During WWII in the Pacific, the US fought Japan. The pacific war was unusual, in that the main goal was not the capturing of territory. Indeed, with a few exceptions, the US did not care for the vast majority of islands under Japanese rule. The main goals of the Pacific front were:
1. To defend the American West Coast, including Hawaii and Alaska, against Japanese attack
2. To recapture island bases lost to Japan ie. Wake and Guam
3. To provide bases to attack and stage an invasion on the home islands of Japan.
To accomplish these goals, the US used a new strategy, where they ignored all but the most strategic of the Islands. Other islands, even those with Japanese bases, were ignored. This strategy allowed the US to move quickly across the Pacific, faster than if they had stopped to liberate every other island.
The first step in the Pacific War was naval superiority. Contrary to popular belief, the attack on Pearl Harbor didn’t damage the American Navy very much. Only two of the battleships were sunk outright, and the rest were brought back into commission within a year. The Japanese attack was a strategic failure, because it missed the three American aircraft carriers. As both navies knew, aircraft carriers were more important to warfare than battleships, and their loss would have crippled the American Navy. The main striking power of the US Pacific fleet was intact. America’s industrial power was already ramping up to replace the losses suffered at Pearl Harbor, and expand the fleet. Japanese industry and construction was no match for American industry. The US fleet fought two engagements that would decide the course of the war in the Pacific. The first was the Battle of the Coral Sea. A Japanese fleet was on course to invade New Guinea, and Australia. The American’s carriers heavily damaged two Japanese carriers, losing one of their own. It was a strategic American victory, as it prevented the Japanese from opening a new front in Australia. It also damaged two Japanese carriers heavily enough, that they would not be able to fight at the Battle of Midway. At Midway, a small American fleet used superior tactics to wipe out four irreplaceable Japanese aircraft carriers, destroying the main power of the Imperial fleet, which the Japanese did not have the resources to replace. Midway was the decisive battle in the Pacific, and sounded the death knell of the Empire of the Sun. Midway was a huge setback for the Japanese war effort, and by the time they started to recover, they could not compete with superior American technology, tactics, and industry.

Jay and Jon