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to move closer to the Japanese mainland
The US was getting closer & closer to Japan in regaining control of the Japanese advances in the Pacific. Okinawa was the final action of the US before the decision was made to use the atomic bomb. This was because an invasion of the Japanese mainland would have been hugely expensive in American soldiers lives.
Just how far do you want to be taken back? Perhaps Guadalcanal, when we realized island-hopping was our only hope for beating the Japanese, or even further? Maybe Midway, when the United States managed to deal its first major blow against Japanese dominance in the Pacific, leading to the Guadalcanal/Solomon Islands campaign, or maybe to the start of it all? Pearl Harbor, where we realized that the threat of Japan was VERY, VERY real and that Japan had to be stopped in any way possible? Take your pick.
Hi United States and Japan. Iwo Jima is a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean, and one of the last pieces of land before the Japanese mainland.
Yes, Doolittle's bombing raid over Tokyo raised hopes for an American victory in the Pacific. The bombing raid occurred on April 18, 1942. The US survivors landed in China.
to move closer to the Japanese mainland
The Pacific campaign against the Japanese consisted of "island hopping" where one island, or chain of islands, was taken at a time. Once an island was taken that was close enough to launch bombing raids from, the Japanese mainland was firebombed by Allied aircraft.
It was about Japan trying to neutralise the US Navy as part of their (Japanese) effort to rule the Pacific.
The Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945 and the end of the war in the Pacific.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on December 7, 1941.
Move closer to the japanese mainland-Apex
The war in the Pacific was essentially between the Japanese and the Americans. However, troops from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Singapore were heavily involved fighting Japanese troops, and many of them would lose their lives in Japanese POW camps.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor. In Oahu, Hawaii.
The US was getting closer & closer to Japan in regaining control of the Japanese advances in the Pacific. Okinawa was the final action of the US before the decision was made to use the atomic bomb. This was because an invasion of the Japanese mainland would have been hugely expensive in American soldiers lives.
Japan did not bomb any US state when they attacked Pearl Harbour in Hawaii, they attacked the US Pacific fleet which was there.
Just how far do you want to be taken back? Perhaps Guadalcanal, when we realized island-hopping was our only hope for beating the Japanese, or even further? Maybe Midway, when the United States managed to deal its first major blow against Japanese dominance in the Pacific, leading to the Guadalcanal/Solomon Islands campaign, or maybe to the start of it all? Pearl Harbor, where we realized that the threat of Japan was VERY, VERY real and that Japan had to be stopped in any way possible? Take your pick.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor forced the Japanese to surrender only in the sense that in caused the US to enter the war against Japan. It is likely that the resources brought against Japan by the US were a primary cause of Japanese surrender and would not have been brought to bear if Japan had not attacked Pearl Harbor and the other US positions in the Pacific.