US War Operations in the Pacific Theater - Essay Example

? U.S. WAR OPERATIONS IN THE PACIFIC THEATER ID Number: Section: of of School (University) Estimated Word Count: 1,732 Date of Submission: November 10, 2011 Introduction Some historians claim the United States of America was a reluctant combatant in the Second World War because the prevailing public sentiment back then was largely pacifist. A great majority of the American citizens considered the war far away from home and they had preferred not to get involved. In other words, American sentiment was basically isolationist. A sneak attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was the catalyst which had turned this public sentiment into a war-like footing as people were aghast at the perfidy of the Japanese treachery while at the same time still negotiating the terms of a peace agreement. In retrospect, America was more or less not so well prepared but its entry into the Allied side of a world war turned the tide as America had great natural resources necessary to conduct a war. This paper explores and discusses the American operations in the Pacific theater in WWII. Discussion America's entry into the war was precipitated by the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941 (a beautiful Sunday morning) which caused heavy losses due to America being caught unawares of Japan's secret plans to control and conquer the British and Dutch colonial possessions in the Far East. Specifically, it was done as a preemptive strike at American naval forces by the Imperial General Headquarters of Japan to disable the American fleet; the attack was carried out by 353 fighters, bombers and torpedo planes launched on the Sunday when most American troops were out for church and other weekend activities. This attack was launched entirely from a naval battle group consisting of six aircraft carriers and it caused massive losses to America, which sunk four navy battleships and damaged four more. The aircraft destroyed was about 188 in total but American lives lost numbered to a staggering 2,402 killed and additional 1,282 servicemen wounded in what is called as a “Day of Infamy”. Japan had imperial colonial designs of her own and coveted the numerous colonies in the Far East owned by Britain and the Netherlands. However, the Japanese military strategists knew they could not possibly win a war of attrition against an enemy like the United States of America which is much bigger in terms of population and has vast natural resources needed to conduct a prolonged war. Only a preemptive strike will allow Japan to gain a temporary initial advantage long enough for it to consolidate its gains and obtain access to the natural resources which it jealously covets such as oil, rubber, iron, gold and other minerals. The two European countries of Great Britain and the Netherlands were preoccupied with the war in Europe and so left their Asian colonies vulnerable with only minimal defenses, such as Singapore that fell into Japanese hands after a very short conquest. America was perceived by the Japanese as the only credible threat in the Pacific area due to the presence of its naval forces at Hawaii. Some of the Japanese military planners had been initially reluctant to draw America into this war; a main concern was not to awaken a sleeping giant with serious consequences for the whole of Japan if in case the war drags on (Fitzgerald 13) but almost everyone agreed it was necessary for Japan to strike first. It was a military victory but a huge political mistake on Japan's part. It gained for Japan about 6 months of advantage to enable it to at first dominate the Pacific war. Although American soldiers stationed at the Hawaii naval base at Oahu knew war is only a matter of time, no one expected it so soon and were caught with their pants down, so to speak. The sneak attack had angered American citizens and galvanized public opinion towards ultimate involvement in a war Americans did not want. America had to play catch up and the United States navy had to repair and rebuild its fleet. However, despite its initial setback, most military strategists on both sides of the conflict knew the outcome was never in doubt. All raw materials for a protracted war favored America while Japan is a resource-scarce nation. America quickly mobilized its resources for war, such as converting most factories to produce tanks instead of cars and production lines made ammunition instead of house items. A civic spirit pervaded most Americans who contributed willingly to the war effort generously. The overall general American war strategy was to recover quickly from its first losses due the treacherous attack at Pearl Harbor and then to slowly push back Japanese forces back to their mainland. In other words, the first few months of the Pacific war theater was one of defense; the idea was to contain the spread of the Japanese forces by employing delaying tactics long enough for the United States to properly marshal its forces and resources for an eventual idea of invading Japan itself when the tide has turned and disarm Japan to pacify its people. All big business enterprises and government agencies were geared towards the war effort. The result was that America soon enough had surplus war materials with even some extra to spare and to send to its allies fighting Germany and Italy in the European and African war theaters. Women and other immigrant and minority groups took on the jobs left by the men who went to war. It was a remarkable achievement to have attained so much so quickly. Americans also cheerfully accepted war rationing as a necessary sacrifice and many volunteered (Heidler & Heidler xv). The war in the Pacific generated some controversy among historians because it was a war that some claimed was not given enough importance among top-level policy makers. The higher priority at that time was the war in Europe in which the objective of defeating Nazism and Hitler was perceived to be of more immediate concern. This attitude among U. S. officials enabled some very important war materials being diverted to Europe in crucial times as those requests for additional fighting men and war material were sometimes ignored. It was simply a question of which of war emergency situation takes precedence over all others so that Gen. Douglas MacArthur had to suffer early military reverses as help did not arrive (Rice 81). The main Federal agency established and tasked to deal with and implementing war rationing was the Office of Price Administration (OPA) put up by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was concerned the war had created more jobs and higher wages but had also contributed to higher inflation. The OPA was the main mechanism to ensure equitable distribution of scarce items in a wartime condition. Shortages in some important consumer goods was partly due to demands of American troops and also to the Lend-Lease Act of March 11, 1941 that mandated the United States to ship weapons, food, medicines and war equipment to American allies. As a consequence, it means taking supplies away from the domestic front (Young & Young 575). The result of the war rationing measures enabled Allied forces to re-group and then to take the initiative by going on the offensive two to three years after the outbreak of war. A good measure of this accomplishment was that needed war suppliers and materials later were able to reach American troops in outlying Pacific islands, despite being isolated by location. A big boost in troop morale was achieved as American soldiers had the best supplies such as the food rations envied by many native islanders and the other Allied troops. Fighting with adequate supplies such as guns, ammunition, food, water, medicines or other necessities like sugar, coffee and cigarettes enabled U. S. soldiers to endure hardships on the battlefields. It kept the soldiers going despite suffering from malaria, dysentery, colds and other ailments common in the hot and humid tropical climate. Having combat boots helped to prevent insect bites such as from scorpions which is not usually fatal but very painful. Proper planning and a sense of urgency gave vent to the American civil spirit. It had made the war bearable, with civilians back home happy and contented to know that American troops in the field had the things they needed to fight a just war against enemies of democracy and the ideals of liberty which America holds dear. Scarcity gave way to feelings of plenty. American and Allied troops slowly gained back lost ground from the Japanese. It had been a brutal war but Japanese forces were being pushed back to the Japanese mainland as the colonies originally conquered at the outset of the war were retaken. Japan had a disadvantage in that it needed the countries of Southeast Asia for critical raw war materials to conduct the war; as countries were lost to Allied troops, access to these materials was denied to Japan. The cited resource materials correctly depicted the war in the Pacific from the views of the American side. Supreme Allied commander Gen. MacArthur fought the war despite the marked lack of resources by adopting wily battlefield tactics based on his war strategy called as a “leapfrog strategy” which involved bypassing certain islands which had Japanese troops in them. The idea was to deal with these Japanese remnants later on when circumstances will permit but the overall strategy was to bring the war to Japan known as the forward strategy. A salutary and beneficial effect of the leapfrog strategy was to minimize American casualties as some areas were intentionally left behind if these are not material to the war effort, except in a very unusual case of Guadalcanal where opposing troops battled to the very bitter end. Conclusion American war operations in the Pacific theater was primarily to deal with a militarist Japanese empire which coveted the former territories of the colonial powers like Great Britain (such as Singapore, Malaysia and Burma) and the Netherlands (Indonesia) which held the vast natural resources eyed by resource-hungry Japan. The attack on Pearl Harbor was the catalyst that cemented American public opinion towards joining a war they did not want and of which they did not start. The American occupation of prostrate Japan from 1945-1951 overseen by Gen. MacArthur wrought desired political, social and economic reforms in that country and had turned an erstwhile enemy into a staunch ally and a defender of democracy and liberty. Works Cited Fitzgerald, Stephanie. Pearl Harbor: Day of Infamy. Minneapolis, MN, USA: Compass Point Books, 2006. Print. Heidler, David Stephen and Jeanne T. Heidler. Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Modern America: From the Indian Wars to the Vietnam War. Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. Print. Rice, Earle Jr. Douglas MacArthur: Great Military Leaders of the 20th Century. New York, NY, USA: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Print. Young, William H. and Nancy K. Young. World War II and the Postwar Years in America: A Historical and Cultural Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Print. Read More