Pacific Ocean Areas

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Pacific Ocean Areas

Pacific Ocean Areas was the major Allied

Allies

In general, allies are people, groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose....
military command in the Pacific Ocean theater

Pacific Ocean theater of World War II

The Pacific Ocean theater was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, that pitted forces of the Empire of Japan against those of the United States, Commonwealth of Nations, the Dutch East Indies and Free_French_Forces#The_struggle_for_control_of_French_colonies....
of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. It was one of four major Allied commands during the Pacific War

Pacific War

The Pacific War was the part of World War II?and preceding conflicts?that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, between July 7, 1937 and August 14, 1945....
, and one of two United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
commands in the Pacific Theater of Operations

Pacific Theater of Operations

The Pacific Theater #Theater of operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period....
. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz of the U.S. Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
headed the command throughout its existence.

The vast majority of Allied forces in the theatre were from the U.S. Navy

United States Navy

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing Military power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver Marine Air-Ground Task Force....
.

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Encyclopedia

Pacific Ocean Areas was the major Allied

Allies

In general, allies are people, groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose....
military command in the Pacific Ocean theater

Pacific Ocean theater of World War II

World War II

Pacific War

United States

Pacific Theater of Operations

United States Navy

United States Marine Corps

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands , is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu....
and other countries also saw active service.

On 24 March 1942, the newly-formed British and US Combined Chiefs of Staff

Combined Chiefs of Staff

The Combined Chiefs of Staff was the supreme military command for the western Allies during World War II. It was a body constituted from the British Chiefs of Staff Committee and the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff....
issued a directive designating the Pacific theater an area of American strategic responsibility. Six days later the US Joint Chiefs of Staff

Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a group of military leaders in the United States armed forces who advise the civilian government of the United States....
(JCS) divided the Pacific theater into three areas: the Pacific Ocean Areas (POA), the South West Pacific Area

South West Pacific theatre of World War II

The South West Pacific was one of two Theater s of World War II in the Pacific region, between 1942 and 1945. The South West Pacific theatre included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies , Borneo, Australia, the Australian Territory of New Guinea , the western part of the Solomon Islands and some neighbouring territories....
(SWPA), and the Southeast Pacific Area

Panama Sea Frontier

The Panama Sea Frontier was responsible, during World War II, for the defense of the Pacific and Atlantic sea approaches to the Panama Canal and for naval shore facilities in the Central America region....
.

The JCS designated Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPOA), with operational control over all units (air, land, and sea) in that area. Mainland Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
was excluded from the POA, as were the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, the Netherlands East Indies

Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, was the Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II.It was formed from the nationalised colony of the former Dutch East India Company that came under the administration of the Netherlands in 1800....
, the Territory of New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
(including the Bismarck Archipelago

Bismarck Archipelago

The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and part of Papua New Guinea....
) and the western part of the Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

For the group of islands rather than the nation, see Solomon Islands .The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands....
. US strategic bomber forces in the theatre were under the direct control of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. All land forces in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
and Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
remained under the control of the US Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
's Western Defense Command (see Aleutian Islands Campaign).

The Joint Chiefs further divided the Pacific Ocean Areas into the North, Central and South Pacific Areas. Nimitz designated subordinate commanders for the North and South Pacific Areas (NORPAC and SOPAC) but retained the Central Pacific Area (CENPAC), including the Hawaiian Department, under his direct command.

In the separate South West Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Order of the Bath was an United States General officer, United Nations general and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army....
assumed command. The effective result of this organizational scheme was the creation of two separate commands in the Pacific: POA and SWPA, each reporting separately to the Joint Chiefs, each competing for scarce resources in an economy-of-force theater, and each headed by a commander in chief (CINC) from a different service. In particular, the division of the Solomons caused problems, since the battles of the Solomon Islands campaign

Solomon Islands campaign

The Solomon Islands campaign was a major military campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Empire of Japan landings and occupation of several areas in the Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island, in the Territory of New Guinea, during the first six months of 1942....
in 1942–1943 ranged over the whole region, with the main Japan

Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese bases in SWPA and the main Allied bases in SOPAC.

Commanders, South Pacific Area

Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley
Robert L. Ghormley

Vice admiral Robert Lee Ghormley was an admiral in the United States Navy, serving as Commander, South Pacific Area, during the Second World War....
(19 June–18 October 1942)
Vice Adm./Adm. William Halsey, Jr.
William Halsey, Jr.

Fleet Admiral William Frederick Halsey, Jr., Order of the British Empire, United States Navy, , was a U.S. Naval officer and the commander of the United States Third Fleet during part of the Pacific War against Japan....
(18 October 1942–15 June 1944)
Vice Adm. John H. Newton (15 June 1944–13 March 1945)
Vice Admiral William L. Calhoun
William L. Calhoun (admiral)

William L. Calhoun was a U.S. Navy officer who served in World War I and World War II, eventually attaining the rank of Admiral during World War II....
(13 March–2 September 1945)

Commanders, North Pacific Area

Rear Adm. Robert A. Theobald
Robert Alfred Theobald

Robert Alfred Theobald , List of military figures by nickname#F "Fuzzy", was a United States rear admiral and, most notably the author of the 1947 book The Final Secret of Pearl Harbor: The Washington Background of the Pearl Harbor Attack....
(17 May 1942–4 January 1943)
Rear Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid
Thomas C. Kinkaid

Thomas Cassin Kinkaid was an admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. He was Commander Allied Naval Forces in the South West Pacific Area during 1943 ? 45 and concurrently commanded the US 7th Fleet....
(4 January–11 October 1943)
Vice Adm. Frank J. Fletcher
Frank Jack Fletcher

Frank Jack Fletcher was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. Fletcher was the operational commander at the pivotal Battles of Battle of the Coral Sea and of Battle of Midway....
(11 October 1943–2 September 1945)

Pacific Ocean Areas

Commanders, South Pacific Area

Commanders, North Pacific Area

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