The PAcific War Japan continued to fight in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, taking over Burma, China, and the Philippines, even after Germany had surrendered. Allied forces and other countries, including India, Holland, and Australia, had little to no success in stopping the Japanese expansion. This was until the United States entered the war in 1941.
The American forces began to donimate the war after the United States joined the Allies. The Allies slowly began to win back the Pacific islands that were occupied by Japanese forces. The end of the world war allowed the Allies to shift their attention to the Japanese. About 80 000 Canadians volunteered to fight in the Pacific by July 1945. |
The Atomic Bomb With the recapturing of the Pacific islands, the Americans were able to use the bases located on this piece of land to reach Japan. Constant bombings on Japan by the Americans from March to August 1945 resulted in 84 000 civilian deaths.
The Japanese still refused to give up. Therefore, Harry Truman, who became the American president after Franklin Roosevelt died, decided to drop two atomic bombs on Japan. The first bomb was dropped by the Enola Gay on Hiroshima, instantly killing 70 000 people. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 400 000 people. The Japanese government called for peace the day after the Nagasaki bombing and on August 14, 1945, Japan called for an unconditional surrender. |
The War in the Pacific
After the war had ended, the Allies switched their attention to stopping the Japanese expansion throughout Asia.
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