Part 1

Chapter 11,702 wordsPublic domain

_UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II_

Pictorial Record

Second Edition

THE WAR AGAINST JAPAN

CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY

UNITED STATES ARMY

WASHINGTON, D.C., 2006

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hunter, Kenneth E. The war against Japan.--2d ed. p. cm.--(United States Army in World War II. Pictorial record) “The text was written and the photographs compiled by Capt. Kenneth E. Hunter and Miss Margaret E. Tackley” Foreword. Includes index. 1. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Japan--Pictorial works. 2. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Ocean--Pictorial works. 3. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area--Pictorial works. I. Tackley, Margaret E. II. Center of Military History. III. Title. IV. Series.

D767.H85 2006 940.53’52 dc22

2006014728

First Printed 1952--CMH Pub 12-1

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; DC area (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2250 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402-0001

ISBN 0-16-076546-3

Foreword

To the Second Edition

This collection of 500-plus pictures dramatically enhances the written record of World War II in the Pacific Theater. The images freeze in place the soldiers, the weapons, the operations, the geography, and the tenor of the moment. Maj. Gen. Orlando Ward’s foreword to the first edition (_see next page_) describes this visual dimension as essential to fully understanding military history. _The War Against Japan_ was one of the first volumes in the United States Army in World War II series, and it has stood the test of time. The book has also served as a useful resource for anyone seeking to illustrate this stage of the war.

Although this second edition keeps all the original photographs, captions, and short narrative historical introductions in each section, the Center of Military History has taken several steps to improve the appearance, currency, and utility of the book. New prints of all existing photographs ensure their clarity, replacing the old printing negatives with greatly improved examples. The Center staff also removed outdated references and developed an appendix that provides more detailed information on sources and photograph cataloging numbers. I hope this information will further assist those involved in research or seeking to obtain their own prints.

In visually documenting the World War II experience, this volume has proven to be an invaluable collection. By publishing this upgraded edition, the Center hopes to revive and expand the book’s effectiveness in promoting an awareness of the determination, courage, and sacrifices of the American soldier in World War II.

Washington, D.C. JEFFREY J. CLARKE 15 May 2006 Chief of Military History

Foreword

During World War II the photographers of the United States armed forces created on film a pictorial record of immeasurable value. Thousands of pictures are preserved in the photographic libraries of the armed services but are little seen by the public.

In the narrative volumes of UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II, now being prepared by the Office of the Chief of Military History of the United States Army, it is possible to include only a limited number of pictures. Therefore, a subseries of pictorial volumes, of which this is the last, has been planned to supplement the other volumes of the series. The photographs have been especially selected to show important terrain features, types of equipment and weapons, living and weather conditions, military operations, and matters of human interest. These volumes will preserve and make accessible for future reference some of the best pictures of World War II. An appreciation not only of the terrain upon which actions were fought, but also of its influence on the capabilities and limitations of weapons in the hands of both our troops and those of the enemy, can be gained through a careful study of the pictures herein presented. These factors are essential to a clear understanding of military history.

The text was written and the photographs compiled by Capt. Kenneth E. Hunter and Miss Margaret E. Tackley; the volume was edited by Miss Mary Ann Bacon. The book deals with the Pacific Theater of Operations and is divided into six sections: (1) The Allied Defensive; (2) The Strategic Defensive and Tactical Offensive; (3) The Offensive--1944; (4) The Final Phase; (5) The China-Burma-India Theater; and (6) The Collapse of Japan and the End of the War in the Pacific. Each section is arranged in chronological order. All dates used are local dates, and it should be remembered that all dates west of the International Date Line are one day ahead of those east of the line. For example, 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor is the same day as 8 December 1941 in the Philippines. The written text has been kept to a minimum. Each section is preceded by a brief introduction recounting the major events which are set down in detail in the individual narrative volumes of UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II. The appendixes give information as to the abbreviations used and the sources of the photographs.

Washington, D.C. ORLANDO WARD 3 January 1952 Maj. Gen., USA Chief of Military History

United States Army in World War II

_Advisory Committee_

(As of May 2006)

Jon T. Sumida University of Maryland

Brig. Gen. Patrick Finnegan U.S. Military Academy

Lt. Gen. Anthony R. Jones U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command

Adrian R. Lewis University of North Texas

Brian M. Linn Texas A&M University

Howard Lowell National Archives and Records Administration

Col. Craig Madden U.S. Army War College

Joyce E. Morrow Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army

Ronald H. Spector The George Washington University

Brig. Gen. Volney Warner U.S. Army Command and General Staff College

_U.S. Army Center of Military History_

Jeffrey J. Clark, Chief of Military History

Chief, Histories Division Richard W. Stewart Editor in Chief Keith R. Tidman

Contents

_Section_ _Page_

I. THE ALLIED DEFENSIVE 2

II. THE STRATEGIC DEFENSIVE AND TACTICAL OFFENSIVE 76

III. THE OFFENSIVE--1944 213

IV. THE FINAL PHASE 328

V. THE CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER 412

VI. THE COLLAPSE OF JAPAN AND THE END OF THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC 443

APPENDIX A: LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 463

APPENDIX B: LIST OF PICTORIAL SOURCES 464

INDEX 475

.. to Those Who Served

THE ALLIED DEFENSIVE

SECTION I

The Allied Defensive[1]

Before 7 December 1941, while war was actively being waged in Europe and the Far East, the United States, still a neutral, was expanding its manufacturing facilities to meet the demands for additional war materials, both for the growing U.S. forces and those of the Allies. On 7 December the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor in an attempt to so cripple U.S. naval power that future Japanese conquest and occupation in the Pacific would meet with little or no opposition. This attack dealt a serious blow to Navy and Army Air Forces units stationed in the Hawaiian Islands. On the same day two Japanese destroyers attacked the island of Midway, but were beaten off by the defending troops. On 8 December Wake was assaulted. The attacks on Wake were continued for two weeks and the small U.S. garrison was forced to surrender on 23 December. Another weak garrison on the island of Guam, unable to resist the enemy attacks, fell on 10 December.

[1] See Louis Morton, _The Fall of the Philippines_, Washington, D.C., 1953, in the series U.S. ARMY IN WORLD WAR II.

Early on the morning of 8 December the U.S. forces in the Philippines were notified that a state of war existed and a full war alert was ordered. On the same day the first Japanese aerial attack on the Philippines took place. This was followed by others and on 10 December enemy landings were made on Luzon. Expecting an early victory, the Japanese sent a large force, but it was not until 6 May 1942 that the Japanese were able to conquer the American and Filipino defenders who fought a delaying action down the Bataan Peninsula and made a final stand on the island of Corregidor. All military resistance ended in the rest of the Philippine Islands by 17 May except for small bands of guerrillas who continued to fight the enemy until 1945 when the U.S. forces landed in the Philippines. In March 1942 the commander of the United States Army Forces in the Far East was ordered to move to Australia by the President of the United States. Troops from the United States began arriving in Australia in December 1941 for the build-up in preparation for the defense of Allied bases and the recapture of enemy-held islands and bases in the Pacific.

While some Japanese forces were carrying out the attacks in the Pacific, others were overrunning Malaya, North Borneo, and Thailand. After eighteen days of fighting Hong Kong was captured on 25 December 1941. Thailand, unable to resist the Japanese, agreed to co-operate with them. Early in 1942 the Japanese took Borneo and by 15 February the British garrison in Malaya capitulated. In the Netherlands East Indies the U.S. Navy inflicted damage on an enemy convoy in the Battle of Makassar Strait, the first important surface action of the war for the U.S. Navy. On 9 March 1942 formal surrender by the Dutch ended all resistance in the Netherlands East Indies. By these conquests in Asia and the Pacific, the Japanese gained valuable territory rich in natural resources and were ready to expand in other directions.

During the first six months of 1942 the U.S. Navy fought the Japanese Navy in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway, and raided the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. Army Air Forces medium bombers took off from a carrier at sea and bombed Tokyo in April 1942 in a surprise attack. As part of the Midway operations in June, planes of the Japanese Navy bombed U.S. installations in Alaska and enemy troops landed in the Aleutian Islands on Attu and Kiska.

The Allied defensive phase of the war in the Pacific ended on 6 August 1942, with the Allies ready to strike the enemy-held islands in the South Pacific.

HAWAII

PHILIPPINES

MARSHALL ISLANDS AND WAKE