WWII Battles in the Pacific: Leapfrogging the Way to Victory

Battle of Bataan: (April-May 1942)  General MacArthur held off Japanese invaders of Bataan in the Philippines.  It was a horrible situation where Filipino and American troops starved, hoping for reinforcements.  Finally, America had to surrender.  Thus came the infamous Bataan Death March, where thousands of captured American and Filipino troops walked to prisoner of war camps.  Japan now had control of Philippines.

Coral Sea Battle: (May 1942) This battle was the first in history to completely carried out by carrier-based aircraft.  This was a big victory for the United States, and a huge loss for Japan.  It brought an end to Japan's winning streak.

Battle of Midway: (June 3-6, 1942) This battle, like that of the Coral Sea, was also all carried out by aircraft.  Japan gave up after losing four vital carriers.  Midway was a pivotal victory.  It drastically slowed down Japan's conquest eastward.

Battle of Guadalcanal (August - February 1942): American forces invade Guadalcanal Island.  After several sea battles, Japan evacuates the island.

The United States continued island hopping.  This strategy included skipping over heavily fortified islands, and then starving them out by taking the surrounding islands proceeding with heavy bombing of the enemy bases.  This strategy was quite successful.

Another important victory was the capture of the Marianas.  This included the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" where American "Hellcat" fighter planes shot down nearly 250 Japanese aircraft.  It also included the morbid suicides on Saipan.  The citizens of Saipan were told by the Japanese military that they should commit suicide, because the Americans would shoot them anyways.  This was not the truth.  By August 1944 America had control of the Marianas.  By November 1944, the constant bombing of Japan began.