America Goes to War in the Pacific

SP in every war the aggressor has an overwhelming advantage in the early phases the nation attacked is rarely prepared for the aggressor first strike in the 1920s and 30s the people of the the United States gave little thought to war the nation was geared completely to the Pursuits of Peace but in 1940 the picture changed abruptly and a year later peace was only a memory the Japanese strike at Pearl Harbor in December 1941 was no isolated blow at the same moment the attacking planes were over Hawaii Japanese forces were sweeping South spearheaded by an advanced guard of fast Japanese warplanes during the first month of war the Japanese struck at Hawaii and five other principal target areas wake fell to the enemy after a heroic 16-day stand by a small Detachment of Marines Guam was quickly engulfed by the Japanese tide of aggression the island fell after a few days Japanese troops captured most of Luzan Island and were pressing the assault on the rest of the Philippines the British colony of Hong Kong finally fell to the Invaders on Christmas Day 1941 Japanese troops landed on the coast of Malaya and were pushing Southward toward strategic Singapore on December 10th just 3 days after the start of the war Allied Naval strength in the Pacific suffered another staggering blow in the loss of the British Capital ships Prince of Wales and repulse sunk by the enemy the Imperial Navy's Air Force discovered the main force of the British Far Eastern Fleet off quanton on the E eastern coast of the melee Peninsula and opened Brave and daring attacks the battleship repulse was sunk instantly pummeled further with repeated direct hits the flagship Prince of Wales sank with a tremendous explosion Singapore was now a naval base without a fleet but in the colony The Fortress was still considered impregnable and the men prepared to fight what they confidently expected to be a successful defensive action morale and Singapore had dropped after the loss of Britain's two great warships but it was still optimistically felt that even if the Japanese somehow succeeded in approaching Singapore they could never take the island this faith in Singapore's defensive strength soon led to a feeling of complacency in the Dutch East Indies defense preparations were somewhat more complex since the island chain extended more than 1500 miles native troops formed the principal Garrison Force most of the men were hastily trained in defensive techniques but throughout the islands even the best troops would be no match for the experienced Japanese forces for the defending soldiers knowledge of warfare was all theoretical the Japanese pattern of Conquest called for an ambitious series of coordinated strikes and invasions before the Allied Forces had a chance to recover from their initial shot even before December 8th Japanese units were on route to invasions of the rich countries of Southeast Asia and the islands offshore the success of these attacks depended to a large extent on the element of surprise in the early morning of December 8th Japanese TR TRS headed for Shore at a number of points along the coast in the northern part of Malaya thus from Beach head several hundred miles north of Singapore was the campaign against that Fortress begun within a few days a sizable Japanese force was successfully ashore ready to launch a full scale offensive against the British down the Malayan peninsula additional Japanese troops moved Southward into Mala across the border from French Indo China which Japan had occupied earlier and from Thailand which surrendered on December 8th the advance down the peninsula to Singapore 580 mi from malaya's northern border was made over rugged terrain Japanese units encountered resistance by the defenders in the north of Malaya but under the weight of the nepes attack resistance weakened and the Invaders gained ground quickly although the campaign down the narrowing Peninsula should have been a difficult one for the Invaders they pressed onward rapidly against Little Resistance the Malayan campaign was one of the most successfully fought actions in the series of Japanese assaults in December 1941 within 3 weeks Japanese forces had seized all of Malaya South to a front less than 100 miles above Singapore in the state of jeor in Malaya Japanese adeptness in tropical fighting triumphed over a defensive Force ill prepared for that kind of battle beginning on December 8th Japanese planes regularly bombed Singapore the prize of the Malayan campaign the [ __ ] bombers had a relatively easy time of it as the Allies had no sufficient force of fighter planes in the area to combat the attacking bombers Singapore became a prime target for Japanese air attacks which had the desired effect in softening the city's defenses in addition to physical damage the attacks also achieved a lowering of morale Among The Defenders the British in singap had not succeeded in becoming a clim to the rid and the Japanese took full advantage of their air superiority to pound the city without let up meanwhile 1,400 mil northeastward the British colony of Hong Kong became an early Japanese Target on December 8th nepon troops Advanced into the British least territory on the mainland across from Hong Kong Island six divisions made the attack against determined but ineffectual resistance on the cowon peninsula with the British territory on the mainland completely won the Japanese turned their attention to Hong Kong Island after a Siege of 16 days the Invaders forced to surrender and took over control of Britain's great Far Eastern Port City with the capitulation of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941 the last major port into free China was lost lack of Manpower was the key to the fall of Hong Kong and the Japanese troops had their assignment made still Easier by a poorly organized defense of the island stronghold on Malaya the campaign entered its Final Phase in early February 1942 Japanese troops pushed across jeor straight and entered Singapore the supposed supposedly impregnable Fortress the Invaders pressed the attack in their final heavy offensive the Japanese took a considerable number of prisoners who had never expected that this unpalatable situation could ever come to pass on February 15th the British Defenders indicated that they were prepared to discuss negotiations toward a surrender led by leftenant General AE peral commander of the British force and escorted by a Japanese officer a British delegation proceeded to the Ford building to talk terms with Lieutenant General tamay Yuki Yamashita commander of the Japanese forces Yamashita the famed tiger of Malaya was anxious to get on with the business at hand the British asked for time before deciding officially whether to agree to Japanese terms but Yamashita refused to give an inch his terms were immediate unconditional surrender the British wanted overnight or at least a few hours to consider the demand Yamashita remained firm either the surrender would be made there and then or Japanese troops would resume the attack in the face of this ultimatum the British commander capitulated with Mala on the point of being entirely one the Japanese pressed on to other fields for Conquest from newly one BAS es nipon planes took off and headed south on February 14th one day before the fall of Singapore the Japanese planes carrying a cargo of troops crossed the straight of Mala and were soon over the Dutch East Indies near palang Sumatra the plains disorg their human cargo this Airborne invasion was made at a point where defending forces expected an attack the Japanese objective was to overrun the rich Sumatran oil fields and then rapidly to seize the entire Island the spearhead units were soon reinforced until the total Japanese force numbered some 100,000 troops large areas of Sumatra were quickly seized and with the surrender of Java on March 9th Japan announced the complete conquest of the Dutch East IND Japan's progam of aggression had extended its control to the very shores of Australia only a few hundred miles from forward Japanese bases quick to capitalize on that proximity Japanese planes again headed south as the advanced force in the familiar pattern of Conquest on the morning of February 19th 1942 a Japanese air striking Force crossed the sea separating the enes and Australia the AES had had their first intimation of the attack when the lead planes were spotted over Bathurst Island just off Australia's northern coast the first warning was sent at 9:37 a.m. by then a large formation of enemy planes was crossing over Bathurst the air raid spotter's filter Center went into action at once and relayed the Vital Information relating to the plan's course to the Royal Australian Air Force the raaf sprang quickly to the defense of the port city of Darwin a few Japanese planes were knocked down during the attack but most escaped unharmed a total of 90 Japanese planes made the raid on Darwin 72 of them bomber the attack which began at a few minutes after 10: a.m. lasted for almost an hour and was eminently successful from the Japanese point of view Darwin sustained considerable damage and soon became a regular Target for Japanese planes in those early months of 1942 the job of holding the enemy depended on keeping open the lifeline between the United States States and Australia and New Zealand for the shipment of desperately needed supplies from the United States was vital to Allied hopes for a future victory in the Pacific although the war in Europe drew the great bulk of material from the US enough supplies were sent to Pacific bases to keep the Allied war effort functioning maintaining the lifeline to the Downunder countries kept a considerable number of us ships fully occupied fortunately Australia bound vessels were only rarely attacked each loss was keenly felt however all of our Mass effort is none too great to meet the demands of this war we shall need everything that we have and everything that our allies have to defeat the Nazis and the fascists in the coming battles on the continent of Europe and the Japanese on the continent of Asia and in the islands of the Pacific the United States turned its full attention to the job of winning the war on both fronts it was apparent that productive capacity would prove the deciding factor in the winning of World War II luckily American industry was partially on a war basis at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor land lease and defense Appropriations had greatly accelerated war production before the US was itself actively at War the Pearl Harbor attack provided the stimulus to American industry to convert thoroughly to a war basis in a relatively short time the weapons and vehicles of War were being produced in quantities which would have been considered impossible half a year earlier American industry was delivering the goods to Australia and Egypt to China England and new calonia to Persia and Alaska America American industry produced weapons and equipment not only for American armies but for Allied Forces all over the globe before the US had been at War a year American industry was producing more material than all the exis nations combined the US was clearly Supreme at the business of turning out the machines of War equally important was the job of training The Men Who were to use that equipment preparation for battle in Modern Warfare meant strenuous training for the men who were to fight it especially in the Pacific Theater the men had to be prepared for battle conditions and tactics that had no precedent in American military history The Gentle art of killing a man is to get him on the ground and kick him in this manner see sh when he comes back get him to and I KCK come on all you do that come on the business of becoming a knowledgeable Fighting Man required great versatility in techniques of attack all right men get your Gardens loaded we're going down this Village Street clean it out I want you to remember the Enemy at the other end of the street you want to move fast keep under cover and shoot him first in those early months of the war many soldiers were trained in types of warfare which they would never experience many units later sent to the Pacific Theater had no training in jungle warfare but thousands of soldiers and Marines were trained under actual battle conditions with live ammunition all this disagreeable training was to prove its value quickly when the men found themselves in similar situations in combat against the enemy in anticipation of a war in the Pacific basing someday the US Marine Corps had been experimenting in techniques of amphibious Warfare since the early 20s Landing exercises had been part of the Marine curriculum for 7 years before World War II with war in the Pacific a reality the Marine technique of amphibious Warfare was about to meet its sternest test on both coasts of the US new soldiers and Marines learned how to make a landing and even more important how not to make a landing it took a while for the rough edges to be knocked off the boots but the intensified training program turned out troops ready for action in command of the men who were destined to seize the offensive in the first Pacific Invasion were Generals with a thorough groundwork in amphibious Warfare men like General Alexander Vander soon to be commander of the first Marine Division Marine training also stressed close air support of ground forces in all large scale tactical exercises Vehicles designed especially for use in amphibious operations were beginning to come off the production line though no one knew for certain in early 1942 just how the japanes plan to defend their Island fortresses America's invading forces were well prepared for almost any eventuality the time was approaching when freshly trained US troops would help defend the Free World against the aggressors the day will come it will come when British and American armies March into countries not as Invaders but as liberators and when from the soil that spring up in Passionate hope and that Valiant effort the people who have been held down under a krth of Barbarian Yol the US Navy had embarked on a new program of building up its strength before the attack at Pearl Harbor plunged the us into war in the Pacific for Navy leaders realized that if the US were to become involved in World War II her Navy must be prepared to wage effective Warfare with vessels which could outmatch anything an enemy could put a flat on that basis America's new Navy was developed and after Pearl Harbor the reinforcement of America's badly crippled Pacific Fleet was of top priority urgency while the US Navy fought a holding action in the Pacific during the early months of 1942 production was rushed on new ships among them new carriers from whose decks American planes would carry the fight to the enemy before many months passed the Navy score with the Japanese would be pretty well settled in May 1942 part of the first Marine Division left its training camp at New River North Carolina on the first leg of a journey that was to lead to the very shores of Japan itself The Men Who were to make the first American assault of World War II embarked on their trip in High Spirits on June 22nd 1942 units of the first Marine Division left San Francisco and the men took a long last look at the Golden Gate Bridge for several weeks their ship was to be home to the men of the first the Convoy headed west bound for a destination known only to the Brass they weren't telling but everyone on board had his own private hunt wherever it was the men knew who would be there to greet them and they prepared carefully for that occasion all the men on board had been looking forward to that day for some time occasionally the trip had its lighter moments on many ships ceremonies were held at the court of King Neptune on the day the Equator was crossed those who were making their first Crossing were initiated into the fraternity of shellback finally the Convoy prepared to put into the port of a friendly Nation from there the last leg of the trip would soon be started for many of the men this was their first sight of foreign soil most of them had never expected to see a country as remote as New Zealand the first Marine Division arrived at Wellington in mid 1942 and the stage was set for the launching of of the first counterblow at the enemy to the division's commanding officers speed was a most vital consideration for they were soon to find that they had only a few weeks in which to toughen up the assault troops in final training to Stage a rehearsal of the planned attack and to complete the 7-day trip to the enemy held Island designated as the objective to be seized in Australia as well as New Zealand vital supplies from the US were beginning to arrive in somewhat greater quantity as the allout attack against the enemy was mounted the Downunder countries were to grow into large bases from which the fighting men in the forward areas would be supplied with American troops firmly established on Australia and New Zealand the enemy threat against the two dominions diminished considerably the setting for the camps was new but otherwise the pattern wasn't very different from the rout the men had followed in camps in the US even the off-duty hours were spent in familiar Pursuits but now the men alongside were foreigners with a different point of view different interests and even a different language at least it seemed like one to most Americans who hadn't tried talking to an Australian before but before long the gis came to regard the boys down under as good pals or Fair Dinkum cers all the inhabitants of Australia were concerned about the entertainment of their GI visitors and when life grew too monotonous there was always some way of stirring up a little excitement the old-fashioned Rodeo appealed to American and Australian alike at times like these they came to the conclusion that they really weren't such different peoples after all but there were enough interesting new aspects of life in Australia to occupy the Curious gi's time in his free moments many Americans had never heard of a koala bear before much less seen one but most of the gi's time was not spent in relaxation their presence in the Down Under countries had one purpose and no one was allowed to forget it sparsely populated Australia and New Zealand were perfect training areas there was plenty of space for long marches too much space the gis sometimes felt in the early months of the war Australia began serving as a base from which attacks were made against the enemy at airfields in the northern part of the island continent the men were no longer occupied with training this was the real thing us Pilots kept the Japs and New Guinea off balance in those first Bleak months of War but these raids were only moderately harassing to the enemy meanwhile the Japanese sweep Southward continued in the Philippines invaded on the day of the Pearl Harbor strike the Japanese Consolidated their early gains and set about seizing control of all the islands for freedom and justice fores feel