the world war ii strategy used by the us for attacking japan was called the macarthur strategy.

After fierce fighting the US was able to take the island, but they learned that fighting the Japanese was not going to be easy. One of the first major battles was over the island of Guadalcanal. They fought to take over strategic islands in the Pacific. Winning this battle gave the Americans cause for hope and was a turning point in the war in the Pacific.Īfter the Battle of Midway the United States began to fight back against the Japanese. Badly outnumbered, the US Navy sunk four Japanese aircraft carriers and forced the Japanese to retreat. However, the US won a critical battle called the Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942. The Japanese quickly took over much of Southeast Asia and were well on their way to dominance by 1942. The attack at Pearl Harbor united the Americans with the goal of defeating the Axis powers, and especially Japan. The US joined the Allies in World War II the next day. However, this attack did not have the effect the Japanese had hoped. They surprised the US and sunk many ships. On DecemJapan attacked the US Navy at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. They decided to attack the US Navy hoping they could sink enough ships to keep the US from ever attacking Japan. Now that he was Prime Minister, Tojo wanted Japan to attack the United States.Īlthough the US was trying to avoid getting involved in World War II, Japan was worried that the US would try and stop them from taking over some countries in Southeast Asia. He had been a strong supporter of Japan joining the Axis Powers. In 1941 a former General of the Army, Hideki Tojo, became Prime Minister of Japan. They joined the Axis alliance with Germany and Italy in 1940 by signing the Tripartite Pact. They wanted to dominate all of Southeast Asia. Some Japanese leaders felt they needed to gain more land by conquering other countries. However, because Japan was a small island country, they had to import many natural resources. Japan wanted to become a strong country and a world leader. Japanese Battleships - Japan had a powerful navy

The world war ii strategy used by the us for attacking japan was called the macarthur strategy.