Epic Battles of the Pacific

The attack of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese against the United States of America on December 7, 1941, caused a catastrophic turn of events which brought the United States into World War 2. The Japanese planned to attack Pearl Harbor because that was the major navel base during the time. By doing so, the Japanese expected to demolish the spirits of the US and diminish the US Navy so that the Japanese could further expand their empire into the Pacific. Japan flew 180 war planes into pearl Harbor, killing 2,400 Americans and sinking 21 ships. However, the Japanese did not succeed what they set out to accomplish, due to a few major errors in their calculations failing to destroy the aircraft carriers or the oil supplies. The US overthrew their policy of isolationism and joined forces with the allies to stop the Axis powers. Following Pearl Harbor, fights in the Pacific included the battles of Midway, Iwo Jima and the battle for Okinawa. The battle of Midway was a turning point in the Pacific war where the Allies started Island hopping and won each island individually, gaining ground in the defeat of the Japanese. Iwo Jima battle followed the Midway turning point, where the island of Iwo Jima was heavily guarded by 20,700 Japanese soldiers and more than 6,000 US marines died fighting to overcome the Japanese. The last battle fought in the Pacific was the battle Okinawa where Japanese unleashed more than 1900 kamikaze attacks sinking 30 ships and killing 5000 seamen, leading to the further surrender of Japan. These epic battles caused the beginning of the end of World War 2.