WWII:

Pacific Battles
By Natalia Ferreiro and Kaylie Betzler
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Battle of Coral Sea

The battle was called the Battle of the Coral Sea

• The battle went from May 4, 1942 – May 8, 1942
• There were 5,333 American soldiers involved
• There were 5,500 Japanese soldiers involved
• • There were 543 American deaths/casualties
• There were 1,074 Japanese deaths/casualties
• 2 fun facts about the battle are that this was a naval and air started by the
US to push back the Japanese making their way to Port Moresby in New
Guinea and that the US attack the Japanese’s naval units with a task force
of carrier-based U.S. planes commanded by Rear Adm. Frank J. Fletcher.
• USA had won the battle
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Battle of Midway
1. Battle of Midway is also known as Operation MI.
2. It lasted from June 4, 1942, to June 7, 1942.
3. Task force 16, Task force 17, and Midway Garrison were in this battle.
4. The 1st fleet, the 2nd fleet, the 5th fleet, and the 11th air fleet were apart of
the Japanese in the Battle of Midway.
5. 300 American men died in this battle
6. 3,000 Japanese men died in this battle.
7. Nagumo commanded the attack, and he was the same person who oversaw
Pearl Harbor. American vessels were outnumbered.
8. The Americans won the Battle of Midway.
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Battle of Guadalcanal

1. The Battle of Guadalcanal is also known as Operation Watchtower.

2. It started on August 7, 1942, and ended on February 9, 1943.
3. 60,000 Marines and soldiers fought in the Battle of Guadacanal.
4. 36,200 Japanese men fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
5. About 3,000 American men have died in this battle. These include 1,600 troops died
in combat, and several thousand died from disease. As well, more than 4,000 men
were wounded.
6. The Japanese lost a large amount 24,000 soldiers in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
7. During this battle, the Japanese were extremely careless in their combat. However,
they were determined not to surrender, and would kill as many Americans as they
can, even if it meant they would die too.
8. The Americans won this battle in the Pacific.
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Battle of Tarawa
1. Battle of Tarawa, also known as Operation Galvanic, is one of the bloody battles fought in the Pacific.
2. From November 20, 1943, to November 23, 1943, is the duration of this 76 hour battle.
3. 18,000 U.S. Marines fought in the Battle of Tarawa
4. 4,500 Japanese defenders fought in this battle.
5. Over 1,000 U.S. that landed on the island were killed in combat, and approximately 2,000 were wounded
in just a span of 3 days. The casualties are almost as close of the casualties that had taken place in
6-month campaign in Guadalcanal.
6. The Japanese suffered a lost of 4,690 soldiers during the battle. The Japanese also suffered 17 of their
men captured and 14 tanks destroyed.
7. During the battle, low tides messed with our landing crafts from cleaning out the coral reefs that
surrounded the island. Tarawa was also the most fortified place that the Americans would seize during
their campaign in the Pacific.
8. This was an American victory.
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Battle of Saipan
1. Operation Forager, also known as the Battle of Saipan, was apart of the Americans Pacific
Campaign.
2. The Battle of Saipan started on June 15, 1944, and ended on July 9, 1944.
3. A total of 71,000 soldiers fought in this battle.
4. In the Battle of Saipan, an approximation of 30,000 Japanese fought in the battle.
5. During the course of this battle, 3,000 Americans died, and around 13,000 were wounded.
6. Thirty-thousand Japanese soldiers died in the Battle of Saipan. 5,000 of the 30,000 dead
were due to suicide. 921 were taken prisoners by the Americans.
7. The Japanese expected Saipan to be invaded because it was a defensive ‘inner perimeter’.
The landings of the Americans came right after an intense bombardment to decrease the
defences on the island.
8. The Americans were victorious in this battle.
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Battle of Guam
The battle was called the Battle of Guam
• The battle went from July 21, 1944 – August 10, 1944
• There were 59,401 American soldiers involved
• There were 22,554 Japanese soldiers involved
• There were 7,794 American deaths/casualties
• There were 19,587 Japanese deaths/casualties
• 2 fun facts about the battle are that the battle’s purpose was to reclaim the US
territory the island of Guam that was taken over by Japan and that even though
the Americans won in the end after the 1944 battle of Guam, they had originally
lost the battle and island in the 1941 battle of Guam to the Japanese.
• USA had won the battle
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Battle of Leyte
• The battle was called the Battle of Leyte Gulf
• The battle went from October 23, 1944 – October 26, 1944
• There were 200,000 American soldiers involved
• There were 85,000 Japanese soldiers involved
• There were 15,584 American deaths/casualties
• There were 79,261 Japanese deaths/casualties
• 2 fun facts about the battle are that the battle spread across
115,831 square miles and that Japan preformed their first
organized kamikaze attack in this battle.
• USA had won the battle
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Battle of Iwo Jima
• The battle was called the Battle of Iwo Jima

• The battle went from February 19, 1945 – March 26,

1945

• There were 110,000 American soldiers involved

• There were 21,060 Japanese soldiers involved

• There were 26,040 American deaths/casualties

• There were 18,375 Japanese deaths/casualties

• 2 fun facts about the battle are that the most medals
were awarded from a battle in all of US battle history,
Twenty-seven Medals of Honor, and that after winning the
battle, the US was able to capture the island of Iwo Jima
from the Imperial Japanese Army.

• USA had won the battle

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Battle of Philippines
• The battle was called the Battle of the Philippine Sea

• The battle went from June 19, 1944 – June 20, 1944

• There were 151,000 American soldiers involved 151,000

• There were 129,435 troops Japanese soldiers involved

• There were 11,225 American deaths/casualties

• There were 19,000 Japanese deaths/casualties

• 2 fun facts about the battle are that the battle is known as, “the greatest
carrier battle of the war,” and that the battle’s effect cause the Imperial
Japanese Navy not to be able to conduct large-scale carrier actions.

• USA had won the battle

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Battle of Okinawa
1. The Battle of Okinawa, or Operation Iceberg called by the American troops, was a pivotal battle in the Pacific.
2. The start of this battle began on April 1,1945, and the battle ended on June 22, 1945.
3. 60,000 American soldiers fought in Operation Iceberg. However, a total of over 500,000 men fought in
Okinawa. Also, a total of 180,000 troops fought in the battle. Over a million men fought in this battle
4. 130,000 Japanese men fought in the Battle of Okinawa, and were led by Ushijima. As well, there was a total of
155,000 Japanese troops. The Japanese soldiers were above a million men fighting in the battle.
5. There was a total of about 49,000 casualties for the Americans, including 12,520 soldiers dying. One of them
being General Buckner, dying on June 18, which is just 4 days before the battle ended. Also, about 38,000
were wounded during the battle.
6. Japanese casualties were more severe than the Americans by 110,000 men died in the Battle of Okinawa.
Also, about 8,000 men surrendered
7. This battle was the biggest amphibious landing in the Pacific. Also, it was the last chance for the Japanese to
win the war in the Pacific, so they used kamikaze attacks.
8. The Allied won the Battle of Okinawa.
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Battle of Okinawa YouTube Video
Explanation
The Americans didn’t know what resistance
they were going to face and there were no
Japanese or natives there, it looked deserted,
but at the end of the second the real trouble
began. The Japanese resistance were strong,
Okinawa was the bloodiest battle that the
Pacific ever encountered and its nickname is
the Typhoon of Steel due to shelling and
massive gunfire. The battle ended after 82
days and it was the last major campaign in the
Pacific and two days after that Japan
surrendered.