The End of World War II in the Pacific: The History of the Final Campaigns that Led to Imperial Japan's Surrender

226 Pages·2015·10.35 MB·English

by  Charles River Editors

The End of World War II in the Pacific: The History
of the Final Campaigns that Led to Imperial Japan’s
Surrender
By Charles River Editors

Marines shelling Japanese positions along the north face of Mount
Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
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Introduction
MacArthur walking ashore onto Leyte during the Philippines campaign
The End of World War II in the Pacific
By the spring of 1943, American military planners had begun to create a plan
to dislodge Japan from east and southeast Asia. To do so, parts of the Philippines
were considered main strategic points in the potential Allied attack in the
Pacific. The end goal of the Allied plan was an invasion of the Japanese home
islands, in which heavy aerial bombardment would precede a ground assault. In
order for this to occur, Allied forces would have to occupy areas surrounding
Japan, with China adding to Luzon (the largest island in the Philippines) and
Formosa (a large island off the coast of China) to create a triangle from which
they could launch their bombers.
The Allied advance across the Pacific was based on this 1943 plan, with
General MacArthur and his forces moving to the north through New Guinea,
then Morotai Island, and then to Mindanao, which was the southernmost major
island in the Philippines chain. At the same time, Admiral Chester Nimitz sent
his fleet through the central Pacific, where they engaged Japanese forces at the
Gilbert, Marshall, Marianas and Palau Islands en route to Mindanao. As the
Allies advanced, American strategists became embroiled in a discussion over
whether to stick to the 1943 plan, or whether to focus their efforts on seizing
Formosa, from which they would be able to create a supply link to China and
would also be able to cut Japanese communication lines to the south.
The Battle of Iwo Jima, code name “Operation Detachment,” is more of a
misnomer than anything. It was fought as part of a large American invasion
directed by steps toward the Japanese mainland, and it was more like a siege that
lasted 36 days from February-March 1945, with non-stop fighting every minute.
In fact, the iconic flag-raising photo was taken just four days into the battle, and
as that picture suggests, the battle was not a pristine tactical event but an
unceasing horror with no haven for protection. As veteran and author James F.
Christ put it in the foreword of his exhaustive study of the action, “it is
carnage…that is what Iwo was…the Gettysburg of the Pacific.” Iwo Jima
defined the classical amphibious assault of the World War II era, as much as the
Normandy invasion did, but it came later in the war. In Europe, the Battle of the
Bulge had already been won, and German forces would surrender in early May.
However, the Japanese Empire was still at a considerable level of strength and
state of resolve, and an essential offensive, grinding from island to island with
naval unit to naval unit and air to air was met with maniacal resistance by the
enemy.
When Admiral Chester Nimitz was directed to capture an island in the Bonin
group, Iwo Jima stood out for its importance in making progress against the
mainland, with three airfields that would allow American air forces to attack the
Japanese mainland. But the Japanese were also well aware of how important Iwo
Jima was, and they fought desperately in bunkers and tunnels that required the
Americans to carefully clear them out gradually. Less than 5% of the Japanese
soldiers on Iwo Jima were taken alive, and American casualties were estimated
at 26,000, with 6,800 killed or captured. A month later at Okinawa, which lasted
from April-June, the Americans suffered an estimated 62,000 casualties, with
12,000 Americans killed or captured. These deadly campaigns came after
widely-held predictions that taking these islands would amount to no more than
a brief footnote in the overall theater. However, the national character of the
Empire was equally misunderstood. Following the month of Iwo Jima,
“commentator after commentator in the Anglo-American camp agreed that the
Japanese were more despised than the Germans…uncommonly treacherous and
savage…alluding to their remarkable tenacity…refused to give up any territory
and incurred thousands of losses daily without any possibility of surrender.”
Near the end of 1944, as Allied forces were pushing across the Pacific and
edging ever closer to Japan, plans were drawn up to invade the Ryuku islands,
the most prominent of them being Okinawa. Military planners anticipated that an
amphibious campaign would last a week, but instead of facing 60,000 Japanese
defenders as estimated, there were closer to 120,000 on the island at the
beginning of the campaign in April 1945. The Battle of Okinawa was the largest
amphibious operation in the Pacific theater, and it would last nearly 3 months
and wind up being the fiercest in the Pacific theater during the war, with nearly
60,000 American casualties and over 100,000 Japanese soldiers killed. In
addition, the battle resulted in an estimated 40,000-150,000 Japanese civilian
casualties.
Okinawa witnessed every conceivable horror of war both on land and at sea.
American ground forces on Okinawa had to deal with bad weather (including a
typhoon), anti-tank moats, barbed wire, mines, caves, underground tunnel
networks, and fanatical Japanese soldiers who were willing to use human shields
while fighting to the death. Allied naval forces supporting the amphibious
invasion had to contend with Japan’s notorious kamikazes, suicide pilots who
terrorized sailors as they frantically tried to shoot down the Japanese planes
before they could hit Allied ships. As one sailor aboard the USS Miami recalled,
"They came in swarms from all directions. The barrels of our ship's guns got so
hot we had to use firehoses to cool them down." As The Marine Corps Gazette
noted, “More mental health issues arose from the Battle of Okinawa than any
other battle in the Pacific during World War II. The constant bombardment from
artillery and mortars coupled with the high casualty rates led to a great deal of
men coming down with combat fatigue. Additionally the rains caused mud that
prevented tanks from moving and tracks from pulling out the dead, forcing
Marines (who pride themselves on burying their dead in a proper and honorable
manner) to leave their comrades where they lay. This, coupled with thousands of
bodies both friend and foe littering the entire island, created a scent you could
nearly taste. Morale was dangerously low by the month of May and the state of
discipline on a moral basis had a new low barometer for acceptable behavior.
The ruthless atrocities by the Japanese throughout the war had already brought
on an altered behavior (deemed so by traditional standards) by many Americans
resulting in the desecration of Japanese remains, but the Japanese tactic of using
the Okinawan people as human shields brought about a new aspect of terror and
torment to the psychological capacity of the Americans.”
Given the horrific nature of the combat, and the fact that it was incessant for
several weeks, it’s no surprise that Okinawa had a profound psychological effect
on the men who fought, but it also greatly influenced the thinking of military
leaders who were planning subsequent campaigns, including a potential invasion
of the Japanese mainland. The casualty tolls at Okinawa ultimately helped
compel President Truman to use the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
in an effort to end the war before having to attempt such an invasion.
The End of World War II in the Pacific: The History of the Final Campaigns
that Led to Imperial Japan’s Surrender chronicles the background leading up to
the final fighting of World War II. Along with pictures of important people,
places, and events, you will learn about the end of World War II in the Pacific
like never before.
The End of World War II in the Pacific: The History of the Final Campaigns that
Led to Imperial Japan’s Surrender
About Charles River Editors
Introduction
Chapter 1: Invasion Plan for the Philippines
Chapter 2: Leyte and Mindoro
Chapter 3: Moving Toward Luzon
Chapter 4: Luzon
Chapter 5: Advancing to Manila
Chapter 6: Taking Manila
Chapter 7: Mopping Up
Chapter 2: Bombing Missions in 1944
Chapter 3: January-February 1945
Chapter 4: March 1945
Chapter 5: Subsequent Bombing Missions
Chapter 1: The Strategic Importance of Iwo Jima
Chapter 2: The Japanese Defense of Iwo Jima
Chapter 3: The Opening Phase
Chapter 4: Raising the Flag on Mount Suribachi
Chapter 5: Fighting on the Northern End of the Island
Chapter 6: Securing Iwo Jima and the Aftermath of the Battle
Bibliography
Okinawa
Chapter 1: Turning the Tide Against Japan
Chapter 2: Planning for Okinawa
Chapter 3: The Beginning of the Battle of Okinawa
Chapter 4: Fighting in the South
Chapter 5: Fighting in the North
Chapter 6: May
Chapter 7: The End of the Battle and Its Aftermath
Chapter 10: Creating and Using the Atomic Bombs
Online Resources
Bibliography
Chapter 1: Invasion Plan for the Philippines
The Philippines Campaign would be remembered as a decisive Allied victory
and a personal vindication of sorts for Douglas MacArthur, but in 1943, it was
still unclear whether the operation would ever take place. Military officials like
General George C. Marshall, Lieutenant General Joseph McNarney, and General
Henry Arnold all seemed to favor bypassing the Philippines for Formosa during
late 1943 and early 1944, while others like Lieutenant General Brehon
Somervell argued that it was important to take the entire Philippines before
moving on to Formosa and China. For his part, MacArthur was very vocal in his
belief that the American army and navy needed to liberate the Philippines before
moving on to other portions of the plan.
A map showing the location of Formosa
By March 1944, the Joint Chiefs decided to prepare for both options for the
Allied attack and instructed MacArthur to prepare his men to move into the
southern Philippines by the end of the year, and then into Luzon by early 1945.
They also ordered Admiral Chester Nimitz to prepare for an assault on Formosa
for early 1945.