World War II in the Pacific        
Menu to The Early Years            

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World War Two started almost eighty years ago -- two years and three months before Pearl Harbor, five years in Africa, and ten years in China. Events leading to U.S. entry to that war : pre-war and belligerent acts.
The war in brief     War in Europe began in 1939 with the invasion of Poland. After a "Phony War" of preparations Hitler invades Norway, France and the low countries. Battle of Britain ends as Luftwaffe relocates east and south to support the invasion of the Soviet Union. U-boats sink ships faster than they can be replaced. U.S. is building a two-ocean navy and supports the Royal Navy in the Western Atlantic. Japan attacks U.S., U.K., and Dutch to obtain materials to continue the conquest of East Asia conquering virtually the whole Pacific west of international dateline.   Battle of Coral Sea slows the Japanese advance.   Battle of Midway blunts the Japanese Navy.   Invasion of Guadalcanal is first U.S. land offensive.   After the Naval Battle of Guadalcanel, both Navies withdraw to rebuild. Forty-eight warships go down off Guadalcanal, 24 on each side. The Japanese withdraw. The first phase of the Pacific War is over.
TABLE of CONTENTS                                         Fletcher, Task Force Commander:
the early years of the Pacific War -- The book
Between the Wars
    The End of WWI leads to WW2
    Authorized Ship Construction, 1931-45
    Before We Were In, 1932-42
    Belligerent Acts before we were in.
The Early Years     War: 1937 ,1938 ,1939 ,1940 ,1941 ,1942 .  
    Homefront : U.S. 1939 , 1940 , 1941 , 1941 , 1942 , Population , reminisces
    Attacks and Threats on U.S., 1939-45
Relocation of Enemy Citizens   140KB   1 Page Version     Loyalty Statistics     News     Timetable     Pictures     Germans     Murals
Atrocity
Fugos, the Balloon Bombs of WW2.
Pearl Harbor :   Countdown   |   Attack   |   First Days
Pearl Harbor Attack Fleet, - Japanese activity till destruction.
Pearl Harbor Submarine Attack Force - Over thirty Japanese subs were there.
U.S. Fleet at Pearl Harbor
U.S. Fleet NOT at Pearl Harbor
Aircraft at Pearl Harbor
    Pacific War, 1942 :     Jan , Feb , March , April , May , June , July , Aug , Sept , Oct , Nov , Dec.
Raids in the Early Months , Jan-April. Carriers show their presence.
Battles of Java Sea , Jan-Feb. Allied Asian fleet destroyed.
Coral Sea , May 7-8 .   Japanese stopped.
Midway June 4-6 .   Decisive victory.   And more details,   timeline, and big picture.
A good website with the colorful story of the Battle of Midway
Battle of Savo Island , Aug 9. U.S. loses screening force in 32 minutes.
Savo Update - Corrections to naval history.
Hudson Myth - refuted
Guadalcanal - The first days.
Battle of Eastern Solomon Sea , Aug 24. Air battle. U.S. outnumbered 2:1; Jap fleet withdraws. [more off site]
Submarine Attacks , Aug-Sept
Battle of Cape Esperance , Oct 11. U.S. wins cruiser fight, sort'a.
Battle of Santa Cruz , Oct 25. Both air arms weakened.
Naval Battles of Guadalcanal , Nov 12-15. Turning point.
Battle of Tassafaronga , Nov 30. U.S. cruisers outfought.
Grand Strategy
Animation - [off site].
1943. Both Navies rebuild while marines and soldiers fight in the jungles. Marines take the Gilbert Islands. Jan'43 , Feb'43 - Dec'43.
Battle of Bismarck Sea -- March 2-4
Battle of Komandorski Islands -- March 26
1944. Central Pacific retaken, MacArthur moves north. Marines take the Marshalls. Then the Marianas with the enemy air fleet decimated in the Philippine Sea "Turkey Shoot" and the Japanese battle fleet is destroyed at Leyte Gulf in the return to the Philippines. Japanese carrier Shinano. B-29 bombing starts from the Marianas.
Jan-Mar'44 , Apr-Jun'44 , Jul-Aug'44 , Sep'44 , Oct'44 , Nov'44 , Dec'44
1945. Iwo Jima supports bombing of Japanese industry. Okinawa taken as a base for the invasion of Japan in the Fall. Kamikazes show resistance as the home islands are approached. The remaining Japanese fleet is destroyed in the shipyards.
    Jan'45 , Feb , March , April , May , June , July , Aug , Sept , Oct - Dec , 1946
The Final Months
Suicide Attacks.
Iwo Jima
Okinawa
Surrender, 1945, the final days.         Hiroshima         War End
Speeches
Operation Downfall : Olympic, Coronet - planned invasion of Japan.     short , long
Magic Carpet, GI Bill
People
Vice Adm Frank Jack Fletcher - Task Force Commander
Fletcher's Battles       Midway     early article     Pictures
    Fletcher Part One & Two by John B. Lundstrom from U.S. Naval Institute Magazine.
Fletcher Aftermath     Q&A     Early Life                 
"Fletcher, Task Force Commander: the early days of the Pacific War" by James Bauer
New:   Get it direct from the publisher   or   from our e-store   or   Amazon.    Feedback on the book.
"The Days of Fletcher" -- Andrés Lazarús del Castillo releases here the introduction to his new book.  
"Los Dias de Fletcher" --   Bookstores
Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher -- the first Adm Fletcher
Admiral Thomas C. Hart
Admiral J. O. Richardson
Bauer, USN
Charles Lindberg, civilian technician
Corpsmen with Marines
Gerald Ford
Presidents Lyndon Johnson and John Kennedy were commissioned Navy officers before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford soon joined and received Navy commissions in 1942. George Bush was commissioned in June 1943 during naval flight training. James Carter graduated from Naval Academy in 1946.   Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower were Army officers. Ronald Reagan was Army Air Force captain. William Clinton was draft dodger. George W. Bush was fighter pilot. Barack H. Obama has fired more cruise missiles than any other Peace Prize holder.
Ships:
Ship Types 1942 and 1945 - Brief description of ship types early and late in the war.
        Types Named - how ship types were named. And IJN.

Lists.	Brief Descriptions.	Pictures, Links.	Notes
Fleet Carriers	Carrier History	Fleet Carriers	CV/CVL
Escort Carriers	Escort Carriers	Escort Carriers	CVE
Battleships	Battleships	Battleships	BB
Cruisers	Cruisers	Cruisers	CA,CL
Destroyer Classes	Destroyers	Destroyers, etc.	DD/DE
Submarines 1941	Submarine War
Auxiliary	Ship types notes	Special Ships


Carrier Movements - Pacific, 1942
British Lend-Lease Escort Carriers
Japanese Carriers and Seaplane Carriers - with Chronology.     Naval Aircraft
Japanese Battle Fleet.     Destroyer Losses.     I-400 super sub
Royal Navy
Eastern TFs 1942             Eastern Task Forces discussion
Ships of Eastern Fleets     Pacific Fleet, Task Force 57, 1945
British Battleships             British Fleet Carriers
Lend Lease - 2nd draft.   DDs for Bases
    Ship Names         USSR Ship Names
U.S. Warship Count, 1945.
Ship Losses by year.     Carriers Sunk
Namesake Ships
USS Parle ( DE-708) - more detail on my ship: the last WW2 DE.
Naval Air
Naval Aircraft Types, 1942       Aircraft at Pearl Harbor         Brewster F2A Buffalo
Naval Aircraft Lists, 1942         Naval Air History                   Early Flying Machines
US Army Air Corps                      Pearl Harbor Defense             Pearl Harbor Pilots
Carrier Operations                       Japanese Naval Aircraft         Japanese Army Air Carriers
Deck Crew
Reference Section:
Maps. -- overview
Dud Torpedoes
First Usage
Jet Aircraft Development - over 2,000 jets before war ended.
Link to Photos -- all generations
Mine Warfare
Admirals of Oct 1941
Code names
Code Talkers
Convoys
Essays
Talk : Frank Jack Fletcher and the First Year of the Pacific War.
Ideas that did - and didn't - work
Be Prepared.  One must fight with what is on hand.
Why Pearl Harbor?   2
Stories of some who were there.
Stories from Readers.
Rest of the Story.
Basic English : international language
Rabaul Historical Society - Requests info on Jap subs.
Bits and Pieces
FDR Conspiracy
Population Mix of the USA
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions ◄- Find your ship ↩ ; your father ↩
Q and A
About this website, books, and citation.
Feedback on the book "Fletcher, Task Force Commander", companion to this website.
Miscellaneous, Subsidiary Pages -about 30 pages that you might have missed.
Here is My Story:
    I was ordered, in error, to serve on the pocket battleship Graf Spee, . . . Battle . . . Escape to Japan . . . Captured on blockade runner . . . POW #1 . . . Helmut's Story (35 pp)     Helmut Ruge,  13th January 1917 -- 31th March 2009.
    There were other Enemy Alien Civilian Seamen during WWII, captured at sea before the U.S. was in the war, and interned for the duration,.
    The family listened to the news of the raid in disbelief; Valerie had married a career sailor and was living in Pearl Harbor.
    I was almost 15 years old when the Japanese soldiers walked into Malang.
From now on I was a slave for the Japanese Army."
    "On the morning of December 7, 1941, I was eleven years old. These are
my memories of the bombing and the days that followed." - Yvonne's story.
    "As we approached our landing site, White Beach, our LST grounded on a sandbar
some 20 yards from shore." -- Larry's story, Tami Air Field, Hollandia, DNG, 1944.
    "A few seconds later 'The Ghost Ship' lights were turned off and BLAMM!, heavy gunfire killed the silence, starshells were floating over the Vincennes and exploding shell fire caused the aircraft on its catapults to burst into flame !" -- Daniel's story, aboard Quincy, Savo Island, Aug 1942.
    "Kamikaze planes always came two at a time, low over the horizon. We had two minutes get to our guns. The planes would be in firing range for less than 20 seconds during which time you had to shoot them or they would have you." Joseph's LCS
    Luckiest Sailor

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About this page: WW2 - Menu to World War II in the Pacific, the early years.
    These are some areas in which I find an interest and that seem little known or of possible help in understanding the period.
Updated Sep 26, 2015 -- Start daily headlines 75 years ago.
Dec 7, 2011 -- Start daily headlines 70 years ago.
Dec 7, 2010 -- add Feedback on our new book
May 25, 2010 -- add Hudson myth at Savo Island.
October 25, 2009 -- add Royal Navy
July 10, 2009 -- add 1939,40,41
Oct 11, 2008 -- add Helmut Ruge of the Graf Spee.
Contact us at
URL : http://www.ww2pacific.com/ww2.html