728 Chapter 27 War and Peace, 1941–1945
mastery of these waters would cut Australia off
from Hawaii and thus from American aid.
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto had dispatched a
large fleet of troopships screened by many war-
ships to attack Port Moresby, on the southern
New Guinea coast. On May 7–8 planes from the
American carriers LexingtonandYorktownstruck
the convoy’s screen, sinking a small carrier and
damaging a large one. Superficially, the battle
seemed a victory for the Japanese, for their
planes mortally wounded the Lexingtonand sank
two other ships, but the troop transports had
been forced to turn back—Port Moresby was
saved. Although large numbers of cruisers and
destroyers took part in the action, none came
within sight or gun range of an enemy ship. All
the destruction was wrought by carrier aircraft.
Encouraged by the Coral Sea “victory,”
Yamamoto decided to force the American fleet
into a showdown battle by assaulting the Midway
Islands, west of Hawaii. His armada never reached its
destination. Between June 4 and 7 control of the central
Pacific was decided entirely by airpower. American dive
bombers sent four large Japanese carriers to the bottom.
About 300 Japanese planes were destroyed. The United
States lost only theYorktownand a destroyer. Thereafter
the initiative in the Pacific war shifted to the Americans,
but victory came slowly and at painful cost.
American land forces were under the command of
Douglas MacArthur, a brilliant but egocentric general
whose judgment was sometimes distorted by his intense
concern for his own reputation. MacArthur was in com-
mand of American troops in the Philippine Islands when
the Japanese struck in December 1941. After his heroic
but hopeless defense of Manila and the Bataan penin-
sula, President Roosevelt had him evacuated by PT boat
to escape capture; those under MacArthur’s command
endured horrific conditions as prisoners of Japan.
Thereafter MacArthur was obsessed with the idea
of personally leading an American army back to the
Philippines. Although many strategists believed that
the islands should be bypassed in the drive on the
Japanese homeland, in the end MacArthur convinced
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who determined strategy.
Two separate drives were undertaken, one from New
Guinea toward the Philippines under MacArthur, the
other through the central Pacific toward Tokyo under
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.
World War II in the Pacificat
http://www.myhistorylab.com
Island Hopping
Before commencing this two-pronged advance, the
Americans had to eject the Japanese from the
Solomon Islands in order to protect Australia from a
SeetheMapTable 27.2Turning Points of World War II in
the Pacific
December 7, 1941 Japanese sneak-attack on Pearl
Harbor; United States declares war
May 1942 Japanese win Battle of the Coral Sea,
but invasion of Australia foiled
June 1942 United States wins Battle of Midway;
Japanese advance toward Hawaii
turned back
February 1943 United States takes Guadalcanal,
along the southernmost periphery of
Japanese power
February 1945 United States retakes Philippines
June 1945 United States takes Okinawa, near
Japanese islands
August 1945 United States drops atomic bombs
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Japan
surrenders“You know that sheer hell is going on on that island. It rolls over the water. You can
hear the thunder,” wrote Richard M. Gibney, who painted Landing on Tarawa(1943).flank attack. Beginning in August 1942, a series of
land, sea, and air battles raged around Guadalcanal
Island in this archipelago. Once again American
airpower was decisive, although the bravery and
skill of the ground forces that actually won the
island must not be underemphasized. American
pilots, better trained and with tougher planes than
the Japanese, had a relatively easier task. They
inflicted losses five to six times heavier on the
enemy than they sustained themselves. Japanese
airpower disintegrated during the long battle, and
this in turn helped the fleet to take a heavy toll on
the Japanese navy. By February 1943 Guadalcanal
had been secured.