World War Two in the Pacific/Related Articles
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Parent topics
- World War II [r]: War between the Allies (most notably the UK, US and Soviet Union) and the Axis (principally Germany and Japan) 1939–1945. [e]
- Naval warfare [r]: The military history of the organized navies of the world from 300 BCE to the present. [e]
- Imperial Japanese Navy [r]: The part of the Japanese military responsible for naval warfare, 1868-1945 [e]
- United States Navy [r]: That part of the United States Department of Defense responsible for combat on, over, and under water [e]
Subtopics
Personalities
United States
- A.A. Vandegrift [r]: First four-star Commandant of the Marine Corps, promoted to that position after commanding the Guadalcanal campaign, for which he received the Medal of Honor [e]
- William Halsey [r]: Fleet admiral of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater of World War II, commanding the Third United States Fleet; a colorful and inspirational fighting leader with some limitations in strategy and large fleet command [e]
- George Kenney [r]: (1889-1977) General, United States Air Force, who headed the Far Eastern Air Force of Douglas MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Area, and was the first commander of the Strategic Air Command [e]
- Ernest J. King [r]: Fleet Admiral, United States Navy, Chief of Naval Operations during the Second World War [e]
- Thomas Kinkaid [r]: Admiral, United States Navy; commander of United States Seventh Fleet, Southwest Pacific Area (""MacArthur's Navy") in the Second World War [e]
- William Leahy [r]: Fleet Admiral, United States Navy; Chief of Staff to the President in the Second World War; senior member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff although not in the present role of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [e]
- Willis Lee [r]: United States Navy admiral of WWII, who specialized in "big gun" ships such as battleships and cruisers; Commander, Battle Force, Pacific Fleet [e]
- George C. Marshall [r]: Army Chief of Staff (WWII), Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense (Korean War)and sponsor of the Marshall Plan. [e]
- Douglas MacArthur [r]: Senior U.S. Army commander in the Second World War, head of the Occupation of Japan, holder of the highest rank and highest honor for valor in the Army, yet relieved of command for insubordination [e]
- John McCain Sr. [r]: (1884-1945) Nicknamed "Slew", Admiral, U.S. Navy who had a long career in naval aviation, eventually commanding Fast Carriers Pacific Fleet in the Second World War; father of Admiral John McCain Jr. [e]
- Marc Mitscher [r]: Add brief definition or description
- Chester Nimitz [r]: United States Navy fleet admiral (1885-1966) who was Commander in Chief, Pacific and Pacific Ocean Areas in World War II [e]
- Holland M. Smith [r]: Add brief definition or description
- Raymond Spruance [r]: Admiral of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater of World War II, commanding the Fifth United States Fleet; a reserved and intellectual officer on whom Chester Nimitz depended always to bring back the fleet [e]
- Richmond Kelly Turner [r]: United States Navy admiral who held key staff positions before WWII, and commanded amphibious forces in World War Two in the Pacific; known for hot temper and desire to dominate [e]
Japan
- Hirohito [r]: The 124th and longest-reigning Emperor of Japan, 1926-89. [e]
- Mineichi Koga [r]: Admiral, Imperial Japanese Navy; Commander-in-Chief, Combined Fleet March 1943-May 1944 (died in aircraft accident in April) [e]
- Hideki Tojo [r]: General of the Imperial Japanese Army and Prime Minister of Japan 1941-1944; Chief of Staff (Imperial Japanese Army), (21 Feb 1944 - 18 Jul 1944); executed for war crimes in 1948 by order of the International Military Tribunal (Tokyo) [e]
- Isoroku Yamamoto [r]: Admiral, Imperial Japanese Navy, Commander-in-Chief, Combined Fleet; planned the Battle of Pearl Harbor although opposed to war with the United States; shot down and killed March 1943 [e]
- Mitsumasa Yonai [r]: (1880-1948) Admiral, Imperial Japanese Navy;Commander-in-Chief, Combined Fleet 1936-1937; briefly Prime Minister in 1940; Navy Minister and associated with peace faction July 1944 to surrender [e]
- Tomiyuki Yamashita [r]: Imperial Japanese Army general, member of the Imperial Way Faction, who led the capture of Malaya, fell into political disfavor with the high command, but later returned to command the defense of Luzon in the Philippines; executed after a controversial war crimes trial with an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States [e]
Doctrine
- Aircraft carrier [r]: A warship designed to launch and recover combat aircraft and aircraft that support military operations [e]
- Battleship [r]: A heavily-armored, warship optimized for fighting other warships using large-caliber guns; certain armor requirements differentiated from cruisers; obsolete by end of World War II. [e]
- Island hopping [r]: U.S. strategic doctrine of World War Two in the Pacific, in which Japanese island bases were invaded only if their land was needed, but bypassed and blockaded if they simply needed to be neutralized [e]
- Earl Ellis [r]: U.S. Marine Corps officer who, in 1921, devised the fundamental strategic concept that would guide American operations in the Pacific during the Second World War [e]
- Kamikaze [r]: Suicide attacks, specifically by Japanese aircraft in the Second World War, against military targets [e]
- Underway replenishment [r]: A series of techniques, introduced in the Second World War, for keeping warships in constant operation by resupplying them at sea; challenging both in the pure seamanship of the transfer, and the logistical system that brings supplies to the ships [e]
Organization
- Commander-in-Chief, Combined Fleet [r]: Operational commander of main Imperial Japanese Navy forces in the Second World War [e]
- United States Pacific Command [r]: The U.S. Unified Combatant Command, headquartered in Hawaii, and responsible for the Pacific and East Asia [e]
- United States Third Fleet [r]: Currently the eastern Pacific-U.S. West Coast naval component of United States Pacific Command, based in San Diego, California; was the Central Pacific combat fleet in the Second World War when under the command of ADM William Halsey [e]
- United States Fifth Fleet [r]: Now the U.S. Navy component of United States Central Command; in WWII, the Pacific Fleet when under the command of ADM Raymond Spruance [e]
- Southwest Pacific Area [r]: Second World War theater of operations under the command of Douglas MacArthur; major components included Australia, New Guinea, the Philippines, the western Solomon Islands, and the Malay Peninsula and Singapore [e]
- United States Seventh Fleet [r]: The forward-deployed forces of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps that operate in the western Pacific Ocean; a major operating command under United States Pacific Command [e]
Operations
1941-1942
- Battle of Pearl Harbor [r]: Imperial Japanese Navy raid on United States' naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which took place on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941. [e]
- Japanese capture of the Philippines [r]: Add brief definition or description
- Wake Island [r]: An atoll in the Pacific Ocean, under U.S. jurisdiction, with no native population; it was the site of a base in the Second World War and has been used as a refueling and emergency airfield, as well as a support facility for missile testing [e]
- Doolittle Raid [r]: The first U.S. offensive operation in the Pacific during the Second World War. [e]
- Battle of the Coral Sea [r]: Fought in May 1942, the first battle between naval forces built around aircraft carriers, in which the opposing United States and Japanese ships never saw one another; it was a tactical Japanese defeat and strategic U.S. victory [e]
- Guadalcanal campaign [r]: The first Allied offensive campaign of the Pacific theater in WWII, fought August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943; Allied victory [e]
- Battle of Midway [r]: Generally considered to be the turning point of the Pacific Theater in the Second World War, a Japanese force intending to capture Midway Island was turned back with the loss of four aircraft carriers, at the cost of one U.S. carrier; it was the last major Japanese offensive of the war [e]
1944-1945
- Battle of Saipan [r]: Fought between 15 June 1944 and 8 July 1944, the U.S. capture of an island regarded by the Japanese as a key part of their innermost defensive line; caused the fall of the Tojo Government and its replacement with a less pro-war Prime Minister; became the first island base allowing significant attacks on Japan by B-29 long-range bombers [e]
- Philippines counteroffensive [r]: U.S.-led campaign to eject Japanese forces from the Philippines, 1944-1945 [e]
- Battle of the Philippine Sea [r]: An carrier battle between the U.S. and Japan in June 1944, called the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" due to the extremely heavy Japanese aircraft losses, marked the end of offensive Japanese capabilities, and gave the U.S. control of the islands from which the major B-29 bomber offensive against the Japanese Home Islands could be conducted [e]
- Battle of Leyte Gulf [r]: The largest naval battle in history, fought in October 1944 as Japan tried to interfere with U.S. amphibious landings in the Philippines [e]
- Cabanatuan [r]: A Japanese prison camp in the Philippines, against which a successful hostage rescue operation was conducted before the prisoners could be killed [e]
- Battle of Iwo Jima [r]: An exceptionally vicious battle, fought in February 1945, which solidified the U.S. strategic bombing of Japan by providing a closer island base, which both could support P-51 escort fighters and provide an emergency landing field for damage B-29 bombers [e]
- Battle of Okinawa [r]: The longest, bloodiest U.S. World War II battle in which the Japanese island of Okinawa was captured in the spring of 1945. [e]
Bot-suggested topics
Auto-populated based on Special:WhatLinksHere/World War II, Pacific. Needs checking by a human.
- Operation CARTWHEEL [r]: 1943-1944 air campaign, by the U.S., against a Japanese base at Rabaul in the Bismarck Archipelago in World War II, to neutralize it without the need for amphibious warfare (i.e., island hopping) [e]
- Battle of Tarawa [r]: Fought in November 1943, a U.S. Marine Corps force made an amphibious attack in the Tarawa atoll of the Gilbert Islands, principally against the island of Betio; it was an American victory but with very high casualties, and a significant part of a distinct strategic offense [e]
- Manchukuo [r]: Add brief definition or description
- Operation CATCHPOLE [r]: The U.S. invasion of Eniwetok, in the Marshall Islands, during the Pacific campaign of the Second World War [e]
- Operation FLINTLOCK [r]: The U.S. amphibious campaign against Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Theater of Operations of the Second World War [e]