1.
United States Department of War
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The Secretary of War, a civilian with such responsibilities as finance and purchases and a minor role in directing military affairs, headed the War Department throughout its existence. Retired senior General Henry Knox, then in civilian life, served as the first United States Secretary of War, forming and organizing the department and the army fell to Secretary Knox. On November 8,1800 the War Department building with its records, foundation of the new military academy at West Point along the Hudson River upstream from New York City in 1802 was important to the future growth of the American army. The multiple failures and fiascos of the War of 1812 convinced Washington that thorough reform of the War Department was necessary, winfield Scott became the senior general until the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The bureau chiefs acted as advisers to the Secretary of War while commanding their own troops, the bureaus frequently conflicted among themselves, but in disputes with the commanding general, the Secretary of War generally supported the bureaus. Congress regulated the affairs of the bureaus in detail, and their chiefs looked to that body for support, during the American Civil War, the War Department responsibilities expanded. It handled the recruiting, training, supply, medical care, transportation, a separate command structure took charge of military operations. In the late stages of the war, the Department took charge of refugees and freedmen in the American South through the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, during Reconstruction, this bureau played a major role in supporting the new Republican governments in the southern states. When military Reconstruction ended in 1877, the U. S. Army removed the last troops from military occupation of the American South, and the last Republican state governments in the region ended. The Army comprised hundreds of small detachments in forts around the West, dealing with Indians, the United States Army, with 39,000 men in 1890 was the smallest and least powerful army of any major power in the late 19th century. By contrast, France had an army of 542,000, temporary volunteers and state militia units mostly fought the Spanish–American War of 1898. This conflict demonstrated the need for effective control over the department. Elihu Root enlarged the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and established the United States Army War College and he changed the procedures for promotions and organized schools for the special branches of the service. He also devised the principle of rotating officers from staff to line, indeed, Secretary Taft exercised little power, President Theodore Roosevelt made the major decisions. In 1911, Secretary Henry L. Stimson and Major General Leonard Wood, his chief of staff, the general staff assisted them in their efforts to rationalize the organization of the army along modern lines and in supervising the bureaus. Assisted by industrial advisers, they reorganized the system of the army. General March reorganized the general staff along similar lines and gave it authority over departmental operations. After the war, the Congress again granted the bureaus their former independence, in the 1920s, General John J. Pershing realigned the general staff on the pattern of his American Expeditionary Force field headquarters, which he commanded
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Department of the Navy
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The Secretary of the Navy is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. They supervise their military services of the Department of the Navy. They are assisted by a Vice Chief of Naval Operations and an Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. Unlike its U. S. Army and U. S. Air Force counterparts, the Department of the Navy consists of all elements of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. According to Navy Regulations Section 0204-2, the term Navy Department refers only to the offices at the seat of government. The bill passed in the House on 17 May 2007, but encountered opposition among members of the DoD civilian leadership and among senior Navy admirals, in the Senate, the provision was replaced in S. Amdt. 2011, an amendment in the nature of a substitute proposed by Senator Carl Levin of Michigan on 9 July 2007, the amendment removed the renaming provision and also made other changes. The House version including the provision was withdrawn in conference committee, Naval Vessel Register Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations United States Navy Regulations, Accessed on 2011-03-23. Department of the Navy website US Marine Corps official website US Navy official website Department of Defense website Department of the Navy in the Federal Register
3.
American Campaign Medal
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The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6,1942 by Executive Order 9265 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had performed military service in the American Theater of Operations during World War II. A similar medal, known as the American Defense Service Medal was awarded for active duty prior to the United States entry into World War II. The American Campaign Medal was established per Executive Order 9265,6 November 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and announced in War Department Bulletin 56,1942. The criteria was initially announced in Department of the Army Circular 1, dated 1 January 1943, the criteria for the medal was announced in DA Circular 84, dated 25 March 1948 and subsequently published in Army Regulation 600-65, dated 22 September 1948. The American Campaign Medal was issued as a ribbon only during the Second World War. The first recipient of the American Campaign Medal was General of the Army George C, marshall, Jr. Permanently assigned as a member of a crew of a vessel sailing ocean waters for a period of 30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive days. Outside the continental limits of the United States in a status or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive days. Within the continental limits of the United States for a period of 1 year. The medal, made of bronze, is 1 1/4 inches wide, the obverse was designed by Thomas Hudson Jones. It shows a Navy cruiser underway with a B-24 Liberator bomber flying overhead, in the foreground is a sinking enemy submarine, and in the background is the skyline of a city. At the top of the medal are the words AMERICAN CAMPAIGN and it depicts an American bald eagle between the dates 1941 -1945 and the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The ribbon is 1 3/8 inches wide in oriental blue in the center is a 1/8 inch center stripe divided into thirds of old glory blue, white, between the center and the edges are stripes of 1/16 inch in white, black, scarlet and white. 3/16 inch service stars were authorized to service members who participated in combat with Axis forces within the American Theater and this primarily applied to those service members whose units participated in anti-U-Boat patrols in the Atlantic. To qualify individuals must have been assigned to or attached to, and present for duty with, a complete guide to all United States military medals,1939 to present. Robles, Philip K. United States military medals and ribbons
4.
Service ribbon
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Service ribbons or ribbon bars are small ribbons mounted on small metal bars equipped with attaching devices, and are generally issued for wear in place of medals. Each countrys government has its own rules on what ribbons can be worn in what circumstances and this is usually defined in an official document and is called the order of precedence or the order of wearing. In some countries, some awards are only, having no associated medal. According to the Defense Logistics Agency, the U. S. militarys standard size for a bar is 35mm wide, 3/8 inches tall. The service ribbon for a medal is usually identical to the suspension ribbon on the medal. For example, the suspension and service ribbon for the U. S. governments Purple Heart medal is purple with a vertical stripe at each end. However, there are some military awards that do not have a suspension ribbon, the Soviet Order of Victory is a badge that was worn on the military parade uniform. However, a ribbon bar representing the Order of Victory was worn on a field uniform. There is a variety of constructions of service ribbons, in some countries, service ribbons are mounted on a pin backing, which can be pushed through the fabric of a uniform and secured, with fasteners, on the inside edge. These ribbons can be secured and then lined up, or they can be all mounted on to a single fastener. After the Second World War, it was common for all ribbons to be mounted on a metal bar. Other methods of wearing have included physically sewing each service ribbon onto the uniform garments, orders of wearing define which ribbons may be worn on which types of uniform in which positions under which circumstances. For example, miniature medals on dinner dress, full medals on parade dress, ribbons on dress shirts, some countries maintain a standard practice of wearing full service ribbons on combat utility clothing. These regulations are similar to the regulations regarding display of rank insignia. In times of war, it is not uncommon for commanders and other high value individuals to wear no markings on their uniforms, service medals and ribbons are generally worn in rows on the left side of the chest. In certain commemorative and/ or memorial circumstances, a relative may wear the medals or ribbons of a relative on the right side of the chest. Medals and ribbons not specifically mentioned in the Order of wear are also worn on the right side of the chest. Sequencing of the ribbons depends on each countrys regulations, the study, history and collection of ribbons, among other military decorations, is known as phaleristics
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Campaign streamer
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Campaign streamers are decorations attached to military flags to recognize particular achievements or events of a military unit or service. They often are physical manifestations of battle honours, though this does not mean all streamers are battle honours and they should not be confused with a tassel, which is usually purely decorative in nature. The armed forces of Germany, the United States and others have engaged in awarding streamers, historically Prussia, Austria-Hungary and the Soviet Union have also used streamers in this manner. The United States Army established campaign streamers in 1920, the United States Marine Corps in 1939, the United States Coast Guard adopted battle streamers in 1968, with the United States Navy following suit in 1971. Many of the relative to streamers and their display are similar among the services. There are, however, differences, particularly regarding the number of streamers, the Army carries a separate streamer for each important action in all wars in which that service has participated, each embroidered with the name of the action commemorated. Currently, the Army allows 187 streamers, and the Air Force, employing the Army system, unlike the Army-Air Force practice, the Marines and Navy use one ribbon for each war, campaign, or theater of operations. Specific actions or battles are highlighted by bronze and silver stars embroidered on the ribbon, the Marine Corps shows more than 40 streamers, the Navy 32, and the Coast Guard uses 43, unadorned by either stars or lettering. The Navy applies stars to appropriate ribbons throughout its history, whereas the Marine Corps uses stars to commemorate service starting from 1900, generally, streamers are 3 feet long and 2.75 inches wide. Where a medal has been awarded for a war or service. Conflicts and operations for which no medal was issued have ribbons specially designed for use as streamers, campaigns Additionally, units that have been awarded citation or decoration may carry the associated streamer. Foreign awards are last in precedence, current US Army policy allows the display of fourrageres and lanyards during ceremonial occasions on the flagstaff of those units authorized. A foreign unit award medal may also be pinned to the applicable foreign award streamer during ceremonial occasions
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United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
7.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
8.
United States Armed Forces
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
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Asiatic-Pacific Theater
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The Asiatic-Pacific Theater, was the area of operations of U. S. forces during World War II in the Pacific War during 1941-45. From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, there were two U. S. operational commands in the Pacific. The Pacific Ocean Areas, divided into the Central Pacific Area, the North Pacific Area, the South West Pacific Area, including New Guinea, Philippines, Borneo, and the Dutch East Indies, was commanded by General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander South West Pacific Area. During 1945, the United States added the U. S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, commanded by General Carl Spaatz. Because of the roles of the United States Army and the United States Navy in conducting war in the Pacific Theater. There was no command, rather, the Asiatic-Pacific Theater was divided into the SWPA, the POA. The Official Chronology of the U. S. Navy in World War II, in the Service of the Emperor, Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army. Kafka, Roger, Pepperburg, Roy L. Warships of the World, the Campaigns of the Pacific War. A History of Us, War, Peace and all that Jazz, joint Operational Warfare, Theory and Practice. Newport, Rhode Island, United States Naval War College, the Battle for Leyte,1944, Allied and Japanese Plans, Preparations, and Execution
10.
Executive order (United States)
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Executive orders are orders issued by United States Presidents and directed towards officers and agencies of the Federal government of the United States. Executive orders have the force of law, based on the authority derived from statute or the Constitution itself. The ability to such orders is also based on express or implied Acts of Congress that delegate to the President some degree of discretionary power. The United States Constitution does have a provision that explicitly permits the use of executive orders, the term executive power in Article II, Section 1, Clause 1 of the Constitution is not entirely clear. The term is mentioned as direction to take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed and is part of Article II, Section 3, the consequence of failing to comply possibly being removal from office. The U. S. Specifically, such orders must be rooted in Article II of the US Constitution or enacted by the congress in statutes. Attempts to block such orders have been successful at times when such orders exceeded the authority of the president or could be handled through legislation. Other types of orders issued by the Executive are generally classified simply as administrative rather than executive orders. Initially they took no set form, consequently, such orders varied as to form and substance. The most famous executive order was by President Abraham Lincoln when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1,1863, Political scientist Brian R. Dirck states, The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order, itself a rather unusual thing in those days. Executive orders are simply presidential directives issued to agents of the department by its boss. Until the early 1900s, executive orders went mostly unannounced and undocumented and this changed when the Department of State instituted a numbering scheme in 1907, starting retroactively with United States Executive Order 1 issued on October 20,1862, by President Abraham Lincoln. President Trumans Executive Order 10340 in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer,343 US579 placed all steel mills in the country under federal control. This was found invalid because it attempted to make law, rather than clarify or act to further a law put forth by the Congress or the Constitution, Presidents since this decision have generally been careful to cite which specific laws they are acting under when issuing new executive orders. Wars have been fought upon executive order, including the 1999 Kosovo War during Bill Clintons second term in office, however, all such wars have had authorizing resolutions from Congress. President Truman issued 907 executive orders, with 1,081 orders by Theodore Roosevelt,1,203 orders by Calvin Coolidge, Franklin D. Roosevelt has the distinction of making a record 3,522 executive orders. Prior to 1932, uncontested executive orders had determined such issues as national mourning on the death of a president, and the lowering of flags to half-staff. President Franklin Roosevelt issued the first of his 3,522 executive orders on March 6,1933, declaring a bank holiday, Executive Order 6102 forbade the hoarding of gold coin, bullion and gold certificates
11.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt, commonly known as FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. A Democrat, he won a record four presidential elections and emerged as a figure in world events during the mid-20th century. He directed the United States government during most of the Great Depression and he is often rated by scholars as one of the three greatest U. S. Presidents, along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Roosevelt was born in 1882 to an old, prominent Dutch family from Dutchess County and he attended the elite educational institutions of Groton School, Harvard College, and Columbia Law School. At age 23 in 1905, he married Eleanor Roosevelt, and he entered politics in 1910, serving in the New York State Senate, and then as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson. In 1920, Roosevelt was presidential candidate James M. Coxs running mate and he was in office from 1929 to 1933 and served as a reform governor, promoting the enactment of programs to combat the depression besetting the United States at the time. In the 1932 presidential election, Roosevelt defeated incumbent Republican president Herbert Hoover in a landslide to win the presidency, Roosevelt took office while in the United States was in the midst of the worst economic crisis in its history. Energized by his victory over polio, FDR relied on his persistent optimism and activism to renew the national spirit. He created numerous programs to support the unemployed and farmers, and to labor union growth while more closely regulating business. His support for the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 added to his popularity, the economy improved rapidly from 1933–37, but then relapsed into a deep recession in 1937–38. The bipartisan Conservative Coalition that formed in 1937 prevented his packing the Supreme Court, when the war began and unemployment ended, conservatives in Congress repealed the two major relief programs, the WPA and CCC. However, they kept most of the regulations on business, along with several smaller programs, major surviving programs include the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Wagner Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security. His goal was to make America the Arsenal of Democracy, which would supply munitions to the Allies, in March 1941, Roosevelt, with Congressional approval, provided Lend-Lease aid to Britain and China. He supervised the mobilization of the U. S. economy to support the war effort, as an active military leader, Roosevelt implemented a war strategy on two fronts that ended in the defeat of the Axis Powers and initiate the development of the worlds first atomic bomb. His work also influenced the creation of the United Nations. Roosevelts physical health declined during the war years, and he died 11 weeks into his fourth term. One of the oldest Dutch families in New York State, the Roosevelts distinguished themselves in other than politics. One ancestor, Isaac Roosevelt, had served with the New York militia during the American Revolution, Roosevelt attended events of the New York society Sons of the American Revolution, and joined the organization while he was president
12.
Adolph Alexander Weinman
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Adolph Alexander Weinman was a German-born American sculptor and architectural sculptor. Born in Durmersheim, near Karlsruhe, Germany, Weinman arrived in the United States at the age of 14. At the age of 15, he attended evening classes at Cooper Union and later studied at the Art Students League of New York with sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens and he later served as an assistant to Charles Niehaus, Olin Warner, and Daniel Chester French. Weinman opened his own studio in 1904, although Weinman is now best remembered as a medalist, when he once was introduced as such he vehemently denied being one and said that he was an architectural sculptor. Commission of Fine Arts from 1929 to 1933 and he died in Port Chester, New York, on August 8,1952. Following a mass at Manhattans St. Patricks Cathedral, he was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, Weinmans papers are at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art. His son Robert Weinman was also a sculptor, despite his objections, Weinman is still best remembered as the designer of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar and the Mercury dime along with various medals for the Armed Services of the United States. Among these are the identical reverses of the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Weinman was one of many sculptors and artists who employed Audrey Munson as a model. As an architectural sculptor, Weinmans work can be found on the Wisconsin, Missouri, supreme Court, all in Washington, D. C. Weinmans non-architectural works include the Macomb and the Maybury monuments in Detroit, another example of his non-architectural work is his Abraham Lincoln Statue located in the center of Hodgenville, Kentucky. Weinman was one of 250 sculptors who exhibited in the 3rd Sculpture International held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the summer of 1949, Weinmans works are mostly executed in a lyrical neoclassical style. His figures typically wear classical drapery, but there is a fluidity found in his work that is a harbinger of the Art Deco style that was to follow him and his bronze statuette The Nude Golfer epitomizes this style. This work evokes classical sculpture in its attention to anatomy and movement and the status of the athlete while the subject. Weinman also taught, among his pupils was Eleanor Mary Mellon, Union Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Wyman Park, Baltimore, Maryland. A replica of this is at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Alexander Johnston Cassatt, Pennsylvania Station, New York City. Abraham Lincoln, Kentucky State Capitol, Frankfort, Kentucky, william Cotter Maybury Memorial, Grand Circus Park, Detroit, Michigan. Descending Night, Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, California, samuel Rea, Pennsylvania Station, New York City. Fountain of the Centaurs, Missouri State Capitol, Jefferson City, pair of Lions, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland
13.
Service star
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The service star may also be referred to as a campaign star or battle star depending on which award is authorized the star and the manner in which the device is used for the award. Service stars, Campaign stars, and Battle stars are worn with one point of the star pointing up on the ribbon of a medal. A silver star is worn instead of five bronze stars, a service star is sometimes mistaken for a Bronze Star or Silver Star. The service star is similar to the gold and silver 5⁄16 Inch Stars which may be authorized to be worn on specific individual decorations of certain services to denote additional decorations. Service stars are authorized for the following United States expeditionary medals, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Navy Expeditionary Medal, Service stars are also authorized for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal effective February 9,2015 retroactive to September,11,2001. Each star represents a deployment in support of an approved GWOT operation, only one GWOT-EM is awarded for each operation. The five GWOT-EM approved operations by inclusive dates are, Enduring Freedom,11,2001 - TBD Iraqi Freedom, Mar.19,2003 - Aug.31, 2010Nomad Shadow, Nov.05,2007 - TBD New Dawn, Sep. 01,2010 - Dec.31,2011 Inherent Resolve, the bronze service star is also authorized for certain unit awards such as the Presidential Unit Citation to denote a second and subsequent award. The service ribbon itself indicates the first award, with a service star being added to indicate the second. If ever applicable, a service star is worn instead of five bronze stars. As a result, at least one star will be worn on the ribbon. However, though authorized for wear, no battle stars have been approved for wear, only a combatant commander can initiate a request for a battle star. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the approving authority, only one award of the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and one award of the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal may be authorized for any individual. The specific manner of wear and symbolism of the stars varied from medal to medal, for example, an American Campaign Medal with a bronze service star indicated the service member had participated in an antisubmarine campaign. On other medals, bronze service stars were used on the service ribbon for those recipients of medals in possession of authorized campaign claps for those medals. Similarly, during the Vietnam War and afterwards, the Battle Effectiveness Award took the place of receiving battle stars for superior battle efficiency in place of combat operations. Awards and decorations of the United States military United States military award devices 5/16 inch star Oak leaf cluster United States award regulations for World War II
14.
Seabee
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United States Naval Construction Battalions - better known as Seabees, a heterograph of the first initials - C. B. comprise US Naval Construction Forces. International law made it illegal for civilians to resist enemy attack, doing so would classify them as guerrillas, the Seabees would consist of skilled workers that would be trained to drop their tools if necessary and take up their weapons at a moments notice to defend themselves. The concept model, A USMC trained Battalion of construction tradesmen that would be capable of, any type of construction, anywhere needed and it was quickly realized that this model could be utilized in every theater of operations as it was seen to be flexible and adaptable. The use of USMC organization allowed for smooth co-ordination, integration or interface of both the NCF and the Marine Corps elements, in addition, Seabee Battalions could be deployed individually or in multiples as the project scope and scale dictated. What distinguishes Seabees from Combat Engineers are the skill sets, Combat Engineering is but a sub-set in the Seabee toolbox. They have a legacy of creative field ingenuity stretching from Normandy and Okinawa to Iraq. Seabees believe that anything they are tasked with they Can Do and they were unique at conception and remain so today. In 2017, the Seabees celebrated 75 years of service and have not changed from Admiral Ben Moreells conceptual model, as far back as the War of 1812, US Navy seamen were employed in large numbers for major shore construction. In 1813, Essex, under command of Captain David Porter, rounded Cape Horn from the Atlantic Ocean, after capturing several British ships he discovered that a British naval squadron had been sent to search for him. Needing to repair and prepare Essex and his squadron, he sailed for the Marquesas Islands to find a suitable site for him to build the US Navys first advanced base. During construction they were attacked by unfriendly natives, during which they would have to lay down their tools. It wasnt until World War I that Navy craftsmen would be employed in large number again, in 1917, the Twelfth Regiment was organized at Naval Training Station Great Lakes. This allowed the Public Works Department to grow to nearly 600 men by July 1917 and they were organized into the Twelfth Regiment, which was essentially the Public Works Department because staff officers could not exercise military command. Lieutenant William C. Davis was appointed commanding officer of the regiment, he exercised military control, in October 1917, the regiment began building Camp Paul Jones. With its completion, on 30 December 1917, the regiment became operational with 1,500 men organized into three battalions. By April 1918, the regiment consisted of 2,400 in five battalions, men were withdrawn for assignments in the US and abroad. In spring of 1918,100 men were given special mechanics and ordnance training before being sent to St. Nazaire, France, later they would join the gun crews and perform combat duties along the railway lines in proximity to the German lines. The Twelfth Regiment reached its peak strength 5 November 1918,55 officers and 6,211 enlisted men formed into 11 battalions, however, with the end of the war on 11 November 1918, the regiment gradually faded away by the end of 1918
15.
Arabic numerals
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In this numeral system, a sequence of digits such as 975 is read as a single number, using the position of the digit in the sequence to interpret its value. The symbol for zero is the key to the effectiveness of the system, the system was adopted by Arab mathematicians in Baghdad and passed on to the Arabs farther west. There is some evidence to suggest that the numerals in their current form developed from Arabic letters in the Maghreb, the current form of the numerals developed in North Africa, distinct in form from the Indian and eastern Arabic numerals. The use of Arabic numerals spread around the world through European trade, books, the term Arabic numerals is ambiguous. It most commonly refers to the widely used in Europe. Arabic numerals is also the name for the entire family of related numerals of Arabic. It may also be intended to mean the numerals used by Arabs and it would be more appropriate to refer to the Arabic numeral system, where the value of a digit in a number depends on its position. The decimal Hindu–Arabic numeral system was developed in India by AD700, the development was gradual, spanning several centuries, but the decisive step was probably provided by Brahmaguptas formulation of zero as a number in AD628. The system was revolutionary by including zero in positional notation, thereby limiting the number of digits to ten. It is considered an important milestone in the development of mathematics, one may distinguish between this positional system, which is identical throughout the family, and the precise glyphs used to write the numerals, which varied regionally. The glyphs most commonly used in conjunction with the Latin script since early modern times are 0123456789. The first universally accepted inscription containing the use of the 0 glyph in India is first recorded in the 9th century, in an inscription at Gwalior in Central India dated to 870. Numerous Indian documents on copper plates exist, with the symbol for zero in them, dated back as far as the 6th century AD. Inscriptions in Indonesia and Cambodia dating to AD683 have also been found and their work was principally responsible for the diffusion of the Indian system of numeration in the Middle East and the West. In the 10th century, Middle-Eastern mathematicians extended the decimal system to include fractions. The decimal point notation was introduced by Sind ibn Ali, who wrote the earliest treatise on Arabic numerals. Ghubar numerals themselves are probably of Roman origin, some popular myths have argued that the original forms of these symbols indicated their numeric value through the number of angles they contained, but no evidence exists of any such origin. In 825 Al-Khwārizmī wrote a treatise in Arabic, On the Calculation with Hindu Numerals, Algoritmi, the translators rendition of the authors name, gave rise to the word algorithm
16.
Arrowhead device
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A soldier must be assigned or attached as a member of an organized force carrying out an assigned tactical mission. A soldier must actually exit the aircraft or watercraft to receive assault credit, individual assault credit is tied directly to the combat assault credit decision for the unit to which the soldier is attached or assigned at the time of the assault. Should a unit be denied assault, no assault credit will accrue to the soldiers of the unit. No more than one arrowhead may be worn on a medal, as of 2004, the medals which are authorized the arrowhead device are as follows, The arrowhead device is a bronze replica of a Native American arrowhead 1/4 inch high. Awards and decorations of the United States military United States military award devices
17.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
18.
General of the Army (United States)
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General of the Army is a five-star general officer and the second highest possible rank in the United States Army. A General of the Army ranks immediately above a general and is equivalent to a fleet admiral, there is no established equivalent five-star rank in the other federal uniformed services. Often called a general, the rank of General of the Army has historically been reserved for wartime use and is not currently active in the U. S. military. The General of the Army insignia consisted of five 3/8th inch stars in a pentagonal pattern, the insignia is paired with the gold and enameled United States Coat of Arms on service coat shoulder loops. The silver colored five-star metal insignia alone would be worn for use as an insignia of grade. Soft shoulder epaulettes with five 7/16th inch stars in silver thread and gold-threaded United States Coat of Arms on green cloth were worn with shirts and sweaters. A special rank of General of the Armies, which ranks above General of the Army, exists but has been conferred only twice, to John J. Pershing and posthumously to George Washington. On July 25,1866, the U. S. Congress established the rank of General of the Army of the United States for General Ulysses S. Grant. His pay was four hundred dollars per month, and his allowance for fuel and quarters except when his headquarters are in Washington, when appointed General of the Army, Grant wore the rank insignia of four stars and coat buttons arranged in three groups of four. Unlike the World War II rank with a title, the 1866 rank of General of the Army was a four-star rank. This rank held all the authority and power of a 1799 proposal for a rank of General of the Armies even though Grant was never called by this title. In contrast to the modern rank of general, only one officer at a time could hold the 1866–1888 rank of General of the Army. After Grant became the U. S. president, he was succeeded as General of the Army by William T. Sherman, in 1872, Sherman ordered the insignia changed to two stars with the coat of arms of the United States in between. By an Act of June 1,1888, the grade was conferred upon Philip Sheridan, the rank of General of the Army ceased to exist with Sheridans death on August 5,1888. As the logistics and military leadership requirements of World War II escalated after the June 1944 Normandy Landings, the five-star rank and authority of General of the Army and equivalent naval fleet admiral was created by an Act of Congress on a temporary basis when Pub. L. 78–482 was passed on 14 December 1944, as a temporary rank, the temporary rank was then declared permanent 23 March 1946 by Pub. L. 79–333, which also awarded full pay and allowances in the grade to those on the retired list and it was created to give the most senior American commanders parity of rank with their British counterparts holding the ranks of field marshal and admiral of the fleet. This second General of the Army rank is not the same as the post-Civil War era version because of its purpose, the insignia for General of the Army, created in 1944, consists of five stars in a pentagonal pattern, with points touching
19.
Douglas MacArthur
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Douglas MacArthur was an American five-star general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and he received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Philippines Campaign, which made him and his father Arthur MacArthur, Jr. the first father and son to be awarded the medal. He was one of five men ever to rise to the rank of General of the Army in the US Army. During the 1914 United States occupation of Veracruz, he conducted a reconnaissance mission, in 1917, he was promoted from major to colonel and became chief of staff of the 42nd Division. From 1919 to 1922, MacArthur served as Superintendent of the U. S, Military Academy at West Point, where he attempted a series of reforms. His next assignment was in the Philippines, where in 1924 he was instrumental in quelling the Philippine Scout Mutiny, in 1925, he became the Armys youngest major general. He served on the martial of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell and was president of the American Olympic Committee during the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. In 1930, he became Chief of Staff of the United States Army, as such, he was involved in the expulsion of the Bonus Army protesters from Washington, D. C. in 1932, and the establishment and organization of the Civilian Conservation Corps. He retired from the US Army in 1937 to become Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines, MacArthur was recalled to active duty in 1941 as commander of United States Army Forces in the Far East. A series of disasters followed, starting with the destruction of his air forces on 8 December 1941, MacArthurs forces were soon compelled to withdraw to Bataan, where they held out until May 1942. In March 1942, MacArthur, his family and his staff left nearby Corregidor Island in PT boats and escaped to Australia, upon his arrival in Australia, MacArthur gave a speech in which he famously promised I shall return to the Philippines. For his defense of the Philippines, MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor, after more than two years of fighting in the Pacific, he fulfilled a promise to return to the Philippines. He officially accepted Japans surrender on 2 September 1945, aboard USS Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay, as the effective ruler of Japan, he oversaw sweeping economic, political and social changes. He led the United Nations Command in the Korean War until he was removed from command by President Harry S. Truman on 11 April 1951 and he later became Chairman of the Board of Remington Rand. A military brat, Douglas MacArthur was born 26 January 1880, at Little Rock Barracks, Little Rock, Arkansas, to Arthur MacArthur, Jr. a U. S. Army captain, Pinkney came from a prominent Norfolk, Virginia, family. Two of her brothers had fought for the South in the Civil War, Arthur and Pinky had three sons, of whom Douglas was the youngest, following Arthur III, born on 1 August 1876, and Malcolm, born on 17 October 1878. The family lived on a succession of Army posts in the American Old West, conditions were primitive, and Malcolm died of measles in 1883. In his memoir, Reminiscences, MacArthur wrote I learned to ride and shoot even before I could read or write—indeed and this time on the frontier ended in July 1889 when the family moved to Washington, D. C. where Douglas attended the Force Public School
20.
European theatre of World War II
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The Allied forces fought the Axis powers on two major fronts as well as in the adjoining Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre. Germany was humiliated in front of the world and had to pay very large war reparations, many Germans blamed their countrys post-war economic collapse and hyperinflation on the treatys conditions. After Hitler took Germany out of the League of Nations, Mussolini of Fascist Italy and Hitler formed the Rome-Berlin axis, later, Empire of Japan, under the government of Hideki Tojo, would also join as an Axis power. Japan and Germany had already signed the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1939, other smaller powers also later joined the Axis throughout the war. On September 17, the Soviet forces joined the invasion of Poland, the Polish government evacuated the country for Romania. Poland fell within five weeks, with its last large operational units surrendering on October 5 after the Battle of Kock, as the Polish September Campaign ended, Hitler offered to Britain and France peace on the basis of recognition of German European continental dominance. On October 12, the United Kingdom formally refused, despite the quick campaign in the east, along the Franco-German frontier the war settled into a quiet period. This relatively non-confrontational and mostly non-fighting period between the major powers lasted until May 10,1940, and was known as the Phoney War, several other countries, however, were drawn into the conflict at this time. By September 28,1939, the three Baltic Republics felt they had no choice but to permit Soviet bases and troops on their territory, the Baltic Republics were occupied by the Soviet army in June 1940, and finally annexed to the Soviet Union in August 1940. The Soviet Union wanted to annex Finland and offered an agreement, but Finland rejected it. In the Moscow Peace Treaty of March 12,1940, Finland ceded 10% of her territory, the Finns were embittered over having lost more land in the peace than on the battlefields, and over the perceived lack of world sympathy. Meanwhile, in western Scandinavia, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway in April 1940, sweden was able to remain neutral. Most Allied forces were in Flanders, anticipating a re-run of the World War I Schlieffen Plan, as a result of this, and also the superior German communications and tactics, the Battle of France was shorter than virtually all pre-war Allied thought could have conceived. It lasted six weeks, including the Luftwaffe bombing of Paris June 3, on June 10 Italy declared war on both France and the United Kingdom, but did not gain any significant success in this campaign. French government fled Paris, and soon, France surrendered on June 22, many French soldiers, as well as those of other occupied countries, escaped to Britain. The General de Gaulle proclaimed himself the leader of Free France. Following the unexpected victory, Hitler promoted 12 generals to the rank of field marshal during the 1940 Field Marshal Ceremony. Later, on April 24,1941, the USSR gave full recognition to the Vichy government situated in the non-occupied zone in France
21.
American Theater (World War II)
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The American Theater describes a series of mostly minor areas of operations during World War II. This was mainly due to both North and South Americas geographical separation from the theaters of conflict in Europe and Asia. Thus, any threat by the Axis Powers to invade the mainland United States or other areas was considered negligible, the best known events in North America during World War II were the Aleutian Islands Campaign, the Battle of the St. Lawrence, and the attacks on Newfoundland. Battle of the River Plate The first naval battle during the war was fought on December 13,1939 off the Atlantic coast of South America, the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee encountered one of the British naval units searching for her. Composed of three Royal Navy cruisers, the HMS Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles, the unit was patrolling off the River Plate estuary of Argentina, in a bloody engagement, the Graf Spee successfully repulsed the British attacks. Captain Hans Langsdorff then brought his ship to shelter in neutral Uruguay for repairs. German combat losses were 96 killed or wounded, against 72 British sailors killed and 28 wounded, two Royal Navy cruisers had been severely damaged, but it had cost the German navy one of its finest ships. Even before the war, a large Nazi spy ring was operating in the United States. The Duquesne Spy Ring is still the largest espionage case in United States history that ended in convictions. The 33 German agents who formed the Duquesne spy ring were placed in key jobs in the United States to get information that could be used in the event of war and to carry out acts of sabotage. William G. Sebold, an agent for the United States, was a major factor in the FBIs successful resolution of this case. For nearly two years, Sebold ran a radio station in New York for the ring. Sebold provided the FBI with information on what Germany was sending to its spies in the United States while allowing the FBI to control the information that was being transmitted to Germany. On June 29,1941, six months before the U. S. declared war, all 33 spies were arrested, found or plead guilty, and sentenced to serve a total of over 300 years in prison. After declaring war on the United States following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the responsibility for carrying this out was given to German Intelligence. In the spring of 1942, nine agents were recruited and divided into two teams, on June 12,1942, the German submarine U-202 landed Daschs team with explosives and plans at Amagansett, New York. Their mission was to power plants at Niagara Falls and three Aluminum Company of America factories in Illinois, Tennessee, and New York. However, Dasch instead turned himself in to the FBI, providing them with a complete list of his members and an account of the planned missions
22.
Japanese conquest of Burma
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The Japanese conquest of Burma was the opening chapter of the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II, which took place over four years from 1942 to 1945. Before the Second World War broke out, Burma was part of the British Empire, initially governed as part of British India, Burma was formed into a separate colony under the Government of India Act 1935. Under British rule, there had been substantial economic development but the majority Bamar community was becoming increasingly restive, when Burma came under attack, the Bamar were unwilling to contribute to the defence of the British establishment, and many readily joined movements which aided the Japanese. British plans for the defence of British Far Eastern possessions involved the construction of airfields linking Singapore and Malaya with India. These plans had not taken into account the fact that Britain was also at war with Germany, and when Japan entered the war, Burma had been regarded as a military backwater, unlikely to be subjected to Japanese threat. During the war, the British Indian Army expanded more than twelve-fold from its strength of 200,000. In most cases, such training and equipment as the Indian units in Burma received was for operations in the Western Desert campaign or the North West Frontier of India, rather than jungles. The battalions of the Burma Rifles which formed most of the 1st Burma Division were originally raised as internal security troops only and they also had been rapidly expanded, with an influx of Bamar soldiers, and were short of equipment and consisted mainly of new recruits. Japan entered the war primarily to obtain raw materials, especially oil, an additional factor was the Burma Road completed in 1938, which linked Lashio, at the end of a railway from the port of Rangoon, with the Chinese province of Yunnan. This newly completed link was being used to aid and munitions to the Chinese Nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-Shek which had been fighting the Japanese for several years. The Japanese naturally wished to cut this link, the army consisted initially of the highly regarded 33rd Division and the 55th Division, although both divisions were weakened for several weeks by detachments to other operations. As the threat of war grew, the Japanese sought links with potential allies in Burma, in late 1940 Aung San, a Burmese student activist, made contact with Japanese officers on Amoy and was flown to Japan for talks. He and several volunteers were later given intensive military training on Hainan Island. The Burma Independence Army was officially founded in Bangkok on 28 December 1941, the first Japanese attack in mid-January 1942 against Victoria Point, almost the most southerly point of Burma, was expected and was not contested. The second attack was a small probing raid directed at a station in southern Tenasserim. The Japanese 143 Infantry Regiment then launched attacks on the airfields at Tavoy. The airfields were difficult to defend and reinforce, but Burma Army HQ had been ordered to hold these outposts because of their importance to the defence of Malaya, the Japanese forced their way over the steep jungle-covered Tenasserim Range, and attacked Tavoy on 18 January. The defenders, the 3rd and 6th battalions of the Burma Rifles, were overwhelmed and forced to evacuate the town in disorder, Mergui was evacuated before it was attacked
23.
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
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The Pacific Ocean theater, during World War II, was a major theater of the war between the Allies and Japan. It officially came into existence on March 30,1942, when US Admiral Chester Nimitz was appointed Supreme Allied Commander Pacific Ocean Areas. In the other theatre in the Pacific region, known as the South West Pacific theatre. Both Nimitz and MacArthur were overseen by the US Joint Chiefs, most Japanese forces in the theater were part of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which was responsible for all Japanese warships, naval aircraft, and marine infantry units. The Rengō Kantai was led by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, until he was killed in an attack by U. S. fighter planes in April 1943, Yamamoto was succeeded by Admiral Mineichi Koga and Admiral Soemu Toyoda. The General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Army was responsible for Imperial Japanese Army ground and air units in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. The IJN and IJA did not formally use joint/combined staff at the level, and their command structures/geographical areas of operations overlapped each other. In the Pacific Ocean theater, Japanese forces fought primarily against the United States Navy, US Marine Corps, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and other Allied nations also contributed forces. Pacific Crucible, War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941–1942, the Official Chronology of the U. S. Navy in World War II. In the Service of the Emperor, Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army, a History of Us, War, Peace and all that Jazz. Kafka, Roger, Pepperburg, Roy L. Warships of the World, the Campaigns of the Pacific War
24.
Dutch East Indies campaign
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The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–42 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies by forces from the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Forces from the Allies attempted unsuccessfully to defend the islands, the East Indies were targeted by the Japanese for their rich oil resources which would become a vital asset during the war. The campaign and subsequent three and a half year Japanese occupation was also a factor in the end of Dutch colonial rule in the region. S. The oil made the enormously important to the Japanese, so they sought to secure the supply for themselves. In addition, the Dutch government in exile, at the urging of the Allies and with the support of Queen Wilhelmina, broke its economic treaty with Japan, Japans military and economic reserves included only a year and a halfs worth of oil. As a U. S. declaration of war against Japan was feared if the latter took the East Indies, Pacific Fleet, allowing them to overtake the islands, this led to the attack on Pearl Harbor. In late November, the East Indies government began preparing for war, ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy were sent to sea and this was in the hopes that the Dutch would not preemptively destroy oil installations before the Japanese were ready to invade. On 8 December 1941, in a proclamation, the Netherlands declared war on Japan. By 7,00 a. m. on the day of the attack, at that hour, the governor general made a public announcement over the radio that the Netherlands accepts the challenge and takes up arms against the Japanese Empire. Instructions had been telegraphed to the embassy in Tokyo at 2,30 a. m. even before news of the attack on Pearl Harbor had reached the Dutch government in London at 4,00. The instructions were received on the evening of the next day. Pabst, on the morning of 10 December, the Swedish ambassador agreed to handle Dutch interests for the duration of the conflict. The Dutch declaration did not alter the Japanese decision, and the declaration of war did not come until 11 January 1942. The tribunal rejected this, on the grounds that Japans sole intention was to give time to the Netherlands for destroying oil wells. They found that the Netherlands declaration was in self-defence, General Hisaichi Terauchi, commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group, began the campaign by sending the 16th Army under command of General Hitoshi Imamura to attack Borneo. On 17 December, Japanese forces successfully landed on Miri, an oil production centre in northern Sarawak, with support from a battleship, initially, the Japanese forces launched air strikes on key areas and gained air superiority. Following the airstrikes, landings were made at several locations targeting airfields, in addition to the landings at Miri, the Japanese forces made landings at Seria, Kuching, Jesselton and Sandakan between 15 December 1941 and 19 January 1942. After these main objectives in Borneo were completed, the Japanese forces planned a three-pronged assault southward using three forces named Eastern Force, Center Force and Western Force, the aim of this assault was to capture the oil resources in the East Indies
25.
China Burma India Theater
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China Burma India Theater was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India-Burma theaters. Operational command of Allied forces in the CBI was officially the responsibility of the Supreme Commanders for South East Asia or China, in 1941 the U. S. made a series of decisions to support China in its war with Japan. Lend Lease supplies were provided after President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the defense of China to be vital to the defense of the United States, over the summer, as Japan moved south into French Indo-China, the U. S. Britain and the Netherlands instituted an oil embargo on Japan, cutting off 90% of its supplies, Japan cut off Allied supplies to China that had been coming through Burma. China could be supplied only by flying over the Himalaya mountains from India, or capturing territory in Burma, in 1941 and 1942, Japan was overextended. Its naval base could not defend its conquests, and its base could not beef up the navy. To cut off China from Allied aid, it went into Burma, captured Rangoon on March 8,1942, moving north the Japanese took Tounggoo, Burma, then captured Lashio in upper Burma on April 29. The British, primarily concerned with India, looked to Burma as the theater of action against Japan. The overland supply route from India to China had to go through Burma, Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek realized it was all fantasy. On the other hand, there were vast sums of American dollars available if he collaborated and he did so and managed to feed his starving soldiers, but they were so poorly equipped and led that offensive operations against the Japanese in China were impossible. However, Chiang did release two Chinese armies for action in Burma under Stilwell. They were smashed by the Japanese and Stilwell, on foot, barely escaped to India, on April 14,1942, William Donovan, as Coordinator of Information, activated Detachment 101 for action behind enemy lines in Burma. Because Detachment 101 was never larger than a few hundred Americans, in particular, the vigorously anti-Japanese Kachin people were vital to the unit’s success. 101s efforts opened the way for Stilwells Chinese forces, Wingates Raiders, Merrills Marauders, US forces in the CBI were grouped together for administrative purposes under the command of General Joseph Vinegar Joe Stilwell. However, unlike other combat theaters, for example the European Theater of Operations, initially U. S. However, Stilwell often broke the chain of command and communicated directly with the US Joint Chiefs of Staff on operational matters. This continued after the formation of the South East Asia Command, Admiral Lord Mountbatten was appointed as the Supreme Allied Commander of South-East Asia forces in October 1943. However, in practice, Gen. Stilwell never agreed to this arrangement, as SEACs deputy leader, Stilwell was Giffards superior, but as operational commander of NCAC, Giffard was Stilwells superior. As the two men did not get on, this lead to conflict and confusion
26.
Air raids on Japan
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Allied forces conducted many air raids on Japan during World War II, causing extensive destruction to the countrys cities and killing between 241,000 and 900,000 people. During the first years of the Pacific War these attacks were limited to the Doolittle Raid in April 1942, Strategic bombing raids began in June 1944 and continued until the end of the war in August 1945. Allied naval and land-based tactical air units also attacked Japan during 1945, the United States military air campaign waged against Japan began in earnest in mid-1944 and intensified during the wars last months. While plans for attacks on Japan had been prepared prior to the Pacific War, from June 1944 until January 1945, B-29s stationed in India staged through bases in China to make a series of raids on Japan, but this effort proved unsuccessful. The strategic bombing campaign was expanded from November 1944 when bases in the Mariana Islands became available as a result of the Mariana Islands Campaign. Aircraft flying from Allied aircraft carriers and the Ryukyu Islands also frequently struck targets in Japan during 1945 in preparation for the invasion of Japan scheduled for October 1945. During early August 1945, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were struck, Japans military and civil defenses were unable to stop the Allied attacks. Fuel shortages, inadequate training, and a lack of coordination between units also constrained the effectiveness of the fighter force. Despite the vulnerability of Japanese cities to firebombing attacks, the firefighting services lacked training and equipment, as a result, the B-29s were able to inflict severe damage on urban areas while suffering few losses. The Allied bombing campaign was one of the factors which influenced the Japanese governments decision to surrender in mid-August 1945. However, there has been a debate over the morality of the attacks on Japanese cities. The most commonly cited estimate of Japanese casualties from the raids is 333,000 killed and 473,000 wounded, there are a number of other estimates of total fatalities, however, which range from 241,000 to 900,000. In addition to the loss of civilian life, the raids contributed to a large decline in industrial production. The United States Army Air Corps began developing plans for an air campaign against Japan during 1940. The first American Volunteer Group began operations as part of the Chinese Air Force in late 1941 using P-40 Warhawk fighter aircraft, a second American Volunteer Group was also formed in late 1941 to attack Japan from bases in China using Hudson and A-20 Havoc medium bombers. The attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 led to hostilities between the US and Japan and ended the need for covert operations, however, and this unit did not become active. The small number of Second Air Volunteer Group personnel who were dispatched from the United States in November 1941 were diverted to Australia upon the outbreak of war. Before the outbreak of war, the USAAF had planned to bomb Japan from Wake Island, Guam, the Philippines and coastal areas in China
27.
Aleutian Islands Campaign
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The islands strategic value was their ability to control Pacific transportation routes, which is why U. S. General Billy Mitchell stated to the U. S. Congress in 1935, I believe that in the future, I think it is the most important strategic place in the world. The Japanese reasoned that control of the Aleutians would prevent a possible U. S. attack across the Northern Pacific, similarly, the U. S. feared that the islands would be used as bases from which to launch aerial assaults against the West Coast. A battle to reclaim Attu was launched on May 11,1943, on 15 August 1943, an invasion force landed on Kiska in the wake of a sustained three-week barrage, only to discover that the Japanese had withdrawn from the island on July 29. The campaign is known as the Forgotten Battle, due to its being overshadowed by the simultaneous Guadalcanal Campaign, in the past, many Western military historians believed it was a diversionary or feint attack during the Battle of Midway, meant to draw out the U. S. Pacific Fleet from Midway Atoll, as it was launched simultaneously under the same commander, before Japan entered World War II, its Navy had gathered extensive information about the Aleutians, but it had no up-to-date information regarding military developments on the islands. With that force, Hosogaya was first to launch an air attack against Dutch Harbor, Hosogaya was instructed to destroy whatever American forces and facilities were found on Adak—the Japanese did not know the island was undefended. The naval commander was Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald, commanding Task Force 8 afloat, Task Force 8 consisted of five cruisers, thirteen destroyers, three tankers, six submarines, as well as naval aviation elements of Fleet Air Wing Four. Once the enemy planes were removed, Naval Task Force 8 would engage the enemy fleet, on the afternoon of 2 June, a naval patrol plane spotted the approaching Japanese fleet, reporting its location as 800 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor. Eleventh Air Force was placed on full alert, shortly thereafter bad weather set in, and no further sightings of the fleet were made that day. Making use of cover, the Japanese first raided the naval base at Dutch Harbor on June 3,1942. The striking force was composed of Nakajima B5N2 Kate torpedo bombers from the carriers Junyō, however, only half of the striking force reached their objective. The rest either became lost in the fog and darkness and crashed into the sea or returned to their carriers, seventeen Japanese planes found the naval base, the first arriving at 05,45. Startled by the American response, the Japanese quickly released their bombs, made a strafing run. As a result, they did damage to the base. On June 4, the Japanese returned to Dutch Harbor and this time the Japanese pilots were better organized and prepared. When the attack ended that afternoon Dutch Harbor oil storage tanks were burning, the partly demolished. However, the weather in turn caused the Japanese to cancel plans to invade Adak with 1,200 men
28.
Second Sino-Japanese War
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The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan from July 7,1937 to September 9,1945. The First Sino-Japanese War was fought from 1894 to 1895, China fought Japan, with some economic help from Germany, the Soviet Union and the United States. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the war merged into the conflict of World War II as a major front of what is broadly known as the Pacific War. Many scholars consider the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 to have been the beginning of World War II, the Second Sino-Japanese War was the largest Asian war in the 20th century. The war was the result of a decades-long Japanese imperialist policy to expand its influence politically and militarily in order to access to raw material reserves, food. The period after World War One brought about increasing stress on the Japanese polity, leftists sought universal suffrage and greater rights for workers. Increasing textile production from Chinese mills was adversely affecting Japanese production, the Depression brought about a large slowdown in exports. All of this contributed to militant nationalism, culminating in the rise to power of a militarist fascist faction and this faction was led at its height by the Imperial Rule Assistance Associations Hideki Tojo cabinet under the edict from Emperor Shōwa. Before 1937, China and Japan fought in small, localized engagements, the last of these incidents was the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, which is traditionally seen as the beginning of total war between the two countries. Since 2017 the Chinese Government has regarded the invasion of Manchuria by the Kwantung Army in 1931, initially the Japanese scored major victories, such as the Battle of Shanghai, and by the end of 1937 captured the Chinese capital of Nanjing. After failing to stop the Japanese in Wuhan, the Chinese central government was relocated to Chongqing in the Chinese interior, by 1939, after Chinese victories in Changsha and Guangxi, and with Japans lines of communications stretched deep into the Chinese interior, the war reached a stalemate. The Japanese were also unable to defeat the Chinese communist forces in Shaanxi, on December 7,1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the following day the United States declared war on Japan. The United States began to aid China via airlift matériel over the Himalayas after the Allied defeat in Burma that closed the Burma Road, in 1944 Japan launched the invasion, Operation Ichi-Go, that conquered Henan and Changsha. However, this failed to bring about the surrender of Chinese forces, in 1945, the Chinese Expeditionary Force resumed its advance in Burma and completed the Ledo Road linking India to China. At the same time, China launched large counteroffensives in South China and retook the west Hunan, the remaining Japanese occupation forces formally surrendered on September 9,1945 with the following International Military Tribunal for the Far East convened on April 29,1946. China was recognized as one of the Big Four of Allies during the war, in the Chinese language, the war is most commonly known as the War of Resistance Against Japan, and also known as the Eight Years War of Resistance, simply War of Resistance. It is also referred to as part of the Global Anti-Fascist War, which is how World War 2 is perceived by the Communist Party of China, in Japan, nowadays, the name Japan–China War is most commonly used because of its perceived objectivity. In Japan today, it is written as 日中戦争 in shinjitai, the word incident was used by Japan, as neither country had made a formal declaration of war
29.
Guadalcanal Campaign
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It was the first major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan. The Allies also intended to use Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases to support a campaign to capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. Powerful American and Australian naval forces supported the landings, surprised by the Allied offensive, the Japanese made several attempts between August and November to retake Henderson Field. In December, the Japanese abandoned their efforts to retake Guadalcanal and evacuated their forces by 7 February 1943. The Guadalcanal campaign was a significant strategic combined arms Allied victory in the Pacific theater, along with the Battle of Midway, it has been called a turning point in the war against Japan. The Japanese had reached the peak of their conquests in the Pacific, on 7 December 1941, Japanese forces attacked the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack crippled much of the U. S. battleship fleet and precipitated an open, to further those goals, Japanese forces captured the Philippines, Thailand, Malaya, Singapore, Burma, the Dutch East Indies, Wake Island, Gilbert Islands, New Britain and Guam. Joining the U. S. in the war against Japan were the rest of the Allied powers, several of whom, including the United Kingdom, Australia, coral Sea was a tactical stalemate, but a strategic Allied victory which became clear only much later. Up to this point, the Allies had been on the defensive in the Pacific, originally the objectives were the occupation of the Santa Cruz Islands, codenamed Huddle, Tulagi, codenamed Watchtower, and adjacent positions. Guadalcanal, eventually the focus of the operation, was not even mentioned in the early directive, the Imperial Japanese Navy had occupied Tulagi in May 1942 and had constructed a seaplane base nearby. By August 1942, the Japanese had about 900 naval troops on Tulagi and these bases would protect Japans major base at Rabaul, threaten Allied supply and communication lines and establish a staging area for a planned offensive against Fiji, New Caledonia and Samoa. The Japanese planned to deploy 45 fighters and 60 bombers to Guadalcanal, in the overall strategy for 1942 these aircraft could provide air cover for Japanese naval forces advancing farther into the South Pacific. The Allied plan to invade the southern Solomons was conceived by U. S. Admiral Ernest King, Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. He proposed the offensive to deny the use of the islands by the Japanese as bases to threaten the supply routes between the United States and Australia and to use them as starting points. With US President Franklin D. Roosevelts tacit consent, King also advocated the invasion of Guadalcanal, an early obstacle was a desire by both the Army and Roosevelt to initiate action in Europe. The directive held that the goal was the American reconquest of the Philippines. Joint Chiefs of Staff created the South Pacific theater, with Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley taking command on 19 June 1942, Admiral Chester Nimitz, based at Pearl Harbor, was designated as overall Allied commander in chief for Pacific forces. In preparation for the offensive in the Pacific in May 1942, other Allied land, naval and air force units were sent to establish or reinforce bases in Fiji, Samoa, New Hebrides and New Caledonia
30.
New Guinea campaign
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The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. The campaign resulted in a defeat and very heavy losses for Empire of Japan. As in most Pacific War campaigns, disease and starvation claimed more Japanese lives than enemy action, most Japanese troops never even came into contact with Allied forces, and were instead simply cut off and subjected to an effective blockade by the US Navy. Garrisons were effectively besieged and denied shipments of food and medical supplies, according to John Laffin, the campaign. was arguably the most arduous fought by any Allied troops during World War II. The struggle for New Guinea began with the capture by the Japanese of the city of Rabaul at the tip of New Britain Island in January 1942. Rabaul overlooks Simpson Harbor, a natural anchorage, and was ideal for the construction of airfields. Over the next year, the Japanese built up the area into a major air, the Japanese 8th Area Army, under General Hitoshi Imamura at Rabaul, was responsible for both the New Guinea and Solomon Islands campaigns. The Japanese 18th Army, under Lieutenant General Hatazō Adachi, was responsible for Japanese operations on mainland New Guinea, the colonial capital of Port Moresby on the south coast of Papua was the strategic key for the Japanese in this area of operations. Capturing it would both neutralize the Allies principal forward base and serve as a springboard for the invasion of Australia, for the same reasons, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander Allied Forces South West Pacific Area was determined to hold it. MacArthur was further determined to conquer all of New Guinea in his progress toward the eventual recapture of the Philippines, General Headquarters Southwest Pacific Area Operational Instruction No. Due north of Port Moresby, on the northeast coast of Papua, are Huon Gulf, the Japanese entered Lae and Salamaua, two locations on Huon Gulf, unopposed in early March 1942. MacArthur would have liked to deny this area to the Japanese, the Japanese at Rabaul and other bases on New Britain would have easily overwhelmed any such effort. Operation Mo was the designation given by the Japanese to their plan to take possession of Port Moresby. After this failure, the Japanese decided on a longer term, simultaneous operations from these two locations, one amphibious and one overland, would converge on the target city. Buna was easily taken as the Allies had no presence there. The Japanese occupied the village with a force of 1,500 on 21 July. Then began the grueling Kokoda Track campaign, an experience for both the Japanese and Australian troops involved. On 17 September, the Japanese had reached the village of Ioribaiwa, the Australians held firm and began their counterdrive on 26 September. the Japanese retreat down the Kokoda Trail had turned into a rout
31.
Solomon Islands campaign
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The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea. In a campaign of attrition fought on land, on sea, and in the air, the Allies retook some of the Solomon Islands, and they also isolated and neutralized some Japanese positions, which were then bypassed. The Solomon Islands campaign then converged with the New Guinea campaign, on December 7,1941, after failing to resolve a dispute with the United States over Japans actions in China and French Indochina, the Japanese attacked the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack crippled most of the U. S, Pacific Fleets battleships and started a formal state of war between the two nations. In launching this war, Japanese leaders sought to neutralize the U. S. fleet, seize possessions rich in natural resources, and obtain strategic military bases to defend their far-flung empire. Anchoring its defensive positions in the South Pacific was the major Japanese army and navy base at Rabaul, New Britain, which had been captured from the Australians in January 1942. In March and April, Japanese forces occupied and began constructing an airfield at Buka in northern Bougainville, as well as an airfield, in April 1942, the Japanese army and navy together initiated Operation Mo, a joint plan to capture Port Moresby in New Guinea. Also part of the plan was an operation to capture Tulagi in the southern Solomons. The Japanese Navy also proposed an invasion of Australia. Japanese naval forces successfully captured Tulagi but its invasion of Port Moresby was repulsed at the Battle of the Coral Sea, shortly thereafter, the Japanese navy established small garrisons on the other northern and central Solomon Islands. One month later, the Japanese Combined Fleet lost four of its aircraft carriers at the Battle of Midway. The Allies countered the threats to Australia by a build-up of troops and aircraft, with the aim of implementing plans to approach and reconquer the Philippines. In March 1942 Admiral Ernest King, then Commander-in Chief of the U. S. Fleet, had advocated an offense from New Hebrides through the Solomon Islands to the Bismarck Archipelago. The United States Navy advocated a gradual approach from New Guinea. These competing proposals were resolved by Admiral King and U. S. Army Chief of Staff General George C, Marshall, who adopted a three-task plan. Task One was the capture of the island of Tulagi in the Solomons, task Two was an advance along the New Guinea coast. Task Three was the capture of Rabaul, task One, implemented by a directive of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on 2 July 1942 and named the initial attacks Operation Watchtower, became the Solomon Islands campaign
32.
Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign
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They were the first steps of the drive across the central Pacific by the United States Pacific Fleet and Marine Corps. The purpose was to establish airfields and naval bases that would allow air, operations Galvanic and Kourbash were the code names for the Gilberts campaign that included the seizures of Tarawa and Makin. Operations Flintlock and Catchpole were aimed at capturing Japanese Bases at Kwajalein, Eniwetok, the Imperial Japanese Navy occupied the Gilbert Islands three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. They built a base on Makin and dispersed troops along the coastlines of the atolls to monitor the Allied forces movement in the South Pacific. Approximately 220 miles northwest of the Gilbert Islands, the Marshall Islands were also occupied by the Japanese, Allied commanders knew that an eventual surrender of Japan would require penetration of these islands. While commander of the U. S. Army General Douglas MacArthur wanted to push towards the Philippines via New Guinea and these outer islands included the atolls of Tarawa and Makin in the Gilberts, and Majuro, Kwajalein, and Eniwetok in the Marshalls. Following Carlsons Raiders diversionary Makin Island raid and the defeat at Guadalcanal, fortifications were quickly improved by the Japanese, starting in March 1943. Makin Atoll had a base built on the main island of Butaritari, while Tarawa housed barely enough room for an airfield on its largest island. Lieutenant Junior Grade Seizo Ishikawa, the Japanese commander in charge of defending Makin and these included 8-inch coastal defense guns, 37-mm anti-tank gun positions, machine gun emplacements, rifle pits, 15-foot deep tank barriers with anti-tank guns, and barbed wire. These were designed to hold the island until reinforcements could arrive, on Tarawa, Shibasaki Keiji had 4,836 troops, including around 2,600 Special Naval Landing Forces,1,000 Japanese construction workers, and 1,200 Korean laborers. He planned to use units to primarily defend Betio, the largest island in the atoll. Betio was the site of a crucial Japanese airfield, after the Gilberts fell to the Americans in late November 1943, Admiral Mineichi Koga of the Japanese Combined Fleet was unsure of which islands the Americans would strike. Without any carrier aircraft to him, he ordered Admiral Masashi Kobayashi to disperse his 28,000 troops primarily to the outer islands of Maloelap, Wotje, Jaliuit. However, Allied intelligence intercepted Imperial code, informing the Americans of which islands were heavily defended. The Americans decided to invade the least protected but strategically important islands of Majuro, Kwajalein, as early as November, B-24s from the 7th Air Force stationed in the Ellice Islands had flown bombing missions over Mili and Maloelap. Four transports and fifty Japanese aircraft were lost, but the attack lacked strategic value, fearing a counterattack from Wotje, Pownall ordered a second strike against the island. The Japanese did counterattack via a bombing strike, in which Lexington sustained a torpedo hit but was not sunk. The task force returned to Pearl Harbor
33.
Operation Dexterity
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Operation Dexterity was a military operation, part of Operation Cartwheel in the South West Pacific Area for the Allies in the Pacific theater of World War II. The operation was directed by the Supreme Allied Commander in the SWPA, the operation ended on 10 February 1944. The Empire of Japan had largely achieved its objectives in the Pacific region in the spring of 1942, further Japanese offensives against the Allied lines were planned to force them into a single decisive battle and then request negotiations for their surrender. The allies in the South Pacific began their first counter-offensive against the Japanese-held island Guadalcanal in August 1942, to keep the Japanese cowed and begin the Allied advance towards the Japanese home islands, the Allied military leadership envisaged an advance through the Pacific over two main lines of attack. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz would lead Allied forces in the Pacific, landings along the coast of New Guinea were planned which constituted the first step towards a return to the Philippines and the conquest of the Gilbert Islands. The operation in New Guinea was known as Operation Cartwheel which began on 30 June 1943 with the objective to conquer New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and Rabaul. Until mid-September 1943, the focused on the eastern part of New Guinea. This operation was never undertaken and replaced by Operation Director, units, 126th Regimental Combat Team and elements of the 32nd Infantry Division and the Sixth Army. Operation Director – Landing in southwestern New Britain at Arawe as a diversion for Operation Backhander, units, 112th Regimental Combat Team Operation Backhander – Landing in northwestern New Britain at Cape Gloucester to capture local Japanese airfields and convert them into a major Allied airbase. Operation Michaelmas – Landing in New Guinea at Saidor to prevent the withdrawal of Japanese troops retreating in the advance of the Australian Army from Finschhafen, the hot, tropical climate was rarely ameliorated by the torrential rain storms and dense clouds which afflicted the region. The high command of the 8th Area Army of the Japanese Imperial Army in Rabaul controlled the Japanese actions in the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the 8th Area Army was commanded by General Hitoshi Imamura who had at his disposal nearly 200,000 men. General Imamura therefore foresaw an attack on New Britain, at the latest after the Allies had occupied New Ireland, the 8th Area Army relied exclusively on barge and submarine traffic from Rabaul to New Guinea, because of Allied air superiority. General Matsuda, an experienced officer, established his headquarters near the airfield of Cape Gloucester. General Sakai set up his headquarters at Malalia in the vicinity of Cape Hoskins on the East Williaumez Peninsula, the 17th Divisions troops began immediately ordering the expansions of the defensive lines. The Japanese headquarters was established in a concrete bunker at the foot of Talawe Mountain. Smaller bunkers and shelters for machine gun positions were sited at possible Allied landing beaches five miles southeast of Cape Gloucester, two hills known later as Target-Hill and Hill 660 served as focal points for the Japanese defenses. Thus about half of all available Japanese troops in the west of the island were in positions that could contribute to the defense of Cape Gloucester. On 12 December 1943, General Yasushi Sakai advised all commanders of his units about an imminent Allied invasion, the large volumes of Allied landing ships along the ports of New Guinea did not convince the Japanese of the scheduled operations of Allied forces
34.
Mariana and Palau Islands campaign
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Beginning the offensive, United States Marine Corps and United States Army forces, with support from the United States Navy, executed landings on Saipan in June,1944. In response, the Imperial Japanese Navys combined fleet sortied to attack the U. S. Navy fleet supporting the landings, thereafter, U. S. forces executed landings on Guam and Tinian in July,1944. After heavy fighting, Saipan was secured in July and Guam, after heavy and intense combat on Peleliu, the island was finally secured by U. S. forces in November,1944. Battle of Angaur Battle of Guam Battle of Peleliu Battle of Saipan Battle of Tinian West Loch Disaster DAlbas, death of a Navy, Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Hold the Marianas, The Japanese Defense of the Mariana Islands, an Allied Interpretation of the Pacific War. In the Service of the Emperor, Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army, a Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941–1945. The Liberation of Guam 21 July–10 August, nautical & Aviation Pub Co of Amer. Goldberg, Harold J. D-day in the Pacific, The Battle of Saipan, the Devils Anvil, The Assault on Peleliu. New Guinea and the Marianas, March 1944–August 1944, vol.8 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, champaign, Illinois, USA, University of Illinois Press. Ross, Bill D. Peleliu, Tragic Triumph, Saipan & Tinian 1944, Piercing the Japanese Empire. Peleliu 1944, The Forgotten Corner of Hell, brotherhood of Heroes, The Marines at Peleliu,1944, The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War. Carrier Battles, Command Decision in Harms Way, to the Far Side of Hell, The Battle for Peleliu,1944. The Marianas and the Great Turkey Shoot, the Amphibians Came to Conquer, The Story of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner. Breaching the Marianas, The Battle for Saipan Hoffman, Major Carl W. USMC, Saipan, The Beginning of the End. Historical Branch, United States Marine Corps, cS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list Anderson, Charles R. U. S. Army Campaigns of World War II, United States Army Center of Military History. Lodge, Major O. R. USMC Historical Monograph, The Recapture of Guam, Historical Branch, United States Marine Corps,1954. OBrien, Cyril J. Liberation, Marines in the Recapture of Guam, Marines in World War II Commemorative Series, Marine Corps Historical Center, USCM Historical Monograph, The Seizure of Tinian Chen, C
35.
Battle of Leyte
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Japan had conquered the Philippines in 1942. Controlling it was vital for Japans survival in World War II because it commanded sea routes to Borneo and Sumatra by which rubber, for the US, capturing the Philippines was a key strategic step in isolating Imperial Japans military holdings in China and the Pacific theater. It was also a matter of pride for MacArthur. Those relief forces were non-existent, Roosevelts true intentions in ordering MacArthur to flee the Philippines had been to prevent his capture by the Japanese, still, MacArthur had vowed that he would return to the Philippines. He repeatedly stated that it was an obligation of the US to liberate the Philippines as soon as possible. In March 1944, the Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered MacArthur to plan an attack on the southern Philippines by the end of the year, halsey then recommended a direct strike on Leyte, canceling other planned operations, and the Leyte invasion date moved forward to October. Leyte, one of the islands of the Philippines, has numerous deep-water approaches and sandy beaches which offered opportunities for amphibious assaults. American air forces based on Leyte could strike at enemy bases, a heavily forested north-south mountain range dominates the interior and separates two sizable valleys, or coastal plains. The larger Leyte Valley extends from the northern coast to the eastern shore and contains most of the towns. This continued south to the port of Ormoc City, then along the shore to Baybay town. The road then turned east to cross the mountainous waist of the island, below these towns, the mountainous southern third of Leyte was mostly undeveloped. High mountain peaks over 4,400 ft, as well as the jagged outcroppings, ravines, the timing late in the year of the assault would force combat troops and supporting pilots, as well as logistical units, to contend with monsoon rains. Japanese troop strength on Leyte was estimated by US intelligence at 20,000, preliminary operations for the Leyte invasion began at dawn on 17 October with minesweeping tasks and the movement of the 6th Rangers toward three small islands in Leyte Gulf. Although delayed by a storm, the Rangers were on Suluan, on Suluan, they dispersed a small group of Japanese defenders and destroyed a radio station, while they found Dinagat unoccupied. The next day, the third island Homonhon, was taken without any opposition, on Dinagat and Homonhom, the Rangers proceeded to erect navigation lights for the amphibious transports to follow. Meanwhile, reconnaissance by underwater demolition teams revealed clear landing beaches for assault troops on Leyte, independently, the 21st Infantry Regiment on 20 Oct. landed on Panaon Strait to control the entrance to Sogod Bay. Following four hours of naval gunfire on A-day,20 October. X Corps pushed across a 4 mi stretch of beach between Tacloban airfield and the Palo River,15 mi to the south, XXIV Corps units came ashore across a 3 mi strand between San José and the Daguitan River
36.
Battle of Luzon
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The battle resulted in a U. S. and Filipino victory. The Philippines were considered to be of strategic importance because their capture by Japan would pose a significant threat to the U. S. As a result,135,000 troops and 227 aircraft were stationed in the Philippines by October 1941, however, Luzon—the largest island in the Philippines—was captured by Imperial Japanese forces in 1942 during their campaign to capture the Philippines. General Douglas MacArthur—who was in charge of the defense of the Philippines at the time—was ordered to Australia, a few months after this, MacArthur expressed his belief that an attempt to recapture the Philippines was necessary. Pacific Commander Admiral Chester Nimitz and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest King both opposed this idea, arguing that it must wait until victory was certain, MacArthur had to wait two years for his wish, it was 1944 before a campaign to recapture the Philippines was launched. The island of Leyte was the first objective of the campaign and this was followed by the attack on Mindoro, and later, Luzon. Before U. S. forces could launch the attack on Luzon, airbases in particular had to be established in order to provide the advancing troops with air support. Troops under Brigadier General William C, dunckel captured the island of Mindoro, with the assistance of the 7th Fleet. By 28 December, two airbases were controlled by the U. S. and were ready to assist in the attack on Luzon, with the capture of Mindoro, U. S. forces were positioned south of Luzon. However, MacArthur intended to land his forces at Lingayen, further north and this would place his troops close to several roads and railways on Luzon, which led to Manila—the main objective—through the plains in the center of the island. U. S. aircraft constantly made reconnaissance and bombing flights over southern Luzon, in addition, transport aircraft were used to make parachute drops with dummies. Minesweepers were used to clear the bays of Balayan, Batangas, and Tayabas, located to the south of Luzon, the assault on Luzon was launched, as planned, on 9 January 1945, codenamed S-day. The Japanese forces reported more than 70 Allied warships entering the Lingayen Gulf, pre-assault bombardment of Japanese shore positions from these ships began at 7,00. The landings were commenced an hour later, the landing forces faced strong opposition from Japanese kamikaze aircraft. The escort carrier Ommaney Bay was destroyed by an attack, while a destroyer. Aircraft from the 3rd Fleet assisted the landings with close air support, the landings at the Lingayen Gulf on 9 January were carried out by the 6th Army under the command of General Walter Krueger. Approximately 175,000 troops from the 6th Army landed along the 20-mile beachhead within a few days, XIV Corps under General Oscar Griswold then advanced south toward Manila, despite Kruegers concerns that his eastern flank was unprotected and vulnerable if the Japanese forces attacked. However, no attack occurred, and the U. S. forces did not meet much resistance until they reached the Clark Air Base on 23 January
37.
Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay
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The concurrent Battle of Meiktila and Battle of Mandalay were decisive engagements near the end of the Burma Campaign. Collectively, they are referred to as the Battle of Central Burma. Despite logistical difficulties, the Allies were able to large armoured and mechanised forces in Central Burma. Most of the Japanese forces in Burma were destroyed during the battles, allowing the Allies to later recapture the capital, Rangoon, in 1944, the Japanese had sustained several defeats in the mountainous frontier regions of Burma. In particular, at the Battle of Imphal and Battle of Kohima, the heavy Japanese defeat prompted them to make sweeping changes among their commanders and senior staff officers in Burma. On 1 September 1944, Lieutenant General Hyotaro Kimura was appointed commander of the Burma Area Army, at this stage of the war, the Japanese were in retreat on most fronts and were concentrating their resources for the defence of the homeland. Kimura had formerly been Vice-Minister for War, and had held posts with responsibility for mobilising Japanese industry for the war effort. It was hoped that he could use the fields, factories. Lieutenant General Shinichi Tanaka was appointed to be Kimuras Chief of Staff and he had formerly commanded the 18th Infantry Division in Northern Burma, and had a reputation for inflexible determination. Japanese losses in Burma and India in 1944 had been catastrophic and they were made up with drafts of conscripts, many of whom were not of the best physical categories. Kimuras staff decreed that their divisions in Burma should have a strength of 10,000, to face massed Allied armour, they would be forced to deploy their field artillery in the front line, which would affect their ability to give concentrated fire support to the infantry. Expedients such as mines, or suicide attacks by men wearing explosive charges, were not effective if the enemy tanks were closely supported by infantry. Their 5th Air Division, deployed in Burma, had reduced to only a few dozen aircraft to face 1,200 Allied aircraft. Their 14th Tank Regiment possessed only 20 tanks, Kimura accepted that his forces stood little chance against the numerically and materially superior Allies in open terrain. He hoped that the Allies would be overstretched trying to overcome this obstacle, the Allied South East Asia Command had begun making plans to reconquer Burma as early as June 1944. One was to reoccupy Northern Burma only, to allow the Ledo Road to be completed, thus linking India and this was rejected, as it could use only a fraction of the available forces and fulfilled only an out-of-date strategic aim. A second option was to capture Rangoon, the capital and main seaport and this was also impractical, as it would require landing craft and other resources which would not be available until the end of the War in Europe. By default, the plan adopted was for an offensive into Central Burma by the British Fourteenth Army under Lieutenant General William Slim, to reconquer Burma from the north
38.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
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The attack, also known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor, led to the United States entry into World War II. The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI, Japan intended the attack as a preventive action to keep the U. S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions they planned in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. Over the next seven hours there were coordinated Japanese attacks on the U. S. -held Philippines, Guam and Wake Island and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, the attack commenced at 7,48 a. m. The base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese fighter planes, bombers, all eight U. S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four sunk. All but the USS Arizona were later raised, and six were returned to service, the Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U. S. aircraft were destroyed,2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Important base installations such as the station, shipyard, maintenance. Japanese losses were light,29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, one Japanese sailor, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured. The surprise attack came as a shock to the American people. The following day, December 8, the United States declared war on Japan, the U. S. responded with a declaration of war against Germany and Italy. Domestic support for non-interventionism, which had been fading since the Fall of France in 1940, Roosevelt to proclaim December 7,1941, a date which will live in infamy. Because the attack happened without a declaration of war and without explicit warning, over the next decade, Japan continued to expand into China, leading to all-out war between those countries in 1937. Japan spent considerable effort trying to isolate China and achieve sufficient resource independence to attain victory on the mainland, from December 1937, events such as the Japanese attack on USS Panay, the Allison incident, and the Nanking Massacre swung public opinion in the West sharply against Japan. Fearing Japanese expansion, the United States, the United Kingdom, in 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina in an effort to control supplies reaching China. The United States halted shipments of airplanes, parts, machine tools, and aviation gasoline to Japan, an invasion of the Philippines was also considered necessary by Japanese war planners. War Plan Orange had envisioned defending the Philippines with a 40 and this was opposed by Douglas MacArthur, who felt that he would need a force ten times that size, and was never implemented. By 1941, U. S. planners anticipated abandonment of the Philippines at the outbreak of war and orders to that effect were given in late 1941 to Admiral Thomas Hart, commander of the Asiatic Fleet
39.
Battle of Wake Island
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The Battle of Wake Island began simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor and ended on 23 December 1941, with the surrender of the American forces to the Empire of Japan. The island was held by the Japanese for the duration of the Pacific War, in January 1941, the United States Navy constructed a military base on the atoll. On 19 August, the first permanent military garrison, understrength elements of the 1st Marine Defense Battalion, totaling 450 officers and men, were stationed on the island, under Major James P. S. The defense battalion was supplemented by Marine Corps fighter squadron VMF-211, consisting of 12 F4F-3 Wildcat fighters, also, present on the island were 68 U. S. Navy personnel and about 1,221 civilian workers for the Morrison-Knudsen Civil Engineering Company. Forty-five Chamorro men were employed by Pan American Airways at the facilities in Wake Island. On 28 November, Commander Winfield S. Cunningham reported to Wake to assume command of U. S. forces on the island. He had only 10 days to examine the defenses and assess his men before war broke out, the remaining four Wildcats were in the air patrolling, but because of poor visibility, failed to see the attacking Japanese bombers. These Wildcats did down two bombers on the following day, all of the Marine garrisons defensive emplacements were left intact by the raid, which primarily targeted the aircraft. Of the 55 Marine aviation personnel,23 were killed and 11 were wounded, following this attack, the Pan Am employees were evacuated, along with the passengers of a Clipper flying boat that had survived the attack unscathed. The Chamorro men were not allowed to board the plane and were left behind, the main camp was targeted on 9 December, destroying the civilian hospital and the Pan Am facility. The next day, bombers focused on Wilkes Island, following the raid on 9 December, the guns had been relocated in case the Japanese had photographed the positions. Wooden replicas were erected in their place, and the Japanese bombers attacked the decoy positions, a lucky strike on a civilian dynamite supply set off a chain reaction and destroyed the munitions for the guns on Wilkes. Marines fired at the fleet with their six 5-inch coast-defense guns. Major Devereux, the Marine commander under Cunningham, ordered the gunners to hold their fire until the enemy moved within range of the coastal defenses, yubaris superstructure was hit 11 times. The four Wildcats also succeeded in sinking the destroyer Kisaragi by dropping a bomb on her stern where the charges were stored. Both Japanese destroyers were lost with all hands, with Hayate becoming the first Japanese surface warship to be sunk in the war. The Japanese force withdrew without landing and this was the first Japanese setback of the war against the Americans. After the initial raid was fought off, American news media reported that, in fact, Cunningham sent a long list of critical equipment—including gunsights, spare parts, and fire-control radar—to his immediate superior, Commandant, 14th Naval District
40.
Johnston Atoll
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Johnston Atoll, also known as Kalama Atoll to Native Hawaiians, is an unincorporated territory of the United States currently administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Public entry is only by special-use permit from the U. S. Fish, for nearly 70 years, the atoll was under the control of the American military. These activities left the area environmentally contaminated and remediation and monitoring continue, the Johnston Atoll is a deserted 1,300 ha atoll in the North Pacific Ocean located about 750 nmi southwest of the island of Hawaii and is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. The atoll, which is located on a coral platform, has four islands. Johnston Island and Sand Island are both enlarged natural features, while Akau and Hikina are two artificial islands formed by coral dredging, the four islands compose a total land area of 2.67 square kilometres. Due to the tilt, much of the reef on the southeast portion has subsided. But even though it not have an encircling reef crest. The climate is tropical but generally dry, northeast trade winds are consistent and there is little seasonal temperature variation. With elevation ranging from sea level to 5 m at Summit Peak, the first Western record of the atoll was on September 2,1796 when the Boston-based American brig Sally accidentally grounded on a shoal near the islands. The ships captain, Joseph Pierpont, published his experience in several American newspapers the following year giving a position of Johnston. However, he did not name or lay claim to the area, the islands were not officially named until Captain Charles J. Johnston of the Royal Naval ship HMS Cornwallis sighted them on December 14,1807. In the following years, an occasional vessel stopped, but generally one look was enough. The Guano Islands Act, enacted on August 18,1856, was legislation passed by the U. S. Congress that enabled citizens of the U. S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. In 1858 William Parker and R. F. Ryan, chartered the schooner Palestine specifically to find Johnston Atoll and they located guano on the atoll in March 1858 and they proceeded to claim the island. By 1858, Johnston Atoll was claimed by both the United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii, in June 1858, Samuel Allen, sailing on the Kalama, tore down the U. S. flag and raised the Hawaiian flag renaming the atoll Kalama. The larger island was renamed Kalama Island, and the smaller island was called Cornwallis. Returning on July 27,1858, the Captain of the Palestine again hoisted the American flag, the same day, the atoll was declared part of the domain of King Kamehameha IV. On this visit however the Palestine left two crew members on the island to gather phosphate, however, later that year King Kamehameha revoked the lease granted to Samuel Allen when the King learned that the atoll had been claimed previously by the United States
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