The Pacific War - week by week

- 38 - Pacific War - Battle of Savo Island, August 9-16, 1942

The disastrous Battle of Midway is remembered nowadays as one of the major turning points of the Pacific War, leaving the IJN significantly weakened. The Japanese would still continue to secure more territory, but it was now the allies who held the strategic initiative, and the Americans would then go on to execute Operation Watchtower, the first Allied offensive of the Pacific War; and as we’ve seen last week, the invasion of the Solomons was up to a good start. Yet despite its tremendous losses at Midway, the IJN was still standing and it still had sufficient strength to contest control of the south seas from the US, so Admiral Mikawa now prepared for a bold naval ambush that would prove to be one of the worst defeats in the history of the US Navy. Join us as we cover the Battle of Savo Island, and as we also take a look at some new developments on the Kokoda Track

- 37 - Pacific War - Invasion of Solomon Islands, August 2-9, 1942

After eight months since the outbreak of the Pacific War, after many defeats at the hands of the invaders, and after many bold actions that resulted in the few successes that the Allies enjoyed during the war, the time is finally ripe for the start of the first Allied offensive against the Japanese Empire: the Invasion of the Solomon Islands. Yet this was not only the first Allied offensive of the Pacific War, this was also the first American amphibious invasion in many decades, an invasion that would cement the importance of the US Marines for years to come. Welcome to our episode on the start of the crucial Solomon Islands Campaign, covering the initial landings on Guadalcanal, Tulagi and the islands of Gavutu and Tanambogo.

- 36 - Pacific War - The battle of Kokoda, July 19-August 2, 1942

In the last couple of weeks, we have covered both the American and Japanese general plans for the future, delving into the minds of important figures like General MacArthur, Admiral King, General Hyakutake or Admiral Yamamoto. Although the American plans haven’t quite gotten in motion yet, the Japanese had started their Kokoda Track campaign in the last episode; and today, we are going to cover the continuation of the Japanese advance on Kokoda, as well as the resistance offered by the Maroubra Force and the plans that were brewing in Burma for future operations in the region.

- 35 - Pacific War - The invasion of Buna-Gona, July 19-26, 1942

Three weeks ago, we delved for the first time into the American plans for their future offensives, as the Army and Navy factions clashed for control of the operations that were going to unfold in the Pacific. But thanks to the efforts of General Marshall, by early July, the matter of command had been resolved and a compromise between General MacArthur and Admiral King had been reached. Now, we turn to cover the plans of the Japanese commanders for the region of New Guinea, as well as MacArthur’s response and the aid that the British were planning to give to the Americans in the Pacific.

- 34 - Pacific War - The War on the North American Coast, July 12-19, 1942

The Aleutian islands were not the only territories in North America to be attacked by Japan. About a week after the attack on Pearl Harbor, 9 submarines of the Japanese 6th Fleet arrived off the North American Pacific coast. They were tasked with performing reconnaissance and disrupting shipping lanes. Some of these submarines would go a step further and carry out attacks on the mainland of North America. This episode will be the War on the American Pacific Coast.

- 33 - Pacific War - Biological Warfare in China, July 5-12, 1942

Last month, we covered the start of the violent and unforgiving campaign that took place in the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi as the Japanese invaders hunted down the American pilots that had taken part in the Doolittle Raid. In their ensuing struggle to curb down the Chinese air power in the region, the natives of Zhejiang and Jiangxi suffered the abuse and savagery of the Japanese troops, who caused such devastation on the land that around 90% of the market towns and its homes were destroyed. In many cities, the streets were left void and one could only see ruins and burning houses on the horizon. Yet this was just the beginning, with the invaders now preparing to withdraw from the area with the employment of biological warfare, thus leaving only death and misery in their wake.

- 32 - Pacific War - First raids on New Guinea, June 21- July 4, 1942

After the small break of the last couple of weeks, we return to the main theater of the Pacific War, where the astounding consequences of the Battle of Midway continued to resonate in the minds of the key figures of the war. Yamamoto had been outmaneuvered, outsmarted and he had suffered terrible losses in the battle, from which the IJN may never recover. But worst of all, he had finally surrendered the initiative to the American commanders, who immediately began to plan the first Allied offensives of the Pacific War. Join us as we delve into Admiral King’s and General MacArthur’s plans for the future, as well as the first incursions into the region of New Guinea.

- 31 - Pacific War -Douglas MacArthur and Philippines disaster SPECIAL

Douglas MacArthur was one of the US military’s most celebrated and controversial commanders. His  military service career is one of the most extensive and impressive in history, but it did not go unblemished. This episode will look specifically into one of the blemishes, that being Douglas MacArthur’s blunder of the defense of the Philippines at the offset of the Pacific War. If you would like to learn more about the the Philippines campaign, please check out our episode on the “Defense of the Pacific”.

- 30 - Pacific War -Attack on Sydney Harbour, June 14-21, 1942

During the attack on Pearl Harbor the Japanese dispatched 5 Type A midget submarines^[1], each carrying two men and two torpedoes^[2]. The night before the attack at 6:45am the destroyer USS Ward came across 1 of 5 midget submarines trying to enter the harbor and opened fire on it sinking it, this was the first official shot of the Pacific War. One midget submarine shot a torpedo at Seaplane tender Curtiss missing and another, Ha-19 was captured on December 8th. These failures led the IJN to upgrade their midget submarines in the hopes of attempting another strike on a harbor. This episode will be about the attack on Sydney Harbor

 

^[1] I-16,I-18,I-20,I-22 and I-24, Ko-hyoteki-class

^[2] They also had swords and pistols to commit suicide with if caught

- 29 - Pacific War -Operation Al Invasion of Alaska, June 7-14, 1942

Last week, we covered one of the most important battles of the Pacific War, the milestone that stopped the expansion of the Japanese Empire and allowed the Americans to go on the offensive for the first time in the war. But concurrent to the Battle of Midway and the death of the 1st Kido Butai, Admiral Yamamoto had devised a plan to strike Dutch Harbor and invade the first territory in North America: the Aleutian Islands. With huge resources allocated to this operation, the American defenders in Alaska were about to meet one of the most significant invasion forces this soil would ever see, so join us as we delve deeper into the struggle for Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.