This document summarizes key events in the US involvement in World War II against Japan in the Pacific theater. It describes major battles such as Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, and Leyte Gulf, where the US halted Japan's expansion and began to take back islands. It also discusses the bloody battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa as the US moved towards invading Japan. Finally, it covers the Manhattan Project and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, which ultimately led Emperor Hirohito to surrender and end the war.

1. Unit 4- The US in World War II

2.  I. Japan’s Empire has grown
 A. Philppines- March ‘42 FDR orders Gen.
MacArthur to leave- “I shall return_”
 B. Doolittle Raids- US attach on Tokyo in
Spring of ’42
 C. Battle of Coral Sea- Total air war, first time
US stopped Japan, involved Australia

3.  D. Battle of Midway
 US broke Japanese code- 1st victory for US
 After this the US starts “Island Hopping”

4.  E. Battle at Guadacanal
 Late ‘42, first US offensive
 First Japanese defeat on land

5.  F. Battle of Leyte Gulf- early ‘44
 Kamikaze- suicide pilots, new Japanese war
tactic
 Largest naval battle of the war (Philippines)

6.  II. End of the War in the Pacific
 A. Iwo Jima- ’45
 Critical for the an invasion of Japan
 Island is rocky sulfur and cave like- on 16 miles

7.  110K Marines invade, slow advance
 US wins, but 22K dead
 Famous photograph- Raising the flag at Mt.
Suribachi
 Japanese not permitted to surrender- 2 choices: die
in battle or commit suicide, known as “Seppuku”

8.  B. Okinawa- April ‘45
 Marines invade- bloodiest battle of the Pacific
 US loses 8K, Japan loses 110K
 3 months to take island- forecast of what an
invasion of Japan would look like

9.  III. The Atomic Bomb
 A. Manhattan Project led by Robert
Oppenheimer and 600K Americans
 B. Tested successfully in New Mexico in ’45
 C. President Truman warns Japan, “Surrender or
face complete destruction”- Japan refuses

10.  D. Hiroshima is bombed first on August 6. 1945
 The Enola Gay drops the bomb named “Little
Boy” and destroys the entire city
 120K dead- Japan refuses to surrender

12.  E. Nagasaki- 2nd city bombed on August 9th, ’45
 “Fat Man” is dropped and destroys city
 F. Emperor Hirohito surrenders- THE WAR IS
OVER!