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Bataan (Philippines)
Japan controlled the Pacific and attacked Philippines. Pushed the U.S and forced them to walk 60 miles without food or water /Filipino troops from Manila to the Bataan Peninsula. -
Tokyo/Japan Raid
Jimmy Doolittle led 16 bombers to attack Tokyo and other cities. The attack did little damage. Boosted Americans by showing Japan U.S would fight back -
Coral Sea
Aerial battle between planes launched from carriers. There was no clear winner in the battle but the U.S blocked the invasion of Australia -
Midway
Battle around Midway Island in the central Pacific. The U.S. destroyed 4 Japanese carriers and 250 planes. First-time code - talkers were used. Turning point in the war. -
Guadalcanal
Led into the First major allied offensive in the Pacific Theater, World War II, the war in the Solomon Islands was an effort by the United States to secure major concessions. U.S. troops fought brutal battles to keep the island, which allowed Allied powers to control shipping lanes and stop the Japanese expansion. Once victorious in Guadalcanal, the Allies grew optimistic and began shifting into a counter-strategy against Japan. -
Leyte Gulf
It was the largest naval battle of WW2 and was critical in the liberation of the Philippines -
Yalta
The three Allied leaders, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, met in Yalta to work out differences and agree on future plans. Significant decisions included the partitioning of Germany into occupation zones, creating a United Nations Organization, and Soviet troop occupation of Japan. Yet the tensions in Yalta foreshadowed the Cold War. -
Iwo Jima
Strategic location bombers could reach Japan. 6,000+ U.S troops killed—victory for the U.S. -
Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was one of the largest amphibious assaults in the Pacific War and was intended for staging a potential invasion of Japan. Intense fighting meant enormous casualties, both among U.S. and Japanese forces and significant civilian losses. The battle foreshadowed Japan's desperate situation and future wars' devastation. -
San Francisco Conference
The San Francisco Conference was where the representatives of fifty allied nations designed the Charter of the United Nations. This charter established the formal area of work for the U.S. to maintain peace and attempt to discourage another world conflict. Major figures included U.S. Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr., whose influence assisted its creation. -
Hiroshima and Hagasaki
On August 6 and August 9, 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan by the U.S., leading to the country's surrender and thus the end of World War II. These bombings instantly took the lives of over 200,000 people, with most dying immediately as a result of the bombings while others succumbed to radiation sickness. These unprecedented attacks revealed the terrible capabilities of nuclear weapons and triggered ethical debates that are still ongoing to this day. -
Occupation of Japan
The Occupation of Japan by General Douglas MacArthur pursued demilitarization and democratization of the country. Significant reforms included writing a new constitution, the establishment of women's rights and reform of the economy. Japan became a peaceful and industrialized nation, closely allied on a global scale with the United States. -
Tokyo Bay
The surrender of Japan aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay symbolized the official ending of World War II. Representatives from Japan signed the official surrender document in the presence of the Allied leaders led by General Douglas MacArthur. It represented not only the end of a cataclysmic world war but also the commencement of post-war reconstruction. -
Nuremberg
Chiefly responsible for the namesake of the prosecution of high-ranking Nazi leaders for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, the Nuremberg Trials recognized international criminal codes differentiating those crimes. The trials drew legal lines for how leaders may be held accountable for their atrocities and formalized definitions of war crimes. Some of the most prominent figures include Hermann Göring, who was found guilty but committed suicide before the execution.