Major battles
This surprise attack on December 7, 1941, led the U.S. to enter WWII
Pearl harbor
The U.S. employed this strategy of capturing strategic islands while bypassing heavily fortified Japanese positions.
Island hopping
This U.S. president led the country into WWII after the Pearl Harbor attack.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
This class of naval vessel became the central offensive weapon in the Pacific, replacing battleships.
Aircraft carriers
Japan formally surrendered to the Allies in this year.
1945
Fought in June 1942, this decisive U.S. naval victory severely weakened Japan’s carrier force and shifted the momentum of the Pacific War.
Battle of midway
Japan’s initial strategy in the Pacific was to secure a defensive perimeter by occupying these areas rich in oil and resources.
Southeast Asia
He served as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific and led the recapture of the Philippines.
General Douglas MacArthur
In late 1944, Japan began using these pilots in suicide attacks against Allied ships.
Kamikaze pilots
Japan surrendered shortly after these two cities were destroyed by atomic bombs.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
This 1945 battle on a heavily fortified island was one of the last major campaigns before the planned invasion of Japan.
The battle of Okinawa
In response to Japan’s rapid expansion, the U.S. and its allies formed this command to coordinate Pacific operations.
Pacific theater command
This Japanese admiral was responsible for planning the Pearl Harbor attack and was later killed by U.S. forces in Operation Vengeance.
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Developed under the Manhattan Project, this technology changed the nature of warfare in August 1945.
The atomic bomb
This 1945 declaration issued by the Allies demanded Japan’s unconditional surrender.
The Potsdam declaration.
This 1942–1943 campaign in the Solomon Islands was the first major Allied offensive against Japan.
The battle of Guadalcanal
Japan’s goal in attacking Midway was to eliminate this component of U.S. naval power.
Aircraft Carriers
As Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, he directed American naval forces in key battles such as Midway.
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
The U.S. relied heavily on these long-range aircraft to conduct strategic bombing raids over Japan.
B-29 Superfortresses
The formal surrender ceremony took place aboard this U.S. battleship in Tokyo Bay.
USS Missouri
Taking place in October 1944, this was the largest naval battle in history and resulted in the near-total destruction of the Japanese fleet.
The battle of Leyte Gulf
The U.S. invasion of the Philippines in 1944 fulfilled this general's promise to return after retreating in 1942.
General Douglas MacArthur
After Roosevelt’s death in 1945, this U.S. president made the decision to use atomic bombs against Japan.
Harry S. Truman
The U.S. intelligence program that intercepted and decrypted Japanese communications during the war.
MAGIC
After the war, Japanese military and government leaders were tried for war crimes during these international trials.
Tokyo War Crimes Trials