The Doolittle Raid

1. The Doolittle Raid • The idea of bombing Japanese capital. • Chiefs of Stuff decided to strike on Tokyo with 16 B-26 bombers under the command of colonel James Doolittle. • The bombing plan: bombers had to be delivered on the striking distance by USS Hornet and after bombing Bombers had to flew on to China to land in areas controlled by Chiang Kai-shek. • Results of bombing: 13 planes bombed Tokyo, 3 – other Japanese targets; 4 landed in China, 1 – in the Soviet Union, 11 were abandoned by their crews; 71 of 80 fliers survived to return to the USA. • Japanese reaction: people not informed about bombing and they did not associate explosions with it; Japanese high military officials horrified by bombing and decided to end with American presence at Midway, ‘keyhole’ in Japanese defensive perimeter.

2. The Battle of Midway – June 4-6, 1942 • Japanese fleet before the battle of Midway. • Japanese mood and their plans. • American plans. • The battle in the Coral Sea –May 4-8, 1942. • Japanese broken code and Americans effort to find out what was the codename for Midway. • Yamamoto’s mistakes. • The Battle of Midway – the battle of Carriers. • American victory over the superior Japanese fleet. The Japanese First Air Fleet of Admiral Nagumo was destroyed.

3. Guadalcanal • Japanese landed on Guadalcanal – July 1942. • Japanese attack on Port Moresby failed. • Allies landed on Guadalcanal – August 7, 1942. They took also offshore island of Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo. • Battle of Savo Island – August 9, 1942 – the most devastating defeat of allied fleet: 4 carriers sunk and 1 damaged, while from the Japanese fleet just two carriers were moderately damaged. • Battle of Cape Esperance – October 11/12, 1942 – Americans achieved victory, though not a decisive one. • Battle of Santa Cruz – October 26, 1942 – Japanese lost 100 of their aircrafts, Americans – around 50, but USS Enterprise was damaged and USS Hornet went down. • The naval battles of Guadalcanal – November 13-14, 1942 – the classic battle of battleships. The victory for Americans because of usage of radars. • The Battle of Tassafonga – November 30, 1942: Japanese stroke back and achieved a victory: one lost carrier for each side, but 3 American Carriers were heavily damaged. • The land battle of Guadalcanal: ‘The Epic Struggle’ for marines. Japanese resistance ceased on February 9, 1943.

4. The Japanese Defensive strategy • Everyone in Japan convinced at the beginning of 1943 that ‘the war has been won”. • Decision to maintain defence in the defensive perimeter and delay all attacks till the spring of 1944. • Japanese decided to build only aircraft-carriers and stopped producing of giant battleships. • Technical problems of Japanese fleet, especially in artillery. • Japanese problems with inventing new aircrafts.

5. Allied Offensive Strategy • How to get to the Japanese islands? • 4 possible routes to Tokyo: 1. From the Aleutian islands – the shortest one, but problems with climate. The route has been dispatched; 2. Via Malacca Straits – good from military point of view, but problems with the dominant British presence in area and need of joint agreements with them; 3. The land route from island to island; 4. Attack across Pacific. • Decision to attack islands from all three remaining ways – ‘Exactly what should not have been done’ (Henri Michel). • Decision not to use significant forces in Pacific and wait for victory in Europe.

6. The Island War • Battles on New Guinea – fall and winter of 1942. Allied victory in Papua – January 2, 1943. • Battle of the Bismarck Islands (Bismarck Sea) – March 3-4, 1943 – Japan convoy nearly completely destroyed by allied air forces. Americans lost only 2 bombers and 3 fighters. ‘The decisive air operation of the South Pacific’ (MacArthur) • Broken code and death of Admiral Yamamoto – April 18, 1943. • Slow advance in New Guinea. • Battle at Solomon Islands – June-October 1943. Capture of Bougainville in November. Rabaul is in the bombing distance.