Downloaded 29 times
More Related Content
Pacific War
- 1.
- 2. 1. Why wouldJapan attack the USA?
- 3. a) Low opinionof USA • Drunks • Lazy • Lack fighting spirit
- 4. b. Influential militarycommand • The public thought the politicians were weak. • The military had brought Japan glory.
- 5. c. Japan wasexpanding in the Far East • USA exerting economic pressure (ie Manchuria). • Oil stoppage. • Roosevelt’s demand for Japan to leave mainland Asia (fall, 1941). • Had to limit U.S. reach in the Pacific - oil and rubber in Borneo and Malaya.
- 6. d. USA unpreparedfor war BUT… • Pearl carriers out to sea? • Pearl oil moved underground? • Pearl radar - B17s inbound? • Washington coder crackers - time zone snafu in warning? • SHIPS/PLANES REPLACABLE - CARRIERS ARE NOT!
- 7. But… Admiral Yamamoto warned ofwaking the SLEEPING GIANT.
- 8. 2. Why wasJapan initially so successful?
- 9. a) USA/UK unprepared •Japan had lots of recent war experience Mukden, 1931
- 10. b) No soldiersfought like the Japanese Bushido code • Ferocity • Live off land • Strict obedience For example…
- 11.
- 12.
- 13. • The Bushidocode also linked surrender to dishonour.
- 15. c) Initially localpopulations welcomed the Japanese “liberators.” • From whom were they liberating Asians? Asia for the Asians
- 16. d) The Britishwere stressed and the U.S. forces were mostly in N.America = TIME FOR JAPAN
- 17. 3. Why didJapan ultimately lose?
- 18. a) American publicsupport
- 19.
- 20. Declassified memo (dated May3, 1942) to FDR re: Doolittle Raid
- 21. b) Massive economic/military powerof USA • Once mobilized that is! • Factories were safe across the Pacific. • Images of Pearl + propaganda galvanized the nation behind the President. • Now the economic might could go far beyond Lend-Lease…
- 23. c) Japan hadonly 10% of U.S. economy • Japan had few resources (oil/iron). • Difficult to replace capital ships. • After Leyte Gulf the Imperial Navy ceased to exist!
- 24. c) cont. Japanneeded food • Japan had only 3% of U.S. agricultural capacity. • Had trouble feeding its people. • Thus: since raw materials rare, factories not the prime targets (they are dying by themselves - TARGET CITIES. • For every 40 factory bombs, 100 land on cities.
- 25. d) U.S. subssank 55% of Japanese shipping
- 29. e) Island Hopping •Attack main islands and isolate minor ones - “left to wither on the vine.” • Thus limit U.S. casualties (remember Bushido code). • On the Asian mainland the British and Commonwealth fought…
- 30. The famed Chindits- early special forces often behind enemy lines. Part of the Forgotten Army
- 31. f) In additionto… • U.S. leadership
- 32. U.S. victories: SuccessBreeds Success • Iwo Jima
- 33.
- 34. The planners stillfeared an assault on the “home islands”
- 35. g) Intelligence warnedof 1 million + casualties • This would be unacceptable to the U.S. public. • The Manhatten Project was the answer. • Why would the U.S. use the bomb against Japan but rely on traditional munitions for Germany?
- 36. Hiroshima, August 6 Nagasaki,August 9
- 37.
- 41. Ultimately: • Historians agreeit really was a foregone conclusion - the USA was just too strong economically with too much military potential. • It is a testament to the ferocity and commitment of the Japanese fighters that the war took as long as it did. • Easier geography also would have sped the inevitable conclusion.
- 42.