How did the Pacific War of World War II start? How tragic is the Pacific battlefield?

The Pacific War began with Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The whole war lasted three years and eight months, and 37 countries participated in the war, with a population of over 654.38+0.5 billion. In the end, the allies defeated Japan and won. The Pacific battlefield is also quite tragic. If you have seen relevant movies, you should know that both the Axis countries and the Allies have paid a very painful price. Finally, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, forcing Japan to surrender directly. War has brought enough lessons to mankind, and no one wants to live in it.

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

194165438+On the morning of February 7, the US Secretary of the Navy released the annual report as planned. In this report, Secretary Knox announced: "I am proud to report that the American people can have full confidence in their navy." At the same time, the Japanese government is also issuing a secret order: "Niigata Mountain." The real meaning behind this sentence is actually, attack now!

65438+ From 6: 00 am to 7: 00 am Hawaii time on February 7th, more than 300 Japanese planes took off from six aircraft carriers north of Oahu at the same time. They arrived at Pearl Harbor at 7: 55 and opened fire fiercely. In this way, the largest air raid in history began.

From 7: 55, the American fleet, which did not receive the alarm, was faced with the artillery fire and plane bombing of the Japanese fleet and could not organize an effective counterattack. I saw Japanese dive bombers dive and bomb the American fleet again and again. Almost effortlessly, the Japanese army took control of the air superiority over Oahu. At that time, American pilots who escaped the first wave of attacks rushed to the plane, hoping to resist the Japanese attack. However, Japanese torpedo bombers have roared to the sea level. They accurately dropped bombs on cruisers, battleships and planes near the dock near the ground. American ships outside the port pier were badly damaged.

At this time, Pearl Harbor has become a sea of fire, and the fire has turned the port red. The surviving crew tried their best to rescue the ships near the port and their comrades in the fire. At 8: 25, the Japanese army suspended its attack. Thinking that the Japanese army had stopped the sneak attack, the American army rushed out of the hidden bunker to try to rescue it. But just after 15 minutes, the second Japanese attack came again. Japanese horizontal bombers are making a comeback. At 9: 45, the battle ended, and the Japanese army blew up the whole Pearl Harbor at the cost of losing 29 planes. At this time, all Japanese planes have successfully returned to the aircraft carrier.

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

The two-hour sneak attack caused heavy losses to the US military. Three US cruisers, three destroyers, eight battleships and four other warships were sunk, and another 188 aircraft was destroyed. The loss of personnel is even heavier. More than 2000 people died in Pearl Harbor and 700 people were injured. However, one thing that makes Americans feel comforted is that the Japanese army did not blow up the naval repair shop and oil depot on Oahu; Moreover, the three aircraft carriers in the United States are not in Pearl Harbor because of their missions, thus avoiding greater losses. All this makes it possible for the United States to rebuild the Pacific fleet.

1 94165438+On February 25th, this Christmas morning,1seaplane suddenly swooped down from the low clouds. It landed on the oily sea of Pearl Harbor, and then continued to glide for a certain distance before stopping. At this moment 1 the whaling ship approached the plane and an authority figure was picked up from the plane. This is Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander of the Pacific Fleet. His face is red and he is handsome in plain clothes. Just eight days ago, although he had read the report that Pearl Harbor was badly hit by the Japanese army, the sight before him still shocked him. Where the ship was moored, he saw that the Arizona only showed the triangular mast, while the Oklahoma was upside down ... It can be said that the swollen bodies of sailors and marines were floating everywhere. Nimitz said to himself, "Isn't this terrible? Yes. "

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

Let's go back a little. Not long ago, on February 7th, 65438, Mr. and Mrs. Nimitz were enjoying the performance of the new york Symphony Orchestra with a major general and the director of the Aviation Administration. Suddenly the program was interrupted, and the news of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor spread all over the world. Nimitz immediately got up to look for the battle plan he wanted to discuss. The battle plan is locked in the safe with a time lock, which can't be opened until Monday morning. But it doesn't matter whether you look at it or not, because most of the battleships of the US Navy sank in Pearl Harbor. There is nothing in the plan about the navy going to war with Japan and responding to any emergencies.

Japan has rapidly expanded its occupation in East Asia and the Pacific.

Like a tiger going down the mountain, Japan is expanding its occupied area in East Asia and the Pacific so fast that even they are surprised by its speed and scale. Within a few weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, they invaded the Philippines, and then occupied Guam and wake island. , and then won Thailand and China and Hongkong, and then to Singapore and east indies.

In order to restore the vitality and confidence of the navy, President Roosevelt reorganized the high-level command organization: Admiral Ernest J. King, commander-in-chief of the Atlantic Fleet, was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the newly established American fleet, and he was appointed as the head of the naval warfare department, making him a senior leader of the navy. In fact, there are very few experienced people like General Jin. General Jin has served in leading organs, airplanes and submarines.

Nimitz surpassed 28 senior officers and was directly promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, replacing Chimel, the husband of the then Commander-in-Chief. Chimel was condemned by many parties at this time because of the Pearl Harbor disaster. On the day when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, he was actually hit by a Grenade. He often says regretfully, "If only you had killed me that day."

In fact, it is no longer possible to choose two people with different personalities like Kim and Nimitz in the US Navy. For example, Mohsen once commented: "Kim, this 63-year-old man is a guy with no sense of humor." In the navy, he was respected far more than loved. Nimitz is approachable and amiable. " It is said that there was a popular joke in the navy at that time: General Kim went to heaven, and soon another naval officer went too. In the kingdom of heaven, St. Peter said to the naval officer, "Since the arrival of General King, the kingdom of heaven has been reorganized, and it has always been in a state of readiness." The naval officer said, "This is not surprising, because General Kim often thinks he is an almighty God." St. Peter shook his head: "This is not the most terrible. The trouble is that Almighty God thinks he is General Kim. "

Regardless of the huge differences in personality between General Kim and General Nimitz, and regardless of the fact that one is in Washington and the other is in Pearl Harbor, at this time, they made a new battle plan and beat the Japanese out of the water. As General Kim said in his first speech after taking office, "The road to victory is long, and Japan is also very hard. We must do our best and do our best. We must have a large number of warships and planes as soon as possible, and then fight back in a big way and finally win the war. "

The United States adopts "defense first, supplemented by attack"

In this passage, "victory" is undoubtedly the most important word. The new year has begun, and it seems a distant thing for the United States and the Pacific to turn to counterattack. Because it takes time to repair the bombed warships in Pearl Harbor, it takes time to build a sufficient number of warships and planes, and it takes time to recruit more officers, sailors and pilots. In other words, the United States now needs a lot of time to prepare.

What's more, after Pearl Harbor, Germany also declared war on the United States. The anti-submarine warfare in the Atlantic began. In this way, the US Navy undertook the task of fighting between the two oceans. As for Japan, it is obvious that it has won enough time to strengthen the "* * * honor circle" and has a supply line for material transportation. Even if it is attacked by the United States, there is nothing to hide. In terms of allies, the United States, Britain and Canada formulated the "ABC Plan", requiring the United States to use all its strength to attack Germany before attacking Japan. From the beginning of this plan, the task of the United States has become to ensure the smooth passage of the midway-Samoa-Fiji-Australia. In general Kim's words, it is "defense first, supplemented by attack".

The Allies issued the Washington Declaration.

1 942 65438+1October1day, the representatives of the allied countries gathered in Washington and issued the famous Washington Declaration. Among them, the strategic objectives of the Allies were defined: First, to concentrate the war forces on the Atlantic battlefield and deal with Hitler with all their strength. Then, after the European war is settled, it will enter the Pacific battlefield. Obviously, Germany was too powerful at that time, and it won on almost four battlefields, so breaking the threat of Germany became a top priority for the Allies? Urgent.

American troops began to fight back.

At the beginning of 1942, Nimitz ordered the aircraft carrier to attack the Japanese forward bases in Marshall Islands and gilbert islands. The aircraft carrier unit led by William F. halsey Jr. of vice admiral, with Enterprise as its flagship, attacked Japanese fleets in Marshall Islands and Kwajalein Island. The attack sank 65,438+0 Japanese transport ships, 8 small ships and 2 other ships. Another unit with Lexington as its flagship attacked the Japanese base in rabaul, New Britain Island in the northeast of Australia. On February 1 1, Japanese planes began to fight back, but American pilot Captain Edward H. Og shot down five Japanese fighter planes by himself. This is the first counterattack by the US Navy against Japan.

On April 18, a more spectacular battle began, that is, Doolittle bombed Tokyo. On that day, the 16 twin-engine B-25 bomber took off from the Hornet and flew directly to Tokyo 668 nautical miles away. The bomber used this time is an army bomber, not a naval bomber. These bombers, led by Lieutenant Colonel James H. doolittle, had a short take-off training, but never landed on an aircraft carrier. Therefore, they can only fly to China airport about 1 100 nautical miles away after completing the bombing mission.

Doolittle bombed Tokyo.

Although doolittle's long-distance surprise attack was successful, the damage caused by this action was far less than that caused by Pearl Harbor. But in any case, the success of this attack has improved the morale of Americans. You should know that giving the enemy any form of panic is an effective way to improve the fighting morale of your own troops. Moreover, this operation also provided a valuable experiment for the tactics of the fast aircraft carrier.

194 1 year 65438+February, Japan invaded the Philippines. The United States lost its base in Southeast Asia and had to retreat south as planned to support dutch east indies's defense. Thus, the Philippine campaign began. The commander of the fleet is Admiral Thomas C. Hart. The man was long past retirement age, but the navy kept him in office considering his experience and ability. This fleet mainly includes warships from the United States, Britain, the Netherlands and Australia, so it is also called "ABDA" fleet, and its bases are located in Tawiah and Solabaga. This fleet has nine cruisers, namely Houston, Louis and Marborhead, as well as 26 destroyers and 39 submarines. In fact, the British battleships Prince of Wales and Counterattack were supposed to be the backbone of the fleet, but they were sunk by Japanese torpedoes off Malaya at19411210. Another British aircraft carrier, the Unyielding, was originally a member of this fleet, but it ran aground in West India and did not arrive. Moreover, this makeshift fleet is not only different in language and communication, but also uneven in combat power and tactics. But time is pressing, and now we must insert east indies from both east and west directions. This fleet is destined to fight alone. The only problem is that it is uncertain how many enemy ships it will fight.

America: the world hegemon bred by maritime hegemony: 1775—20 15, edited by Yi Song, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Press.

The first battle took place on the night of1942 65438+1October 24th. The fleet's four destroyers, Ford, Pope, Palot and paul jones, attacked a huge Japanese convoy in makassar strait. At that time, the Japanese fleet was berthing. The American destroyer immediately rushed up and rampaged at the fastest speed, not only firing guns, but also launching torpedoes. By the time the Japanese knew it, four destroyers had fled. It can be said that this is the first battle of American destroyers since 1898. Although it stimulated the allied morale, it did not weaken the Japanese invasion of dutch east indies. Only a few days later, the Japanese bombers arrived at the airport in Java and blew up all the allied planes parked here. As a counterattack, the cruisers Houston, Maberhead, two Dutch cruisers and seven destroyers attacked another Japanese fleet opposite makassar strait on February 4th. At that time, Japanese bombers dived and bombed, and ships used circuitous ways to avoid navigation, which reduced the possibility of being bombed by Japanese bombers. At the same time, ships also use air fire, and artillery fire is closely intertwined in the air. In spite of this, the Marborhead was blown to pieces and had to reluctantly return to the United States for maintenance. The 8-inch turret of Houston was overturned, causing heavy casualties.

At this time, the rest of the ABDA fleet was led by Major General Durman of the Royal Dutch Navy. After leaving the Solabaga base on February 27th, they went to Java to attack another larger Japanese fleet. At that time, in addition to the flagship Drouth, Major General Durman had four cruisers, namely Houston of the United States, Essex of Britain, Pace of Australia and Java of the Netherlands. Among them, the American "Houston" was declared to have sunk, but later it survived tenaciously like a ghost. The four cruisers mentioned above sailed with nine other destroyers under the cover of night. In terms of speed, four old destroyers are very slow and can only try their best to keep up with nine cruisers.

Major General Durman was bent on destroying the Japanese fleet, but he could not break through the barrier of the Japanese escort fleet: two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and four destroyers. You know, the air superiority in this area is also in the hands of the Japanese. Moreover, the Japanese fleet is in good repair condition and the crew is full of energy. However, Dullman's fleet needs thorough maintenance, and every crew member is exhausted and depressed for a long time. So judging from the number of warships, the strength of both sides is roughly equal. But as far as morale is concerned, this is a high or low judgment.