it starts with an horrific surprise attack then spreads like a tidle wave across vast stretches of ocean before it's over the conflict in the Pacific launches an entirely new form of Naval Warfare and sends brave men into battle over crippling terrain this is the Epic story of terrifying fanaticism and personal perm told in compelling detail with specially enhanced color film and rarely seen footage often shocked by the troops themselves for the first time time put together to answer the question why did Japan's gamble to deliver a quick decisive knockout blow fail this is World War II in the Pacific November 26th 1941 north of Japan's kurl Islands a huge Japanese Fleet sets off on a secret mission across the Pacific thousands of miles away at the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor on Hawaii all is peaceful much of the US Pacific Fleet is important under total radio silence six Japanese aircraft carriers and over a dozen smaller warships are heading south on a collision course with Destiny 11 days later the fleet is within Striking Distance of [Music] Hawaii at Pearl Harbor American troops are waking up to another beautiful day aboard the Japanese carriers there's a last minute briefing then a wave of over 180 warplanes takes off an hour later they're over Pearl [Music] Harbor five us warships are hit almost [Music] immediately within an hour two US battleships are sinking two cap size and and two more are badly damaged US aircraft lined up on the Island's air strips are also [Music] [Music] hit as news of the attack spreads across America there's shock and horror but there is also a question why has America been caught [Music] napping the answer until recently Japan and America have been friends but with the Great Depression Japan catches the same disease as Europe crazed nationalism in Germany Hitler grabs World attention as he seizes [Music] power in Italy musolini sings to the same nationalist [Applause] [Music] tune now in Japan a new militaristic regime vows to restore the country's greatness through for for in 1937 a ruthless Japanese war machine tears through [Music] China 3 years later they expand their brutal actions with the invasion of the former French colonies of Cambodia Vietnam and La it's a move that finally forces America to [Music] react in the summer of 1941 the US freezes Japan's overseas Financial assets and imposes an oil embargo it hits Japan hard the country receives 80% of its oil from America Japanese diplomats travel to Washington to negotiate relations between the two countries are tense but nobody in the US is expecting War then a new Japanese leader takes control hadik Tojo is an ambitious General and a fanatical nationalist in the spring of 1941 2 and 1 half months after the US Oil Embargo Tojo is appointed prime minister his dream is a Japanese empire spanning Asia Tojo isn't interested in negotiations with the US he's secretly planning for war he calculates that if he can knock out America's Pacific Fleet with a sudden Swift blow us opposition will simply collapse in early December 1941 the US war department intercepts warnings of an imminent Japanese attack but when it comes on the morning of December the 7th American troops are caught completely by surprise but if Japan believes she's delivered The Knockout blow to US Naval power in the region she's wrong on the morning of the bombing raid the three most important ships in the Pacific Fleet its aircraft carriers are not import missing them turns out to be a major Japanese mistake yet in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor America will be caught napping again and [Music] again 10 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese bombers suddenly appear over Clark Field in the Philippines it's America's Main Air Base in Southeast [Music] Asia it's followed by a second attack by Japanese zero Fighters 45 minutes later much of the US Air power in the region has been destroyed the Japanese have caught the US on the Hop for a second time in America shock turns to [Music] outrage 32 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor US President Franklin Roosevelt declares war on Japan since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan a state of War has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire but before America can organize its forces there's yet another paralyzing Japanese strike within days of the Air Attack on the Philippines thousands of Japanese Ground Forces swarm aure with no air power us defenses are crippled in a series of Swift ruthless assaults the Japanese fan out across the country 10 days later the Philippine Capital Manila is [Applause] captured for the US commander in the region it's a humiliation Douglas MacArthur is one of America's most decorated generals but outnumbered and outgunned there's nothing he can do finally in early March under orders from the American president MacArthur flies out to [Music] Australia the US regard him as too important to run the risk that he might be taken prisoner MacArthur vows to return discover the past with exclusive military history documentaries and add free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians all on History hit watch them on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device download the app now to watch everything from the gripping story of the Band of Brothers to operation Barbarosa and D-Day immerse yourself in the dramatic stories of this remarkable era by signing up via the link in the description but the Japanese have just bombed the northern Australian town of [Music] Darwin it's an important Allied base in the Pacific eight ships have been sunk in the city's port and a further 10 seriously damaged two airfields have also been shot up destroying aircraft and oil storage tanks and killing several hundred people The Raid has caused chaos to Allied supply lines there are fears it may be followed by a Japanese invasion mathur is swept up in the defense of the country the Philippines will have to wait an isolated and desperate group of Americans are left on the rocky batan Peninsula they dig in and wait for help nothing comes we are the battling Bastards of batan they Proclaim bitterly no papa no Mama no Uncle Sam facing repeated Japanese assaults with supplies running out the US forces are up against impossible [Music] odds after 4 months of savage fighting 70,000 US troops and their Filipino allies surrender up to 10,000 of them will die on the batan Death March before they even reach Japanese prisoner of war camps throughout early 1942 the US and her allies suffer a series of massive defeats across the [Music] Pacific Japanese troops occupy the British colony of Malaya they spread out across the country a month later they overrun the capital quala Lumpa Allied Forces withdraw to Singapore the center of British rule in the Pacific the British believe they've turned the island into an impregnable Fortress but all the guns Point South out to sea the Japanese are approaching from the north Britain sends two warships to attack Japanese troop convoys they're met by Japanese bombers both ships are sunk in less than 2 hours almost a thousand of their crew are lost the British defenses in Singapore are soon reduced to chaos a force of over 90,000 Allied troops surrender [Music] almost simultaneously the British Garrison in Hong Kong is invaded it takes the Japanese just two weeks to overrun it Hong Kong is followed by Burma the country's defenses have been neglected within 2 months the Japanese have seized the Capital rangon 8 weeks later Japan controls the whole country across the Pacific the dominoes are falling it's time for America and her allies to fight back the big question how as US military planners study maps of Japan and the Pacific Ocean one thing is crystal clear Japan is protected by an enormously powerful navy a Seaborn assault so soon after the crippling attack on the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor would be suicidal but an Airborne attack is equally impossible the nearest US base had been in the Philippines now the closest bases are insights like the Hawaiian archipelago these are over 3,000 mil from Japan hundreds of miles further than the range of any us long range bomber Japan seems Untouchable or is she for weeks a handpicked group of pilots and their aircraft have been undergoing special training at the egin airbase in [Applause] Florida the plan is to transport a small force of B25 Mitchell bombers by aircraft carrier to within 400 m of Japan from there they'll launch a bombing raid on Tokyo the Mitchell is a compromise it's neither the longest range nor most powerful us bomber but it's big enough to carry a a significant payload and crucially it's small enough to fit on a [Music] carrier still it's an operation fraud with danger aircraft carriers are not designed to be used by bombers their flight decks are too short and the bombers are too big and heavy at the Florida Airbase the Mitchell are stripped down to remove unnecessary weight they're fitted with extra fuel tanks to increase their range the pilots are put through an exhaustive and costly training program trials show the modified aircraft will just about be able to take off from the carrier deck provided there are no errors but there's a bigger problem the Mitchells may be able to take off from a carrier but the flight deck is too short for them to return and land the only hope of getting back safely is to fly on to hastily improvised air bases along the Chinese Coast even then the Mitchells will be flying at the very limit of their range possibly Beyond it it's a potential suicide mission it needs someone special to command it the man put in charge is one of America's most celebrated Flyers his name leftenant Colonel James dittle a man famous for his skill and daring in the air he's the first man to fly across the United States in less than 24 hours he's won trophies for Speed and endurance flights he's the first man to take off fly and land an aircraft using only instruments to guide him but this will be Jimmy Doolittle's most challenging and Dangerous Mission yet 4 months after the devastating attack at Pearl Harbor America is finally ready to strike back the USS Hornet set sail from San Francisco with 16 B25 Mitchell bombers strapped to her deck they're too big to be stored below 12 Days Later halfway across the Pacific they link up with the second us carrier the Enterprise and an escort of Cruisers and destroyers on April the 17th there's a small ceremony aboard Hornet Japanese medals donated to US servicemen during a state visit to Japan in 1908 are ceremonially stra to one of the huge 500lb bombs the bombs are also dored with slogans one says you'll get a bang out of this and another I don't want to set the world on fire just Tokyo 16 days after leaving the US The Hornet is within Striking Distance of Japan but then there's an emergency radar operators on Enterprise locate two Japanese boats nearby a message is flashed to the Hornet two enemy surface craft reported the Enterprise sends up reconnaissance aircraft to check on them they find a small Patrol boat then a couple more they appear to be part of a Japanese early warning system the US warships open fire hundreds of shells Target the Japanese boats [Music] one six but hawood got out of the approaching us Fleet the Americans face a dilemma Steam on and risk being trapped by the Japanese Navy or launch their aircraft immediately even though they're further from Japan than plannned the US commanders decide it's too risky to delay the attack but it will mean dittle and his men already flying at the limit of their range will now have to fly even further at 8:00 a.m. a message is flashed to Hornet launch planes to Colonel dittle and Galant command good luck and God bless you at 8:20 a.m. the first B25 takes off huge waves turn the carrier deck into a seaa the other aircraft follow at brief intervals a man at the end of the deck watches the dips so the aircraft can take off on a rising deck one of the most daring raids in aviation history is [Music] underway 4 hours later the two little Raiders are over [Music] Tokyo [Music] The Raid is over in a matter of minutes though the physical damage is minimal the emotional damage to the Japanese people is profound they've long believed their Homeland to be invulnerable dittle and his Raiders prove it's not several hours later the Americans are on course for the landing strips in China none of them will nak over the China Sea they run into a fuel sapping headwind which forces all to [Music] DCH all but seven of the 80 Raiders will eventually make it home to safety many helped by the local Chinese population back in America they're given a hero's welcome doitt is promoted to General and becomes a national hero America the sleeping giant has shown its teeth and a doitt raid is just the beginning what the r shows is that the Japanese gamble at Pearl Harbor has failed America is finally ready to unleash a whole new form of Naval Warfare one that will transform the war in the Pacific [Music] entirely by late spring 1942 the US war machine has geared up civilian factories turn over to [Music] armaments aircraft production soures typewriter factories are converted to Rifle production and there's a dash to build aircraft carriers [Music] [Applause] US Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox speaks for many when he announces the deps started this war we are going to finish it Tokyo's response to the April 1942 doitt raid is typically Swift and thorough hadik Tojo the Japanese prime minister orders military planners to build a defensive ring of land bases around Japan's Empire the idea to secure Japan's vital supplies of Natural Resources like oil half the ring is already in place Japan controls most of the Chinese Coast southeast Asia and the [Music] Philippines in early May 1942 to fill the gaps she grabs the Solomon [Music] Islands 2 Days Later a powerful Japanese Fleet steams into the Coral Sea hoping to capture papia New Guinea the naval commander in charge is perhaps Japan's greatest strategist Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was The Mastermind behind the attack on Pearl High Harbor he's Harvard educated he understands America at his disposal is perhaps the most powerful navy in the world it includes three aircraft carriers nine Cruisers 15 destroyers and dozens of support vessels but Yamamoto is not the only top Naval commander in the region facing him across the Coral Sea is one of America's Finest Admirals Chester Nimitz is commanderin-chief of the US Navy in the region Nimitz fought in World War I and his recognized as a brilliant tactician he also leads a large [Music] Fleet it includes two aircraft carriers and an assortment of Cruisers and destroyers some miraculously escaped the devastation at Pearl Harbor others have been rapidly patched up as the two huge fleets approach each other Naval Warfare is about to change forever traditional Naval Warfare has been a gun battle between warships a clash of artillery at sea it's almost always involved visual contact but the centerpiece of the new fleets are aircraft carriers they're armed with Fighters and fighter bombers it changes everything guns are purely defensive opposing carriers can be hundreds of of miles apart fighting is done in the air the new emphasis is on intelligence and Logistics Gathering finding out where the enemy is and getting your aircraft in the air before he can for 2 days the US and Japanese fleets send up aircraft to scout the Coral Sea neither knows what's out there or where the enemy is finally us war planes locate the Japanese carrier shoho Nimitz sends up dive bombers 13,000 bombs demolish the sho's flight deck exploding inside her hangers hours later she will sink the battle of the Coral Sea has [Applause] begun the following day Yamamoto Strikes Back the Japanese locate the US carrier Lexington Yamamoto sends up zero [Music] Fighters The Lexington is soon damaged her smaller sister carrier the York town is also hit a bomb penetrates four decks before exploding 37 men are [Music] killed meanwhile us dive bombers locate yamamoto's second carrier the shokaku [Music] her deck is so badly damaged she can no longer be used by [Music] [Music] aircraft as Darkness Falls the Lexington is still afloat but there's been an undetected fuel leak suddenly she erupts amazingly or but 25 of the nearly 3,000 men on board are rescued later that evening she's scuttled by an American torpedo [Music] the battle of the Coral Sea is a stalemate but for the first time the US has taken on the powerful Japanese Navy and equaled it the myth of Japanese inv inability is broken it's time for America to drive home its [Music] advantage and it's got just the weapon to do [Music] it in Washington operation magic is underway a top secret team of us Cod Breakers has successfully cracked the Japanese military codes America has gained the upper hand in the crucial new front in Modern Warfare intelligence gathering in late May magic reports Japanese plans for a surprise attack on target AF AF is clearly somewhere in the mid Pacific but where Naval strategists scour maps of the region one candidate is the coral atle of Midway an important US military base in the Hawaiian archipelago it would be an ideal jumping off point for a second second and more decisive Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to confirm their hunch the US code Breakers set a trap the American base on Midway is instructed to send an uncoded message reporting problems with its water desalination system almost immediately Naval intelligence intercepts a Japanese signal that Target AF is experiencing water problems the news is flashed to nimit he now knows exactly where the Japanese will strike [Music] next in early June 1942 the Japanese mount a diversionary attack on the uan islands off the coast of Alaska the idea to draw the US Pacific Fleet thousands of miles north leaving the way clear to seiz Midway in the [Music] South but thanks to the Cod Breakers Nimitz ignor CLS the attack the following day Japanese carriers launch an attack on their real Target [Music] Midway but the US base is prepared and sends up a strong force of Fighters it's not what the Japanese command Commander Admiral chuchi nagumo is expecting he needs to rethink his plans rapidly nagumo has kept a number of aircraft in reserve loaded with bombs and torpedos designed to attack ships it's a precaution in case the US Navy shows up unexpectedly but now nagumo needs all his aircraft to drive home the attack on Midway carrier crews are ordered to reload the reserve aircraft with fragmentation bombs to continue the assault on the US base but then as the reloading is underway Japanese spotter planes relay an Urgent Message three huge US aircraft carriers backed by warships are bearing down on them nagumo faces a tough choice should he continue the ATT attack on Midway or should he rearm his bombers to attack the US Fleet he hesitates it's a fatal mistake the US carriers launch dive bombers with many aircrafts still in the process of loading the Japanese are sitting darks [Music] within five extraordinary minutes the American dive bombers reduce three of Japan's largest aircraft carriers to Flaming Wrecks All will l to [Music] seek in reply that afternoon the Japanese damage Beyond repair the US carrier York town she too will sink meanwhile America's bombers score a direct hit on a fourth Japanese carrier she turns into a blazing P for the Japanese the attack on Midway is a disaster her Navy has lost four of its finest [Music] carriers it's also lost well over 2,000 Sailors a decisive moment months earlier Japan had gambled all to push America out of the Pacific with a swift decisive blow against the US Navy the gamble has failed the US now rules the waves but the war in the Pacific is far from over Japan is still undefeated on land and a powerful threatening force in the air the next few years of war will be devastating and deadly for both [Music] sides summer 1942 6 months after Pearl Harbor the tides of War are shifting an American victory at Midway strips Japan of its dominance of the waves but this Epic War for Supremacy in the Pacific is far from over hitting Island after Island it's clear the US is facing an enemy that is willing to fight to the death [Music] this is the story of terrifying fanaticism and personal heroism told in compelling detail with specially enhanced color fil and rare footage shot by the troops themselves all put together for the first time to answer the question does America have what it takes to endure and win this is World War II in the Pacific by the summer of 1942 it's clear Japan's attempt at knocking America out at Pearl Harbor failed in fact the US victory at the Battle of Midway has enabled them to assert dominance at Sea it's a shift in power that has America ready to strike back at Japan's Empire the question is where to [Music] begin US military planners led by Army Chief of Staff George C Marshall identify Japan's Achilles heel a complete lack of Natural Resources it's why Japan has seized all those territories around the Pacific to create an empire to apply oil rubber tin and food essential for maintaining the war effort cut off these resources and Japan will [Music] fall the problem is Japanese Commander General Hideki Tojo knows it too he has built a defensive Ring Of Steel around Japan's Empire a string of Island bases complete with troops ships and aircraft to protect Japan's supply lines taking them demand more than American Naval superiority it will mean driving the Japanese from their bases across the ocean Island by Island this will require an entirely new form of warfare the amphibious Landing America has never attempted anything like this before but us Chiefs believe there's no alternative to the island hopping strategy they decide to attack along two fronts Admiral Chester Nimitz the commander in-chief of the US Fleet will seize key strategic Japanese bases in the central Pacific along the Gilbert Marshall and Mariana Islands General Douglas MacArthur the supreme commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific would take New Guinea and the Solomon Islands to the south of Japan's Empire fortunately for mathur allies stationed on new GE guine have prevented Japan from seizing the entire Island the Japanese invaded New Guinea in March 1942 but came up against Australia's forces stationed [Music] there with the help of the Native papin the Australians have fought back against Japan's South Seas forces and have retained an important base at Port morby this will provide the US with a foothold from which to launch their offensive MacArthur's first Target a tiny Island on the southern tip of the Solomon Islands the very bottom of Japan's defensive ring guadal Canal the offensive opens with shelling by us warships [Music] b7s from 26th Squadron Reign down destruction for 7 [Music] [Music] days only when Japan's defenses have been softened up does macarthy launched the first landbased assault US Marines go into amphibious combat for the very first time low light and heavy clouds allow the approaching landing craft to go undetected wave after wave of Marines pour onto the beaches everything is going like clockwork but as they press up the beach the Japanese are waiting Japan's Garrison fight back with shocking ferocity the first and 11th Marine Corp pounds the enemy defenses with howitzers it's not enough they are forced to get in close the Japanese are driven by a code of honor it's better to die in battle or commit suicide than surrender a code that American is quickly discovered means they're in for a fight to the [Music] death within hours 10,000 US troops reach land outnumbering the enemy 5 to one as more us heavy artillery and tank support arrives maa's optimism grows that he has the Japanese outgunned and outnumbered Japan's 2,000 strong Garrison is quickly overwhelmed by 8:00 p.m. after just 14 hours of fighting American troops secured their main objective an air strip on the north of the Island MacArthur now has an air base from which to support his Advance on Japan's Island Empire but his control over the island is far from [Music] secure [Music] 12 Days Later Japan mounts a Counterattack a wave of a thousand soldiers from their nearby Island stronghold of rabal lands on guadal Canal American forces stand firm almost all of the Japanese that attack are [Music] killed but they keep on coming wave after wave of Japanese reinforcements pour onto the [Music] island fighting continues for 6 months until Japan is forced to concede [Music] all remaining Japanese forces are evacuated from guadal Canal by February the 7th 1943 the battle for this one tiny Island costs America 7,100 lives Japan's losses are a staggering 24,000 guadal Canal is a taste of the war of attrition that is to [Music] come the American victory provides a key foothold on the edge of the Japanese empire a secure Airfield for mathur to start island hopping his way towards the ultimate goal Mainland Japan February 1943 with guadal canal under their control us Chiefs can now begin the process of cutting Japan off from its supply of Natural Resources es rabal on the island of New Britain is America's Next Target from here Japan provides air and Naval support to its Supply routs MacArthur's plan is not to capture rabal but to isolate it cut off it will cease to POS any military threat operation cartwheel is launched General MacArthur intends to encircle rabal with a pincer maneuver macara himself will lead the Western pinsa from Port morby up the Japanese occupied northern coast of New Guinea the Eastern pins commanded by Admiral William bull holzi will start from gual Canal and move north through the Japanese controlled Solomon Islands from these two points the US Navy can complete the encirclement as with guad Canal cartwheel begins with intense aerial bombardment and shelling [Music] then marine and army units assault the beaches this time the Japanese unleash heavy mortar sniper and machine gun fire as the US presses in land Japanese resistance becomes even stronger the enemy are well dug in lurking in a network of pill boxes caves and underground bunkers American for forces have to get in close a task for grenades and flamethrowers still the Japanese soldiers stay true to the samurai code of honor rather than surrender they mount suicide charges shouting bansai as the combat continues US troops face a new enemy the jungle terrain on the island is riddled with disease soldiers fall prey to dentry scrub typhus and worst of all malaria in fact across the entire war in the Pacific malaria claims more American casualties than the [Music] Japanese but despite the appalling jungle conditions the US weighted numbers tips the balance Japanese fanatical bravery is no match for America's military mind it takes nine bloody months of conflict but eventually the two pincers of operation cartwheel in circle rabal American casualties run into the tens of thousands staggeringly more than 150,000 Japanese are killed operation cartwheel has done its job rabal along with its Garrison of over a 100,000 men is now isolated and will play no further part in the war vital resources including oil from the Dutch East Indies and rubber from New Guinea are successfully cut off from Mainland Japan meanwhile to the East Admiral Chester Nimitz and the US Fleet are preparing to attack Japan's Empire on a second front operation galvanic aims to drive the Japanese off the Gilbert and Marshall Islands these outposts provide vital Military Support to Japan's supply routes in the Central Pacific the campaign's first Target the island of taraa it's starts with by now tried and tested tactics a naval and air bombardment from the fifth Fleet then the second Marine Division heads for the beaches this time America's lack of experience of amphibious Warfare shows when the troops land at low tide they are forced to leave their Landing crafts with water up to their wastes and razor sharp Coral roofs Under Foot exposed to enemy fire hundreds of Marines are cut down by machine guns meanwhile the bulk of Japan ja's 4,700 strong Garrison is waiting in land outnumbered by the invading Americans 7 to one every one of them is ready to die for their emperor [Music] there extreme dedication makes the next 4 days some of the fiercest and bloodiest battles in Marine Corps [Music] history by the time the island of taroa is secure 1700 American lives are lost out of the entire Japanese Garrison only 17 allow themselves to be captured alive with the Japanese unable to Halt their charge nimitz's forces continue to steam North by February the 22nd he seizes all the key Targets in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands US forces now have their sights set to the north on the Japanese controlled Mariana Islands Admiral Chester Nimitz and his Naval task force launch operation [Music] forager the first Target the Mariana island of Sian 165,000 shells are fired Japan's defenses 2 Days Later the amphibious Landings begin 8,000 Marines of the second and fourth divisions are assured by early morning the fighting follows a by now familiar pattern at this time the Japanese have a surprise they don't just have ground troops they call up their Navy a huge carrier Fleet including five fleet carriers and four light carriers advances into the Philippines [Music] Sea the aim is to cut the US troops on sipan off from their supporting ships but there is a flaw in the Japanese plan most of their experienced Pilots we lost at the Battle of Midway these Pilots are [Music] rookies a first wave of just 61 zero Fighters take [Music] off Nimitz scrambles 220 f6f heal elcat Fighters these are America's most advanced fighter planes their pilots are battle hardened it's men against boys outnumbered and outgunned Japan's zeros are mercilessly blasted from the [Applause] [Music] sky the Japanese launch another wave of 120 aircraft and then another 47 [Music] by Nightfall the US losses stand at just 29 planes Japan's are almost 400 aircraft it goes down in history as the great Mariana's turkey shoot at sea level the battle is just as one-sided us submarines torpedo and sink two Japanese aircraft carriers in less than 24 hours the Imperial Japanese Fleet is routed [Music] they lose three carriers and almost 600 aircraft this crushing blow means that Japan can no longer compete in carrier-based Warfare the battle of the philippin sea is an important American [Music] victory back on saan the conflict plummets to new depths of horror it's not the bansai charges that shock the US troops it's the suicidal fanaticism of the 8,000 Japanese civilians on the [Music] island American soldiers watch in horror as men women and even children jump from Cliffs to their [Music] death the message to America is clear to beat Japan the US won't just have to overcome a vast Army but an entire nation the Will Never Surrender how can you defeat an enemy that just won't back down summer 1944 and America is winning the war in the Pacific Japan 's Empire is being rolled back but the cost of human life is [Music] horrifying us losses stand at around 46,000 men Japan are massive at over [Music] 300,000 Mainland Japan is deprived of Natural Resources and their war effort is taking a toll on the Japanese people food is in short supply Japan's Agricultural and transport infrastructures are disintegrating but the war seems no nearer to ending in the US High command an argument is underway chief of Naval operations Admiral Ernest J King argues that the war could be brought to a swift End by moving the fleet west from the Marianas to the island of Formosa modern-day Taiwan it would put Japan's home Islands within easy striking range of us heavy bombers King's would mean bypassing most of the remaining Japanese bases across the Pacific leaving them undefeated but isolated General MacArthur has other ideas the US Supreme Commander in Southeast Asia tells President Roosevelt that America must continue with his island hopping strategy in particular he must drive the Japanese off the Philippines this approach he argues would provide bigger bases than Formosa from which to launch bombing raids and consolidate America's strangle hold on [Music] Japan there's something else MacArthur had promised the Filipino people that he would return when he was driven off the island in December 1941 he means to keep that [Music] promise on July 26th 1944 President Roosevelt backs MacArthur's plan it is a decision that will prove fateful for hundreds of thousands of [Music] people as preparations for the campaign begin MacArthur deliberates where to make his first assault he targets the island of Ley in the southern Philippines the general launches amphibious land an expert in PR is filmed striding ashore with his troops showing the folks back home that he has indeed returned by now America is accomplished at amphibious Landings and within hours the sixth Army establishes an 18m Long Beach head from which to begin their advance in land the Japanese High command know they have to try something different to break the cycle of American success they Gamble and mobilize all their remaining major Naval vessels they call it operation show meaning [Music] Victory the plan is to lure America's Naval support away from the ground troops on LY the Imperial Fleet is split into three one Convoy advances through the San Bernardino Straits to the north and another through the suruga Straits to the South the third Japanese Convoy including the Imperial Navy's last four carriers approaches the Philippines from the Northeast on October the 23rd the northern Convoy of operation show is spotted Admiral Hy commander of the third Fleet intercepts the following morning he scrambles aircraft to attack the Japanese Convoy the Japanese come under Fire but then turn and Retreat it's a trick designed to lead Hol on he takes the bait heading straight towards the Japanese carriers to the Northeast and away from ly meanwhile to the South Admiral King Cade heads out to intercept the second Japanese Convoy approaching through the sua [Music] streets Japan's plan is working just a few us vessels remain to support the landing on Leon now under the cover of Darkness the Japanese Fleet that had appeared to retreat turns back to attack the handful of American ships still covering the landing this could be the victory that Japan so desperately needs but at the last moment they lose their nerve fearing they are sailing into a trap the Japanese turn again and Retreat the opportunity is lost in the suraga Straits Admiral Kim Cade and the US 7th Fleet unleash hell on Japan's Southern [Music] Convoy three Japanese destroyers and two battleships are s to the Northeast Admiral Hy and the third Fleet reach the four remaining Japanese carriers having lost most of their aircraft and pilots in the Marianas Japan's carriers are sitting ducks [Music] all four are sunk it should be the final knockout blow against the Japanese Imperial Navy but Japan believes it can still Strike Back Against the US Fleet with a terrifying tactic that takes its fanaticism to a whole new level the Imperial High command calls for volunteers to form a new aerial Strike Force they are called kamakazi meaning divine [Music] wind and they are required to make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of their [Music] emperor in the fall of 1944 the first kamakazi Pilots drink Sake before climbing into their aircraft Laden with fuel and [Music] explosives their targets are America's aircraft carriers supporting the troops on the Philippine island of [Music] Ley us Fighters and anti-aircraft guns respond to the [Music] threat some kamakazi are blown out of the [Music] sky others miss their targets but a direct hint is devastating the Cara ST Low is sunk killing a 100 [Music] Americans as horrific as these attacks are they're not enough to turn the tide of the wall out of some 2,600 kamakazi sorties only 19% hit their targets sinking less than 40 US ships [Music] back on LY Ground Forces face off against Japanese defenses across the island attritional Warfare continues for two solid [Music] months but once again Japan's termination is no match for America's sheer weight in numbers they are outnumbered 4 to [Music] one on New Year's Eve 1944 General MacArthur's men finally capture Ley almost the entire Japanese force of 50,000 lies dead now Maur can launch his attack on the main Philippine island of [Music] Luzon early in the new year over 100,000 troops of the sixth Army division land on the south coast of the island The Landings are relatively [Music] unopposed the Japanese Garrison is poorly equipped and is no longer receiving air and Naval support or reinforcements from Japan no match for America they are forced to fall back to Mountain St holds as us reinforcements pour onto Luzon Matha heads straight for the capital [Music] Manila after just 2 weeks of close quarter combat MacArthur's troops are just 60 km from the capital they retake the major US Airbase of Clark Field that had fallen to Japan in [Music] 1941 with Manila in his sights it looks as if General Douglas MacArthur is about to make good on his promise to liberate the [Music] Philippines the first Cavalry division take the bridge over the tulan river and on February the 3rd the US enter the capital city Manila the Japanese hold manila's historic architecture in high [Music] esteem to preserve it General Yamashita gives orders to withdraw completely but a Garrison Commander named Sanji iuki defies the order along with 20,000 men they swear to uphold the Japanese Imperial code code of honor and defend the city to the death the battle for Manila becomes the first and fiercest example of urban Warfare in the Pacific Theater American soldiers inch through the capital [Music] they face snipers machine gun nests and hidden artillery historic Manila is reduced to Rubble [Music] after a month of fighting US forces drive iuki and his remaining troops to the historic center of the city known as intramuros there they will make their last stand [Music] American soldiers unleash 140 gun artillery barrage US troops then assault the [Music] stronghold the battle is brutal lasting 3 days at dawn on the 26th Ibuki and his officers commit suku the Japanese Act of ceremonial suicide the battle for Manila is finally over by March the 3 American losses stand at a th000 Japan's at 177,000 but over a 100,000 Filipino civilians lie dead many of them massacred by the Japanese it is the highest death toll of any battle in the Pacific Theater so [Music] far Ma has kept his promise but at a devastating [Music] price the battle for the Philippines will continue for five more months as the US are made to weed out pockets of Japanese Defenders dotted around the [Applause] islands [Music] when it's finally over it has cost America around 14,000 dead and almost 50,000 [Music] wounded Japan has lost almost 350,000 soldiers [Music] lives strategically the campaign has been a success Japan's Navy has been crushed its last supply lines to sources of oil and food have been severed but everyone knows the war is far from over the Japanese believe they can still win if they can make the fighting brutal enough and just fight on whatever the cost they are convinced that America will not have the stomach to continue us Chiefs know this too they need to find a way to force Japan to surrender quickly and unconditionally [Music] but how victory in the Pacific is on the horizon but not fast enough for the thousands of American servicemen facing a suicidal [Music] enemy to end the epic war in the Pacific it will take the most destructive form of warfare ever invented 3 2 1 now this is the story of terrifying fanaticism and personal heroism told in compelling detail with specially enhanced color film and rare footage shot by the troops themselves put together for the first time to answer the question why did Japan believe America would never deliver The Knockout growing this is World War II in the [Music] Pacific [Music] 2 and 1/2 years after Pearl Harbor it's finally payback time a campaign to rule the waves and island hopping to seiz back territory has given the American Force is the upper hand in the Pacific but not for a second does anyone believe Japan is ready to give in the way the Japanese soldier fights is terrifying surrender is Unthinkable forcing Japan to do that is going to be bloody and bitter [Applause] [Music] in Europe US soldiers know they can overcome their enemy in conventional battle for them by the summer of 1944 the end is in sight in the Pacific bitter experience tells them otherwise the soldiers have had to develop violent new weapons and tactics to match the barbarity of their enemy they resort to flamethrowers artillery and tanks for every inch of terrain the Japanese exact a cruel toll General George C Marshall Chief of Staff of the US Army fears defeating Japan can only come at a horrific cost in American lives desperate to avoid this he and his colleagues The Joint Chiefs of Staff devise a plan a simple two-pronged strategy one blockade and starve the Japanese people two bomb their factories and obliterate their capacity to wage war together the hope is they can destroy Japan's will to fight [Music] on phase one begins us submarines operating out of the Philippines and aircraft from US carriers blockade Japan severing vital supply lines raw materials Food Supplies and Troop ships are dispatched to the bottom of the [Music] ocean the result throughout 1944 Japan loses 300,000 tons of shipping each month food stocks plummet Millions go hungry and a famine looms but the Japanese people stand firm time for Phase 2 to kick in Destroy Japan's war machine from the air it's a chance for one man to make his Mark Curtis lame is a cigar chomping battle seasoned Major General in the US Army Air Force's 20 group in China he's a tough talking champion of carpet bombing Japan into submission [Music] he and his superiors propose a terrifying assault from the sky an unprecedented air war that will flatten Japan's [Music] factories the challenges L faces are huge distances in the region are massive Japan is over 1500 mil away from from the nearest air strips and heavy bombers cannot fly from carriers but L believes he has the right machine to get the job done the brand new Boeing b29 super Fortress the result of a $3 billion development program a state-of-the-art 4 engine bomber it can fly all the way to Japan thanks to its massive range of nearly 4,000 mil this means it can operate out of air strips in China and on the Mariana Islands changu [Music] China 62 us b-29s take off their target the yat steelworks in central [Music] Japan the distance is so great the super forts must fly unprotected without fighter escort this forces the bombers to fly at high altitude where the Japanese Fighters will have difficulty reaching [Music] them each b29 will drop its payload of 8 500b high explosive bombs from 30,000 ft the goal flatten the steel works but the attacks are from so high up they miss their target Japan's strong Jetstream winds blow the bombs off course a disappointing debut for the multi-billion dollar airplane the b29 accuracy does not improve with addition raids in the weeks ahead the grand plan to force Japan to surrender is not [Music] working Curtis lay is promoted to take personal charge of the campaign his answer is to bomb more and bomb harder so he devises a new tactic The Firestorm lay decides to use a horrifying new weapon the m69 inur cluster bomb accuracy is not essential the incendiaries use napan to burn whole suedes of a city any weapons factories in the area will be destroyed in The Inferno bombers based in the Mariana Islands set their sights on Japan's sixth largest city kov in their Bombay are tons of incendiary [Music] bombs coob burns with a ferocity n never before [Music] seen the city is densely packed and made up of wooden and paper houses that explode into flames whole neighborhoods are incinerated thousands die the orange glowe can be seen hundreds of miles away lame does it again he hits 67 cities including the capital Tokyo in the weeks ahead still the Japanese won't [Applause] Buckle worse they are beginning to hit [Music] back Fighters and anti-aircraft guns start Downing b29 L's air crews are suffering mounting losses with nearly 3,000 Airmen killed morale is sinking lame remains convinced that carpet bombing can work but to succeed he believes a change in tactics is in order the b-29s must fly lower to improve accuracy that means fighter escorts are [Music] essential to achieve that the fighters need bases closer to Mainland Japan on enemy held territory L and the US battle plans have one Island in mind [Music] iima iima is the most outlying of Japan's home Islands just a tiny lump of Volcan IC Rock barely 5 m long located 660 mi from Japan's main population centers iima has two air strips that are ideal for Fighters like the P-51 Mustang controlling it would mean Curtis L's b-29s could fly with a fighter escort all the way to their targets and back but since early 1944 the Japanese have been firmly dug in on uima the defense is masterminded by Japanese General tadamichi kurabayashi he was military attache in Washington in the 1920s he knows what to expect from the Americans his 21,000 men are making the tiny Island into a fortress they have dug tunnels bunkers and defensive lines away from the beaches they believe they are ready for anything the Americans can throw at them in February 1945 5 the largest Fleet so far assembled in the Pacific arrives in the waters of iima it boasts over 400 ships aboard the troop carriers 60,000 Marines of the third fourth and fifth divisions are awaiting the green light in charge of The Landings is Marine Corps General and Commander of fifth amphibious group Harry Schmidt known to his men as the Dutchman to crush all resistance for 75 days the island is pummeled with a massive bombardment wave after wave of carrier born aircraft and medium bombers hit the Japanese positions [Music] then the big guns of the fleet open up this is the climax of one of the most prolonged and concerted bombardments of the [Music] war intelligence suggests the island should fall in just a week the first wave of landing craft set off on board are 8,000 Marines as the Marines hit the beach there's nothing no reply from the Japanese it seems the bombardment has worked then the Japanese Defenders had been hiding underground during the bombardment now they burst out inflicting heavy casualties over 500 Marines die on the beaches as the hours pass the Marines recover and gradually push in Land by the end of the day 30,000 Marines are ashore over the next 3 days the fighting is intense as the Marines battle their way to the Island's most visible Landmark the 550 ft volcano Mount suribachi the volcano dominates the island from there the Japanese can fire on any Targets Below in including the all important [Music] airfields it's just a quarter of a mile from the beaches but the Marines must fight their way up the Steep Mountain sides on February the 23rd the most iconic moment of any war is captured as Marines raise the stars and stripes on on Mount Su Bachi a different group of men are the first to raise a flag but it is restaged later for the benefit of a photographer Joe rosenal he creates the image that will come to immortalize the Pacific War it's an unforgettable scene but it's not the end of the [Music] battle combat continues for another 21 days because the Japanese refuse to surrender Marines fan out across the island fend off any final suicidal bansai charges and burn out the last of the Island's Defenders 36 days after it All Began iima is [Music] secure the Americans have the staging post they so badly want for their air War but the cost is terrible [Music] 6,821 Marines are killed 18,000 wounded capturing a tiny Island just 5 m long total casualties are proportionately worse than for D-Day 2 seven Medals of Honor are won iima accounts for 28% of all the Marine Corps Awards granted in the whole of the Pacific Campaign if anyone doubts the Japanese resolve their losses prove the point only 200 of the original 21,000 Defenders survive the rest prefer to die it shows exactly what the Americans are up [Music] against the air War now enters a new terrifying phase 18 days after the first Landings on iima Curtis lay switches to an allout aerial firebombing campaign in one of the most destructive night raids in all history operation meeting house over 300 b-29s hit Tokyo they lay waste to 16 square miles of the city 100,000 Japanese citizens are incinerated a million made homeless the cities of ngoya Osaka and coob are all raised to the [Music] ground every month L receives another 100 b29 from Boeing's factories to join the campaign in total his airplanes will drop 170,000 tons of bombs after 500 bombers take part in each rain now they fly at night and at low altitude 6,000 to 9,000 ft lame orders that guns and unnecessary equipment be stripped from the b-29s so they can carry yet more ordinance and it doesn't end [Music] there US aircraft can start roaming over Japan shooting and strafing targets at will despite all this the Japanese people show no signs of buckling the inescapable truth is that L's bombing is not working a ground Invasion and the horrific number of casualties that will come with it is looking unavoidable by Spring 1945 American battle planners in the Pacific are terrified by the prospect of conducting more land invasions but to win the war it's a must hundreds of so-called home islands make up the Japanese Nation at their Center a Japan's main population areas the four islands of honu Hokkaido kushu and shikoku before they can capture these America needs more staging areas close to the mainland first in line okanawa 340 Mi to the south of the Japanese mainland on Okinawa 100,000 men are waiting for the American ground troops backing them are hundreds of Pilots schooled in the Bushido code of death instead of [Music] defeat the US assembles a huge task force however before American boots set foot on the island the Japanese strike first wave after wave of kamakazi converted Fighters Hit The Invasion Fleet backed up by conventional [Music] bombers several carriers are hit others seriously [Music] damaged losses are even worse among the Destroyers Manning the outer defense [Music] lines despite the damage the US invasion goes ahead it starts as usual first the heavy bombardment then the land assault begins Army units attack the South and Marine units the North in an attempt to cut the island in two again The Landing is strangely quiet Japanese Commander leftenant General mitsuru USI Jima has withdrawn to a system of elaborately fortified defenses called the shuri line the Army units in the South quickly discover what that means grunts have to inch forward through the shuy line each time a strong point is taken the Japanese Defenders fall back to pre-prepared positions where the bloody process begins again the task force anchored at Sea isn't SP spared the suicide campaign continues on the 7th of April 700 kamakazi set off on a one-way Mission they hit the ships anchored off Okala one Destroyer survives six kamakazi attacks and four bomb hits four other ships AR so lucky and are sunk 24 are damaged at a cost of 335 Japanese [Music] aircraft the Japanese High command is even prepared to sacrifice the pride of its Fleet on a desperate last ditch mission the Yamato is the world's biggest and most powerful Battleship at 72,000 tons it is sent on a final sorty to devastate the US Fleet at Okinawa it is spotted on Route 400 American fighters are [Music] scrambled the Yamato is blown to bits on Okinawa fighting grinds on Marines and GIS become locked in deadly hand to hand hand battles 30 days in momentous news reaches them amidst the [Music] Mayhem Adolf Hitler commits suicide a week later the war in Europe is [Music] over but while the rest of the world rejoices for the leatherneck and GIS fighting on Okinawa it means little some unit commanders can only give their men a 5minute break before grimly ordering them on the battle for Okinawa rages on into a second then a third month as the Americans struggle to overcome the Japanese defenses every cave conceals an ambush [Music] each tree line hides a new bunker American forces throw everything at the Japanese with total Air Supremacy us fighter bombers take on a specialist ground support role troops work side by side with Forward Air controllers together they identify targets and call in Fighters if the aircraft can't silence the most stubborn resistance flamewing tanks or demolition charges are brought in even so it's only when the main city of shuri is captured and the Marines launch a new offensive that the island finally Falls it has taken 82 [Music] days 7,503 US troops pay for okanawa with their lives nearly 37,000 are wounded 5,000 Sailors are killed a massive cost in American life for Japan the losses are even worse 100,000 Japanese soldiers are dead only 7,000 [Music] surrender these horrific losses make it crystal clear to the American generals that taking Mainland Japan will mean the mother of all [Music] battles meanwhile Japan is preparing for the final fight to the death hundreds of new kamakazi pilots are awaiting their chance to die for the emperor 375,000 soldiers are gathered to repel the Americans militias and suicide volunteers are ready and waiting in the air a reserve of 5,000 aircraft has been held back their best tanks are have been preserved for the final battle even after they've been hit by hundreds of thousands of tons of bombs Japan's military leadership refuses to contemplate surrender despite their best efforts to avoid it the American strategists are faced with one Grim real ity the need to invade Japan it is now clear what the Japanese tactic is if they can make it bloody enough they believe that America will not have the stomach for a fight when pushed to estimate eventual casualty numbers us battle planners say it will cost a quarter of a million American lives a figure that's unacceptable they have to find another way there is one other solution and it offers US president Harry S Truman an alternative to a ground Invasion at The Emperor's Palace in pdam to pose for the international press come United States President Harry S Truman Russia's generalisimo Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill as Britain's Prime Minister President Truman is in Europe at the pot Stam conference the Allied leaders [Music] meet news filters through to him of a development in a top secret weapons program one day earlier at the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico the first successful Atomic test in history took place it is called Trinity 5 4 3 2 1 no it's the dawn of the nuclear [Music] Age The Manhattan Project is a three-year-old program to devise a weapon so grotesquely powerful it might just force the Japanese to cave [Music] in its Mastermind is Robert toen Heimer the result the nuclear [Music] bomb it involves splitting atoms to release huge amounts of explosive energy Oppenheimer and his team have developed two types of bomb one uses naturally occurring uranium the other even more powerful man-made plutonium [Music] President Truman hints to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin that a powerful new weapon is ready Stalin appears strangely unsurprised Truman is puzzled by his reaction but later learns Russian spies penetrated the Trinity project from potam an ultimatum is issued to the Japanese surrender or face [Music] destruction Japan does not respond the Prime Minister has been ordered to maintain mokas satu meaning in Japanese to kill by silent contempt after agonizing over the decision President Truman gives the [Music] go-ahead a few days later the crew of a b29 named anola gay after the captain Paul tibet's mother takes off from their Airbase intinan in the Northern Mariana Islands in the plane's belly is a 15 kiloton uranium bomb nicknamed little boy their Target hoshima in Western Japan it takes the anola gay and its deadly cargo 6 hours to fly to Hiroshima 500 mil from the capital [Music] Tokyo the weather over heroshima is clear and crisp the crew Circle overhead then at 8:15 a.m. an explosion with the a power of nearly 15,000 tons of TNT is detonated over the city for the victims death comes in stages first the Earth underground zero is heated to 5,000 de then comes the shock wave next a deadly Firestorm sucks oxygen out from the atmosphere killing more people finally others will succumb to radiation poisoning which arrives as black radioactive rain the devastation for just one bomb is astonishing some 70,000 people are killed President Truman announces the weapon to the world and promises more atom bombs unless Japan surrenders if they do not now accept our terms they may expect a reign of Ruin from the air the like of which has never been seen on this Earth the Japanese ignore him again they choose to not even respond to his ultimatum 3 Days Later a plutonium based bomb even more powerful than the last and known as fat man is loaded onto another b29 the target Nagasaki 760 Mi to the south of Tokyo the blast at Nagasaki is just as lethal up to 50,000 people die still there is no response from the Japanese leadership the Americans face a they have no more atomic bombs making more will take time so US battleships sail right up to Japan's coast and pour fire onto Targets in land marauding Fighters continue to shoot up anything and everything they can find finally the Japanese war council gathers to contemplate the unthinkable the ultimatum for surrender offered at potam they agree to accept but with conditions Japan's offer is immediately rejected Truman is very clear only unconditional surrender will [Music] do against all expectations the Japanese give ground again only one overriding condition remains their Emperor must be allowed to stay in power [Music] the Americans signal that if the supreme commander of Allied Forces General Douglas MacArthur is placed in overall command of Japan they will allow the emperor to stay the two sides finally agree terms of surrender in early August on the quarter deck of the battleship USS Missouri the Japanese delegation including foreign minister mamuru shitsu sign the formal document of surrender [Applause] finally it's over peace has [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] arrived countless lives have been lost in one of the most bloody campaigns of World War II it's seen the arrival of new and frightening weapons and tactics including the ultimate game Cher in the atom [Music] bomb in the end it is a catastrophe for the Japanese the cost for them is 2 million lives of which 1.74 million are military [Music] The American Nation has fought for four years and buried nearly half a million men in the Pacific 55,1 245 men were lost from the Army 29,285 from the Navy and 19,1 163 Marines [Music] but out of all this new adversaries emerge in an epic struggle to master such devastating power while the Japanese Nation must rebuild its shattered and scarred country and learn to come to terms with a calamitous war war that began in the waters of Hawaii and ended in rubble and [Music] Ash
