Navel fleet of about three carriers, twenty-five support ships, and 360 aircrafts were deployed on June 4th, 1942 to Midway Island against the Imperial Navy’s fleet consisting of four carriers, two battleships, fifteen support ships, 248 aircrafts, and sixteen floatplanes. With the battle in place, the Imperial Navy was baffled at the losts because they did not expect the U.S. to be so prepared or ready for the trap. At the end of the battle, both sides had causalities, 307 men for the United States and 3,057 men for Japan. Reports show the planning of Midway was a huge success, which helped the U.S. gain Midway Island and many other islands after that. After the events of Midway, the U.S. opened a gate with many successes by conquering islands invaded by Japan in an effort to stop attacks on U.S. forces.
The reading, “The Biggest Decision: Why We Had to Drop the Bomb,” by Robert James Maddox, explains the process taken in for the Americas to decide to drop the two newly discovered atomic bombs over the Japanese homeland cities of Hiroshima and three days later Nagasaki. Americans should be well informed on this information. This is a perfect article for this class because it marks a very important milestone in our nation’s history. The Japanese were a strong powerful enemy of the US during the end of WWII. “The Japanese had more than 2,000,000 troops in the home lands, and were training millions of irregulars” pg.
The ones who believe this, do not comprehend the many different factors in war and how the route that was chosen was best for both parties that were directly affiliated with the bombings. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have been fire bombed if the atomic bombs were not dropped, causing similar damage and death counts to the atomic bombs. According to Kyoko Iriye Selden, "The most influential text is Truman's 1955 Memoirs, which states that the atomic bomb probably saved half a million US lives— anticipated casualties in an Allied invasion of Japan planned for November. Stimson subsequently talked of saving one million US casualties, and Churchill of saving one million American and half that number of British lives"(1). With this amount of casualties projected, a land invasion would have trumped the death toll of D-Day.
The first carrier raids against Iwo Jima began in June 1944. Before the invasion, the 8 square mile island would suffer the longest, most intensive shelling of any Pacific island during the war. The 7th Air Force supplied the B-24 heavy bombers for the campaign. In addition to the air assaults on the island, the Marines asked for 10 days of pre-invasion naval bombardment. Due to other operational commitments and the fact that a lengthened air assault had been waged on Iwo Jima, Navy planners authorized only three days of naval bombardment.
Technology and the kinds of savage warfare conducted by the American and enemy forces during World War II both played a crucial role in determining the outcome of the war. The war began with most armies utilizing technology that had changed little from World War I, and in some cases, had remained unchanged since the 19th century. The war began with cavalry, trenches, and World War I-era battleships, but within only six years, armies around the world had developed jet aircraft, ballistic missiles, and even atomic weapons by one. The best jet fighters at the end of the war easily outflew any of the leading aircraft of 1929, such as the Spitfire Mark I. The early war bombers that caused such carnage would almost all have been shot down in 1945,
The decision prevented millions of American casualties, millions of Japanese casualties, and served as a deterrent to the USSR expansion. The war in the Pacific had been raging for almost four years. The two battles immediately preceding the bomb decision were Iwo Jima and Okinawa; two battles where the Japanese fought to the death and the cost in American casualties was horrific. After those battles it was predicted that the invasion of the Japanese mainland would be even worse (51g. The Decision).
Military Status before and during the war i. Japan The Japanese were uncommonly treacherous and savage, their army was the strongest in the pacific before the Americans decided to join the war. Even before the fall of Saipan in June 1944, Japanese planners knew that Iwo Jima would have to be reinforced significantly if it were to be held for any length of time, and preparations were made to send sizable numbers of men and quantities of materiel to that island. Thus the Japanese began preparing their defences mainly using nature, by this meaning that they started fortifying the caves. Thus General Kuribayashi ordered that mining engineers were dispatched from Japan to draw blueprints for projected underground fortifications that would consist of elaborate tunnels at varying levels to assure good ventilation and minimize the effect of bombs or shells exploding near the entrances or exits . in terms of military forces General Kuribayashi had a plan called water's edge defence strategy, but however he later abandoned it.
At 7:30 am on the 1st of July, the British began a massive attack against German forces. During the previous week, 250,000 Allied shells had hit German ranks and 100,000 British soldiers poured out of their trenches and into ‘No Man's Land’, expecting to find the way cleared for them. However, scores of heavy German machine guns had survived the artillery assault and the infantry were
Joe Marinaccio Mrs. McCarthy English 10 21 March, 2015 The Flag Raising at Iwo Jima World War II was one of the greatest and bloodiest wars in world history. When characterizing it, one normally thinks of Hitler’s domination and the Nazis. Although, that was a major part of the war, the war on the Pacific was as significant, yet unrecognized to the public today. The Great Depression was in full effect in the US when World War II began, giving many unemployed men a job in the army. This resulted in a surge of patriotism and national pride.
The Great Escape: Dunkirk January 27, 2011 World History since 1900’s On May 27, 1940, one million allied soldiers were trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk. With the Nazi forces breathing down their neck, Britain pulled a miracle out of their hat. The evacuation of the troops on the beaches of Dunkirk was a victory for the allies and a major mistake for the Nazi regime. This essay will examine how Britain rescued 1/3 of a million troops, how the Nazis let 1/3 of a million troops go and why Sir Keith Park and the Royal Air force were major benefactors to the Dunkirk escape. Without these contributions, the miracle of Dunkirk would have been the tragedy of Dunkirk.