The Pacific Theatre of World War II

The US Entry into World War II

The entry of the US into World War II meant that the country would conduct its war efforts in both the Atlantic and Pacific theatres. Despite the support of the US to the British through Atlantic supply and escort convoys, the attack on Pearl Harbor drew the US into war in the Pacific theatre. While the pacific fleet was greatly disabled, the response and defense after Pearl harbor rested on Chester W. Nimitiz who relied only on four couriers, their escorts, and several squadrons of bombers. With the minimal supplies, Nimitiz was able to raid Japanese occupied islands in the central pacific that even resulted in the surprise raid of Tokyo. Despite the greatly depleted fleet, Nimitiz held the advantage of radio message decoding that allowed insight in the deployment and plans of the Japanese fleet. The first major sea engagement in the Pacific theatre was the Battle of the Coral Sea where only the airplanes saw offensive action and fleets never engaged as the Japanese recalled their fleet. In a month, the Japanese admiral Ymamoto sought to decisively defeat Nimitiz by to capture Midway but Nimitiz’s advantage of radio intelligence had forewarned him and he committed his naval aviation which resulted in the sinking of three Japanese carriers coupled by other losses in pilots and planes. The Japanese losses meant that their fleet edge was greatly reduced and the war in the pacific lay in the balance.

The Mainland Response

The mainland response towards Pearl Harbor was increased drafting of servicemen to the tune of more than fifteen million. Additionally, the attack on Pearl Harbor also rallied the country which allowed for the marshalling of a workforce of more than ten million to support industries for the war effort. Furthermore, the response to the war resulted in the creation and championing of a science and technology department in support of the war. Consequently, technological advancements led to the development of facilities such as radar, sonar, and rocket propelled weapons. For the Navy, the introduction of sonar and radar was critical as it facilitated in the pinpoint location of enemy vessels and effective hunt for the submarines using sonar. For the army, new technology such as amphibious vehicles, radar controlled fuse for artillery, and medicine and drugs to reduce infection and tropical diseases proved critical in ensuring effective occupation campaigns. For the Air Force, bombing guidance systems, aircraft radar, and antitank rockets ensured great success and effectiveness in locating enemy fleet and precise bombing campaigns.

Notable Battles in the Pacific Theatre

Other notable battles in the Pacific theatre include the feeble defense of the Philippines led by General Douglas MacArthur where he is faulted for not retreating his ground troops to the Bataan peninsula and instead, met a larger Japanese force and the Philippines fell. MacArthur was ordered to Australia and he succeeded in the south-pacific offensive where after six months of brutal air, sea, and land battles, Japanese were decisively defeated. The jungle war in Guadalcanal was one of the most important land battles in dealing a significant blow to the Japanese. The other noticeable battle in the Pacific theatre is the ballet for the Solomon Islands. Commanded by Admiral William F. Halsey, the fleet witnessed seven significant fleet engagements and numerous minor skirmishes but the US Navy emerged as the overall winner despite significant losses. The campaign on the Solomon Islands marked the superiority of the US Navy over that of Japan.