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Pacific War
The Pacific War was the part of World War II—and preceding conflicts—that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in the Far East. The war began as a conflict between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China on July 7, 1937, but by December 1941, became part of the greater World War...
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Battle of Peleliu
The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was fought between the United States and Imperial Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September to November 1944 on the island of Peleliu. U.S. Forces, originally consisting of...
Duration:
- 2 months (Sep 15, 1944 — Nov 27, 1944)
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The 82 day long battle lasted from late March until June 1945.
The battle...
Duration:
- 3 months (Mar 18, 1945 — Jun 23, 1945)
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater of World War...
Duration:
- 6 months (Aug 7, 1942 — Feb 9, 1943)
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima (February 19 – March 26, 1945), or Operation Detachment, was a battle in which the United States fought for and captured Iwo Jima (lit. Sulfur Island) from Japan. The battle produced some of the fiercest fighting in the...
Duration:
- 1 months (Feb 19, 1945 — Mar 26, 1945)
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, Operation Z, as it was called by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters) was an unannounced military strike conducted by the Japanese navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor,...
Date:
- Dec 7, 1941
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl...
Duration:
- Jun 4, 1942 —
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought during May 4–8, 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States (U.S.) and Australia. The battle was...
Duration:
- May 4, 1942 —
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – September 9, 1945) was a military conflict fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Nazi Germany (until 1938), the...
Duration:
- 8 years (Jul 7, 1937 — Sep 9, 1945)
Battle of Leyte
The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrilla forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese...
Duration:
- 2 months (Oct 20, 1944 — Dec 31, 1944)
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle Raid, 18 April 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike a Japanese home island (Honshū) during World War II. It demonstrated that Japan itself was vulnerable to Allied air attack and provided an expedient means for U...
Date:
- Apr 18, 1942
Battle of Milne Bay
The Battle of Milne Bay (Operation RE) was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea on 25 August 1942, and fighting continued until the Japanese...
Duration:
- 13 days (Aug 25, 1942 — Sep 7, 1942)
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and also one of the largest naval battles in...
Duration:
- 3 days (Oct 23, 1944 — Oct 26, 1944)
Mariana and Palau Islands campaign
The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign was an offensive launched by United States forces against Imperial Japanese forces in the Mariana Islands and Palau in the Pacific Ocean between June and November, 1944 during the Pacific War. The United States...
Duration:
- 5 months (Jun 1944 — Nov 1944)
Battle of the Eastern Solomons
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the Second Battle of the Solomon Sea (第二次ソロモン海戦), took place on August 24, 1942 – August 25, 1942, and was the third carrier...
Duration:
- 1 days (Aug 24, 1942 — Aug 25, 1942)
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea (aka "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot") was a decisive naval battle of World War II, and the largest aircraft carrier battle in history. It was fought between the navies of the United States and the Empire of Japan....
Duration:
- 1 days (Jun 19, 1944 — Jun 20, 1944)
Battle of Eniwetok
The Battle of Eniwetok was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought between 17 February 1944 and 23 February 1944, on Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
The invasion of Eniwetok followed the American success in the battle of...
Duration:
- 6 days (Feb 17, 1944 — Feb 23, 1944)
Battle of Rennell Island
The Battle of Rennell Island (Japanese: レンネル島沖海戦) took place on January 29, 1943 – January 30, 1943, and was the last major naval engagement between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the lengthy Guadalcanal campaign in the...
Duration:
- Jan 29, 1943 —
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, as the Third Battle of the Solomon Sea (第三次ソロモン海戦), took place...
Duration:
- 3 days (Nov 12, 1942 — Nov 15, 1942)
Panay incident
The Panay incident was a Japanese attack on the United States Navy gunboat Panay while she was anchored in the Yangtze River outside of Nanjing on December 12, 1937.
Japan and the United States were not at war at the time. The Japanese claimed that...
Battle of the Java Sea
The Battle of the Java Sea was a major naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat at the hand of the Imperial Japanese Navy, on February 27, 1942, and in secondary actions over successive days....
Date:
- Feb 27, 1942
Battle of Savo Island
The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the First Battle of the Solomon Sea (第一次ソロモン海戦, Dai-ichi-ji Soromon Kaisen), was a naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, between...
Duration:
- 1 days (Aug 8, 1942 — Aug 9, 1942)
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 26, 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or in Japanese sources as the Battle of the South Pacific (南太平洋海戦), was the fourth carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and...
Duration:
- Oct 26, 1942 —
Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, on 1–2 November 1943 — also known as the Battle of Gazelle Bay, Operation Cherry Blossom, and in Japanese sources as the Sea Battle of Bougainville Bay Shore (ブーゲンビル島沖海戦) — was a naval battle fought near the island...
Duration:
- 1 days (Nov 1, 1943 — Nov 2, 1943)
Battle of Tassafaronga
The Battle of Tassafaronga, sometimes referred to as the Fourth Battle of Savo Island or, in Japanese sources, as the Battle of Lunga Point (ルンガ沖夜戦), was a nighttime naval battle that took place November 30, 1942 between United States (US) Navy and...
Duration:
- Nov 30, 1942 —
Battle of Kolombangara
The Battle of Kolombangara (Japanese: コロンバンガラ島沖海戦) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 12/13 July 1943, off Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands.
A Japanese "Tokyo Express" reinforcement force, commanded...
Duration:
- 1 days (Jul 12, 1943 — Jul 13, 1943)
Battle of Kula Gulf
The naval Battle of Kula Gulf (Japanese: クラ湾夜戦) took place in the early hours of 6 July 1943 during World War II and was between United States and Japanese ships off the coast of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands.
On 5 July, the U.S. Navy Task...
Date:
- Jul 6, 1943
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, the Burmese Independence Army and the Indian...
Duration:
- 3 years (Jan 1942 — Aug 1945)
Battle of the Komandorski Islands
The Battle of the Komandorski Islands was one of the most unusual engagements of World War II. It was a naval battle which took place on 27 March 1943 in the North Pacific area of the Pacific Ocean, near the Komandorski Islands.
When the United...
Date:
- Mar 27, 1943
Battle of Tarawa
The Battle of Tarawa was a battle in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, largely fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It was the second time the United States was on the offensive (the Battle of Guadalcanal had been the first), and the...
Duration:
- 3 days (Nov 20, 1943 — Nov 23, 1943)
Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse
The sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a World War II naval engagement which illustrated the effectiveness of aerial attacks against naval forces that were not protected by air cover and the resulting importance of including an aircraft...
Date:
- Dec 10, 1941
South-East Asian theatre of World War II
The conquest of South East Asia by the Japanese was a well thought out and multi pronged attack.It started on the evening of Dec 6th 1941 with an amphibious landing on the coast of Thailand. The Japanese naval invasion force had chosen Thailand as...
Duration:
- 3 years (Dec 6, 1941 — Sep 9, 1945)
Battle of the Bismarck Sea
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea was a battle in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) during World War II, in which planes of the United States Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), attacked a Japanese convoy carrying troops to Lae,...
Duration:
- 2 days (Mar 2, 1943 — Mar 4, 1943)
China Burma India Theater of World War II
China Burma India Theater (CBI) (later IBT, or India-Burma theater) was the name used by the United States Army for its forces operating in conjunction with Allied air and land forces in China, Burma, and India during World War II. Well-known US...
Battle of Cape Esperance
The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the Sea Battle of Savo Island (サボ島沖海戦), took place October 11 – 12, 1942, and was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II...
Duration:
- Oct 11, 1942 —
Battle of the Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands Campaign was a struggle over the Aleutian Islands, part of Alaska, in the Pacific campaign of World War II starting on June 3, 1942. A small Japanese force occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska, but the remoteness of the...
Duration:
- 1 years (Jun 3, 1942 — Aug 15, 1943)
Battle of Vella Gulf
The Battle of Vella Gulf (Japanese: ベラ湾夜戦) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of August 6, 1943 – August 7, 1943, in Vella Gulf between Vella Lavella Island and Kolombangara Island in the Solomon Islands...
Duration:
- 1 days (Aug 6, 1943 — Aug 7, 1943)
Battle off Horaniu
The Battle off Horaniu (Japanese: 第一次ベララベラ海戦) was a minor naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of August 17, 1943 near the island of Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands
After the fall of Munda and their defeat in...
Duration:
- 1 days (Aug 17, 1943 — Aug 18, 1943)
Naval Battle of Vella Lavella
The Battle of Vella Lavella (第二次ベララベラ海戦, Dainiji Beraraberu kaisen) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of October 6, 1943, near the island of Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands.
After their defeats on...
Duration:
- 1 days (Oct 6, 1943 — Oct 7, 1943)
Attack on Rabaul
The Allies of World War II conducted a bombing of Rabaul in November 1943 at the major Japanese base. Allied carrier and land-based planes attacked Japanese airfields, ships and port facilities, on the island of New Britain, to protect the Allied...
Duration:
- 10 days (Nov 1, 1943 — Nov 11, 1943)
Battle of Cape St. George
The Battle of Cape St. George was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on November 26, 1943, between Cape St. George, New Ireland, and Buka Island (now part of the North Solomons Province in Papua New Guinea). It was the...
Date:
- Nov 26, 1943
Battle of Singapore
The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in South East Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of...
Duration:
- 8 days (Feb 7, 1942 — Feb 15, 1942)
Operation Ten-Go
Operation Ten-Go (天號作戰 (Kyūjitai) or 天号作戦 (Shinjitai), Ten-gō Sakusen) was the last major Japanese naval operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Other renderings of this operation's title in English include Operation Heaven One and Ten...
Date:
- Apr 7, 1945
Battle of Buna-Gona
The Battle of Buna–Gona was a battle in the New Guinea campaign, a major part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. On November 16, 1942, Australian and United States forces attacked the main Japanese beachheads in New Guinea, at Buna, Sanananda...
Duration:
- 2 months (Nov 16, 1942 — Jan 22, 1943)
Battle of Saipan
The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June 1944 to 9 July 1944. The invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on June 5,...
Duration:
- 24 days (Jun 15, 1944 — Jul 9, 1944)
Battle of Tinian
The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July 1944 to 1 August 1944.
The American victory in the Battle of Saipan made Tinian, 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi)...
Duration:
- 8 days (Jul 24, 1944 — Aug 1, 1944)
Battle of Guam
The Second Battle of Guam (July 21 — August 8, 1944) was the American capture of the Japanese held island of Guam (in the Mariana Islands) during the Pacific campaign of World War II.
Guam is the largest of the Marianas, 30 miles (48 km) long and 9...
Duration:
- 18 days (Jul 21, 1944 — Aug 8, 1944)
Battle of Angaur
The Battle of Angaur was a battle of the Pacific campaign in World War II, fought on the island of Angaur in the Palau Islands from 17 September 1944 to 30 September 1944.
Angaur is a tiny volcanic island, just 3 miles (4.8 km) long, separated from...
Duration:
- 13 days (Sep 17, 1944 — Sep 30, 1944)
Battle of Blackett Strait
The Battle of Blackett Strait (Japanese: ビラ・スタンモーア夜戦 Battle of Vila-Stanmore) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on 6 March 1943 in the Blackett Strait, between Kolombangara Island and Arundel Island in the Solomon...
Date:
- Mar 6, 1943
Battle of Rabaul
The Battle of Rabaul (Operation R), on the island of New Britain, in the Australian Territory of New Guinea, in January and February 1942, represented a strategically significant defeat of Allied forces by Japan, in the Pacific campaign of World War...
Duration:
- 9 days (Jan 23, 1942 — Feb 1942)
Battle of Hong Kong
The Battle of Hong Kong took place during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It began on 8 December 1941 and ended on Christmas Day with Hong Kong, then a Crown colony, surrendering to Empire of Japan.
Britain had first thought Japan a threat...
Duration:
- 17 days (Dec 8, 1941 — Dec 25, 1941)
Battle of Kwajalein
The Battle of Kwajalein was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought from January 31, 1944, to February 3, 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the battle of Tarawa, the United...
Duration:
- 3 days (Jan 31, 1944 — Feb 3, 1944)
Battle of Makin
The Battle of Makin (pronounced "muggin") was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought from 20 November to 24 November 1943, on Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands.
The end of the Aleutian Islands campaign and progress in the Solomon...
Duration:
- 4 days (Nov 20, 1943 — Nov 24, 1943)
Bombing of Darwin, February 19, 1942
The Japanese air raids on Darwin, Australia, on 19 February 1942 were the largest attacks ever mounted by a foreign power against Australia. They were also a significant action in the Pacific campaign of World War II and represented a psychological...
Date:
- Feb 19, 1942
Indian Ocean raid
The Indian Ocean raid was a naval sortie by the Fast Carrier Strike Force of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 31 March to 10 April 1942 against Allied shipping and bases in the Indian Ocean. It was an early engagement of the Pacific campaign of World...
Duration:
- 10 days (Mar 31, 1942 — Apr 10, 1942)
Battle of Makassar Strait
The Battle of Makassar Strait, also known as the Action of Madura Strait, the Action North of Lombok Strait and the Battle of the Flores Sea, was a naval battle of the Pacific theatre of World War II. An American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA)...
Date:
- Feb 4, 1942
Battle of Badung Strait
The Battle of Badung Strait was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 19–20 February 1942 in Badung Strait between the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA) and the Imperial Japanese Navy. In the...
Duration:
- 1 days (Feb 19, 1942 — Feb 20, 1942)
New Georgia Campaign
The New Georgia Campaign was a series of battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allied grand strategy in the South Pacific. The campaign took place in the New Georgia group of islands, in the central...
Duration:
- 2 months (Jun 20, 1943 — Aug 25, 1943)
Battle of Ambon
The Battle of Ambon occurred on the island of Ambon in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), on 30 January – 3 February 1942, during World War II. A Japanese invasion was resisted by Dutch and Australian forces. The chaotic and sometimes bloody...
Duration:
- Jan 30, 1942 —
Operation Hailstone
Operation Hailstone (Japanese: トラック島空襲 Torakku-tō Kūshū, lit. "the airstrike on Truk Island") was a massive naval air and surface attack launched on February 17-18, 1944, during World War II by the United States Navy against the Japanese naval and...
Duration:
- 1 days (Feb 17, 1944 — Feb 18, 1944)
Battle of the Philippines
The Philippines Campaign (1941-1942) or the Battle of the Philippines was the invasion of the Philippines by Japan in 1941–1942 and the defense of the islands by Filipino and United States forces.
The Japanese high command, believing this had won...
Duration:
- 5 months (Dec 8, 1941 — May 8, 1942)
