9781422279069

JAPANESE AGGRESSION IN THE PACIFIC

JAPANESE AGGRESSION IN THE PACIFIC

MASON CREST

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, PA 19008 www.masoncrest.com

© 2018 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder. Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file with the Library of Congress.

Printed and bound in the United States of America. First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN: 978-1-4222-3896-7 Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-3893-6 ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-7906-9 ebook series ISBN: 978-1-4222-7903-8 Produced by Regency House Publishing Limited The Manor House

PAGE 2: T he battleship Pennsylvania , largely undamaged, is seen behind the sunken destroyers Downes and Cassin . PAGE 3 : Pearl Harbor survivor Bill Johnson reads the list of names inscribed in the USS Arizona Memorial. RIGHT: The deference paid to the emperor in Japan was total, confirmed here as the roadside crowd bows before the motorcade of the Emperor Hirohito.

High Street Buntingford Hertfordshire SG9 9AB United Kingdom www.regencyhousepublishing.com Text copyright © 2018 Regency House Publishing Limited/Christopher Chant.

PAGE 6: USS Yorktown in Pearl Harbor.

TITLES IN THE WORLD WAR II SERIES: The Start of World War II: The Flood of the German Tide The Allied Powers Fight Back Japanese Aggression in the Pacific The Defeat of the Nazis: The Allied Victory in Europe The End of World War II: The Japanese Surrender

CONTENTS

National World War II Memorial 10

Chapter One Pearl Harbor 12

Chapter Two The Japanese Press On 28 Chapter Three The Tide Turns: The Battles of Coral Sea and Midway 38 Chapter Four The Allies Take the Offensive: New Guinea and Guadalcanal 56 Time Line of World War II 72

Series Glossary of Key Terms 74

Further Reading and Internet Resources 75 Index 76

Further Information 80

KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR:

Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text, while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented here. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout the series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend high-level books and articles in this field.

OPPOSITE : President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the declaration of war against Japan, in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

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National World War II Memorial

The National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., is dedicated to the 16 million people who served in the American armed forces during World War II. The memorial also honors the 400,000 who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Those who supported the war effort at home are honored too. The memorial symbolizes World War II as the defining event of the 20th century. The memorial is situated on a 7.4-acre (3-hectare) site. It was created by designer and architect Friedrich St. Florian who won a national open competition for its design. The construction of memorial took place between 2001 and 2004 and then opened to the public on April 29, 2004; its official dedication took place a month later, on May 29. It was commission by President Clinton in 1993 who authorized the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to establish a World War II memorial in the Washington, D.C. area. The memorial is an elliptical shaped plaza built around a splendid fountain and pool, with water jets in its center. Built in a semi-classical style, there are 56 granite columns forming a semi-circle around the perimeter. Each one is designed to symbolize the unity of the states, federal territories, and District of Columbia. The entry walkway is flanked by ornate balustrades decorated with 24 bronze bas-reliefs. At the mid point of the plaza there are two pavillions decorated with bronzes, featuring Baldachins, American Eagles, and World War II Victory Medals. The pavillions represent the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. At the western end of the memorial is a curved Freedom Wall bearing a field of 4,048 golden stars, each of which stands for 100 American military deaths in the war. Before it lies a granite curb inscribed “Here we mark the price of freedom.” Throughout the memorial are inscribed quotations from eminent military and political figures, including Gen. (later Pres.) Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, Col. Oveta Culp Hobby, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, Gen. George C. Marshall, and Gen. Douglas MacArthur. The National World War II Memorial is located at the east end of the Reflecting Pool on the Mall, opposite the Lincoln Memorial and west of the Washington Monument. The memorial is maintained by the U.S. National Park Service, and receives almost 5 million visitors each year. It is open 24 hours a day and is free to all visitors.

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Chapter One PEARL HARBOR

O n July 26, 1941 the government of the USA froze all Japanese assets in the country, a measure that was soon also implemented by the British government and the Dutch govern- ment in exile. This triple blow to Japan’s position as a trading nation resulted from the Japanese empire’s continued expansion on the mainland of Asia: ever since the beginning of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War in 1937 the

Words to Understand Medievalism: Beliefs and customs of the Middle Ages. Neutralize: To counteract activity or make ineffective. Surrender: To yield to the power or control of another.

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Japanese Aggression in the Pacific

USA and UK had become increasingly concerned about the growth of Japanese military domination in eastern Asia. Various measures analogous to the freezing of Japanese assets had previously been tried, but Japan had taken little notice until this new move, inspired by the OPPOSITE: The U.S. Pacific Fleet, seen here in 1940, was the primary offensive and defensive weapon available to the USA in the Pacific theater. It was therefore one of the primary targets selected by the Japanese for neutralization in the first minutes of its war of aggression into the Pacific and South- East Asia. ABOVE: As well as the ships and aircraft of the U.S. Pacific fleet, the Japanese attack on the Hawaiian Islands targeted the aircraft of the U.S. Army Air Forces, such as this Curtiss P-40 fighter, lying badly damaged on the ground. RIGHT: The newspaper headlines tell it all: as part of their grand offensive in December 1941, the Japanese launched a series of carefully planned land offensives under the cover of potent air power.

Japanese occupation of French Indochina, starting on September 22, 1940. The threat implicit in the U.S. move of July 26 was reinforced on August 17 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt warned the government of Japan that any further Japanese efforts

to secure a paramount position in eastern Asia would serve to elicit U.S. retaliation to safeguard its policies and financial interests. While these overt moves were setting the scene for what was to follow, it should be noted that American-Japanese negotiations

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Pearl Harbor

on the means of reducing tension between the two countries were being held in Washington, DC. The reason why the USA, in particular, was taking these steps against Japan was basically a conflict Americans had been well placed in the Philippines and other Pacific island groups, inherited from the Spanish, to play a dominant role in Chinese economic affairs. This, combined with the emergence of China from its ancient monarchism into the type of democracy acceptable to the U.S. people, meant that in the USA China had a powerful friend. Japan, too, had only latterly emerged from its self- imposed medievalism . But unlike China, Japan had kept its ancient institutions, while at the same time managing to develop itself rapidly into a modern industrial nation with distinct military leanings. These military ambitions had been exercised at the expense of China in 1894–95, Imperial Russia in 1904–05, and Imperial Germany in 1914. Japan’s major problem, however, lay in the fact that although it had turned itself into a major manufacturing nation with great energy, the Japanese empire had neither sufficient raw materials to feed its industries, nor the markets to support them. Raw materials could be obtained from all over eastern Asia, and there was a huge market in China. Hence Japan’s interest in securing a political and economic hegemony over the major economic bases in this area, such as Manchuria, China, South- East Asia, and the British and Dutch East Indies. Its swift advance into the first of these areas inevitably brought Japan into conflict with the western democracies, which also had of interest. Since the Spanish- American War of 1898–99, the

considerable economic interests in these countries. By the 1930s, therefore, different political and economic interests had already set Japan and the western powers apart. These differences, crystallized as Japan took over Manchuria, started a war with China, with Japan then turning its attention south to Indochina and the Dutch East Indies. The USA’s feelings in the matter were already plain in its supply of arms to China, via the Burma Road from Lashio, in northern Burma, to Chunking in China, and Roosevelt’s two moves, mentioned above, finally made the U.S. position entirely clear. But Japan could not survive without raw materials and a market, and it also needed the oil that was so plentiful in the Indies. Thus the freezing of Japanese assets by the western powers did nothing to resolve the underlying problem: Japan’s OPPOSITE: Photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on ships moored on both sides of Ford Island shortly after the beginning of the Pearl Harbor attack. View looks about east, with the supply depot, submarine base, and fuel tank farm in the right center distance. A torpedo has just hit USS West Virginia on the far side of Ford Island (center). Other battleships moored nearby are (from left): Nevada , Arizona , Tennessee (inboard of West Virginia ), Oklahoma (torpedoed and listing) alongside Maryland, and California. On the near side of Ford Island, to the left, are light cruisers Detroit and R aleigh , target and training ship Utah and seaplane tender Tangier . Raleigh and Utah have been torpedoed, and Utah is listing sharply to port. Japanese planes are visible in the right center (over Ford Island) and over the Navy Yard at right. U.S. Navy planes on the seaplane ramp are on fire.

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