World War II Pacific

The Pacific Theater of World War II (1937–1945) began with Japan's invasion of China in 1937 and expanded dramatically with the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, which drew the United States into the war. Japan built a vast empire across Southeast Asia and the Pacific — at its peak controlling territory from China to Midway, Burma to the Solomon Islands. The US strategy of 'island-hopping' — capturing strategically vital Pacific islands while bypassing fortified positions — gradually pushed toward Japan. The Battle of Midway (1942) was the turning point; Japan's navy never recovered from the loss of four aircraft carriers. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 and Japan's subsequent surrender saved an estimated 250,000–500,000 lives that a land invasion would have cost.