Pacific Theater Conflicts and Turning Points

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the Pacific Theater lecture notes.

Bataan Death March

A forced march of approximately 75,000 Filipino and American POWs over 60 miles under brutal conditions, resulting in thousands of deaths.

Battle of the Coral Sea

A naval battle where opposing ships did not see or fire directly at one another, fought entirely by carrier-based aircraft.

Turning Point at Midway

The American victory at Midway that destroyed Japan’s naval superiority and forced them onto the defensive.

Iwo Jima

An island that provided a strategic base for U.S. planes to escort bombers and served as an emergency landing strip.

Kamikaze tactics

Japanese suicide plane attacks that became famous during the Battle of Okinawa.

Atomic bomb on Nagasaki

Chosen as a target due to its status as a major industrial center and port, after Kokura was obscured by clouds.

Immediate military goal of atomic bombs

To force the Japanese government to surrender unconditionally without a land invasion.

Long-term impact of atomic bombs

The end of World War II, U.S. occupation of Japan, and the beginning of the nuclear age and Cold War.