From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Major area of military events, 1942?1945
For naval operations in the Southwest Pacific area, including the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and New Guinea, see
South West Pacific theatre
. For the overall military theater in Asia and the Pacific, see
Pacific War
. For other uses, see
Pacific Theatre
The
Pacific Ocean theater
of
World War II
was a major
theater
of the
Pacific War
, the war between the Allies and the
Empire of Japan
. It was defined by the
Allied powers
' Pacific Ocean Area command, which included most of the Pacific Ocean and its islands, while mainland Asia was excluded, as were the
Philippines
, the
Dutch East Indies
,
Borneo
,
Australia
, most of the
Territory of New Guinea
, and the western part of the
Solomon Islands
.
History
[
edit
]
It officially came into existence on March 30, 1942, when US
Admiral
Chester Nimitz
was appointed
Supreme Allied Commander
Pacific Ocean Areas
.
In the other major theater in the Pacific region, known as the
South West Pacific theater
, Allied forces were commanded by US
General
Douglas MacArthur
. Both Nimitz and MacArthur were overseen by the US
Joint Chiefs
and the Western Allies
Combined Chiefs of Staff
(CCoS).
Most Japanese forces in the theater were part of the
Combined Fleet
(
連合艦隊
,
Reng? Kantai
)
of the
Imperial Japanese Navy
(IJN), which was responsible for all Japanese warships,
naval aircraft
, and
marine infantry
units. The
Reng? Kantai
was led by Admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto
, until he was killed in an
attack by U.S. fighter planes
in April 1943.
Yamamoto was succeeded by Admiral
Mineichi Koga
(1943?44)
and Admiral
Soemu Toyoda
(1944?45).
The
General Staff
(
?謀本部
,
Sanb? Honbu
)
of the
Imperial Japanese Army
(IJA) was responsible for Imperial Japanese Army ground and air units in
Southeast Asia
and the South Pacific. The IJN and IJA did not formally use joint/combined staff at the operational level, and their command structures/geographical areas of operations overlapped with each other and those of the Allies.
In the Pacific Ocean theater, Japanese forces fought primarily against the
United States Navy
, the
U.S. Army
, which had 6 Corps and 21 Divisions, and the
U.S. Marine Corps
, which had only 6 Divisions. The
United Kingdom
(
British Pacific Fleet
),
New Zealand
, Australia,
Canada
, and other Allied nations, also contributed forces.
Major campaigns and battles
[
edit
]
- Pacific theater
- North Pacific theater
References
[
edit
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Cressman, Robert J. (2000),
The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II
, Annapolis,
MD
: Naval Institute Press,
ISBN
1-55750-149-1
.
- Drea, Edward J. (1998),
In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army
,
NB
: University of Nebraska Press,
ISBN
0-8032-1708-0
.
- Hakim, Joy (1995),
A History of Us: War, Peace and All That Jazz
, New York: Oxford University Press,
ISBN
0-19-509514-6
.
- Kafka, Roger; Pepperburg, Roy L. (1946),
Warships of the World
, New York: Cornell Maritime Press
.
- Miller, Edward S. (2007),
War Plan Orange: The U.S. Strategy to Defeat Japan, 1897?1945
, US Naval Institute Press,
ISBN
978-1-59114-500-4
.
- Ofstie, Ralph A. (1946).
The Campaigns of the Pacific War
. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
.
- Potter, E. B.;
Nimitz, Chester W.
(1960),
Sea Power
, Prentice-Hal
.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1968),
U.S. Warships of World War II
, Doubleday & Co
.
- Toll, Ian W.
(2011).
Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941?1942
. New York: W. W. Norton.
- ——— (2015).
The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942?1944
. New York: W. W. Norton.
- ——— (2020).
Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944?1945
. New York: W. W. Norton.