The Importance Of The United States's Involvement In World War II
798 Words
4 Pages
Leading up to the United States’ involvement in World War II, Japan exhibited aggressive imperialistic quests throughout Asia. After an attack on an American military base in Hawaii, the United States would enter combat in an attempt to curb the Japanese aggression. World War II consisted of battles mainly against Germany in Europe and Japan in the Pacific, and the Allies heavily relied on the United States to control the Pacific. American involvement in the Pacific eventually disabled Japanese aggression, as President Harry Truman called for the destruction of major Japanese cities via the atomic bomb. Despite an early advantage in the war, Japan was forced to surrender to the Americans, and as a result, the Allies proved victorious in the
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The Pacific setting was difficult to adapt, as disease, insects, and challenging terrain gave an advantage to the Japanese. With American morale waning back home, General Doolittle organized a secret bombing of Tokyo in April 1942. While Tokyo endured insignificant damage, the Doolittle Raid boosted morale in the United States, and it provided a sense of empowerment to troops in combat. Shortly after the Doolittle Raid, the Battle of Midway would mark the turning point in the war in the Pacific. An aggressive Japanese fleet attempted to take control of Midway Island, but the American Navy intercepted the fleet with the use of aircraft carriers. Despite a drastic imbalance of forces in favor of Japan, the United States was able to win the battle, while only losing one aircraft carrier. With the Battle of Midway shifting the Americans to the offensive side of warfare in the Pacific, victories at Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Bloody Ridge established the importance and tenacity of the Marines. Despite being outnumbered and underprepared for the brutal circumstances of the Pacific, the United States successfully gained control of the …show more content…
Led by Generals Chester Nimitz and Douglas MacArthur, forces adopted island hopping, which surprised the Japanese forces. Nimitz and MacArthur would go to different islands, and one group was launch a false attack that would leave the Japanese disoriented as they attempted to discover which attack was real. As the United States armies further weakened Japanese forces in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Japan shifted toward kamikaze warfare and intense island fighting. Iwo Jima and Okinawa proved to be battles with extremely high casualties, and despite further saturation bombing in Tokyo, Japan refused to surrender. The inability to force Japan to surrender in these last few battles eventually influenced new President Harry Truman to call for the use of the atomic bomb, which was a new technology that had never been used in war. Despite originally designing the bomb for Germany, the first bomb struck Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945 and the second bomb struck Nagasaki two days later. In fear of America’s atomic power, Japan surrendered on August 10, 1945, which ended the conflict in the
The Pacific setting was difficult to adapt, as disease, insects, and challenging terrain gave an advantage to the Japanese. With American morale waning back home, General Doolittle organized a secret bombing of Tokyo in April 1942. While Tokyo endured insignificant damage, the Doolittle Raid boosted morale in the United States, and it provided a sense of empowerment to troops in combat. Shortly after the Doolittle Raid, the Battle of Midway would mark the turning point in the war in the Pacific. An aggressive Japanese fleet attempted to take control of Midway Island, but the American Navy intercepted the fleet with the use of aircraft carriers. Despite a drastic imbalance of forces in favor of Japan, the United States was able to win the battle, while only losing one aircraft carrier. With the Battle of Midway shifting the Americans to the offensive side of warfare in the Pacific, victories at Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Bloody Ridge established the importance and tenacity of the Marines. Despite being outnumbered and underprepared for the brutal circumstances of the Pacific, the United States successfully gained control of the …show more content…
Led by Generals Chester Nimitz and Douglas MacArthur, forces adopted island hopping, which surprised the Japanese forces. Nimitz and MacArthur would go to different islands, and one group was launch a false attack that would leave the Japanese disoriented as they attempted to discover which attack was real. As the United States armies further weakened Japanese forces in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Japan shifted toward kamikaze warfare and intense island fighting. Iwo Jima and Okinawa proved to be battles with extremely high casualties, and despite further saturation bombing in Tokyo, Japan refused to surrender. The inability to force Japan to surrender in these last few battles eventually influenced new President Harry Truman to call for the use of the atomic bomb, which was a new technology that had never been used in war. Despite originally designing the bomb for Germany, the first bomb struck Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945 and the second bomb struck Nagasaki two days later. In fear of America’s atomic power, Japan surrendered on August 10, 1945, which ended the conflict in the