The Pacific WarUnited States vs Empire of Japan

Timeline of actions

1. No. 01 · Surprise attack07 DEC 1941

   Pearl Harbor

   Hawaii Operation (Japan) · 21°22′N 157°57′W

   Japanese victory
   United States2,403killedIncl. 68 civilians · 1,178 wounded · 4 battleships sunk, 4 damaged · 188 aircraft destroyed

   Japan64killed1 captured · 29 aircraft and 5 midget submarines lost
   Dead ratioUS 38 : 1 Japan
   • 353 aircraft from 6 carriers struck in two waves on a Sunday morning.
   • USS Arizona alone lost 1,177 men, about half of all US dead.
   • The 3 US Pacific Fleet carriers were at sea and escaped.
   • Fuel tanks and repair yards were left intact, which sped the recovery.
   • The US declared war on Japan the next day.
2. No. 02 · Siege & invasion08–23 DEC 1941

   Wake Island

   Defended by US Marines · 19°17′N 166°37′E

   Japanese victory
   United States122+killed (52 military, 70+ civilian)433 servicemen and ~1,150 civilian workers captured

   Japan340+killed in the first assault alone2 destroyers and 1 submarine sunk
   Dead ratioUS 1 : 2.8 Japan
   • On 11 Dec the garrison drove off the first landing and sank 2 destroyers.
   • Hayate became the first Japanese surface warship sunk in the war.
   • A second, larger landing took the island on 23 Dec.
   • In Oct 1943 the Japanese garrison executed 98 American civilian prisoners.
3. No. 03 · Invasion & siege08 DEC 1941 – 06 MAY 1942

   Bataan & Corregidor

   Fall of the Philippines · 14°23′N 120°34′E

   Japanese victory
   US & Filipino~25,000killed~21,000 wounded · ~100,000 captured

   Japan~4,130killed~6,800 wounded (Japanese figures)
   Dead ratioUS 6.1 : 1 Japan
   • About 76,000 US and Filipino troops surrendered on Bataan on 9 Apr 1942, the largest US surrender in history.
   • On the Bataan Death March, an estimated 500–650 Americans and 5,000–18,000 Filipinos died.
   • Corregidor, the fortress island in Manila Bay, held out until 6 May.
   • MacArthur left for Australia in March and promised, “I shall return.”
4. No. 04 · Carrier air raid18 APR 1942

   Doolittle Raid

   16 B-25s from USS Hornet · 35°41′N 139°42′E

   US morale victory
   United States3airmen killed8 captured (3 executed, 1 died in prison) · all 16 bombers lost

   Japan~50killed~400 injured · light damage
   • The first US air strike on the Japanese home islands.
   • Army B-25 bombers took off from a Navy carrier about 650 nautical miles out.
   • 15 planes reached China, where crews crash-landed or bailed out. 1 landed in the USSR.
   • Japanese reprisals in China killed an estimated 250,000 civilians.
   • The raid pushed Japan to attack Midway.
5. No. 05 · Carrier battle04–08 MAY 1942

   Coral Sea

   Operation MO (Japan) · 15°15′S 155°35′E

   JP tactical · US strategic win
   US & Allied656killedCarrier Lexington, destroyer Sims and oiler Neosho sunk · Yorktown damaged

   Japan966killedLight carrier Shōhō sunk · carrier Shōkaku damaged
   Dead ratioUS 1 : 1.5 Japan
   • The first battle in which aircraft carriers fought each other.
   • The opposing ships never came within sight of each other.
   • Japan called off its sea invasion of Port Moresby, New Guinea.
   • Damage and aircrew losses kept carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku out of Midway.
6. No. 06 · Carrier battle04–07 JUN 1942

   Midway

   Operation MI (Japan) · 28°12′N 177°21′W

   Decisive US victory
   United States307killedCarrier Yorktown and destroyer Hammann sunk · ~150 aircraft

   Japan3,057killed4 fleet carriers and heavy cruiser Mikuma sunk · ~248 aircraft
   Dead ratioUS 1 : 10.0 Japan
   • US codebreakers at Pearl Harbor knew the Japanese plan in advance.
   • A fake message about a broken water plant confirmed that code “AF” meant Midway.
   • On 4 June, dive bombers set 3 Japanese carriers on fire within minutes.
   • Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū and Hiryū all sank. Japan never got the initiative back.
7. No. 07 · Island campaign07 AUG 1942 – 09 FEB 1943

   Guadalcanal

   Operation Watchtower · 9°26′S 160°03′E

   Allied victory
   US & Allied~7,100dead29 ships and 615 aircraft lost

   Japan~19,200dead38 ships · 683–880 aircraft · ~1,000 captured
   Dead ratioUS 1 : 2.7 Japan
   • The first major Allied land offensive against Japan.
   • For six months both sides fought over one airstrip, Henderson Field.
   • At Savo Island on 9 Aug, 4 Allied heavy cruisers sank in one night.
   • So many ships sank offshore that sailors named it Ironbottom Sound.
   • In Feb 1943 Japan secretly evacuated about 10,600 starving troops.
8. No. 08 · Air ambush18 APR 1943

   Yamamoto Shot Down

   Operation Vengeance · 6°46′S 155°23′E

   US success
   United States1P-38 pilot killed1 of 16 P-38 Lightnings lost

   Japan2bombers shot downAdm. Isoroku Yamamoto killed
   • Yamamoto commanded Japan’s Combined Fleet and planned the Pearl Harbor attack.
   • US codebreakers decoded the exact schedule of his inspection flight.
   • P-38s flew a long, low route over open sea from Guadalcanal to catch him.
   • He died one year to the day after the Doolittle Raid.
9. No. 09 · Island assault11–30 MAY 1943

   Attu

   Operation Landcrab · 52°50′N 173°12′E

   US victory
   United States549killed1,148 wounded · ~1,200 cold-weather injuries

   Japan2,351killedOnly 28 captured
   Dead ratioUS 1 : 4.3 Japan
   • The only WWII land battle fought in North America, in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
   • Japan had seized Attu and Kiska in June 1942.
   • Frostbite and trench foot put about 1,200 US troops out of action.
   • It ended with a mass banzai charge on 29 May.
10. No. 10 · Amphibious assault20–23 NOV 1943

    Tarawa

    Operation Galvanic · 1°21′N 172°56′E

    US victory
    United States~1,009killed2,101 wounded

    Japan~4,690killed17 Japanese and 129 Korean laborers captured
    Dead ratioUS 1 : 4.6 Japan
    • The first US assault on a heavily fortified atoll, at the island of Betio.
    • A low tide stranded landing craft on the reef. Marines waded ashore under fire.
    • The fight lasted 76 hours.
    • Its lessons led to more amphibious tractors and to Navy frogmen (UDTs).
11. No. 11 · Amphibious assault15 JUN – 09 JUL 1944

    Saipan

    Operation Forager · 15°11′N 145°45′E

    US victory
    United States~3,426killed or missing~10,400 wounded

    Japan~29,000dead, incl. ~5,000 suicidesAlmost the entire garrison died

    Civilian dead: ~22,000 Japanese settlers and islanders

    Dead ratioUS 1 : 8.5 Japan
    • Many civilians jumped from the cliffs at Marpi Point rather than surrender.
    • On 7 July, thousands of Japanese troops made the largest banzai charge of the war.
    • The defeat forced Prime Minister Tōjō’s government to resign.
    • From the Marianas, B-29 bombers could now reach Tokyo.
12. No. 12 · Carrier battle19–20 JUN 1944

    Philippine Sea

    Operation A-Go (Japan) · c. 13°N 139°E

    Decisive US victory
    United States109killed123 aircraft lost · no ships sunk

    Japan~2,987killed3 carriers and 2 oilers sunk · 550–645 aircraft
    Dead ratioUS 1 : 27 Japan
    • The largest carrier battle in history: 15 US carriers against 9 Japanese.
    • US pilots called the first day the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.”
    • Submarines Albacore and Cavalla sank carriers Taihō and Shōkaku.
    • US planes came back low on fuel at night. Adm. Mitscher turned on the fleet’s lights to guide them.
    • Japan’s carrier air arm never recovered.
13. No. 13 · Amphibious assault21 JUL – 10 AUG 1944

    Guam

    Operation Forager · 13°28′N 144°43′E

    US victory
    United States~1,760dead~6,000 wounded

    Japan~18,377dead1,250 captured (by Aug 1945)
    Dead ratioUS 1 : 10 Japan
    • Guam was US territory, seized by Japan on 10 Dec 1941.
    • About 55,000 US troops landed against about 19,000 defenders.
    • It became a major base for B-29s and for Adm. Nimitz’s headquarters.
    • One Japanese soldier hid in the jungle until 1972.
14. No. 14 · Amphibious assault15 SEP – 27 NOV 1944

    Peleliu

    Operation Stalemate II · 7°00′N 134°15′E

    US victory
    United States~1,794killed~8,000 wounded

    Japan~10,695killed202 captured
    Dead ratioUS 1 : 6.0 Japan
    • US commanders expected a fight of a few days. It took 10 weeks.
    • Japan changed tactics: it fought from deep cave networks and stopped mass banzai charges.
    • Heat on the island passed 110 °F (43 °C).
    • Historians still debate whether the island needed to be taken at all.
15. No. 15 · Fleet battle23–26 OCT 1944

    Leyte Gulf

    Shō-Ichi-Gō (Japan) · c. 11°N 125°E

    Decisive US victory
    US & Allied~3,000killed1 light carrier, 2 escort carriers and 3 escorts sunk · 255 aircraft

    Japan~12,000killed26 ships sunk, incl. 4 carriers, 3 battleships, 10 cruisers · ~300 aircraft
    Dead ratioUS 1 : 4.0 Japan
    • By some measures the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 sailors.
    • Surigao Strait was the last battle ever fought between battleships.
    • Off Samar, small US escort ships held off Japan’s main battleship force.
    • The first organized kamikaze attacks hit US ships here.
    • The Japanese navy never again fought as a fleet.
16. No. 16 · City battle03 FEB – 03 MAR 1945

    Manila

    Luzon campaign · 14°35′N 120°59′E

    US–Filipino victory
    United States1,010killed5,565 wounded

    Japan~16,000killedMostly sailors of the Manila Naval Defense Force

    Civilian dead: at least 100,000 Filipinos

    Dead ratioUS 1 : 16 Japan
    • A month of house-to-house fighting in a city of over a million people.
    • Civilians died in Japanese massacres and in shelling by both sides.
    • US tanks broke into Santo Tomas camp on the first night and freed Allied internees.
    • Manila became one of the most destroyed capitals of WWII, with Warsaw and Berlin.
17. No. 17 · Amphibious assault19 FEB – 26 MAR 1945

    Iwo Jima

    Operation Detachment · 24°47′N 141°19′E

    US victory
    United States6,821killed19,217 wounded

    Japan17,845–18,375deadOnly 216 captured
    Dead ratioUS 1 : 2.7 Japan
    • Marines raised the flag on Mount Suribachi on 23 Feb. The photo became the war’s best-known image.
    • The only Pacific battle where total US casualties were higher than Japanese.
    • The defenders fought from a network of tunnels and bunkers.
    • About 2,400 damaged B-29s later made emergency landings on the island.
18. No. 18 · Night fire raid09–10 MAR 1945

    Firebombing of Tokyo

    Operation Meetinghouse · 35°42′N 139°48′E

    US air raid
    United States96airmen killed or missing14 B-29s lost

    Japan80,000–100,000+killed, mostly civiliansAbout 1 million left homeless
    • 279 B-29s dropped incendiaries from low altitude at night.
    • About 16 square miles (41 km²) of the city burned.
    • The deadliest single air raid in history.
    • Gen. Curtis LeMay changed from high-altitude precision raids to low-level fire raids.
19. No. 19 · Amphibious assault01 APR – 22 JUN 1945

    Okinawa

    Operation Iceberg · 26°20′N 127°48′E

    US victory
    United States~12,500dead38,000+ wounded · 36 ships sunk, 368 damaged · 763 aircraft

    Japan77,000–110,000military dead~7,400 captured · battleship Yamato and 15 other warships sunk

    Civilian dead: 40,000–150,000 Okinawans

    Dead ratioUS 1 : 7.5 Japan
    • The bloodiest battle of the Pacific War: 82 days of fighting.
    • Waves of kamikaze planes hit the US fleet offshore.
    • Yamato, the largest battleship ever built, was sunk on 7 Apr on a one-way mission.
    • US commander Lt. Gen. Simon Buckner was killed on 18 Jun.
    • More people died here than in both atomic bombings combined.
20. No. 20 · Atomic bombings06 & 09 AUG 1945

    Hiroshima & Nagasaki

    Manhattan Project · 34°24′N 132°27′E

    US atomic strikes
    United States2B-29 missionsEnola Gay (Hiroshima) and Bockscar (Nagasaki)

    Japan~210,000dead by end of 1945 (est.)Hiroshima ~140,000 · Nagasaki ~70,000
    • Hiroshima: uranium bomb “Little Boy,” 6 Aug. Nagasaki: plutonium bomb “Fat Man,” 9 Aug.
    • Both bombers flew from Tinian in the Marianas.
    • Kokura was the first target on 9 Aug, but clouds and smoke hid it.
    • The USSR declared war on Japan on 8 Aug and invaded Manchuria.
    • The only nuclear weapons ever used in war.
21. No. 21 · Surrender15 AUG – 02 SEP 1945

    Surrender in Tokyo Bay

    Aboard USS Missouri · 35°21′N 139°46′E

    Japan surrenders
    • 15 Aug: Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender on the radio. Most Japanese had never heard his voice.
    • 2 Sep: Japan signed the surrender on the deck of USS Missouri.
    • Gen. MacArthur signed for the Allies. Adm. Nimitz signed for the United States.
    • The planned invasion of Japan, Operation Downfall, was never needed.
    • 1,365 days after Pearl Harbor, the Pacific War was over.