japanese troops off the island by mid February.

= __Sources:__ = []
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 * "Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway." //Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. HIstory 2009//. Gale Student Resources in Context, 2008. Web. 11 May 2011.


 * Gale. "Battle of Midway." //Gale Student Resources in Context//. U.X.L Encyclopedia of U.S. History, 2009, 2009. Web. 12 May 2011. [].


 * Deloach, Jay A. "Battle of the Coral Sea." //Naval History and Heritage Command//. Web. 12 May 2011. [].

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 * "Douglas MacArthur." //American Decades //. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Detroit: Gale, 1998. //Gale Student Resources In Context //. Web. 11 May 2011.

[]
 * "Guadalcanal." //Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History //: //War //. Detroit: Gale, 2009. //Gale Student Resources In Context //. Web. 11 May 2011.


 * "Military Participation—Ground Battles of World War II." //DISCovering Multicultural America //: //African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans //. Detroit: Gale, 2003. //Gale Student Resources In Context //. Web. 11 May 2011 [|EJ2116204349&mode=view|http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow? displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE|EJ2116204349&mode=vie]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;"> [] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;"> []
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