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On December 11th the Japanese attacked Wake Island. The US  Navy managed to sink one destroyer ship but it wasn't enough. The island fell to the Japanese December 23 and was kept until the end of the war

https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/wwii/wwii-pacific/us-entry-into-wwii-japanese-offensive/1941-december-11-attack-wake-island.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkCti6VBhRM

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1941: December 11: Attack on Wake Island
The Japanese attacked Wake Island on December 11, 1941. The Wake Island Garrison, under Commander Winfield Cunningham, USN, replused the Japanese invasion with shore battery fire, which sank Japanese destroyer Hayate while USMC F4F's sank destroyer Kisaragi. Numerous other Japanese vessels damaged. Under the command of Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher, USN, the Wake Relief Expedition departed Pearl Harbor. The U.S. Navy ships: USS Saratoga (CV-3), USS Tangier (AV-8), USS Astoria (CA-34), USS San Francisco (CA-38), USS Minneapolis (CA-36), Destroyer Squadron Four, and USS Neches (AO-5). Due to Saratoga' s fueling problems, the expedition was late arriving and departing. After the island fell to the Japanese on December 23, the force turned back to Pearl Harbor following a series of conflicting orders. The island would be held by the enemy until lthe end of World War II.

Image: 80-G-413519: Wake Island. Wreckage of a U.S. Marine Corps, F4F-3 following the capture by the Japanese on December 23, 1941. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

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1941: December 11: Attack on Wake Island

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1941: December 11: Attack on Wake Island The Japanese attacked Wake Island on December 11, 1941. The Wake Island Garrison, under Commander Winfield Cunningham, USN, replused the Japanese invasion with shore battery fire, which sank Japanese destroyer Hayate while USMC F4F's sank destroyer Kisaragi. Numerous other Japanese vessels damaged.

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Japanese forces captured American and Filipino soldiers. The soldiers were in very bad health from the battle they were in. They were forced to march 60 kilometers in the heat. If they died they would just be left there.

https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2018/4/10/the-battle-of-bataan-and-the-bataan-death-march
https://www.pbs.org/video/the-bataan-death-march-8jxqi8/

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For bravery and gallantry in action during the period 19 to 24 January 1942, at Mabatang, Abucay, Bataan... In utter disregard for his own safety, he personally led his men, under heavy enemy fire and shelling, to the front lines, and supervised the removal of the dead and evacuation to the rear of all wounded enabling the Battalion Surgeon to administer the necessary first aid... This action, ... which was over and above his duties, done under continuous heavy enemy fire and shelling, prevented a greater loss to the lives of the wounded and prevented the demoralization of the men in the line which would otherwise have resulted.

Award of the Gold Cross Medal Citation, General Orders Number 50, 10 February 1947
Camp Murphy, Quezon City

It was the policy of the United States to defend the Philippines.
-General George C. Marshall [1]

The events surrounding the Bataan Death March in April 1942 are well documented as one of the most harrowing atrocities committed by Japanese forces in the Philippines.[2] The story of the Bataan Death March is part of a larger one: about the consequences of strategic miscalculation, the centrality of savagery and suffering in war, and the tension between wilful forgetting, justice, and remembering valour. The event can be seen through many lenses-up close from a personal perspective, or through the eyes of a regional neighbour like Australia. These different vantage points are connected, and offer associations and counterpoints to existing historical accounts. My grandfather was a Philippine Army Infantry Officer who was awarded the Philippine Gold Cross Medal for his actions during the battle at Bataan. His personal story is clearly nested within the Philippine national narrative of Filipinos and Americans fighting side by side to stall the Japanese advance. However, I also like to think that his sacrifice and that of thousands of others to defend the place of my birth had a direct link to the security of the place I now call home-Australia. The American and Filipino forces significantly delayed the Japanese advance in the Pacific, particularly when compared with the speed of the Japanese maneuver through Malaya and their capture of Singapore in February 1942 after only seven days of fighting. The stall of the Japanese advance in the Philippines allowed Allied forces in the Pacific to rally, and perhaps prevented the seizure / destruction of US forces in the Pacific and the invasion of Australia.[3]

Strategic Miscalculation

The 7,100 islands of the Philippine archipelago occupy a strategic position in relation to Japan and Southeast Asia.[4] As early as 1924, the Japanese had developed an operational concept involving the occupation of Guam and the Philippines, which included amphibious operations in Luzon Island.[5] The focus was on seizing Manila and consolidating the Japanese occupation of the Philippines before the United States could project its main battle fleet.[6] Japanese-United States relations deteriorated from 1939 to 1941 due to the termination of a long standing commercial treaty and the intensification of US economic and military pressure over the issue of Japanese military operations in China.[7] This increased tension culminated in the Japanese attack on the US Pacific fleet based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7th December 1941. The next day, the Japanese Forces commenced their attack on the Philippines. The capture of the Philippines was a mission entrusted to the Fourteenth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Masaharu Homma, veteran of the war in China.[8] The plan devised by the Japanese Imperial General Staff to attack Pearl Harbour to neutralize the US Pacific Fleet and reducing US naval opposition to the attack on the Philippines had come to fruition.

US military planning had envisaged this situation in War Plan ORANGE (shortened to WPO), where the US was at war with Japan. This war plan was part of a larger strategy, and one of many so-called colour plans, created at the start of the twentieth century to protect the American dominions stretching from San Francisco to the Philippines.[9] War Plan ORANGE evolved significantly in the pre-war period, as the US Army and Navy argued over offensive or defensive postures, and appropriation of funds by Congress for mobilisation was debated.[10] The plan involved abandoning Manila, and the withdrawal of US and Filipino forces to the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor as a delaying measure to buy time until the arrival of the Pacific Fleet.[11] However, the strategic realities of war on two fronts-in Europe and the Pacific-led to War Plan ORANGE being superseded by Rainbow V, which envisaged the United States fighting with both Japan and Germany. General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the combined United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) opposed Rainbow V because it prioritised the defeat of Germany.[12] MacArthur convinced General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, that a more aggressive rather than defensive stance should be pursued.[13] Arguably, this effectively led to discarding ORANGE and the accompanying fortification and supply of forces in preparation for a robust and prolonged defence to block Japanese forces for approximately six months.[14] This approach exacerbated the challenges to preparedness within the 1938 version of ORANGE, which effectively led to the failure by US strategic planners to properly fortify and resource Guam and the Philippines.[15] The end result was that MacArthur's forces were not postured or prepared to absorb the Japanese advance. Attempts to rally, train, and supply Filipino forces in late 1941 were not enough; as highlighted by General Jonathan Wainwright: "... the Philippine army units were doomed before they started to fight. That they lasted as long as they did is a stirring and touching tribute to their gallantry and fortitude. They never had a chance to win."[16]

Labanan sa Bataan-The Battle of Bataan

From 8 December 1941, Japanese forces focused on neutralizing United States' aircraft and airfields in Luzon, with two Japanese task forces arriving in Luzon on 10 December. By 13 December, virtually all US Army Air Force and Navy planes in the Philippines are destroyed, and Major General Lewis H. Brereton (commander of the Far Eastern Air Force) withdrew his remaining B-17 heavy bombers to Darwin, Australia.[17] On 23 December 1941, MacArthur decided to withdraw his forces to Bataan. It appeared to the Japanese command that the US-Philippine forces were weakened as they executed a series of prepared delaying actions designed to allow time to complete the full withdrawal into the Bataan Peninsula.[18] The rapid seizure of Manila led the Japanese command to believe the occupation of Luzon was largely complete. As a result the Japanese divided their forces, and sent their experienced units-the 48th Division and 5th Air Group-to execute the invasion of the Dutch East Indies.[19] A smaller and less experienced Japanese force remained. Further, General Homma believed the strength, health, and morale of the remaining US and Philippine forces on Bataan was largely diminished and would be easy to defeat.

From mid January to 9 April 1942, Filipino and American forces fought on the Peninsula. My grandfather was an infantry soldier in 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry, 21st Division of the Philippine Army. This Division was originally part of General Wainwright's North Luzon Force, and held the right flank of the Main Line of Resistance (MLR) in the Mabatang-Abucay region of the Bataan Peninsula at the start of the campaign, and continued to resist the Japanese advance. The family legend is that he ultimately withdrew to Corregidor after Bataan, but was ultimately captured after that stronghold fell in May 1942. He was lucky to have escaped the death march.

On 12 March 1942, General MacArthur, his family, and members of his staff withdrew to Mindanao, and then on to Australia. Prior to his departure, he appointed Lieutenant-General Wainwright as the commander of the remaining forces, which were called the United States Forces in the Philippines (USFIP). Less than one month later, on 9 April 1942, and 123 days after the start of the Battle of Bataan, Major General Edward P. King surrendered and approximately 64,000 Filipinos, and 12,000 Americans became prisoners of the Japanese forces.[21]

The Bataan Death March: 9th April 1942

If I had known what was ahead of us at the beginning of the Bataan Death March, I would have taken death... When a guy was bayoneted or shot, laying in the road and the convoys were coming along, I saw trucks that would just go out of their way to run over the guy in the middle of the road. And when by the time you have fifteen or twenty trucks run over you, look like a smashed tomato or something.
-Glen Frazier, US survivor of the Bataan Death March [22]

The Bataan Death March was the culmination of a long battle against an invading force, and was a bloody indicator of the brutality of the Imperial Japanese Forces that occupied the Philippines. The captured American and Filipino soldiers were in bad health, after fighting a protracted battle with little food and water. The soldiers were starving and stricken with diseases such as dysentery and malaria.[23] The Japanese forces were unprepared for the number of prisoners that surrendered, and they intended to clear the peninsula to stage their next phase of operations to seize Corregidor. The American and Filipino prisoners were forced to march to San Fernando, 60 kilometers away.[24] The prisoners who fell were killed or left to die in the heat. Hoyt explains that this was caused by the Japanese frustration at these Allied soldiers who stalled their advance, and also because the Japanese considered that they were unworthy of respect.[25] Lieutenant Colonel Masanobu Tsuji's treatment of the prisoners set the example for those under his command-he executed prisoners and declared: "This is the way to treat bastards like this."[26]

From San Fernando, they traveled to Capas, and then onto the prisoner of war facility at Camp O'Donnell. Approximately 7,000 prisoners died during the March.[27] The struggle of these prisoners did not end at O'Donnell-most of those captured at Bataan, and at Corregidor were sent to Japan as labourers on cramped vessels called Hellships.[28] Many more prisoners died from disease on the Hellships. More prisoners died after some of these ships, which were unmarked, were sunk by US submarines.[29]

Justice and Willful Forgetting

To Americans and Filipinos, the Bataan Death March is one of the worst atrocities of the Pacific War.

Perceptions about the credibility and standing of post-war military tribunals will inevitably be shaped by an individual's personal experience of the war in question. To Americans and Filipinos, the Bataan Death March is one of the worst atrocities of the Pacific War. President Truman's address after dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki reflect the American outrage:

We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare.[30]

Understandably, the Japanese view is that the bombing of Japanese cities-the firebombing of Tokyo and the use of atomic weapons-are the worst atrocities of the Pacific War.[31] General Homma, in his last letters to his family, referred to these attacks and declared, "[T]here is no such thing as justice in international relations in this universe."[32] Arguably, the victor in a given conflict has the advantage of shaping the writing of history and narrative about the brutality of war.

The Tokyo Trials were the most significant post-war tribunals to deal with war crimes in the Pacific War. However, they have been criticised as being subjected to political capriciousness in the selection of representative leaders who would be held accountable for their command responsibility.[33] Further, the credibility of the court was undermined as some judges were either not experienced in international law or had direct conflicts of interest-the Filipino judge was a survivor of the Bataan Death March.[34] Arguably, the trial was for show as the representative who was held accountable for command responsibility for the Bataan Death March-General Masaharu Homma-was tried, found guilty, and executed. However, Colonel Masanobu Tsuji-who incited the killing and terrible treatment of the prisoners from Bataan-was not tried despite bearing responsibility for massacres during the Bataan Death March and also in Singapore.[35] Due to his extreme anti-communist stance, Tsuji was protected by both China (under Chiang Kai-shek) and the United States. He continued to live secretly in Japan in the late 1940s, with the full knowledge of American military authorities; and eventually coming out of hiding in the 1950s.[36] Downer explains the treatment of Tsuji and others as willful forgetting of what occurred during the war; perhaps in favour of rallying and consolidating new allies against the communist threat and the looming Cold War.[37]

Araw ng Kagitingan-Day of Valour

My grandfather survived the war and, according to family accounts, continued to remember those he fought with on Bataan until he died. The Philippines has a strong national memory of the Japanese occupation, and of those fought and suffered during that period. The 9th of April is a national holiday called Araw ng Kagitingan or Day of Valour, which marks the fall of Bataan and the subsequent Death March. This day is attended by the Filipino President or Vice-President, members of the Philippine armed forces, and ambassadors from the United States and Japan. The ceremony is held at the Shrine of Valour at the base of Mount Samat on the Bataan Peninsula.[38] The Day of Valour was first celebrated soon after the end of the Pacific War and is considered as central to re-building the Philippines. It is considered a celebration of Filipino resilience in the face of extreme adversity, and of victory through struggle. Despite the misuse of this day of remembrance by politicians such as Ferdinand Marcos, recent Filipino Presidents such as Gloria Arroyo refer to the holiday to instill citizenship and self-sacrifice in the population.[39]

The Battle of Bataan and the Bataan Death March are some of the more grueling stories from the Pacific War. While justice after war remains a contentious issue, it is important to note that remembrance is central to nation-building and recovery, and instilling a sense of pride in those who served and sacrificed during this part of the Pacific War.

Jo Brick is an officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, a member of the Military Writers Guild, and an Associate Editor for The Strategy Bridge. She holds a Master of Laws, and a Master of Military and Defence Studies from the Australian National University. Her primary interests are strategy and civil-military relations, the ethical aspects of the laws of war, command decision making, and the role of air power and armor in modern warfare. Follow Jo on Twitter @clausewitzrocks. The opinions expressed here are the author's alone and do not reflect those of the Australian Defence Force.

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Header Image: Illustration of what it was like to travel the 60 arduous miles between Mariveles and Camp O'Donnell, on the Bataan Death March. (Ben Steele/Flikr)

Notes:

[1] Louis Morton. The Fall of the Philippines (Washington DC: Center of Military History, 1993) 31.

[2] First hand accounts of the Battle of Bataan and the Death March include: Carlos P. Romulo, Last Man Off Bataan (Glasgow: Sphere Books) 1981; Hampton Sides, Ghost Soldiers (London: Time Warner) 2002; Richard C. Mallonee, Battle for Bataan - An Eyewitness Account (Novato: Presidio Press) 1997.

[3] William L. O'Neill. Democracy at War - America's Fight at Home and Abroad in World War II (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995, 116-117.

[4] Morton, The Fall of the Philippines, 4.

[5] Edward J. Drea. In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003) 28-29.

[6] Drea, In the Service of the Emperor, 29.

[7] Drea, In the Service of the Emperor, 31.

[8] Ward Rutherford. Fall of the Philippines (London: Ballatine Books, 1972) 27.

[9] Louis Morton, 'War Plan Orange: Evolution of a Strategy' World Politics Vol. 11, No. 2 (1959) 221, 221-222. This article provides an excellent overview of the geopolitical considerations that led to the evolution of various war plans from the end of the First World War to the start of the Pacific War in 1941.

[10] Morton, 'War Plan Orange: Evolution of a Strategy'.

[11] Rutherford, Fall of the Philippines, 15.

[12] Rutherford, Fall of the Philippines, 15. See also John G. Doll. The Battling Bastards of Bataan (8th ed) (New York: Merriam Press, 2017) 11.

[13] Rutherford, Fall of the Philippines, 15, 18.

[14] Donald J. Young. The Battle of Bataan (2nd ed) (Jefferson: McFarland & Co, 2009) 5.

[15] Morton, 'War Plan Orange: Evolution of a Strategy', 250.

[16] Quoted by Young, The Battle of Bataan, 8.

[17] Doll, The Battling Bastards of Bataan, 14.

[18] Young, The Battle of Bataan, 16.

[19] Young, The Battle of Bataan, 16.

[20] Map source: Corregidor Historic Society website: 'How the Battle Went in Bataan' http://corregidor.org/chs_bataan/bataan1.html (accessed 25 February 2018)

[21] Charles Bateson. The War with Japan - A Concise History (North Sydney: Ure Smith Pty Ltd, 1968) 78.

[22] Quoted by Kinue Tokudome. 'The Bataan Death March and the 66-Year Struggle for Justice', The Asia-Pacific Journal 6, Issue 1 (April 2008) 2.

[23] Tokudome. 'The Bataan Death March and the 66-Year Struggle for Justice',1.

[24] Edwin P. Hoyt. Japan's War - The Great Pacific Conflict (London: Guild Publishing, 1986), 269-270.

[25] Hoyt, Japan's War, 269-270. See also Tokudome, 'The Bataan Death March and the 66-Year Struggle for Justice'.

[26] Hoyt, Japan's War, 269.

[27] Bateson, The War with Japan, 78.

[28] Tokudome. 'The Bataan Death March and the 66-Year Struggle for Justice', 3.

[29] Tokudome. 'The Bataan Death March and the 66-Year Struggle for Justice' 4.

[30] Quoted by Tokudome. 'The Bataan Death March and the 66-Year Struggle for Justice' 5.

[31] Hoyt, Japan's War, 388.

[32] John W. Downer. Embracing Defeat - Japan in the Wake of World War II (New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 1999) 516.

[33] Downer. Embracing Defeat, 464.

[34] Downer, Embracing Defeat, 465.

[35] Downer, Embracing Defeat, 512.

[36] Downer, Embracing Defeat, 512.

[37] Downer, Embracing Defeat, 513.

[38] Kevin Blackburn, 'War memory and nation-building in South East Asia', South East Asia Research; 18, Issue 1, 10.

[39] Blackburn, 'War memory and nation-building in South East Asia', 13-14.

Tagged: Bataan, Battle of Bataan, Bataan Death March

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Battle of Bataan and the Bataan Death March

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Battle of Bataan and the Bataan Death March are some of the more grueling stories from the Pacific War.

# data[].attributes.body
American and Japanese first ever air-naval battle in history. The American carrier Lexington was sunk by its own crew because of the aerial bombardment from Japan. Japan won the battle but couldn't continue their plan because of the casualties the battle.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of-the-coral-sea-begins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0WqUWhh548

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On this, the first day of the first modern naval engagement in history, called the Battle of the Coral Sea, a Japanese invasion force succeeds in occupying Tulagi of the Solomon Islands in an expansion of Japan's defensive perimeter.

The United States, having broken Japan's secret war code and forewarned of an impending invasion of Tulagi and Port Moresby, attempted to intercept the Japanese armada. Four days of battles between Japanese and American aircraft carriers resulted in 70 Japanese and 66 American warplanes destroyed. This confrontation, called the Battle of the Coral Sea, marked the first air-naval battle in history, as none of the carriers fired at each other, allowing the planes taking off from their decks to do the battling. Among the casualties was the American carrier Lexington; "the Blue Ghost" (so-called because it was not camouflaged like other carriers) suffered such extensive aerial damage that it had to be sunk by its own crew. Two hundred sixteen Lexington crewmen died as a result of the Japanese aerial bombardment.

Although Japan would go on to occupy all of the Solomon Islands, its victory was a Pyrrhic one: The cost in experienced pilots and aircraft carriers was so great that Japan had to cancel its expedition to Port Moresby, Papua, as well as other South Pacific targets.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On this, the first day of the first modern naval engagement in history, called the Battle of the Coral Sea, a Japanese invasion force succeeds in occupying Tulagi of the Solomon Islands in an expansion of Japan's defensive perimeter.

# data[].attributes.body
On the morning of June 4th the Japanese attacked the US base on Midway. After their initial attack the US came in and started fighting. The US sank the Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu carriers. The last carrier Hiryu was later sank. The US won the battle.

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/battle-
midway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-au50GxIXw

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Battle of Midway | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
One of Japan’s main goals during World War II was to remove the United States as a Pacific power in order to gain territory in east Asia and the southwest Pacific islands. Japan hoped to defeat the US Pacific Fleet and use Midway as a base to attack Pearl Harbor, securing dominance in the region and…

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Guadalcanal Campaign August 7 1942 - February 9 1943 

# data[].attributes.subject
Guadalcanal Campaign August 7 1942 - February 9 1943 

# data[].attributes.body
The American troops first landed on the Guadalcanal island August 7th and started fighting. They got through the defense after some fierce fighting but met little resistance after. But Japan then sent reinforcements that arrived. The next following days marked the first deadly naval battle of the war. After a lot of fighting Japan withdrew their last soldier giving the US the victory.

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/solomon-islands-campaign-guadalcanal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VzCTvSQ4JY

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Solomon Islands Campaign: Guadalcanal | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
After the US strategic victories at the Battles of the Coral Sea (May 7–8, 1942) and Midway (June 4–7, 1942), the Japanese Imperial Navy was no longer capable of major offensive campaigns, which permitted the Allies to start their own offensive in the Pacific.

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The US invaded the Japanese territory Gilbert Islands. When they first invaded they struggled to get onto the island because of low tide and a sea wall. After a lot of fighting the US pushed out all of the resistance in the islands. November 23rd the US declared the island secured.

https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaFamWebInTarawa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIKNKzItyDM

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These family events are designed to keep family members informed of the U.S. government’s worldwide mission to account for those still missing and to discuss in detail the latest information available about their specific cases.

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The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval battle and was fought during the Pacific war of WW2. The Allies won and gave them control of the Pacific.

https://www.britannica.com/summary/Battle-of-Leyte-Gulf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4mPUWWI_o8

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Battle of Leyte Gulf, (Oct. 23-26, 1944) Decisive air and sea battle of World War II that gave the Allies control of the Pacific. After the U.S. amphibious landing on the Philippine island of Leyte (Oct. 20), the Japanese reacted with a plan to decoy the U.S. fleet north while moving three attack forces into Leyte Gulf. The U.S. discovery of one of the forces as it moved into position set off three days of continuous surface and air clashes. In the largest naval battle of the war, U.S. forces crippled the Japanese fleet and forced it to withdraw, allowing the U.S. to complete its invasion of the Philippines.

Battle of Leyte Gulf U.S. Navy/National Archives/Naval Historical Center (Digital Photo Numer: 80-G-287970)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Battle of Leyte Gulf, (Oct. 23-26, 1944) Decisive air and sea battle of World War II that gave the Allies control of the Pacific. After the U.S. amphibious landing on the Philippine island of Leyte (Oct. 20), the Japanese reacted with a plan to decoy the U.S.

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The Battle of Manila is know to be the fiercest and first Urban battle fought. The battle went on for a month and because of that the battle killed many civilians. With the Japanese losing they took out their anger on the civilians causing the Manila Massacre. The Japanese went on to lose the battle.

https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Manila-1899
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3l6d_o1mxc

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
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This contribution has not yet been formally edited by Britannica. Learn more. Articles such as this one were acquired and published with the primary aim of expanding the information on Britannica.com with greater speed and efficiency than has traditionally been possible.

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Island Hopping was a strategy used by the US to slowly get closer to Japan. They would take over islands and every island would get closer to Japan. When they got close enough they set up a military base to launch an attack on Japan.

http://america-at-war-wwii.weebly.com/island-hopping.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxLjw8qaexY

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"Island Hopping" is the phrase given to the strategy employed by the United States to gain military bases and secure the many small islands in the Pacific. The attack was lead by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of the Allied forces in the South west Pacific, and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-chief of the Pacific fleet. The US troops targeted the islands that were not as strongly defended by the Japanese. They took control of those islands, and quickly constructed landing strips and small military bases. Then they proceeded to attack other islands from the bases they had established. Slowly the US army moved closer to Japan, taking control of many of the surrounding islands.

MacArthur met with Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, and the two devised a plan. On April 26th, 1942, they laid out the plan; a two-pronged offensive codenamed "Cartwheel". They aimed to corner Japanese troops on Rabaul Island, with MacArthur's troops advancing along the northern coast of New Guinea, and Halsey's troops driving north from Guadalcanal, and taking control of the Solomon Islands.

In February 1945 US troops invaded Iwo Jima; the first American landing on Japanese territory. It was a bloody fight that last 36 days, and cost the US 6, 381 men. Nearly 20,000 Japanese soldiers perished. In April came the invasion of Okinawa, the bloodiest battle of the war in the Pacific in which the Japanese launched massive Kamikaze attacks on the US invasion fleet.

The island hopping strategy was very costly. The US soldiers were not used to the guerilla style of fighting, and the Japanese had the advantage of controlling many of the islands. Further, many US soldiers succumbed to illnesses such as Malaria, dysentery and skin fungus.

Ultimately, the island hopping campaign was successful. It allowed the US to gain control over sufficient islands in the Pacific to get close enough to Japan to launch a mainland invasion. However, the island hopping took a long time and was very costly; even after war was close to ending in Europe it appeared that the war might continue indefinitely in the Pacific. Fearing a drawn out war with many more casualties, the US made plans to end the war quickly and force Japan's surrender. They achieved this with the World's first Atomic bombs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Island Hopping" is the phrase given to the strategy employed by the United States to gain military bases and secure the many small islands in the Pacific. The attack was lead by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of the Allied forces in the South west Pacific, and Admiral Chester W.

# data[].attributes.body
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a great military campaign between the Japanese and the US Marines. The US landed and the battle was one of the bloodiest battles of the war. The US won giving them a great base to stage an attack on Japan.

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima#:~:text=The%20Battle%20of%20Iwo%20Jima,potential%20invasion%20of%20mainland%20Japan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctXtHPYnMiU

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The Battle of Iwo Jima was an epic military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan in early 1945. Located 750 miles off the coast of Japan, the island of Iwo Jima had three airfields that could serve as a staging facility for a potential invasion of mainland Japan. American forces invaded the island on February 19, 1945, and the ensuing Battle of Iwo Jima lasted for five weeks. In some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II, it's believed that all but 200 or so of the 21,000 Japanese forces on the island were killed, as were almost 7,000 Marines. But once the fighting was over, the strategic value of Iwo Jima was called into question.
WATCH Command Decisions: Battle of Iwo Jima on HISTORY Vault
Iwo Jima Before the Battle

According to postwar analyses, the Imperial Japanese Navy had been so crippled by earlier World War II clashes in the Pacific that it was already unable to defend the empire's island holdings, including the Marshall archipelago.

In addition, Japan's air force had lost many of its warplanes, and those it had were unable to protect an inner line of defenses set up by the empire's military leaders. This line of defenses included islands like Iwo Jima.

Given this information, American military leaders planned an attack on the island that they believed would last no more than a few days. However, the Japanese had secretly embarked on a new defensive tactic, taking advantage of Iwo Jima's mountainous landscape and jungles to set up camouflaged artillery positions.

Although Allied forces led by the Americans bombarded Iwo Jima with bombs dropped from the sky and heavy gunfire from ships positioned off the coast of the island, the strategy developed by Japanese General Tadamichi Kuribayashi meant that the forces controlling it suffered little damage and were thus ready to repel the initial attack by the U.S. Marines, under the command of Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith.

Marines Invade Iwo Jima

On February 19, 1945, U.S. Marines made an amphibious landing on Iwo Jima, and were met immediately with unforeseen challenges. First and foremost, the beaches of the island were made up steep dunes of soft, gray volcanic ash, which made getting sturdy footing and passage for vehicles difficult.

As the Marines struggled forward, the Japanese lied in wait. The Americans assumed the pre-attack bombardment had been effective, and had crippled the enemy's defenses on the island.

However, the lack of immediate response was simply part of Kuribayashi's plan.

With the Americans struggling to get a foothold on the beaches of Iwo Jima-literally and figuratively-Kuribayashi's artillery positions in the mountains above opened fire, stalling the advancing Marines and inflicting significant casualties.

Despite a banzai charge by dozens of Japanese soldiers as dusk fell, however, the Marines were eventually able to move in past the beach and seize part of one Iwo Jima's airfields-the stated mission of the invasion.
READ MORE: How US Marines Won the Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima Rages On

Within days, some 70,000 U.S. Marines landed on Iwo Jima. Although they significantly outnumbered their Japanese enemies on the island (by a more than three-to-one margin), many Americans were wounded or killed over the five weeks of fighting, with some estimates suggesting more than 25,000 casualties, including nearly 7,000 deaths.

The Japanese, meanwhile, were also suffering major losses, and were running low on supplies-namely, weapons and food. Under Kuribayashi's leadership, they mounted most of their defenses via attacks under the cover of darkness.

While effective, the success of the Japanese forces seemed to merely forestall the inevitable.

Just four days into the fighting, U.S. Marines captured Mount Suribachi, on Iwo Jima's south side, famously raising an American flag at the summit. That image was captured by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, who won a Pulitzer Prize for the iconic photograph.

However, the fighting was far from over.

Iwo Jima Falls to American Forces

Battles raged on in the northern part of Iwo Jima for four weeks, with Kuribayashi essentially setting up a garrison in the mountains in that part of the island. On March 25, 1945, 300 of Kuribayashi's men mounted a final banzai attack.

The American forces sustained a number of casualties, but ultimately quelled the attack. Although the American military declared that Iwo Jima had been captured the next day, American forces spent weeks on end trudging through the island's jungles, finding and killing or capturing Japanese "holdouts" who refused to surrender and opted to continue fighting.

Dozens of Americans were killed during this process. Two Japanese holdouts continued to hide in the island's caves, scavenging food and supplies until they finally surrendered in 1949, almost four years after the end of World War II.

In the end, neither the U.S. Army nor the U.S. Navy was able to use Iwo Jima as a World War II staging area. Navy Seabees, or construction battalions, did rebuild the airfields for Air Force pilots to use in case of emergency landings.

Letters from Iwo Jima

Because of the brutality of the fighting, and the fact that the battle occurred fairly close to the end of World War II, Iwo Jima-and those who lost their lives trying to capture the island-retain a great deal of significance even today, decades after the fighting stopped.

In 1954, the U.S. Marine Corps dedicated the Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial, near Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia to honor all Marines. The statue is based on Rosenthal's now-famous photograph.

Actor/director Clint Eastwood in 2006 made two movies about the events on Iwo Jima called, respectively, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. The first depicts the battle from the American perspective, while the latter shows it from the Japanese perspective.

Sources

Brimelow, B. (2018). "73 years ago a war photographer snapped the most iconic image of World War II - here's the story of the battle behind the photo." BusinessInsider.com.

Naval History and Heritage Command. "The Battle for Iwo Jima." History.Navy.mil.

National World War II Museum. "Fact Sheet: the Battle for Iwo Jima." NationalWW2Museum.org.

National World War II Museum. "Iwo Jima and Okinawa: Death at Japan's Doorstep." NationalWW2Museum.org.

Gerow, A. (2006). "From Flags of Our Fathers to Letters From Iwo Jima: Clint Eastwood's Balancing of Japanese and American Perspectives." The Asia-Pacific Journal.

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The Battle of Iwo Jima (February 19 - March 26, 1945) was an epic military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan during World War II. American forces succeeded in securing the island, which was considered to have great tactical importance for its airfields.

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Battle of Okinawa April 1, 1945 – June 22, 1945

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Battle of Okinawa April 1, 1945 – June 22, 1945

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The Battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War two, it is also one of the bloodiest. The US Marines invaded the island as the last push towards Japan. The resulting battle ended in the Allies wining.

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl6riOsUJyw

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Okinawa Island

By the time American troops landed on Okinawa, World War II on the European front was nearing its end. Allied and Soviet Union troops had liberated much of Nazi-occupied Europe and were just weeks away from forcing Germany's unconditional surrender.

In the Pacific theater, however, American forces were still painstakingly conquering Japan's Home Islands, one after another. After obliterating Japanese troops in the brutal Battle of Iwo Jima, they set their sights on the isolated island of Okinawa, their last stop before reaching Japan.

Okinawa's 466 square miles of dense foliage, hills and trees made it the perfect location for the Japanese High Command's last stand to protect their motherland. They knew if Okinawa fell, so would Japan. The Americans knew securing Okinawa's airbases was critical to launching a successful Japanese invasion.

Landing on the Beachheads

As dawn arrived on April 1, morale was low among American troops as the Fifth Fleet launched the largest bombardment ever to support a troop landing to soften Japanese defenses.

Soldiers and Army brass alike expected the beach landings to be a massacre worse than D-Day. But the Fifth Fleet's offensive onslaught was almost pointless and landing troops could have literally swum to shore-surprisingly, the expected mass of awaiting Japanese troops wasn't there.

On D-Day along the shores of northern France, American troops fought hard for every inch of beachhead-but troops landing on Okinawa's beaches surged inland with little resistance. Wave after wave of troops, tanks, ammunition and supplies went ashore almost effortlessly within hours. The troops quickly secured both Kadena and Yontan airfields.

Japanese Army Waits

Japan's 32nd Army, some 130,000 men strong and commanded by Lt. Gen. Mitsuru Ushijima, defended Okinawa. The military force also included an unknown number of conscripted civilians and unarmed Home Guards known as Boeitai.

As they moved inland, American troops wondered when and where they'd finally encounter enemy resistance. What they didn't know was the Japanese Imperial Army had them just where they wanted them.

Japanese troops had been instructed not to fire on the American landing forces but instead watch and wait for them, mostly in Shuri, a rugged area of southern Okinawa where General Ushijima had set up a triangle of defensive positions known as the Shuri Defense Line.

Battleship Yamato

American troops who headed North to the Motobu Peninsula endured intense resistance and over 1,000 casualties but won a decisive battle relatively quickly. It was different along the Shuri Line where they had to overcome a series of heavily defended hills loaded with firmly-entrenched Japanese troops.

On April 7, Japan's mighty battleship Yamato was sent to launch a surprise attack on the Fifth Fleet and then annihilate American troops pinned down near the Shuri Line. But Allied submarines spotted the Yamato and alerted the fleet who then launched a crippling air attack. The ship was bombarded and sank along with most of its crew.

After the Americans cleared a series of outposts surrounding the Shuri Line, they fought many fierce battles including clashes on Kakazu Ridge, Sugar Loaf Hill, Horseshoe Ridge and Half Moon Hill. Torrential rains made the hills and roads watery graveyards of unburied bodies.

Casualties were enormous on both sides by the time the Americans took Shuri Castle in late May. Defeated but not beaten, the Japanese retreated to the southern coast of Okinawa where they made their last stand.

Kamikaze Warfare

The kamikaze suicide pilot was Japan's most ruthless weapon: On April 4, the Japanese unleashed these well-trained pilots on the Fifth Fleet. Some dove their planes into ships at 500 miles per hour, causing catastrophic damage.

American sailors tried desperately to shoot the kamikaze planes down but were often sitting ducks against enemy pilots with nothing to lose. During the Battle of Okinawa, the Fifth Fleet suffered:

* 36 sunk ships

* 368 damaged ships

* 4,900 men killed or drowned

* 4,800 men wounded

* 763 lost aircraft

Hacksaw Ridge

The Maeda Escarpment, also known as Hacksaw Ridge, was located atop a 400-foot vertical cliff. The American attack on the ridge began on April 26. It was a brutal battle for both sides.

To defend the escarpment, Japanese troops hunkered down in a network of caves and dugouts. They were determined to hold the ridge, and decimated American platoons until just a few men remained. Much of the fighting was hand-to-hand combat and particularly ruthless. The Americans finally took Hacksaw Ridge on May 6.

All Americans who fought in the Battle of Okinawa were heroic, but one soldier at the escarpment stood out-Corporal Desmond T. Doss. He was an army medic and Seventh-Day Adventist who refused to raise a gun to the enemy.

Still, he remained on the escarpment after his commanding officers ordered a retreat. Surrounded by enemy soldiers, he went alone into the battle fray and rescued 75 of his wounded comrades. His heroic story was brought to life on the big screen in 2016 in the film Hacksaw Ridge- Doss won a Medal of Honor for his bravery.

Suicide or Surrender

Most Japanese troops and Okinawa citizens believed Americans took no prisoners and they'd be killed on the spot if captured. As a result, countless took their own lives. To encourage their surrender, General Simon Bolivar Buckner initiated propaganda warfare and dropped millions of leaflets declaring the war was all but lost for Japan.

About 7,000 Japanese soldiers surrendered, but many chose death by suicide. Some jumped from high hills, others blew themselves up with grenades.

When faced with the reality that further fighting was futile, General Ushijima and his Chief of Staff, General Cho, committed ritual suicide on June 22, effectively ending the Battle of Okinawa.

Death Toll

Both sides suffered staggering losses in the Battle of Okinawa. The Americans bore over 49,000 casualties including 12,520 killed. General Buckner himself was killed in action on June 18, just days before the battle ended.

Japanese losses were even greater-about 110,000 Japanese soldiers lost their lives. It's estimated between 40,000 and 150,000 Okinawa citizens were also killed. The Battle of Okinawa is now considered one of the deadliest in all of human history.

Who Won the Battle of Okinawa?

Winning the Battle of Okinawa put Allied forces within striking distance of Japan. But wanting to bring the war to a swift end, and knowing over 2 million Japanese troops were awaiting battle-weary American soldiers, President Harry S. Truman chose to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6.

Japan didn't give in immediately, so Truman ordered the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9. Finally, Japan had had enough. On August, 14, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender, marking the end of World War II.

Sources

Hellish Prelude at Okinawa. U.S. Naval Institute.
Okinawa: The Last Battle. Marine Corps Gazette. Center of Military History, United States Army.
Operation Iceberg: The Assault on Okinawa-The Last Battle of WWII (Part 1) April-June 1945. History of War.
The Decision to Drop the Bomb. USHistory.org.
The Real 'Hacksaw Ridge' Soldier Saved 75 Souls Without Ever Carrying A Gun. NPR.

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Battle of Okinawa: Date, Significance & Who Won - HISTORY

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In the Battle of Okinawa, the last major battle of World War II and one of the deadliest, U.S. troops overran Japanese resistance to take the island of Okinawa.

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Los Alamos, NM was the testing site of the first Atomic bomb. Robert Oppenheimer was the creator of the atomic bombs. Trinity was the name of the test bomb and worked great. The Manhattan Project was a success causing mass destruction to the areas the bomb touches.

https://www.osti.gov/opennet/manhattan-project-
history/Events/1945/trinity.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAmQ9E_Ohjs

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THE TRINITY TEST(Trinity Test Site, July 16, 1945)
Events >Dawn of the Atomic Era, 1945

The War Enters Its Final Phase, 1945

Debate Over How to Use the Bomb, Late Spring 1945

The Trinity Test, July 16, 1945

Safety and the Trinity Test, July 1945

Evaluations of Trinity, July 1945

Potsdam and the Final Decision to Bomb, July 1945

The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima, August 6, 1945

The Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki, August 9, 1945

Japan Surrenders, August 10-15, 1945

The Manhattan Project and the Second World War, 1939-1945

Until the atomic bomb could be tested, doubt would remain about its effectiveness. The world had never seen a nuclear explosion before, and estimates varied widely on how much energy would be released. Some scientists at Los Alamos continued privately to have doubts that it would work at all. There was only enough weapons-grade uranium available for one bomb, and confidence in the gun-type design was high, so on July 14, 1945, most of the uranium bomb ("Little Boy") began its trip westward to the Pacific without its design having ever been fully tested. A test of the plutonium bomb seemed vital, however, both to confirm its novel implosion design and to gather data on nuclear explosions in general. Several plutonium bombs were now "in the pipeline" and would be available over the next few weeks and months. It was therefore decided to test one of these.

Robert Oppenheimer chose to name this the "Trinity" test, a name inspired by the poems of John Donne. The site chosen was a remote corner on the Alamagordo Bombing Range known as the "Jornada del Muerto," or "Journey of Death," 210 miles south of Los Alamos. The elaborate instrumentation surrounding the site was tested with an explosion of a large amount of conventional explosives on May 7. Preparations continued throughout May and June and were complete by the beginning of July. Three observation bunkers located 10,000 yards north, west, and south (right) of the firing tower at ground zero would attempt to measure key aspects of the reaction. Specifically, scientists would try to determine the symmetry of the implosion and the amount of energy released. Additional measurements would be taken to determine damage estimates, and equipment would record the behavior of the fireball. The biggest concern was control of the radioactivity the test device would release. Not entirely content to trust favorable meteorological conditions to carry the radioactivity into the upper atmosphere, the Army stood ready to evacuate the people in surrounding areas.

On July 12, the plutonium core was taken to the test area in an army sedan (left). The non-nuclear components left for the test site at 12:01 a.m., Friday the 13th. During the day on the 13th, final assembly of the "Gadget" (as it was nicknamed) took place in the McDonald ranch house. By 5:00 p.m. on the 15th, the device had been assembled and hoisted atop the 100-foot firing tower. Leslie Groves, Vannevar Bush, James Conant, Ernest Lawrence, Thomas Farrell, James Chadwick, and others arrived in the test area, where it was pouring rain. Groves and Oppenheimer, standing at the S-10,000 control bunker, discussed what to do if the weather did not break in time for the scheduled 4:00 a.m. test. To break the tension, Fermi began offering anyone listening a wager on "whether or not the bomb would ignite the atmosphere, and if so, whether it would merely destroy New Mexico or destroy the world." Oppenheimer himself had bet ten dollars against George Kistiakowsky's entire month's pay that the bomb would not work at all. Meanwhile, Edward Teller was making everyone nervous by applying liberal amounts of sunscreen in the pre-dawn darkness and offering to pass it around. At 3:30, Groves and Oppenheimer pushed the time back to 5:30. At 4:00, the rain stopped. Kistiakowsky and his team armed the device shortly after 5:00 and retreated to S-10,000. In accordance with his policy that each observe from different locations in case of an accident, Groves left Oppenheimer and joined Bush and Conant at base camp. Those in shelters heard the countdown over the public address system, while observers at base camp picked it up on an FM radio signal.

During the final seconds, most observers laid down on the ground with their feet facing the Trinity site and simply waited. As the countdown approached one minute, Isidore Rabi said to the man lying next to him, Kenneth Griesen, "Aren't you nervous?" "Nope" was Griesen's reply. As Groves later wrote, "As I lay there in the final seconds, I thought only of what I would do if the countdown got to zero and nothing happened." Conant said he never knew seconds could be so long. As the countdown reached 10 seconds, Griesen suddenly blurted out to his neighbor Rabi, "Now I'm scared." Three, two, one, and Sam Allison cried out, "Now!"

At precisely 5:30 a.m. on Monday, July 16, 1945, the nuclear age began. While Manhattan Project staff members watched anxiously, the device exploded over the New Mexico desert, vaporizing the tower and turning the asphalt around the base of the tower to green sand. Seconds after the explosion came a huge blast wave and heat searing out across the desert. No one could see the radiation generated by the explosion, but they all knew it was there. The steel container "Jumbo," weighing over 200 tons and transported to the desert only to be eliminated from the test, was knocked ajar even though it stood half a mile from ground zero. As the orange and yellow fireball stretched up and spread, a second column, narrower than the first, rose and flattened into a mushroom shape, thus providing the atomic age with a visual image that has become imprinted on the human consciousness as a symbol of power and awesome destruction.

The most common immediate reactions to the explosion were surprise, joy, and relief. Lawrence was stepping from his car when, in his words, everything went "from darkness to brilliant sunshine in an instant"; he was "momentarily stunned by the surprise." (Click here to read Lawrence's thoughts on the Trinity test.) A military man was heard to exclaim, "The long-hairs have let it get away from them!" Hans Bethe , who had been looking directly at the explosion, was completely blinded for almost half a minute. Norris Bradbury reported that "the atom bomb did not fit into any preconceptions possessed by anybody." The blast wave knocked Kistiakowsky (who was over five miles away) to the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet and slapped Oppenheimer on the back, saying, "Oppie, you owe me ten dollars." The physicist Victor Weisskopf reported that "our first feeling was one of elation." The word Isidor Rabi used was "jubilant." Within minutes, Rabi was passing around a bottle of whiskey. At base camp, Bush, Conant, and Groves shook hands. Rabi reported watching Oppenheimer arrive at base camp after the test:

You've seen pictures of Robert's hat. And he came to where we were in the headquarters, so to speak. And his walk was like "High Noon" -- I think it's the best I could describe it -- this kind of strut. He'd done it.

When they met, Groves said to Oppenheimer, "I am proud of you." Groves's assistant, Thomas Farrell, remarked to his boss that "the war is over," to which Groves replied, "Yes, after we drop two bombs on Japan." (Click here to read Groves's observations of the Trinity test [pdf].) Probably the most mundane response of all was Fermi's: he had calculated ahead of time how far the blast wave might displace small pieces of paper released into it. About 40 seconds after the explosion, Fermi stood, sprinkled his pre-prepared slips of paper into the atomic wind, and estimated from their deflection that the test had released energy equivalent to 10,000 tons of TNT. The actual result as it was finally calculated -- 21,000 tons (21 kilotons) -- was more than twice what Fermi had estimated with this experiment and four times as much as had been predicted by most at Los Alamos.

Soon shock and euphoria gave way to more sober reflections. Rabi reported that after the initial euphoria, a chill soon set in on those present. The test director, Kenneth Bainbridge, called the explosion a "foul and awesome display" and remarked to Oppenheimer, "Now we are all sons of bitches." Expressions of horror and remorse are especially common in the later writings of those who were present. Oppenheimer wrote that the experience called to his mind the legend of Prometheus, punished by Zeus for giving man fire, and said also that he thought fleetingly of Alfred Nobel's vain hope that dynamite would end wars. Most famously, Oppenheimer later recalled that the explosion had reminded him of a line from the Hindu holy text, the Bhagavad-Gita: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." The terrifying destructive power of atomic weapons and the uses to which they might be put were to haunt many of the Manhattan Project scientists for the remainder of their lives.

The success of the Trinity test meant that both types of bombs -- the uranium design, untested but thought to be reliable, and the plutonium design, which had just been tested successfully -- were now available for use in the war against Japan. Little Boy, the uranium bomb, was dropped first atHiroshimaon August 6, while the plutonium weapon, Fat Man, followed three days later atNagasakion August 9. Within days,Japan offered to surrender.

The War Enters Its Final Phase, 1945

Debate Over How to Use the Bomb, Late Spring 1945

The Trinity Test, July 16, 1945

Safety and the Trinity Test, July 1945

Evaluations of Trinity, July 1945

Potsdam and the Final Decision to Bomb, July 1945

The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima, August 6, 1945

The Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki, August 9, 1945

Japan Surrenders, August 10-15, 1945

The Manhattan Project and the Second World War, 1939-1945

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Sources and notes for this page.

The text for this page was adapted from, and portions were taken directly from the the gadget being hoisted up the tower, the unidentified man sitting next to the gadget, and the photograph of Kenneth Bainbridge. The map of the Office of History and Heritage Resources publication: F. G. Gosling, The Manhattan Project: Making the Atomic Bomb (DOE/MA-0001; Washington: History Division, Department of Energy, January 1999), 48-49. On the availability of additional plutonium bombs (but not uranium), see " Trinity Test Site is reproduced from Vincent C. Jones, Manhattan: The Army and the Atomic Bomb, United States Army in World War II (Washington: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1988), 479. The photograph of Robert Oppenheimerwith Leslie Grovesat the Trinity Site appears on the cover of the History Office publication: The Signature Facilities of the Manhattan Project (Washington: History Division, Department of Energy, 2001). The photograph of Fat Man is courtesy the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (via the National Archives). The Manhattan Engineer District, 1945-1946." The "long-hairs" remark is quoted in Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Los Alamos: Beginning of an Era, 1943-1945 (Los Alamos: Public Relations Office, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, ca. 1967-1971), 53; the anecdotes re the final seconds of the countdown are from Los Alamos: Beginning of an Era, 50-51. Clickhere for information on the color photograph of Trinity. The photograph of SED Herb Lehr holding the Gadget's core is courtesy the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and is reprinted in Rachel Fermi and Esther Samra, Picturing the Bomb: Photographs from the Secret World of the Manhattan Project (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1995), 138. The following pictures are also courtesy LANL: the bunker at S-10,000, the plutonium core being unloaded from the car ,

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Manhattan Project: The Trinity Test, July 16, 1945

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THE TRINITY TEST (Trinity Test Site, July 16, 1945) Events >Dawn of the Atomic Era, 1945 The War Enters Its Final Phase, 1945 Debate Over How to Use the Bomb, Late Spring 1945 The Trinity Test, July 16, 1945 Safety and the Trinity Test, July 1945 Evaluations of Trinity, July

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On August 6th, 1945 the first ever atomic bomb was used on Japan. The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima killing tens of thousands immediately. Later many more died from cancer and radiation poisoning. The Japanese still refused to surrender after this.

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv4VhZy2L5Y

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Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Causes, Impact & Lives Lost

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On August 6, 1945, during World War II (1939-45), an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, immediately killing 80,000 people. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people.

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After 3 days the US dropped another atomic bomb on Japan. The Japanese emperor officially surrendered after the second attack. With Japan surrendering World War 2 ended.

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B74B5y7RyV0

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Causes, Impact & Lives Lost

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On August 6, 1945, during World War II (1939-45), an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, immediately killing 80,000 people. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people.

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Tokyo bay was the meeting between Japan and The US to officially end the war. The Japanese leaders and generals boarded the U.S.S Missouri to sign the papers to officially end the war.

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1303405
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzTTKTrlN7A

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Description

Early Sunday morning on September 2, 1945, aboard the new 45,000-ton battleship U.S.S. Missouri and before representatives of nine Allied nations, the Japanese signed their surrender. At the ceremonies, General MacArthur stated that the Japanese and their conquerors did not meet "in a spirit of mistrust, malice or hatred but rather, it is for us, both victors and vanquished, to rise to that higher dignity which alone benefits the sacred purposes we are about to serve."

Despite these words, none of the Japanese delegates were saluted by any of the high-ranking officers. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz later revealed that U.S. planes had been ready with bombs to halt any last-minute treacherous act on the part of the Japanese. Seeing a deckful of high Allied officers on the U.S.S. Missouri might have presented a tempting target for a final suicide attack.

In this image, Mydans captured Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff, signing the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters. Watching from across the table are Lt. Gen. Richard K. Sutherland and Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Representatives of the Allied Powers stand behind General MacArthur.

When asked how he attained such a good shooting position at the surrender, Mydans answered that "being in combat, knowing the generals, covering the war over a long time helped a lot." The first outfit to head out of Okinawa was the 11th Airborne, commanded by Gen. Joe Swing. Since Mydans had been alongside Swing during some of the fighting, he was lucky enough to be chosen by the general to get on that first plane.

Location

Currently not on view

Object Name

Photograph

photographer

Mydans, Carl

place made

Japan: Tokyo Bay

Physical Description

paper (overall material)

Measurements

overall: 20 in x 27 5/16 in; 50.8 cm x 69.4436 cm

ID Number

2005.0228.086

accession number

2005.0228

catalog number

2005.0228.086

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Work and Industry: Photographic History

Carl Mydans

Photography

Data Source

National Museum of American History

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The Japanese surrender on board the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945

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Early Sunday morning on September 2, 1945, aboard the new 45,000-ton battleship U.S.S. Missouri and before representatives of nine Allied nations, the Japanese signed their surrender.