World War II in the Pacific

The Pacific theatre of the Second World War was the conflict between the Empire of Japan and the Allied powers, principally the United States, the British Commonwealth and China. It is generally dated from Japan's attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, which brought the United States into the war, although fighting between Japan and China had been under way for years before that.

The early months saw rapid Japanese expansion across Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands. The tide turned in 1942 at the Battle of Midway, where American carrier forces inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese fleet, after which the Allies took the strategic initiative. The subsequent campaign relied on a strategy often described as island-hopping, in which Allied forces captured selected islands to advance toward Japan while bypassing strongly held positions. Battles on islands such as Iwo Jima and Okinawa were intensely fought and extremely costly for both sides.

By 1945 Japan's navy, merchant fleet and cities had suffered severe damage from naval action and strategic bombing. The war in the Pacific ended after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 and the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Japan agreed to surrender, with the formal ceremony taking place aboard a US warship in Tokyo Bay in September 1945, bringing the Second World War to a close.

Frequently asked questions

How did the Pacific war begin for the United States?

It began with the Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, which led the United States to declare war on Japan.

Why was the Battle of Midway important?

In 1942 American forces destroyed a large part of the Japanese carrier fleet at Midway, shifting the strategic balance in the Pacific toward the Allies.

What was island-hopping?

It was the Allied strategy of capturing selected, strategically important islands to move toward Japan while bypassing and isolating heavily defended positions.