Questions tagged [ww2-pacific-theater]
For questions relating to World War 2 around the Pacific Ocean, waged primarily between Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and their allied nations between 1939 and 1945.
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How did Japanese commanders react to the truth about the Battle off Samar?
The Japanese commanders at the Battle Off Samar thought they had engaged and sunk several fleet carriers, cruisers, and destroyers.
Did they find out they only faced light escort ships? Did they find ...
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Did the USSR attempt to broker peace negotiations between Japan and USA?
I ran across a remark in the German Wikipedia, in the article about the Tokyo War tribunals. They discuss the points 35 and 36 of the charges (waging war against the USSR) :
Von besonderem Interesse ...
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Were there concrete plans, 40-41, for Japan to attack Singapore/Indonesia, while avoiding a fight with the US?
(I am writing this from memory, so please forgive inaccuracies in my citations.)
In Shattered Sword I found this mention-in-passing that roughly said:
"While not thinking that a war with the US ...
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What other ships were with USS Saratoga when it was hit by a torpedo on 1942 Jan 11?
USS Saratoga (CV-3) was a Lexington-class Carrier of the USN. On 1942 Jan 11 it was hit by a torpedo from the Japanese submarine I-6, and then went in for repairs.
However, I would like to know what ...
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Is there anything to back up Mearsheimer's claims that Roosevelt pushed the Japanese to attack the United States and tried to get the US into WW2?
In this video at 1:20:05 (and a little bit of the part preceding it), Mearsheimer claims that Roosevelt "was deeply committed" to get the United States into the second world war and "...
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Why was IJN apparently inactive mid-war?
If you look at the history of the WW2 Pacific theatre, you would notice an apparent lack of Imperial Japanese Navy activity between Guadalcanal and Philippine Sea. And even these two battles were ...
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Did Japanese officers refuse to engage in kamikaze attacks?
The Kamikaze is a military tactic that appeared officially in Japan's forces in 1944. This was used first by some officers, and then became more and more widespread.
My understanding of the Japanese ...
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Initial Japanese success in WWII? [closed]
We all know about Pearl Harbor. But I’m curious how Imperial Japan managed to take Guam, Wake, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and China. The only reason I can think of to explain these conquests were ...
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Did allied soldiers in the WWII Pacific Theater use the term 'flak' for anti-aircraft guns?
I just stumbled upon a clip from the movie 'Unbroken', where the crew of a bomber stationed in the Pacific refer to anti-aircraft fire as 'flak'. Flak, of course, is short for 'Flugabwehrkanone', the ...
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Were any Japanese defendants at the far east war criminal trials after WW2 IQ tested by the allies?
Since the Americans tested the IQ of the defendants of the Nuremberg trials I was wondering if there was an analogous deed done to the Japanese war criminals after the WW2.
I can't find anything ...
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During the defense of the home islands, what was Japan's plan for its forces off-island?
It's July 1945. Okinawa is lost. Japan is preparing for an Allied invasion of the Home Islands. While they're arming civilians with spears and clubs, Japan still had millions of soldiers in Manchuria, ...
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Were kamikaze pilots an effective strategy for Japan?
history.howstuffworks.com claims kamikaze pilots were not overly effective. Wikipedia states that there was no noticeable increase in number of ships lost even as kamikaze pilots became more common, ...
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Were B-17s (rather than B-29s) ever used to bomb mainland Japanese territory during WW2 (at least before the capture of Okinawa)?
I am wondering if B17s ever flew bombing raids against the Japanese mainland, and if so, did they do it before the capture of Okinawa, which was much closer than the previously captured islands like ...
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Did the US really consider demonstrating the atomic bomb to the Japanese by "blowing the top" off of Mt. Fuji?
In reading this Washington Post article titled Five myths about the atomic bomb, it's mentioned:
The decision to use nuclear weapons is usually presented as either/or: either drop the bomb or land on ...
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What prompted Yamaguchi to split his airgroup when attacking the Americans at Midway?
This is a followup to a previous question here
Why did the Hiryu perform two small attacks rather than a single larger one at the battle of Midway?
As noted in Shattered Sword (Ch 14), Nagumo ordered ...
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