Pacific War Essays - Pacific Ocean Theatre Of World War II, Japan

Pacific War Pacific War World War II was fought across more land and involved more men than any other war in the history of human civilization. Never before or since has there been a war of such vast importance and of such a large scale. The United States had an absolutely crucial role in the outcome of this war. The U.S. was faced with the colossal challenge of waging two wars at the same time on two very different parts of the planet. The European front was, of course, the more obvious of the two considering the undeniable atrocities and evils that were being committed by Adolf Hitler. Involvement on the European front was inevitable and, generally more accessible for U.S. forces. Less than thirty years before, the United States had fought in Europe, so we were familiar with the terrain and appropriate strategy. However, the Pacific Campaign of World War II presented a unique challenge for United States Armed Forces. Never before had we fought in the South Pacific or even on terrain that resembled that of the Pacific islands. With the Army heavily involved in Europe, in December of 1941 the United States were forced into a war that it was not familiar with nor knew how to fight. Luckily, however, for the U.S., the Marine Corps were the perfect outfit for the kind of fighting need in the Pacific Campaign. Because of their training in land to sea combat, the Marines were uniquely prepared for the war that faced them, whereas, the Army could never have successfully waged war in the Pacific. Without the Marine Corps fighting in the Pacific, the whole war against Japan would not have succeeded. From 1939-1941, at the dawn of Adolf Hitler's war machine in Europe, the United States seemed above the rest of the world. Separated by the vast Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. enjoyed an incredible amount of security. We were almost entirely untouchable from the flames of war rapidly growing in Europe, and the majority of American citizens were happy to not be involved. To them, the European conflict was too far away to have any direct or meaningful impact on their lives. In fact, public opinion did not think that it was even necessary to enter the war at all. However, Roosevelt saw otherwise. He knew that a war in Europe could very well mean a war in the States. Only thirty years before, in World War I, the same kind situation had evolved into the "war to end all wars", where the United States had played a key role. So, Roosevelt desperately wanted and needed to change the minds of nearly the nearly the entire American public; this task presented an almost impossible challenge. With war beginning to be fought in Europe, England was in dire need of any aid they could receive. At the beginning, this aid came in the form of supplies furnished by the United States. Ammunition, food, clothing, and weapons of all kinds were being shipped over to Europe and creating incredible wealth for the American government. Entering the war meant losing a very profitable trade with the desperate allies in Europe. Luckily for England and for Roosevelt, the United States were soon presented with an undeniable reason for entering the war. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. This act of aggression towards America, provided for a perfect entrance into the war, and now the people of America were incited enough to back a full-scale war against Hitler and Japan. However, one huge problem still existed, and that was the problem of a two front war. Many were frightened that the U.S. had taken on a task that was a bit too much for the nation to handle. The Army was the perfect force for fighting the war in Europe. They were trained for the land combat they would face, and had knowledge of the land from World War I. In addition, the Army was already on the move to Europe, so splitting the Army into two different forces for Europe and the South Pacific was out of the question. The only option that the U.S. government had for waging war against Japan was the Marine Corps. Marine units had been stationed in the South Pacific in Australia and Samoa. They only needed to be reinforced. Especially convenient for the United States was the fact that the Marine Corps was perfectly suited for the kind of warfare that would be faced against Japan. Marines are trained specifically for land to sea and sea to land operations. In