Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theatre of Operations is the term used in the
United States for all military activity in the
Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, during
World War II.
Pacific War is a more common name, around the world, for the broader conflict between the Allies and
Japan, between 1937 and 1945.
Partly because of the nearly equal roles of the
U.S. Army and the
U.S. Navy in conducting war in the Pacific Theatre, but largely for domestic political reasons, there was not a single Allied or US commander for the theatre .
Encyclopedia
The
Pacific Theatre of Operations is the term used in the
United States for all military activity in the
Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, during
World War II.
Pacific War is a more common name, around the world, for the broader conflict between the Allies and
Japan, between 1937 and 1945.
Partly because of the nearly equal roles of the
U.S. Army and the
U.S. Navy in conducting war in the Pacific Theatre, but largely for domestic political reasons, there was not a single Allied or US commander for the theatre . Indeed, the organisational structure was rather tangled, with the
Joint Chiefs of Staff frequently required to be involved, and the Army and Navy commanders reporting to both the
Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of War.
The two main Allied commanders in the PTO were
Commander-in-Chief Pacific Ocean Areas, the title held by Admiral
Chester Nimitz and
Supreme Allied Commander South West Pacific Area1, General
Douglas MacArthurJapanese nomenclature
- Initially in World War II, the official Japanese name for the war was Dai toua sensou . This name was chosen by a cabinet decision on December 10, 1941, to refer to both the war with the United States and the ongoing war in China, which began with the China Incident . The name was released to the public two days later, on December 12, with a government explanation that it referred to the motivation of Asian nations to achieve independence from the Western nations — it was not intented to set parameters for the battlefield. Soon after the start of the war with the U.S., this term was prohibited in official documents, though some say its use continued.
- The war was from this point called Taiheiyo sensou literally meaning the Pacific War. This latter term has been in use since that time.
- Less often, Jyugonen'sensou is used to refer to the war, beginning with the Japanese invasion of China in 1931 to the end of World War II in 1945. The term is used to highlight the rule of militarism over the years.
A theatre of operations
The term "theatre of operations" was defined in the [American] field manuals as the land and sea areas to be invaded or defended, including areas necessary for administrative activities incident to the military operations . In accordance with the experience of World War I, it was usually conceived of as a large land mass over which continuous operations would take place and was divided into two chief areas-the combat zone, or the area of active fighting, and the communications zone, or area required for administration of the theatre. As the armies advanced, both these zones and the areas into which they were divided would shift forward to new geographic areas of control.
2See also
- Pacific War
- Greater East Asia War, describing Japanese war plans
...
U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific.
The
Imperial Japanese Army was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan [i] from 1867 [i] ...
References
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