THE PACIFIC CAMPAIGNĭuring the 1930s, Americans had caught glimpses of Japanese armies in action and grew increasingly sympathetic towards war-torn China. Progressively, American forces drew closer to the strategically important targets of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In 1944, the United States, seized Saipan and won the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Slowly, throughout 1943, the United States engaged in a campaign of “island hopping,” gradually moving across the Pacific to Japan. forces invaded Guadalcanal and New Guinea. The Battle of Midway witnessed the first Japanese naval defeat since the nineteenth century.
The Allies turned the tide in May and June 1942, at the Battle of Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway. By February 1942, they were threatening Australia. They seized Guam and Wake Island from the United States, and streamed through Malaysia and Thailand into the Philippines and through the Dutch East Indies. Japanese forces won a series of early victories against Allied forces from December 1941 to May 1942.
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
