Description of the event: The Attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy on December 7, 1941. The attack hit pearl harbor Hawaii in the united states, just before 8:00 a.m. On Sunday. Rationally, Japan attacked pearl harbor Hawaii because the U.S. had severed all economic relations with japan and was providing material and financial support to China. Japan had been at war with China since 1937. The Japanese believed that once the U.S Pacific fleet was neutralized, all of southeast Asia would be open for conquest. Over the next half hour, Pearl Harbor airfields and and docked ships were subjected to assault with bombs, guns, and torpedoes. The strike resulted in a decade of worsening relations between the United States and Japan.

Outcome of the event: Following the devastating attack, Congress declared war on Japan, bringing America officially into World War II. The attack killed 2,403 U.S, including 68 civilians, and destroyed or damaged 19 U.S Navy ships, including 8 battleships.

Key Medical issues faced/treatments: From the first realization of the strike, the doctors, nurses, and corpsmen were excelled in personal bravery and in their capacity to put into practice their put together plans. Pearl Harbor had been fortunate in receiving unusual attention from the Surgeon General and the officers who assisted at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in making plans for the Medical Department. When the facilities of the Pearl Harbor hospital had become overcrowded, every effort had been made to add to the bed capacity, equipment, supplies, and personnel of the Hawaiian area. Although the U.S. Naval Hospital at Pearl Harbor had a normal bed capacity of approximately 250 beds and was one of the best equipped and staffed of the eighteen hospitals then in commission, a new hospital that would be removed further from military installations and be less subject to destruction in case of air attack had been planned and was actually under construction at the time of the Japanese attack. A total of 132 patients were admitted aboard the Solace in December. About 80 men were given first-aid treatment only. Twenty-eight patients, 26 of whom were not identified, died. The final census on 7 December showed 177 beds occupied and 253 unoccupied.

Links: https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/p/pearl-harbor-navy-medical-activities.html

Description of the event: The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, six months after the Empire of Japans attack on Pearl Harbor. Early on the morning of June 4, aircraft from four Japanese aircraft carriers attacked and severely damaged the US base on Midway. Unknown to the Japanese, the US carrier forces were just to the east of the island and ready for battle. The main force of Japanese ships headed toward Midway include 4 craft carriers,seven battleships, 150 support ships, 248 carrier aircraft and 15 submarines. A force of 109 Japanese aircraft appears over the Atoll they tear into the American base 7:00 a.m. reports of the attack on Midway reached the enterprise, the Flyers scrambled to prepare for the launch, they'll have to fly nearly two hours to reach the Japanese ships. Japan hoped to defeat the US Pacific Fleet and use Midway as a base to attack Pearl Harbor. The main reason for the Japanese attack on Midway was to draw American aircraft carriers out from Pearl Harbor and defeat them in decisive battle.

Outcome of the event: The Japanese lost approximately 3,057 men, four carriers, one cruiser and hundreds of aircraft, while the U.S. lost approximately 362 men, one carrier, one destroyer, and 144 aircraft. The American success at Midway was a major victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy. At the root of the American victory at Midway was U.S. Navy intelligence successfully broke Japanese codes and discovered the Japanese Navy ´ s plan to attack Midway Atoll.

Key medical issues faced/treatments: A doctor remembers the Battle of Midway and began treating the wounded individuals including the Navy. Wounded were everywhere. Some men had one foot or leg off, others had both off. Some were dying, some were dead. Everywhere there was a need for morphine, tourniquets, blankets and first aid. The doctor called for stretcher bearers to get the more seriously wounded to the sick bay where they receive plasma. But the the passageways had been blocked off due to the bomb hits. So they gave the patients morphine, covered the patients with blankets, and did the best they could.

Links: https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Midway

Description of the event: On August 7, 1942, the U.S. landed Marines on Guadalcanal. The U.S. surprises the Japanese and the landing were easy. The Japanese wanted the Guadalcanal and strove desperately to take it back. Carrier duels and in curious close range, knight actions the U.S. The Navy slugged it out with the Japanese. The U.S. forces were numerically inferior but they hung on, little by little they chopped away at the ships until by the end of the year they have gained command of the sea approaches to the southern Solomon's.

Outcome of event: The Allies success in Guadalcanal ended Japanese expansion effort in the Pacific and placed the Allies in a position of supremacy. The Allies victory had decisively stopped the enemy advance, throwing them from offense to defense. The U.S. forces had reversed the war time strategy of the Japanese Empire.

Key medical issues faced/treatments: The soldiers, sailors, and Marines fighting to hold Guadalcanal. Many of whom had survived the attacks on Pearl Harbor eight months earlier, found themselves battling not only the enemy, but also suffocating heat, intense food shortages and tropical diseases such as dysentery and malaria. The Japanese lost a total of 24,000 men killed in the Battle of Guadalcanal, while the Americans sustained 1,600 killed, 4,200 wounded, and several thousand dead from malaria and other tropical diseases. Morphine was used to treat the wounded soldiers.

Links: https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Guadalcanal

Description of the event: The Battle of Gulf was the largest Naval battle in World War II and by some criteria the largest Naval battle in history, with over 20,000 naval personnel involved. It was fought in waters near the Philippines islands of Leyte, Samar, and Luzon. Combined American, Australian and Filipino forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy, as part of the invasion of Leyte which aimed to isolate Japan from the colonies that it had occupied in Southeast Asia a vital source of industrial and oil supplies. Battle of World War II that crippled the Japanese Combined Fleet, permitted U.S. invasion of the Philippines, and reinforced the Allies' control of the Pacific. Japan wanted to reclaim the Philippines Island.

Outcome of the event: The combined battles of Leyte Gulf destroyed the Imperial Japanese Navy as an offensive force and decisively led to the defeat of Japan. The U.S. Navy destroyed three Japanese aircraft carriers, damaged other ships, and shot down approximately 600 Japanese aircraft, leaving the Japanese Navy with very little carrier-borne air power and few experienced pilots.

Key medical issues faced/treatments: In the end, the aims of the Battle of Leyte Gulf were achieved, but there were heavy U.S. casualties. 16,043 soldiers and 7,270 sailors were killed. The Japanese also suffered tremendous losses, with 419,912 deaths and those injured. Medical supplies stored in locker bunks were used to treat wounded soldiers.

Links: https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Leyte-Gulf

Description of the event: Okinawa was the site of the last big battle of World War II, the Battle of Okinawa. A lot of Okinawan people died during the battle. Now, the United States has some military bases for soldiers on the different islands of Okinawa. Consisting of four U.S. Army divisions, and three U.S. Marine divisions, the U.S. The Tenth Army executed Operation Iceberg to take the island of Okinawa in preparation for the invasion of mainland Japan. Soldiers and Marines fought for 82 days, finally capturing the island and destroying all resistance on June 22, 1945.

Outcome of the event: The Battle of Okinawa was a victory for the US but resulted in massive casualties on both sides. Japanese forces fought with the same fanaticism the Americans had witnessed in battles. Rather than be taken prisoner, defenders often chose suicide.

Key medical issues faced/treatments: Victory at Okinawa cost more than 49,000 American casualties, including about 12,000 deaths.When the guns fell silent, more than 240,000 people had lost their lives in the campaign for Okinawa. The American loss rate was 35 percent of the force, totaling 49,151 casualties. Of those, 12,520 were killed or missing and 36,631 were wounded in action. Blood and plasma transfusions were used to treat the wounded soldiers

Links: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/okinawa-costs-victory-last-battle#:~:text=Victory%20in%20the%20largest%20battle,and%20the%20costs%20were%20high.&text=On%20June%2022%2C%201945%2C%20the,of%20US%20victory%20on%20Okinawa.

Description of the event: Battle of Anzio, World War II battle, fought during the Italian Campaign. Some 50,000 Allied troops staged an amphibious landing at Anzio, 33 miles south of Rome, in an effort to bypass the strong German defenses along the Gustav Line. The British Prime Minister Winston concept was to land two divisions at Anzio, bypassing German forces in central Italy, and take Rome, the strategic objective of the current Battle of Rome.

Outcome of event: The Anzio landing were clearly a failure. While the VI Corps succeeded in outflanking the Gustav Line, the decision to delay the advance on Rome played defensive strengths. As a result, the Allied forces were pinned in the bridgehead for four months.

Key medical issues faced/treatments: During the Battle of Anzio, campaign VI Corps suffered 29,200 combat casualties 4,400 dead, 18,000 wounded and 6,800 missing or captured. There were a further 37,000 non-combat casualties. US Army and German medics attend to a wounded German soldier

Links: https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Anzio#:~:text=Battle%20of%20Anzio%2C%20(January%2022,defenses%20along%20the%20Gustav%20Line.

Description of the event: Early on 6 June, Allied airborne forces parachuted into drop zones across northern France. Ground troops then landed across five assault beaches -Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. By the end of the day, the Allies had established a foothold along the coast and could begin their advance into France. The D-Day operation of June 6, 1944, brought together the land, air, and sea forces of the allied armies in what became known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history.

Outcome of event: Fighting by the brave soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the allied forces western front, and Russian forces on the eastern front, led to the defeat of German Nazi forces.

Key medical issues faced/treatments: The paratroopers were badly scattered. Many were injured and killed during the attack, and much of their equipment was lost, but the brave paratroopers fought fiercely, causing confusion among the German commanders and keeping the German's troops occupied. Armed with litters and unit medical kits, hospital corpsmen of the beach battalions administered first aid battle dressing, tourniquets, morphine injections, applying casualty tags and then moved the wounded down to the water's edge so they could be evacuated aboard landing craft heading back out to the transports.

Links: https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/world-war-ii-d-day-invasion-normandy#:~:text=The%20D%2DDay%20operation%20of,the%20beaches%20of%20Normandy%2C%20France.

Description of the event: The U.S. commanders' initial goal was to pin down German forces in the area to keep them from reinforcing the front lines farther north in the Battle of Aachen. While the battle in the Hurtgen Forest was a tactical defeat for Allied forces, the action of the 28th Division denied the German Army terrain they had been ordered to retake at all costs. The division took 1,100 prisoners, inflicted 4,000 enemy casualties and destroyed 50 enemy armored vehicles.

Outcome of the event: The battle of the Hurtgen ended in a German defensive victory and the whole offensive was a dismal failure for the Allies. The Americans suffered 33,000 casualties during the course of the battle which ranged up to 55,000 casualties, included 9,000 non-combat losses and represented a 25 percent casualty rate.The division took 1,100 prisoners, inflicted 4,000 enemy casualties and destroyed 50 enemy armored vehicles.

Key medical issues faced/treatments: Within the armies, medical supply distribution presented few difficulties beyond those inherent in the conditions of combat.

Links: https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-battle-of-hurtgen-forest-a-tactical-nightmare-for-allied-forces/

Description of the event: The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The Battle of the Bulge was the US Army's greatest struggle to deny Adolf Hitler's last chance for victory. As 1944 was drawing to a close, the Allied forces could look back on a year of great strides towards victory over the Axis powers.

Outcome of the event: The Allies won the Battle of the Bulge, resulting in significantly higher casualties on the German side despite their surprise attack on Allied forces.

Key medical issues faced/treatments: Soldiers fought in brutal winter conditions, and the U.S. Army lost approximately 19,000 men and suffered some 75,000 total casualties in what became the United States' deadliest single World War II battle. In addition to the organic medical support provided in its infantry and armored divisions, the VIII Corps, First U.S. Army, in the opening days of the Battle of the Bulge possessed a well-organized and experienced medical support structure with the 64th Medical Group and its two separate medical battalions.

Links: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/programs/battle-bulge

Description of the event: The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. The US wanted to force a quick surrender by the Japanese to reduce the number of American lives lost.

Outcome of the event: Over the next two to four months, the effects of the atomic bombings killed 90,000 to 146,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 people in Nagasaki roughly half occurred on the first day.

Key medical issues faced/treatments: By the end of 1945, the bombing had killed an estimated 140,000 people in Hiroshima, and a further 74,000 in Nagasaki. In the years that followed, many of the survivors would face leukemia, cancer, or other terrible side effects from the radiation. the healthcare professionals who narrowly escaped death treated people in bombed medical facilities and relief stations hurriedly set up in schools, temples, bridges, roads, and parks.

Links: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki