WWII Pacific Test

December 7, 1941

Pearl Harbor Bombing

June 4-7, 1942

Battle of Midway

February 19- March 16, 1945

Battle of Iwo Jima

August 6, 1945

First dropped atomic bomb on Hiroshima

September 2, 1945

Surrender of Japan

On the Bataan Peninsula, US forces make a “Death March.”  Why do they call it that?  And why are we making a “Death March” in the first place?

They call it the death march because 76-78 thousand soldiers were forced to walk non-stop, with no food, no water, no shelter, and no breaks causing soldiers to die of exhaustion as well. They would kill them randomly by driving by and chopping of peoples heads. This happened because they couldn’t get supplies to the peninsula, leaving them stranded with nothing.

What was the mission of “Carlson’s Raiders” on Guadalcanal and why were they so successful?

Their mission was to threaten the Japanese supply routes to have a successful military landing of US soldiers. Their mission was successful due to gorilla warfare and the best-trained soldiers. They would hide behind Japanese’s defenses and sneak up on them at night. They would take and demilitarize anything the Japanese had set up to use against us

Why was the film, “With the Marines at Tarawa” so controversial?

It was controversial because it revealed the brutality of the war and what the soldiers were facing in Japan, but it wanted people to avenge the soldiers being tortured by the Japanese. They wanted show what was really happening and why people should help with war bonds. FDR had to approve of this before it was even released. They were trying to show the truth of war and how it's really not what people think.

Describe the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.” And why were the Marianas Islands so important in the war?

The Mariana Turkey Shoot was when American forces successfully destroyed over 300 Japanese naval and air forces while sustaining minimal casualties. The Japanese tried to sink some of our ships and leave. We didn’t let them leave and chased them with everything we got. These islands were so important in the war because they allowed our air force to have a direct route to the Japanese mainland and other islands nearby. This would let our pilots return without having to parachute down into the wilderness and be in danger.

Compare/contrast “Banzai” with “Kamikaze”.

Banzai and Kamikaze are both considered suicide, but there is one key factor that makes them different. Banzai missions where people with spears and bayonets go on feet into the enemy front lines to kill as many people but not caring about if they live or not. A Kamikaze is a suicide mission where people go in planes and or ships and launch their vessels into the enemy’s vessels to kill the enemy by killing themselves also.

Why was the decision to use the atomic bomb not debatable at the time?  (What was your alternative?)

They believed it was the only way to force Japan to surrender quickly, without a costly loss of supplies, and to prevent casualties on both the Japanese and the American sides. It was also to prevent the soviet forces from coming over and getting more land And could have been to send many troops and equipment over t,o take Japan causing many casualties.