Battle Of Midway and The Different Battles Fought over the Pacific Ocean

The Japanese and Americans came into conflict over control of the Pacific Ocean. There were many devastating attacks and battles because of it. The battles caused many tragic events that followed the battles. The conflict with Japan caused the deadly attack on Pearl Harbor, the horrid battle at Midway, and the devastating Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; all which ended with many deaths.

Indeed, the attack on Pearl Harbor a very deadly attack. The attack was planned because the United States government went into conflict with Japan over control of the Pacific Ocean (Beller 12).

Japan had an idea to attack the United States Navy in one big surprise attack (Beller 12). This would prevent the United States from being able to control or stop Japan from expanding into the Pacific. It was a one chance shot, and would have seemed “impossible” by United States Navy officials at the time (Beller 13). On December 7′, 1941, Japan flew into the naval base of Pearl Harbor, shooting at everyone (Attack on Pearl Harbor).

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The base was attacked by three hundred fifty-three Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers (Beller 15). No one really knew who was attacking until they saw the red insignia on the tip of the wing of the airplanes, indicating that the attackers were Japanese (Beller 18). There were hundreds of men killed in the first few minutes (Attack on Pearl Harbor). The power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building were not attacked (Attack on Pearl Harbor). The United States Navy began to fight back, and helping their injured friends (Beller 20). There was a total of over 3,000 Americans dead (Attack on Pearl Harbor). Japanese losses were light including a loss of twenty-nine aircraft, five submarines, and sixty-five service men (Attack on Pearl Harbor). The attack came as a profound shock to the American people (Attack on Pearl Harbor). The attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor ended in many deaths, but The United States didn’t stop there.

Furthermore, the attack on Pearl Harbor was followed by the battle at Midway, which is widely regarded as the most important naval battle in the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese had backed off for five months, and then decided to try to attack the United States again (Beller 55). The battle at Midway began in May of 1942 (The Battle of Midway, June 4-7, 1942). Japan was bringing in their aircraft carriers in hopes to launch another attack on the United States. The Americans had cracked the Japanese code which left them at a great advantage because they could understand what the Japanese were trying to do, which was to launch an attack on the United States Naval Forces (The Battle of Midway, June 4-7, 1942). The United States decided to send out all of the aircraft carriers they could to stop Japanese advance. The two opposing fleets were equal. This made it the first battle fought entirely between aircraft carriers (Beller 54). The battle began at 0430 in the morning, which is 4:30 am. Japanese aircraft carriers inflicted very heavy damage (The Battle of Midway, June 4-7, 1942). The damage was so severe that Japanese defenses were unable to fight back, which caused the Japanese aircraft carriers off course (The Battle of Midway, June 4-7, 1942). Japan backed off for a while until the United States decided to attack them.

Consequently, the United States decided to launch an attack on Japan in hopes to end the war. It was two o’clock in the morning when the United States bomber, “Enola Gay,” the name of one of the United States Army Air Forces B-29 bomber, flew out of the naval base stationed in Hawaii carrying the Atomic Bomb (Burr). Harry S. Truman ordered this bomb to be dropped (Burr). The bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy” was targeted on Hiroshima, Japan (Beller 81). It was 8:16 am. of August 6, 1945, when “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima (Beller 81). The bomb was made of uranium, a highly explosive material (Burr). 80,000 people died and eighty percent of Hiroshima was destroyed in the first minute “Little Boy” was dropped on them (Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). The United States government decided to drop another bomb on Japan. This bomb was targeted on Nagasaki, Japan. Nicknamed “Fat Man”, the bomb was made of plutonium instead of uranium (Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). “Bockscar,” which was the name of the United States Army Air Forces B-29 bomber, dropped the second atomic bomb, “Fat Man”, on Nagasaki (Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). This bombing took place on August 9″, 1945 (Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). The Japanese surrendered to the United States in September of 1945, after over 150,000 people were killed and more than three quarters of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two Japanese cities, were destroyed. This truly was the most devastating attack by the United States, which is why the world has come to agreement that nuclear weapons will not be used, as the radiation makes the area unlivable for many months or years.

In summary, the surprise attack by Japanese forces on Pearl Harbor caught the United States off guard and resulted in many American deaths, but the United States fought back (Beller 12). The battle at Midway, five months after Pearl Harbor, the first battle between aircraft carriers broke out and forced the Japanese off course (Beller 54). The atomic bombs, nicknamed “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” which were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ended horribly for the Japanese, which forced them to surrender (Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). All of these devastating battles and attacks of Pearl Harbor, Midway, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended in many deaths and very severe damage.