Attack on Pearl Harbor
On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The surprise attack using 350 Japanese aircraft damaged or destroyed eighteen US naval vessels, including eight battleships, damaged or destroyed 300 US aircraft, and killed 2,403 men. This event woke the "Sleeping Giant."
Battle of Wake Islands
Even though the Japanese won the battle at Wake Island, they lost four ships, one submarine, and 1,000 lives. A little over 100 Americans and Guamanians died during their defense of Wake Island, and over 2,000 personnel escaped.
Battle of the Coral Sea
This was the first battle with equal forces and not a single exchange of shots between the ships. The US lost 1 carrier, 1 was damaged, 1 oiler, 1 destroyer sunk, 66 aircraft lost, and 543 men killed or wounded. Japan lost 1 small carrier, 1 carrier severely damaged, 1 destroyer and 3 small naval ships sunk, 77 carrier aircraft lost, and 1074 men killed or wounded. Japan still won the battle but suffered losses.
Battle of Midway
Being the biggest threat to the Japanese invasion in the Pacific, Midway was Japan's primary target. US intelligence broke Japan's code and prepared their defense. The Japanese lost approximately 3,057 men, 4 carriers, 1 cruiser, and hundreds of aircraft, while the United States lost about 362 men, 1 carrier, 1 destroyer, and 144 aircraft. The US took this battle and turned the war around. Japan was now going to be on defense for the rest of the war.
Battle of Guadalcanal
This battle was on with heavy casualties. This battle was split into Naval and Army campaigns. The Japanese lost 24,000 men dead in the Battle of Guadalcanal, while the Americans sustained 1,600 dead, 4,200 wounded, and several thousand diseased from malaria and other tropical diseases. The naval battles cost each side 24 warships: the Japanese lost 2 battleships, 1 light carrier, 4 cruisers, 11 destroyers, and 6 submarines. The Americans lost 8 cruisers, 2 heavy carriers, and 14 destroyers. Fortunately, the US won the battle and forced Japan to retreat.
Battle of Attu
The battle of Attu was the first battle on US soil. The locate was on the Alaskan islands of Attu. Japan attacked these islands to divert the US attention. With the assist of the Canadian bombers, the US won the battle against Japan. US lost 549 soldiers, 1,148 wounded, and almost 2,000 more from disease. Japan lost 2,872 by being killed or suicide.
Battle of Tarawa
The Island of Tarawa was a heavily fortified base for the Japanese. The US started it's Central Pacific Campaign there. US lost about 1,000 men and 2,000 were wounded. The Japanese lost 4,690. The Korean laborers were killed as well resulting in 1,071 deaths of the 1200. Ultimately, the Marines won this battle. This was the first time the US received strong resistance to an amphibious attack.
Battle of the Bismark Sea
Japan attempted to transport 6,900 reinforcement troops after realizing that New Guinea was going to be the biggest threat against the Japanese empire. US sent multiple bombers and succeeded bombing all 8 transport ships to the point to cause all ships to sink. Out of the 6,900 troops, 3,900 were rescued. Somewhere around 2,900 were killed in action. The US won and only lost 6 planes and 13 aircrew. Japan lost 8 Japanese troop transports, 4 Japanese destroyers, and 102 fighter planes.
Battle of the Philippine Sea
Pretty equal forces with Japan on the lesser side. Japan had confident though; they had additional land-based aircraft. Japan planned for such damage to the US that it would case riots in the US Government and would have them sue for peace. Little did they know, that would be quite the opposite. In this battle, Japan put up all the fleet they could muster up to fight against the US fleet, but due to the previous battles, were very much crippled. 90% of Japans forces was destroyed in this battle. The US kept on destroying each wave of Japanese bombers resulting in weakening the main force protection. 226 US planes vs 35 IJN planes and a few ships with the carriers. Japan lost a staggering 2 carriers, 1 light carrier, 2 oilers, 600 aircraft, 6 damaged ships, and 3,000 lives. The US lost 1 battleship, 123 aircraft (due to no fuel on the way back), and 109 lives. The US destroyed IJN and gave a good opportunity of winning the war.
Battle of Leyte Gulf
Japan planned on the main assault by landing on Leyte Gulf. This battle was the biggest naval battle in WW2. There were over 200,000+ personal and 300+ allied ships versus 67 IJN ships. In this battle, the US had high numbers but very poor communication. Japan had poor numbers and communication. These battles were so strategically unstable due to both sides not having a one-over-all commander. The US lost over 1,600 men, 1 fleet carrier, 2 escort carriers, 2 destroyers, 2 destroyer escorts, 4 other ships damaged, and 255 planes. Japan lost 12,000 causalities, 1 fleet carrier, 3 light carriers, 3 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers, 11 destroyers, and about 300 planes. This battle was a US victory.
Saipan
As one of the last defenses before mainland for Japan, the IJA and IJN gave everything to defend. There was nearly 30,000 troops based on the island. Naval bombardment was rained on the island by 7 battleships, 11 destroyers, and 10 minesweepers. 71,000 marines were landed on the Island. Japan lost somewhere around 29,000 troops and the US lost around 3,000. This battle was a US victory.
Guam
The US wanted their land back. Guam was their next priority. This land battle was quite difficult due to the terrain but due to the unopposed navy, 274 ships, 13 of them being carriers, they took care of a lot of the bunkered Japanese. Japan learned the tactics from Saipan but these strategies could only help so much against the massive navy and marines. The US lost around 1,800 men and 6,000 wounded out of the total 60,000 strong army.. Japan lost 18,300 men out of their total 22,500 strong army. This battle was a US victory.
Iwo Jima
The Japanese needed Iwo Jima and so they heavily fortified it. The terrain worked too well against the Marines. There was a 15 meter ash wall all around the beaches making it hard to secure a landing spot or make a fortification for the soldiers. Bunkers that had bombs and trapped in them. Many journalists state this battle as very bloody for the Marines. At a Japanese quarry, the Japanese mortars were so fierce, it gave the marines an 83% casualty rate. 900 marines came in, 150 men able to fight were left after the first day. With the 30,000 marines already landed, 40,000 were more to come. Even though the US captured the island of Iwo Jima, It came at a grave cost. According to the Navy Department Library, "the 36-day assault resulted in more than 27,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead." Iwo Jima was also the only U.S. Marine battle where the American casualties exceeded the Japanese, even though Japanese deaths tripled the US.
Battle of Okinawa
The battle of Okinawa was the biggest amphibious attack in the Pacific War. This was the bloodiest battle in the Pacific with 160,000 casualties: at least 50,000 Allied and 84,166–117,000 Japanese. According to local authorities, at least 149,425 Okinawan people were killed, died by suicide or went missing, roughly half of the estimated pre-war population of about 300,000. In the naval operations surrounding the battle, both sides lost considerable numbers of ships and aircraft. The US had 221 tanks destroyed, 12 destroyers sunk, 15 amphibious ships sunk, 9 other ships sunk, 386 ships damaged, 763 aircraft lost. The Japanese had 1 battleship sunk, 1 light cruiser sunk, 5 destroyers sunk, 9 other warships sunk, 1,430 aircraft lost, 27 tanks destroyed, 743–1,712 artillery pieces, anti-tank guns, mortars and anti-aircraft guns.
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The Allies called for the unconditional surrender of the Imperial Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on 26 July 1945, the alternative being "prompt and utter destruction". The Japanese government chose to ignore the ultimatum. On 6 August, a Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima, to which Prime Minister Suzuki reiterated the Japanese government's commitment to ignore the Allies' demands and fight on. Three days later, a Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki. Japan surrendered to the Allies on 15 August, six days after the Soviet Union's declaration of war and the bombing of Nagasaki. Over the next two to four months, the effects of the atomic bombings killed between 90,000 and 146,000 people in Hiroshima and 39,000 and 80,000 people in Nagasaki; roughly half occurred on the first day. For months afterward, many people continued to die from the effects of burns, radiation sickness, and injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition.
Japanese Surrender on the USS Missouri
On the teak decks of USS Missouri, WWII finally came to an end on 2 September 1945. At 0923, Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, representing the Emperor of Japan, signed the Instrument of Surrender, ending the blood wrenched war in the Pacific.