The Pacific Ocean stretches from the east coasts of Australia, Japan, China and Russia to the west coast of North and South America. Within this vast mass of water lie thousands of islands; on these small landscapes some of the most brutal and terrifying battles of World War Two took place. But not all the battles were fought on these islands. Many were fought in the air or at sea were some of the largest casualties occurred.
The soldiers who were in the ships had no way of saving them selves from the enemy; the enemy who they couldn’t see, only hear. The enemy they could not fight back, only wait for the outcome. They would lie in their bunks in the bottom of the ship, waiting, hearing the battle taking place above them and knowing that their lives rested in the hands of the men who were able to fight back. This is what the soldiers had to get through just to get to the island. As soon as they landed the enemy held most of the beaches and then the same soldiers who were lying in their bunks waiting to die would have to fight to push through to save not only themselves but also the friends that they had trained with.
One has to realize that while fighting against an enemy there are more dangers that just bullets and bombs. Fear is the most useful weapon in a war. And in the battle of Guadalcanal the American soldiers learned to control their fear and fight the Japanese with it.
The first American offensive in World War Two was to take the island of Guadalcanal, barely known before the War, Guadalcanal was to become on of the best known islands in the south west Pacific. Guadalcanal was the furthest island that the Japanese had taken in the pacific and the Allies saw this as a threat. With Australia and America on different sides of the Pacific Guadalcanal would be a vital trade route between the two main Allied forces in the Pacific. The Japanese also had their own reasons for taking Guadalcanal other than stopping the trade between America and Australia, they saw Guadalcanal as a launching point for attacks on Australia and New Zealand. This would allow them to not only take a large amount of land but after taking Australia they could turn their attention to America and not have to split their troops, making them a stronger armed force with better supplies.
With each force having their own reasons for attacking Guadalcanal the war was on, the Japanese were the first to take the island and built an airstrip, but they were soon under attack by American and Australian soldiers. The allied soldiers stormed the beach but took no resistance. After a few days the Japanese and the allies had a few encounters, with minimal casualties on both sides. Soon American supplies dropped, they had lost troops and supplies at sea. The Allies made an offensive at the airfield taking it but also taking many casualties in the attempt. The allies set up a camp close to the airfield while they waited for reinforcements. After loosing the airfield to the Allies the Japanese army bombed the airfield most days. Eventually the Japanese figured out were the Allies had set up camp and bombed it before sending their whole army stationed on the island towards them. Allied scouts saw the Japanese advancing and alerted the other allied troops. The allies set up a line with heavy machine guns and waited for the Japanese to attack, the allies may have had the element of surprise but they were gravely outnumbered and the line they had set up was their last line of defense. The allies and the Japanese fought and though there were times were either side the allies won the battle.
The conditions:
The soldiers fighting on Guadalcanal and other pacific islands like it not only had to fight the enemy, they also had to fight the island. With unfavorable weather conditions and an almost impenetrable forest plus the mountainous terrain and rocky cliff edges. The Pacific theater was fought in the worst conditions by both sides. The Japanese had training for it and even then found it a challenge, for every island had slightly different conditions that are not easily adapted to. The Allies on the other hand had no specific training for island conditions, they had not fought on islands before and most of them were new recruits and had never seen the ocean before joining the army. This was a major disadvantage to the Allies, who after Guadalcanal sent back troops to America who would train new recruits especially for island fighting, this would help them to reduce their casualties in future engagements. This would not be evident in the statistics as the further the Allies advanced the harder the Japanese fought. For example on the island of Okinawa more American casualties were taken then any other time in the Pacific theater of World War Two.
The most famous person to return to America and train new recruits was; John Basilone precipitant of the Medal of Honor, American hero and gunnery sergeant for the American Marine Corps.
Why was it a turning point for WW2 in the Pacific?
It was the first allied offensive in the Pacific and was the first time that the Japanese had lost land in World War Two. With the Allies gaining land and the Japanese on the back foot they were rushing to stop an Allied advance.
No comments:
Post a Comment