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Pacific War

The largest theater of World War II, fought across the Pacific and Asia.

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Pacific War

Ensign Emment Regan · Public domain

The Pacific War was the World War II theater fought between Japan and the Allies across East and Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and Oceania.[1] War between Japan and China had begun in 1937, but the Pacific War is widely accepted to have started in 1941 when the United States and United Kingdom entered.[2]

Dated events war map of the Pacific and Far East, 1942
Dated events war map of the Pacific and Far East, 1942. Image: Stanley Turner · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Life and work

The Soviet Union fought border conflicts with Japan in 1938 and 1939, then remained neutral until August 1945.[3] Japanese forces captured Nanjing in December 1937 and committed atrocities in the Nanjing Massacre.[4] During the conflict, Allied nations typically did not separate the "Pacific War" from the broader World War II, or they referred to it simply as the War against Japan.[5] China, the United States, and the British Empire were the principal Allied participants.[6]

Map of Pacific Theater of World War II
Map of Pacific Theater of World War II. Image: National Park Service · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Fighting between China and Japan had been ongoing since 1937.[6] Following the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the US entered the war; Japan then issued declarations of war against Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.[6] Korea and Taiwan were sources from which Japan conscripted many soldiers.[7] Full-scale hostilities between China and Japan were triggered by the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937.[4]

Kawanishi H8K2 "Emily" Flying Boat breaks up as it falls in flames after an attack by a PB4Y-1 of Bombing Squadron 115 (VB-115) in the Central Pacific, 2 July 1944
Kawanishi H8K2 "Emily" Flying Boat breaks up as it falls in flames after an attack by a PB4Y-1 of Bombing Squadron 115 (VB-115) in the Central Pacific, 2 July 1944. Image: Ensign Emment Regan · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

According to sources, approximately 7,500,000 Chinese military personnel and civilians had perished due to the Japanese invasion by the time of Pearl Harbor.[8]

Military officials trainees Taiwan Pacific War
Military officials trainees Taiwan Pacific War. Image: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Pacific War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Murray Millett 2001, p. 143 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Pacific War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: MacLeod 1999; Costello 1982, p. 129–148; Clodfelter 2002, p. 556 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Pacific War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sandler 2001, p. 1067–1068; Sandler 2001, p. 1067–1068 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Pacific War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Harmsen 2013, p. ; Harmsen 2015, p. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Pacific War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Statewide Dual Credit World History, The Catastrophe of the Modern Era: 1919-Present CE, Chapter 14: The World Afire: World War II, Japanese Expansion November 1941 to June 1942", OER Commons (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Pacific War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "WW2 People's War – Timeline", BBC (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Pacific War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ptak, "Review of Wartime Macau: Under the Japanese Shadow", Journal of Asian History, 2017, p. 328–333 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Pacific War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Frank, "Tower of Skulls", 2020, p. 178; Paine, "The Wars for Asia", Cambridge University Press, p. 185 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Pacific War (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Named in this entry

Second Sino-Japanese WarSoviet–Japanese WarRepublic of China (1912–1949)Japanese invasion of ManchuriaAttack on Pearl HarborNew BritainAircraft carrierPort Moresby

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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