Island Hopping: The Military Strategy That Crushed Japan In WW2 | WWII In the Pacific | War Stories

this channel is part of the history hit Network summer 1942 six 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 the island after Ireland it's clear the U.S 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 specially enhanced colorful 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 foreign by the summer of 1942 it's clear Japan's attempt at knocking America out at Pearl Harbor failed in fact the U.S 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 begin U.S military planners led by Army Chief of Staff George C Marshall identified Japan's Achilles heel a complete lack of Natural Resources it's why Japan has seized all those territories around the Pacific create an empire to supply oil rubber tin essential for maintaining the war effort cut off these resources and Japan will fall [Music] the problem is Japanese Commander General Hideki Tojo 2. okay 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 we demand more than American Naval superiority it will mean driving the Japanese from their bases across the ocean Island by Island foreign this will require an entirely new form of warfare phibious Landing America has never attempted anything like this before but U.S 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 U.S Fleet 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 to the Solomon Islands to the south of Japan's Empire fortunately for MacArthur allies stationed on New Guinea have prevented Japan from seizing the entire Island foreign in March 1942 but came up against Australia's forces stationed [Music] with the help of the Native papuans the Australians have fought back against Japan's South Seas forces and have retained an important base at Port Moresby this will provide the US with a foothold from which to launch their offensive foreign hit is a streaming platform that is just for history fans with fantastic documentaries covering fascinating figures and moments in history from all over the world from the Battle of Trafalgar and the revolutionary era right through to the second world war if you are looking for your next military history fix then this is the service for you we're committed to Bringing history fans award-winning documentaries and podcasts that you cannot find anywhere else sign up now for a free trial and War Stories fans get 50 off their first three months just be sure to use the code War Stories at checkout MacArthur's first tuck a tiny Island on the southern tip of the Solomon Islands the very bottom of Japan's defensive ring Guadalcanal the offensive opens with shelling by U.S warships foreign [Music] s from 26th Squadron rain down destruction for seven days [Music] [Music] only when Japan's defenses have been softened up does MacArthur launch the first land-based assault U.S Marines go into amphibious combat for the very first time low light and heavy clouds allow the approaching landing craft to 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 Garrus fight back with shocking ferocity the first and 11th Marine Corps pounds the enemy defenses with howitzers it's not enough they are forced to getting close Japanese are driven by a code of honor it's better to die in battle or commit suicide than surrender a code that Americans quickly discover means they offer a fight to the death [Music] within hours ten thousand U.S troops reach land outnumbering the enemy five to one as more U.S heavy artillery and tank support arrives MacArthur's optimism grows that he has the Japanese outgunned and outnumbered Japan's 2000 strong Garrison is quickly overwhelmed by 8 PM after just 14 hours of fighting American troops secure their main objective an airstrip 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 secure [Music] 12 Days Later Japan mounts a counter-attack a wave of a thousand soldiers from their nearby Island's stronghold of rabal lands on guadalcana foreign forces stand firm almost all of the Japanese that attack are killed but they keep on coming wave after wave of Japanese reinforcements pour onto the island [Music] fighting continues for six months until Japan is forced to concede [Music] all remaining Japanese forces are evacuated from Guadalcanal by February the 7th 1943. the battle for this one tiny Island costs America 7100 lives Japan's losses are a staggering 24 000. Guadalcanal is a taste of the war of attrition that is to come [Music] thank you the American victory provides a key foothold on the edge of the Japanese empire a secure Airfield for MacArthur to start island hopping his way towards the ultimate goal Mainland Japan [Music] February 1943 with Guadalcanal under their control U.S Chiefs can now begin the process of cutting Japan off from its supply of Natural Resources Rebel on the island of New Britain is America's Next Target from here Japan provides air and Naval support to its supplements MacArthur's plan is not to capture Rebel but to isolate it cut off it will cease to pose any military threat operation cartwheel is launched General McArthur intends to encircle rabal with a pincer maneuver MacArthur himself will lead the Western pincer from Port Moresby up the Japanese occupied northern coast of New Guinea the Eastern pincer commanded by Admiral William Bull Halsey will start from Guadalcanal and move north through the japanese-controlled Solomon Islands from these two points the U.S Navy can complete the encirclement as with Guadalcanal cartwheel begins with intense aerial bombardment and shelling [Music] then marine and army units assault the beaches this time the Japanese unleash heavy Mort sniper and machine gun fire as the U.S presses inland Japanese resistance becomes even stronger the enemy are well dug in lurking in a network of pill boxes caves and underground bunkers American 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 Banzai as the combat continues U.S troops face a new enemy the jungle to rain on the island is riddled with disease soldiers fall prey to dysentery scrub typhus and worst of all malaria in fact across the entire war in the Pacific malaria claims more American casualties than the Japanese foreign but despite the appalling jungle conditions the U.S 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 encircle rabal [Music] American casualties run into the tens of thousands staggeringly more than a hundred and fifty thousand Japanese are killed operation cartwheel has done its job rabal along with its Garrison of over a hundred thousand 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 U.S 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 Tarawa [Music] it 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 reefs underfoot exposed to enemy fire hundreds of Marines are cut down by machine guns meanwhile the bulk of Japan's 4700 strong Garrison is waiting inland outnumbered by the invading Americans seven to one every one of them is ready to die for their emperor foreign [Music] dedication makes the next four days some of the fiercest and bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history [Music] by the time the island of Tarawa is secure 1700 American lives are lost out of the entire Japanese Garrison only 17 allow themselves to be captured alive thank you 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 U.S 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 forager [Music] the first Target the Mariana island of Saipan and 5 000 shells of fired Japan's defenses two days later the amphibious Landings begin eight thousand Marines of the second and fourth divisions are ashore by early morning the fighting follows are by now familiar pattern but this time the Japanese have a surprise they don't just have ground troops they call up their Navy a huge carry effect including five fleet carriers and four light carriers advances into the Philippine Sea [Music] the aim is to cut the U.S troops on Saipan off from their supporting ships but there is a flaw in the Japanese plan most of their experienced Pilots were lost at the Battle of Midway these Pilots are rookies [Music] a first wave of just 61-0 Fighters take off [Music] Nimitz scrambles 220 f6f Hellcat Fighters foreign 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 sky [Music] the Japanese launch another week of 120 aircraft and then another 47. [Music] by Nightfall the U.S 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 U.S submarines torpedo and sink two Japanese aircraft carriers in less than 24 hours the Imperial Japanese Fleet routed [Music] they lose three carriers and almost 600 aircraft [Music] 's crushing blow means that Japan can no longer compete in carrier-based Warfare the battle of the Philippine Sea is an important American victory [Music] back on Saipan the conflict plummets to new depths of horror it's not the Banzai charges that shock the U.S troops it's the suicidal fanaticism of the 8 000 Japanese civilians on the island [Music] American soldiers watching horror as men women and even children jump from Cliffs to to their death [Music] the message to America is clear clear to beat Japan the US won't just have to overcome a vast Army but an entire nation that will never surrender how can you defeat an enemy that just won't back down good 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 horrifying [Music] U.S losses stand at around 46 000 men pans are massive at over three hundred thousand [Music] 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 the war seems no nearer to ending in the U.S 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 U.S heavy bombers King's plan would mean bypassing most of the remaining Japanese bases across the Pacific leaving them undefeated but isolated thank you General MacArthur has other ideas the U.S 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 will provide bigger bases than Formosa from which to launch bombing raids and consolidate America's Stranglehold on Japan [Music] 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 promise [Music] on July 26 1944 President Roosevelt Pax MacArthur's plan [Music] it is a decision that will prove fateful for hundreds of thousands of people [Music] as preparations for the campaign begin MacArthur deliberates where to make his first assault targets the island of Latin in the southern Philippines the general launches and Fitness 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 18-mile long beachhead from which to begin their advance in land the Japanese High command no 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 victory [Music] the plan is to lure America's Naval support away from the ground troops on laity the Imperial Fleet is split into three one Convoy advances through the San Bernardino Straits to the north and another through the Surigao Straits to the South the third Japanese Convoy including the Imperial Navy's last four carriers approaches the Philippines from the east on October the 23rd the northern Convoy of operation show is spotted spotted Admiral Halsey commander of the third Fleet intercepts oh [Music] 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 Halsey on he takes the bait heading straight towards the Japanese carriers to the Northeast and away from laity [Music] meanwhile to the South Admiral Kincaid heads out to intercept the second Japanese Convoy approaching through the Surigao streets [Music] Japan's plan is working just a few U.S vessels remain to support the landing on Leighton thank you 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 the victory the 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 Surigao Straits Admiral Kincaid and the U.S seventh fleet unleash hell on Japan's Southern Convoy [Music] thank you three Japanese destroyers and two battleships are some to the Northeast Admiral Halsey 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 [Music] it should be the final knockout blow against the Japanese Imperial Navy but Japan believes it can still Strike Back Against the U.S 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 Kamikaze meaning divine wind foreign to make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of their emperor [Music] in the fall of 1944 the first kamikaze pilots drinksake before climbing into their aircraft Laden with fuel and explosives [Music] their targets are America's aircraft carriers supporting the troops on the Philippine island of Leyte [Music] U.S Fighters and anti-aircraft guns respond to the threat some kamikazes are blown out of the sky others miss their targets but a direct hit is devastating the carrier sent low is sunk killing a hundred Americans [Music] as horrific as these attacks are they're not enough to turn the tide of the wall out of some 2600 Kamikaze sorties only 19 hit their targets sinking less than 40 U.S ships [Music] back on lady Ground Forces face off against Japanese defenses across the island attritional Warfare continues for two solid months [Music] but once again Japan's determination is no match for America's sheer weight in numbers they are outnumbered four to one [Music] on New Year's Eve 1944 General McArthur's men finally capture lady almost the entire Japanese force of 50 000. lies dead now MacArthur can launch his attack on the main Philippine island of Luzon [Music] early in the new year over a hundred thousand troops of the sixth Army division land on the south coast of the island [Music] The Landings are relatively unopposed [Music] the Japanese Garrison is poorly equipped and is no longer receiving air and Naval support all reinforcements from Japan no match for America they are forced to fall back to Mountain stronghorns [Music] as U.S reinforcements pour onto Luzon MacArthur heads straight for the capital Manila [Music] after just two weeks of close quarter combat MacArthur's troops are just 60 kilometers from the capital retake the major U.S Air Base of Clark Field that had fallen to Japan in 1941. [Music] with Manila in his sights it looks as if General Douglas MacArthur is about to make good on his promise to liberate the Philippines [Music] the first Cavalry division take the bridge over the tulahan river [Music] and on February the 3rd the U.S entered the capital city Manila [Music] the Japanese hold manila's historic architecture in high esteem [Music] to preserve it General Yamashita gives orders to withdraw completely [Music] but a Garrison Commander named Sanji iwabuki defies the order along with twenty thousand men they swear to uphold the Japanese Imperial 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 each through the capital [Music] they face snipers machine gun nests and hidden artillery historic Manila is reduced to Rubble thank you after a month of fighting U.S forces drive iwabuki and his remaining troops to the historic center of the city known as intramuros [Music] there they will make that last stand [Music] American soldiers unleash a 140 gun artillery barrage foreign U.S troops then assault the stronghold the battle is brutal lasting three days [Music] a door on the 26th and his offices commit sapuku the Japanese Act of ceremonial suicide the battle for Manila is finally over by March the 3rd American losses stand at a thousand Japan's at seventeen thousand but over a hundred thousand Filipino civilians lie dead many of them massacred by the Japanese it is the highest death toll of any battle in the Pacific Theaters so far [Music] MacArthur has kept his promise but at a devastating price [Music] [Music] the battle for the Philippines will continue for five more months as the U.S are made to weed out pockets of Japanese Defenders dotted around the islands [Applause] [Music] foreign ly over it has cost America around 14 000 dead and almost fifty thousand wounded [Music] Japan has lost almost 350 000 soldiers lives [Music] 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 U.S Chiefs know this too they need to find a way to force Japan to surrender quickly and unconditionally [Music] but how foreign

Channel: War Stories

Views: 433,537

Keywords: Allied forces strategy, Japan's defeat in WWII, Leyte Gulf, Matt Lewis documentary, Operation Forager, Operation Galvanic, Pacific War battles, Pearl Harbor attack, Suzannah Lipscomb documentary, War Stories, World War II, aerial warfare in WWII, combat leadership insights, decisive military engagements, historical documentaries, naval battles in WWII, significant WWII battles, soldiers' experiences in war, valor in wartime, violent clashes history, war heroes documentary

Id: U6CUhAjpfcw

Length: 50min 31sec (3031 seconds)

Published: Sun May 14 2023