Total War ~ WWII in the Pacific ~ 1942 ~ 45

Pacific February 1942 – July 1945
Episode 23 – The World At War

American supplies being landed at Iwo Jima

37mm Gun fires against cave positions at Iwo Jima

Injured US Marines being treated on the sand, at an aid station on Iwo Jima (Iwo To), one of the Japanese volcanic islands, in 1945

US Marines capture Japanese flags on Pacific Island of Iwo Jima in the War in the Pacific in February 1945 — Injured US Marines being treated on the sand, at an aid station on Iwo Jima (Iwo To), one of the Japanese volcanic islands, in 1945

American soldiers pictured alongside a rescued Japanese child in Saipan, July 1944

Working cautiously near heavily damaged tanks, a California National Guardsman methodically sweeps for mines — American soldiers pictured alongside a rescued Japanese child in Saipan, July 1944

Emerging with his hands held in the air, this man was the first of 20 Japanese to come out of a cave on Iwo Jima, on April 5, 1945. The group had been hiding for several days

Pictured in July 1944, troops and vehicles en route for the invasion of Cape Sansapor, New Guinea

Emerging with his hands held in the air, this man was the first of 20 Japanese to come out of a cave on Iwo Jima, on April 5, 1945. The group had been hiding for several days

Pictured in July 1944, troops and vehicles en route for the invasion of Cape Sansapor, New Guinea

The Battle of Okinawa in April-June 1945: US Marines take cover while a Bazooka operator looks for a target

Flamethrower troops engulf a barren hillside with fire — The Battle of Okinawa in April-June 1945: US Marines take cover while a Bazooka operator looks for a target

Battle-weary Marine: Relieved from the front lines after 12 days of fighting the enemy in Okinawa is Marine Private First Class Harry Kizierian, June 2, 1945

Before the start of the war in the Pacific, Japan attacked Peal Harbor, the American military base located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, because America had stopped trade of oil and other materials to Japan. After this surprise attack, the US declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941 – one day after the attack – and joined the conflict. This marked the beginning of World War II in the Pacific Theatre.

A demolition crew from the 6th Marine Division watches dynamite charges explode and destroy a Japanese cave. Okinawa, May 1945

In 1942, the Japanese Empire was operating at the peak of its powers, attacking and occupying positions throughout the Pacific Ocean, ranging from Alaska to India. In a bid to stem the Japanese advance, the US military decided on a strategy of ‘island-hopping’ – fighting for control of strategic islands along a path toward the Japanese home islands, bringing American bombers within range and preparing for a possible invasion. The battles were bloody and conditions for prisoners-of-war were woeful. Japanese soldiers fought the island landings fiercely, killing many Allied soldiers and sometimes making desperate, last-ditch suicidal attacks. By early 1945, leapfrogging US forces had advanced as far as Iwo Jima and Okinawa, within 340 miles of mainland Japan, at a great cost to both sides. On Okinawa alone, during 82 days of fighting, about 100,000 Japanese troops and 12,510 Americans were killed, and somewhere between 42,000 and 150,000 Okinawan civilians died as well. Eventually the war would cease after the US detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. It was the first time atomic weapons were used in warfare and resulted in the death of about 200,000 people (although estimates vary widely).