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1. Identify the two main geographic regions where World War II was fought.
2. List the regions mentioned in this timeline which Australian troops fought during World War II.
3. Why was the Battle of Singapore important for Australia?
4. Explain why the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Coral Sea were significant for Australia.
5. What was the strategy of seizing key Japanese-held islands in the Pacific called?
6. What single event put an end to World War II
7. Select one of the battles involving Australia, and research and explain:
a) what was at stake?
b) Australia's involvement?
c) the involvement of other nations?
d) the outcome?
e) the significance of the outcome?

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The Japanese attack the US naval base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941, hoping to destroy the USA's Pacific fleet. The USA declares war on Japan and Germany declares war on the USA, drawing them into the European war. Australia also declare war on Japan. Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbour, Japan also begin attacks on the Malay peninsula and invades Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam and other islands in the Pacific.

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Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. Just before 8 a.m. on that Sunday morning, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base, where they managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.

Japan and the Path to War
WATCH VIDEO: The Path to Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, but Japan and the United States had been edging toward war for decades.

The United States was particularly unhappy with Japan's increasingly belligerent attitude toward China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor's territory and take over its import market.

To this end, Japan declared war on China in 1937, resulting in the Nanking Massacre and other atrocities.

American officials responded to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. They reasoned that without access to money and goods, and especially essential supplies like oil, Japan would have to rein in its expansionism.

Instead, the sanctions made the Japanese more determined to stand their ground. During months of negotiations between Tokyo and Washington, D.C., neither side would budge. It seemed that war was all but inevitable.
WATCH: Pearl Harbor: The Last Word on HISTORY Vault
Where Is Pearl Harbor?

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is located near the center of the Pacific Ocean, roughly 2,000 miles from the U.S. mainland and about 4,000 miles from Japan. No one believed that the Japanese would start a war with an attack on the distant islands of Hawaii.

Additionally, American intelligence officials were confident that any Japanese attack would take place in one of the (relatively) nearby European colonies in the South Pacific: the Dutch East Indies, Singapore or Indochina.

Because American military leaders were not expecting an attack so close to home, the naval facilities at Pearl Harbor were relatively undefended. Almost the entire Pacific Fleet was moored around Ford Island in the harbor, and hundreds of airplanes were squeezed onto adjacent airfields.

To the Japanese, Pearl Harbor was an irresistibly easy target.

USS Arizona

The Japanese plan was simple: Destroy the Pacific Fleet. That way, the Americans would not be able to fight back as Japan's armed forces spread across the South Pacific. On December 7, after months of planning and practice, the Japanese launched their attack.

At about 8 a.m., Japanese planes filled the sky over Pearl Harbor. Bombs and bullets rained onto the vessels moored below. At 8:10, a 1,800-pound bomb smashed through the deck of the battleship USS Arizona and landed in her forward ammunition magazine. The ship exploded and sank with more than 1,000 men trapped inside.

Next, torpedoes pierced the shell of the battleship USS Oklahoma. With 400 sailors aboard, the Oklahoma lost her balance, rolled onto her side and slipped underwater.

Less than two hours later, the surprise attack was over, and every battleship in Pearl Harbor- USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS California, USS West Virginia, USS Utah, USS Maryland, USS Pennsylvania, USS Tennessee and USS Nevada-had sustained significant damage. (All but USS Arizona and USS Utah were eventually salvaged and repaired.)

Impact of the Pearl Harbor Attack
WATCH VIDEO: Pearl Harbor Survivors Recall the Morning of the Attack
In all, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled or destroyed nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. Dry docks and airfields were likewise destroyed. Most importantly, more than 2,000 people died.

But the Japanese had failed to cripple the Pacific Fleet. By the 1940s, battleships were no longer the most important naval vessel: Aircraft carriers were, and as it happened, all of the Pacific Fleet's carriers were away from the base on December 7. (Some had returned to the mainland and others were delivering planes to troops on Midway and Wake Islands.)

Moreover, the Pearl Harbor assault had left the base's most vital onshore facilities-oil storage depots, repair shops, shipyards and submarine docks-intact. As a result, the U.S. Navy was able to rebound relatively quickly from the attack.

How Many People Died in Pearl Harbor?

The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including sailors, soldiers and civilians. Additionally, 1,178 people were wounded. 129 Japanese soldiers were killed.

Half of the dead at Pearl Harbor were on the USS Arizona. Today the sunken battleship serves as a memorial to all Americans who died in the attack.
READ MORE: 8 Tales of Pearl Harbor Heroics
President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress on December 8, the day after the crushing attack on Pearl Harbor.

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941-a date which will live in infamy-the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

He went on to say, "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again."
Click here to watch the full episode on Pearl Harbor and more from WWII in HD on HISTORY Vault
America Enters World War II

After the Pearl Harbor attack, and for the first time during years of discussion and debate, the American people were united in their determination to go to war.

The Japanese had wanted to goad the United States into an agreement to lift the economic sanctions against them; instead, they had pushed their adversary into a global conflict that ultimately resulted in Japan's first occupation by a foreign power.

Did you know? The single vote against Congress's declaration of war against Japan came from Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana. Rankin was a pacifist who had also voted against the American entrance into World War I. "As a woman," she said, "I can't go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else."

On December 8, Congress approved Roosevelt's declaration of war on Japan. Three days later, Japan's allies Germany and Italy declared war against the United States.

For the second time, Congress reciprocated, declaring war on the European powers. More than two years after the start of World War II, the United States had entered the conflict.

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Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.

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The Fall of Singapore to the Japanese follows battles in Malaya (low Malaysia) between the Japanese army and the Allied forces. The vast majority of Allied soldiers cannot escape the island and are taken prisoner, including thousands of Australian soldiers. One third of them do not survive the Japanese prisoner of war (POW) camps.

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Japanese air raids target Darwin and towns in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. In May 1942, Japanese midget submarines carry out an attack in Sydney Harbour before being sunk.

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Japanese forces establish bases on mainland New Guinea, with plans to advance to Port Moresby - a location from which bombing raids could be launched against northern Australia. By this time, Japanese forces have also defeated Allied forces and occupied the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).

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The Battle of the Coral Sea is fought off the north-east coast of Queensland and south of New Guinea; The US and Australian navies prevail, which stops the Japanese launching a sea-based attack on Port Moresby.

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In the Battle of Midway, Japanese naval forces attempt to capture the strategically important Midway Islands (near Hawaii). US code-breakers intercepted Japanese communications of an ambush, which lead to a historic victory by the US navy in which four Japanese aircraft carriers with over 200 aircraft are destroyed. It is said to be a turning point in the Pacific War.

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As the Japanese navy was halted at the Battle of the Coral Sea, Japan's only option to seize Port Moresby is an overland assault along the Kokoda Trail. Australian troops stall their advance until reinforcements arrive.

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Members of the AIF and CMF (Citizen Military Forces) hold off a Japanese attack at the battle of of Milne Bay, New Guinea. It is the first decisive defeat of Japan in the Pacific War. And the Australians are the first army to halt Japan's relentless drive through the pacific.

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The US and Allied forces, including support from the Royal Australian Navy, launch a surprise attack on the Japanese in the Solomon Islands. Both sides suffer severe casualties in the land, sea and air battles, but eventually Japan is forced to withdraw from the islands.

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The US and Allied forces, including Australians, retake key islands from the Japanese. This strategy is known as 'inland hoping'; the aim is to position US forces close enough to Japanese territory to launch bombing raids. In March and June 1945, US forces take the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa after major land battles. American planes bomb Tokyo and other Japanese cities in the hope of forcing a surrender. However, as USE forces close in, the Japanese defence becomes stronger and more desperate, including suicide missions (kamikaze) of Japanese pilots who crash their planes intentionally into US ships.

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US planes drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with devastating effect. The Japanese Emperor Hirohito broadcasts his surrender speech on Japanese radio on 15 August 1945

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Japan signs a formal declaration of surrender on 2 September 1945