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Pacific Ocean theater of World War II

 

 
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The Pacific Ocean theater was one of four major naval theatres of war 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....
, that pitted forces of the Japan
Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan was a Japanese political entity that existed during the period from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until its defeat in World War II in 1945....
 against those of the 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...
, Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
, the Netherlands
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....
 and France
Free French Forces

File:Croix de Lorraine2.svgThe Free French Forces were France fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis powers of World War II forces after the Armistice with France and subsequent German occupation of France in World War II....
.

The theater included most of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 and its islands, excluding 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....
, 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....
, 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 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....
 (which were part of the Southwest Pacific area.) The Pacific Ocean theater also excluded China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 and mainland Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
.






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The Pacific Ocean theater was one of four major naval theatres of war 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....
, that pitted forces of the Japan
Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan was a Japanese political entity that existed during the period from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until its defeat in World War II in 1945....
 against those of the 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...
, Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
, the Netherlands
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....
 and France
Free French Forces

File:Croix de Lorraine2.svgThe Free French Forces were France fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis powers of World War II forces after the Armistice with France and subsequent German occupation of France in World War II....
.

The theater included most of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 and its islands, excluding 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....
, 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....
, 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 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....
 (which were part of the Southwest Pacific area.) The Pacific Ocean theater also excluded China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 and mainland Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
. It takes its name from 30 March 1942 when it became the major Allied
Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers of World War II during the World War II. Within the ranks of the Allies powers, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States of America were known as "The Big Three"....
 command
Command (military formation)

A command in military terminology has several meanings.In referring to military organization it is a collection of military unit or a group of personnel under the control of a single officer....
 in the theater, known simply as "Pacific Ocean Areas".

Leaders

Carrier Shokaku
Ww2 158
The Japanese Combined Fleet
Imperial Japanese Navy

The origins of the Imperial Japanese Navy trace back to early interactions with nations on the Asia, beginning in the early history of Japan#Feudal Japan and reaching a peak of activity during the 16th and 17th centuries at a time of cultural diffusion with European power during the Age of Discovery....
 was led by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Isoroku Yamamoto

Admiral of the Fleet was the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and a student of the U.S....
, until he was killed in an attack by U.S. fighter planes in April 1943. Yamamoto was succeeded by Admiral Mineichi Koga
Mineichi Koga

was a Japanese fleet admiral and commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet....
 (1943–44) and Admiral Soemu Toyoda
Soemu Toyoda

was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II....
 (1944–45).

Admiral, later Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz commanded the vast majority of Allied naval forces in the Pacific Ocean during the period 1941–45. The Allied Pacific Ocean Areas (POA) command was formed in March 1942. The POA was further divided into the North, Central, and South Pacific Areas, with subordinate commanders. Nimitz retained direct control of the Central Pacific Area (CENPAC).

Major campaigns and battles

  • Central Pacific Theater
    • Attack on Pearl Harbor
      Attack on Pearl Harbor

      The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Empire of Japan Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States' naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, later resulting in the United States becoming militarily involved in World War II....
       7 December 1941
    • Battle of Wake Island
      Battle of Wake Island

      The Battle of Wake Island began simultaneously with the Attack on Pearl Harbor and ended on December 23, 1941, with the surrender of the American forces to the Empire of Japan....
       7-23 December 1941
    • Doolittle Raid
      Doolittle Raid

      The Doolittle Raid, 18 April 1942, was the first airstrike by the United States to strike a Japanese home island during World War II. It demonstrated that Japan itself was vulnerable to Allies of World War II air attack and provided an expedient means for U.S....
       18 April 1942
    • Battle of Midway
      Battle of Midway

      The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle, widely regarded as the most important of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II. It took place from 4 June to 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and exactly six months after Empire of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor....
       4-6 June 1942
    • Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign
      Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign

      In the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns, from November 1943 through February 1944, were the first offensive operations of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the Pacific Ocean Areas ....
       1943–44
      • Makin Island raid
        Makin Island raid

        The Makin Island Raid was an attack by the United States Marine Corps on Japanese military forces on Makin Island in the Pacific Ocean. The aim was to destroy Japanese installations, take prisoners, gain intelligence on the Gilbert Islands area, and divert Japanese attention and reinforcements from the Allies of World War II landings on G...
         17-18 August 1942
      • Battle of Tarawa
        Battle of Tarawa

        The Battle of Tarawa was a battle in the Pacific War of World War II, largely fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It was the second time the United States was on the offensive , and the first offensive in the critical central Pacific region....
         20 November 1943
      • Battle of Kwajalein
        Battle of Kwajalein

        The Battle of Kwajalein was a battle of the Pacific War of World War II, fought from January 31, 1944, to February 3, 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands....
         1 February 1944
      • Battle of Eniwetok
        Battle of Eniwetok

        The Battle of Eniwetok was a battle of the Pacific War of World War II, fought between 17 February 1944 and 23 February 1944, on Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands....
         17 February 1944
    • Mariana and Palau Islands campaign
      Mariana and Palau Islands campaign

      The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign was an offensive launched by United States forces against Empire of Japan forces in the Mariana Islands and Palau in the Pacific Ocean between June and November, 1944 during the Pacific War....
       1944
      • Battle of Saipan
        Battle of Saipan

        The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific War of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June 1944 to 9 July 1944....
         15 June 1944
      • Battle of the Philippine Sea
        Battle of the Philippine Sea

        The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II, and the largest aircraft carrier battle in history. It was fought between the navies of the United States and the Empire of Japan....
         19-21 June 1944
      • Battle of Guam (1944) 21 July
      • Battle of Tinian
        Battle of Tinian

        The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific War of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July 1944 to 1 August 1944....
         24 July 1944
      • Battle of Peleliu
        Battle of Peleliu

        The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was fought between the United States and Japan in the Pacific War of World War II, taking place between September and November 1944 on the island of Peleliu....
         15 September 1944
      • Battle of Angaur
        Battle of Angaur

        The Battle of Angaur was a battle of the Pacific War in World War II, fought on the island of Angaur in the Palau Islands from 17 September 1944 to 30 September 1944....
         17 September 1944
    • Battle of Iwo Jima
      Battle of Iwo Jima

      The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from Japanese Empire....
       19 February 1945
    • Battle of Okinawa
      Battle of Okinawa

      The Battle of Okinawa, also known as Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa Island and was the largest amphibious warfare in the Pacific War of World War II....
       1 April 1945
  • North Pacific Theater
    • Aleutian Islands Campaign 1942–43
    • Battle of the Komandorski Islands
      Battle of the Komandorski Islands

      The Battle of the Komandorski Islands was one of the most unusual engagements of World War II. It was a naval battle which took place on 27 March 1943 in the North Pacific area of the Pacific Ocean, near the Komandorski Islands....
       26 March 1943