My Dad was an engineer in New Guinea, building bridges, landing strips, etc. As a WWII History fan, I asked him what went on over there, but he side-skirted the issue, using his infallible humor to mask what must have been a horrible time for him. Like many, he didn't much care for the Japanese until the day he died. 😢
My dad was at several island battles including Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. He an enlisted Marine, 19 years old, and was in charge of an amtrac ferrying his buddies to the islands, eventually telling his driver where to put the vehicle so they could join the fighting. His experiences really ruined him, especially Saipan, where they were reduced to using flamethrowers to kill the Japanese soldiers in their foxholes, dugouts, and caves, eventually killing 29,000, all on an island 12 miles long and 5.5 miles wide. He told me he witnessed the Japanese soldiers forcing the indigenous people to commit suicide by jumping from cliffs with bayonets in their backs, especially women holding infants or young children, and the desecration of his buddies’ bodies after death. The only other thing he told me was at Iwo Jima after parking their amtrac, he jumped out one side and his driver the other, right on a land mine blowing his legs off. The worst was his survivor’s guilt, because he never got a scratch. He wouldn’t use VA services until the last few years of his life because he didn’t think he deserved it. Although I’m very anti-racist, I never said a word when he used “Japs” to describe the enemy….I thought he’d earned the right.
@@johnlawler4241one of my great uncles was a POW in a Japanese camp, he couldn’t eat rice till the day he died and would get violent if he was ever served it
My ex wife's grandfather fought against the Marines in WWII. He wasn't too happy when she told him she was marrying a Marine. The day I went to go meet her grandparents she told me to wait outside and all I heard was an old man yelling. Her grandmother calmed him down. We locked eyes when I met him and I bowed down as he barely did so. Then he left the room. Ironically, my son was born on the same birthday as his great-grandfather and was concieved around the same time he died. His Japanese family thinks he's the reincarnation of his great-grandfather
yeah true enough....i had a friend who was in North Africa...the Germans were not as hated ....he couldn't stand the Japanese....he'd always say cant stand those Japs after what they did to our boys in Bataan...the Japanese did not treat POWs very well even the Germans had to tell them to treat prisoners better...
Japan,and Germany look so humbled this time around yet they were savages of that century,,what a world!!thanks to the great men who sacrificed for the little peace we have in our world🎉🎉
@@jason200912 Even worse they would've joined the dinosaurs cause of the nukes or the soviots would've massacred like nanking as well as treating them like animals and corrupt by communism we did the exact opposite so they should be very grateful they didn't become a North Korea despite nuking them it saved 1m Americans and 10m Japs including 30m lives at the cost of only 226k.
@@jason200912 For sure. If the IJA and IJN generals had their way, they would've continued the war and the Soviets would have proceeded with their plan on taking Hokkaido. The US would be forced to conduct Operation Downfall and Japan would be divided between the two powers. The current state of Japan is one that their people should be grateful to have even happened.
My Father whom is Japanese/American was assigned to the 32nd Division in 1942 for the Buna/Gona campaign the U.S. Army 1st offensive campaign of WWII, also the 1st gound victory, He spent the whole war in the jungles of New Guinea & Philippines.
Thanks for the informative comment Mark. I am sure he did good work in difficult conditions. I hope neither he nor your family suffered any prejudice because of your origins but I fear that may not have been the case. Greetings from Oxford UK
I'd like to thank him for a great service. Its amazing to think about the amount of Resiliency these young men must of had. So many were just getting done with high school. Then got sent directly to the most hardcore ki//ing school.
I don't know what my dad saw as a Navy Corpsman, because he wouldnt talk about it, but he hated the Japanese until the day he died. He didn't believe nearly enough Japanese died in the war. When I watch these videos, I get it. I'm not saying that's a good way to think, but I get it.
Admiral Nimitz as Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Area reported to Admiral Ernest J. King, the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations. General MacArthur as Supreme Commander Allied Forces, Southwest Pacific Theater reported to General George C. Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff. In August 1945 Nimitz was made commander of all U.S. Naval Forces in the Pacific while MacArthur was made commander of all U.S. Army Forces in the Pacific as well as Supreme Commander Allied Powers for the Occupation of Japan. Admiral Nimitz went on to be Chief of Naval Operations, he never served under MacArthur but by date of rank and order of precedence established in December 1944 for five star officers MacArthur was senior to Nimitz.
Island Hopping was a stroke of genius and tempered an increasingly agitated American public's anger towards island invasions in the Pacific. They were able to pick and choose important islands to invade for airbases and leave the other zillion islands to wither on the vine so to speak. Could you imagine having to invade every single Japanese occupied island in the pacific??
I am no military expert but I think King's idea of taking Formosa seems like a better idea. It would have been island hopping writ large. They could have taken the Philippines eventually, maybe after the Japanese surrender. Taking the Philippines when they did seems more like it was designed to soothe MacArthur's ego than to pursue the best strategy. Taking and securing Formosa would have cut the empire in two, imho.
The 20,000 men holding the center of Manilla were SAILORS, under the command of a Japanese Admiral. The Japanese Army and Navy did NOT get along, and this disobedience of Yamashita's orders is not surprising.
Island Hopping is also known as the Leapfrogging strategy. The principle of leapfrogging was not always followed in the Pacific. When MacArthur moved south to attack Mindanao after capturing the northern Philippines, when he instigated the reconquest of portions of Borneo, he violated the "basic tenets" of island hopping.
As harsh as this may seem, I still support the idea of using nuclear weapon to defeat Japan. I think this country has proven that in a battle of attrition whenever casualties get too high, we just don't have the stomach for that.
The UN building, in New York, is clad in some of the green marble that was ordered by the US military for the 500,000 tombstones they thought they would need should it be necessary to take Japan by conventional means. Who knows how many Japanese would have died if atomic weapons weren’t available?
@@bob494949 But it killed and injured 199,000 Japanese lives So we can't really say it's an entirely "Good Thing" Admittedly though it stopped the War
Propaganda, but NOT History, has led us to believe that the Empire of Japan began its territorial expansion in the 1930’s, invading China, creating the puppet State of Manchukuo and “Provoking” the war with the Western Powers. But, Was this really, how events happened? Did Japan invade China and South East Asia? It seems so. However, the Propaganda does NOT say that for centuries, all Asia was invaded by Western Powers. England occupied India, Burma (Myanmar); Singapore, Malaysia and China (Hong Kong, Nanking, Shanghai, etc). France dominated all Indochina. The Netherlands intervened by the Force of its Arms, to all of Indonesia. And Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and of course, also the United States were in South East Asia cuz, for example this country, the US, occupied the Philippines since 1898. (Spanish-American War). Thus the panorama in the 30's, the Empire of Japan, when defeating to the Tsarist Russian Empire, it also decided to "Grow" by invading its neighbors. In those years, all European nations had colonies in Africa, India, the Middle East, Asia and America. (England came to occupy almost ¼ part of the planet). For its part, the US, in 113 years of existence as a nation in those years, had "Grown" 711 the size of its territory from its original 13 colonies. Now is the picture clear? Japan for its part, had fought on the side of the winners in World War I (1914-1918), and they, the Japanese, not awarded any "Gain". The western victors of WWI divided the world. Japan was excluded. Thus, Japan's motives for attacking and expanding as the Europeans and the US did seem clearer, right? Then they, the Japanese, attacked China in 30’s, which was occupied by 6 Western Powers for almost a century. None of the Western Powers occupying China at this time, OPPOSED or fought Japan for Invading China. NONE! Then, 11 years later after having occupied the territory of China and coexisted without any problem with the Western Powers within China, they, the Japanese, attacked Hawaii, which in turn, this Island had been occupied and annexed by the US in 1898. (In 1900-01, Hawaii became US territory and Hawaii ceased to be an independent nation after more than 630 years of sovereignty. By the time Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States had just completed the 40th anniversary of the military occupation and annexation of Hawaii). They, the Japanese, attacked Singapore, which was then a Colony of England. They, the Japanese, attacked the Philippines, which were occupied by the US and whose Gov’r, Douglas MacArthur reined as Emperor. Yup… Truly like an Absolute Autocrat. Therefore, the Japanese did NOT attack (In the 40’s), Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Borneo, Timor, the Philippines, etc. In reality, the Japanese attacked England, France, Belgium, Holland, the US, etc. That is, the Japanese attacked the Western Powers invading all of Asia. That is the verifiable truth. But, Propaganda has made us believe that the good guys were us, the US. And of course… Nanking was a horrendous Genocide committed by Japan, but, it was no more horrendous than the 12 Genocides committed by the United States in his History and all over the world. Nor was it less horrendous than the Genocide committed by King Leopold II of Belgium, in Central Africa. Nor was Nanking more or less horrendous than the Genocides that the British Empire committed in America, Africa, Australia, Middle East, India and also in China too. And now, the Japanese are our friends and allies... Yup… But, to fight against China, AGAIN!!! Well… No More. No More British Malaya nor British Borneo nor British wherever. No More French Indochina. No more Dutch Indies. No More Portugese Domains. No More US Domain here. Asia is for Asians and “The China Sea” belongs to CHINA. Westerns powers have nothing to do in Asia.
What really crushed Japan was the American submarines who sank Japan's tanker ships. Without the tankers, Japan could not import oil and thus did not have fuel for their machines.
I agree, it was the effective use of the submarine that was a decisive factor. The only reason it took so long was the incompetence of the Naval Ordinance in developing an effective submarine torpedo which tools years when should been months.
@@johnpalmer5131 As the Northern Army Ordenance with the newer type rifles in the American Civil War. The Civil War was over in the end of 1863 and 300 000 people could be alive! I think the American submarins would have got better torpedoes 1 years earler there are not Hiroshima and Nagasak only the sciencist tried 3 new bombs in Los Alamosi!
@@rickkephartactual7706 After some intense "negotiations", the line between MacArthur's command and Nimitz's was moved slightly. This put Guadalcanal in Nimitz zone.
28:13 , that line is crucial in understanding why dropping the atomic bombs were necessary and not only saved American lives but quite likely Japanese as well
The Japanese only lost a little over 100 pilots at Midway it was Gaudalcanal that wiped out their best pilots between the carrier battles and all the air raids they lost 600 to 800 planes and almost all their best pilots and their crews were killed it broke their backs.
Mcarthur didn't Command at Guadalcanal. And there was no 7 days of B-17 bombing. This episode has some wildly inaccurate statements Edit: I watched the rest. Mac must have wrote this. And the poor Aussies are dismissed without even being properly named. 😂
Poor Nimitz ,who was wrongfully overshadowed by MacArthur. The official WW2 Pacific museum is at least in Nimitz’s hometown in Fredericksburg, Texas - and it worth a 2 day deep dive for sure.
My dad’s position was that none of the marines-boys-on those island felt brave….they were terrified and they were on an island, so even when they gave everything within them, they couldn’t leave and they still died. Only the “lucky” stayed alive. I use “” bc my dad suffered terrible survivor’s guilt for the rest of his life.
That’s if he was really there. I think you’re far too young to be talking like your father is a vet of the islands. Leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.
Remember this accolade about MacArthur: he was the person in 1962 who at the bequest of JFK -gave advice on the military benefit of employing the naval blockage (against Cuba) and not introducing large US combat forces in Vietnam despite contrary advice from the JCS. OBTW: given China’s rise and Reddit actions, few critics today raise the wisdom of General MacArthur confronting China more directly during the Korean War!
It has always been forgoten that MacArthur's promise was not just for Filipinos but also for thousands of Americans that was left, both soldiers and civillians. The Philippines, although granted a Commonwealth status, was still under the supervision of the United States, just like Puerto Rico now. That is one of the reason why The Philippines was targeted the next day after they've done surprise attack on Hawaii. The Philippines and Hawaii has almost the same status before and during war times. Philippines was granted Independence by the US in 1946, Hawaii gained its Statehood in 1950. That is also the reason i think why President Roosevelt backed MacArthur to go to Philippines first, aside from the fact that if Japan will see the American progress in Formosa, that they might massacre American civillians and POW in PH.
@SeattlePioneer So what? Of course they were glad to be relieved! They had been there for months. But the battle was essentially over except mop up. Nimitz and the Marines took the Guadalcanal, not McArthur and the army.
The initial battle was fought exclusively by the Marines and the Navy, who arrived in August of 1942, but US Army troops arrived in October of that year, and the battle didn't finally end until February of 1943. That means the Army fought there alongside the Marines for 4 months of the 6-month battle. At that point, the battle was a long way from over and it was by no means a mop up operation.
MacArthur received the Medal of Honor for leading from the rear. General Chesty Puller was in the mix with his men. Who would you rather follow? Besides, Nimitz was in charge of the Pacific Fleet, therefore the Ramrod of Guadalcanal. MacArthur was in charge AFTER the island had been taken and the Marines left to hop the other islands moving North. If you disagree with me, before arguing, research both of their blunders on the Internet.
Not only was Macarthur ''leading'' from the rear as you mention. He was responsible for the largest/worst surrender in American military history with the fall of the Philippine Islands First Battle and left Gen. Wainwright holding the bag of MacArthur dung. Dugout Dougie also was responsible for the largest retreat ever of the American Army in the Korea campaign in the early 50's. His first battle plan from Australia (Forever Sorry about dug Dougie Australia) was to invade Rabaul with a single carrier and a division!!!! I have NO idea what George Marshall was thinking in giving Dougie the CMH but also to send him & his antique military plan back out to Pacific Theater to ''be in charge''. We won in spite of Dougie not because of him! His campaign in New Guinea was a total joke. It held absolutely no military significance other than a defensive purpose. The seconf invasion of Philippines was not necessary, Taiwan was a much better option with more strategic location and fewer losses. Hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians were killed for Dougie promise to return to fix his Failures. When Dougie fled the Philippines he did it with ''family & staff'' it has now come to light that the staff part of the equation was a young 16 year Philippine girl he kept for sexual purpose. This has been verified and his name should be removed from every paer & monument that are up. He was a child molester!!!! Sometimes. History Hurts. face It!!!!
My father was First Cav and fought there. He loved the Japanese people? To this day I still can't understand how? He loved Japan? He was aboard ship when the surrender was signed and marched off to occupy until he was shipped out to Korea. I still don't understand?
I've met several men, including my uncle, who said many of the Japanese people they met, were decent people and they got to know them. My uncle was in the Army at the time, but he didn't see action, and my friends father didn't see a lot of action, but he was in the Philippines in the Army Signal Corp, and he was involved in relaying the message of the surrender. My father experienced the many air sea battles and Kamikaze planes, during the many amphibious assaults. He eventually bought a Honda Civic station wagon. He would sometimes drive my mother's Mitsubishi Dodge Colt, even though he had a piece of a Mitsubishi Zero in a little box.
Thanks Social media talks about the allied advance and we see little on what happened to the Japanese soldiers who were bypassed in the south pacific by MacArthur. Few Americans realize the bulk of the ground troops after Guadalcanal and up to the Philippines were from Australia
We should stop calling it code of honor, because it's not honorable to treat civilians, prisoners and even the own population like that. Bushido belonged to the class of the samurai, it really has more to do with vanity, delusion of grandeur and a fake class sentiment (since the overall majority of military personal didn't even had a samurai family background). It's like calling the SS honorable, just because they had the motto "My honor means loyalty".
One of these days, I hope we get a documentary about the courageous locals that rose up to work with the Allies to defeat the Japanese. The local knowledge of these peoples, along with their courage, were a crucial element in delaying the Japanese advance long enough for the US and UK to move forces into position to strike back and, in the case of the Gurkhas especially, they terrified the Japanese. This is even more remarkable because in many places there was simmering resentment of the colonial powers, yet these people still put aside that resentment to risk their lives fighting against the greater threat.
NO COVERAGE OF THE HEROES OF LEYTE GULF ?? When destroyers & destroyer escorts attacked BATTLESHIPS (including Yamato) ???? History Channel you really blew this one. 39:15
I made a taffy3 memorial in sd......lucky znd honored to meet and work w a few of those men. Unbelievable mismatch and they pulled it off. Their dedication to their lost shipmates you could feel. Halsey left them in that position. They were expecting to give their lives. God bless them all. Regular men turned into supermen.
I agree. 100%! I know the video is at a very high-level; however, it mentions the southern force, it mentions the carrier battle, and all it says about the northern force is that the Japanese lost their nerve (36:00 pt in video). Why did they lose their nerve? Taffy3.
Guadalcanal was a joint navy, army, marine, and Australian navy campaign. The US Navy suffered heavy casualties and ship losses. But all services bleed
Pretty good video. I’m not enjoying most of the music sound track. The script was good although it covered a lot in a short time, this could have gone on for 4 hours or more.
It was Admiral King, far more than any other individual, who devised this brilliant strategy. Admiral Nimitz deserves credit too. The victory in the Pacific was above all a naval triumph. That's the reality.
I got to the 8:34 mark... and realized this video has NOTHING to do with actual history. First of all, the invasion of Guadalcanal was NOT an Army action. It was a Navy / Marine action. Admiral Nimitz was in charge, Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher was in overall command of the operation, Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner commanded the amphibious forces, and Major General Alexander Vandegrift was in charge of the Marines. MacArthur had nothing to do with the invasion. And, he had nothing to do with the Army personnel that arrived after the initial Marine landings. Maj. Gen. Millard F. Harmon, as Commanding General, South Pacific... was in command of the Army troops committed to Guadalcanal. MacArthur was given responsibility for planning and coordinating the advance AFTER Guadalcanal was secured. And second, the "Japanese garrison" did not put up heavy resistance immediately after the landings. They were NOT an Army garrison... they were mostly and primarily construction workers. They provided next to no resistance at all. The Marines took the under construction airfield the very first day. The "garrisons" arrived AFTER the Japanese military heard the news of the invasion. I didn't bother watching any more of this video. And, I will have to reevaluate the entire War Stories channel, and the historical accuracy of its video's content after this one.
What other strategies were on the table? Thete could ve difference in approach in terms of sequencing which island to take, but other that that rhe campaign would jave had to move ahead island by island only? How else?
At 6:40 the narrator says that "MacArthur's first target" was Guadalcanal. This is not correct. Guadalcanal was primarily a Navy and Marine operation under the command of Nimitz, MacArthur was not involved. In fact, before the invasion began, the line of demarcation between Nimitz's Central Pacific area and MacArthur's South Pacific area was moved by 60 miles so that Guadalcanal would fall completely in Nimitz's jurisdiction. Later, in October, Army troops landed to reinforce the Marines but they were not under MacArthur's command.
1715. He's apparently moved on from Guadalcanal. But what about the Ichiki Detachment? Why was there no mention of the tropical diseases on Guadalcanal? What about Tulagi and Tananbogo? Accuracy should have to count for something, right?
What opportunity in Samar? To sink a few escort carriers and their few escorts while taking heavy battle damage and being trapped by remaining longer where Halsey’s carriers can strike them and sink them? The Japanese admiral saw what happened to his sister ship on the way there. And the seventh fleet battle ships weren’t that far away, let alone 3rd/5th fleets carriers and battleships
Imperial Japan, like Germany, made the strategic mistake of over-extension of forces and poor timing. Military victory and conquest -require a modicum of ‘digestion’ for which both Japan and Germany did not consider. Before ever thinking about attacking Pearl Harbor, Japan needs to subdue China and not to attack the U.S. 5,000 miles away from its home shores and at the extreme limit of its power projection! 😊
114000+:Americans and Filipinos dead, when we could have been bombing Japan from formosa the whole time. That pic of MacArthur stepping onto the beach was sure worth it!
Propaganda, but NOT History, has led us to believe that the Empire of Japan began its territorial expansion in the 1930’s, invading China, creating the puppet State of Manchukuo and “Provoking” the war with the Western Powers. But, Was this really, how events happened? Did Japan invade China and South East Asia? It seems so. However, the Propaganda does NOT say that for centuries, all Asia was invaded by Western Powers. England occupied India, Burma (Myanmar); Singapore, Malaysia and China (Hong Kong, Nanking, Shanghai, etc). France dominated all Indochina. The Netherlands intervened by the Force of its Arms, to all of Indonesia. And Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and of course, also the United States were in South East Asia cuz, for example this country, the US, occupied the Philippines since 1898. (Spanish-American War). Thus the panorama in the 30's, the Empire of Japan, when defeating to the Tsarist Russian Empire, it also decided to "Grow" by invading its neighbors. In those years, all European nations had colonies in Africa, India, the Middle East, Asia and America. (England came to occupy almost ¼ part of the planet). For its part, the US, in 113 years of existence as a nation in those years, had "Grown" 711 the size of its territory from its original 13 colonies. Now is the picture clear? Japan for its part, had fought on the side of the winners in World War I (1914-1918), and they, the Japanese, not awarded any "Gain". The western victors of WWI divided the world. Japan was excluded. Thus, Japan's motives for attacking and expanding as the Europeans and the US did seem clearer, right? Then they, the Japanese, attacked China in 30’s, which was occupied by 6 Western Powers for almost a century. None of the Western Powers occupying China at this time, OPPOSED or fought Japan for Invading China. NONE! Then, 11 years later after having occupied the territory of China and coexisted without any problem with the Western Powers within China, they, the Japanese, attacked Hawaii, which in turn, this Island had been occupied and annexed by the US in 1898. (In 1900-01, Hawaii became US territory and Hawaii ceased to be an independent nation after more than 630 years of sovereignty. By the time Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States had just completed the 40th anniversary of the military occupation and annexation of Hawaii). They, the Japanese, attacked Singapore, which was then a Colony of England. They, the Japanese, attacked the Philippines, which were occupied by the US and whose Gov’r, Douglas MacArthur reined as Emperor. Yup… Truly like an Absolute Autocrat. Therefore, the Japanese did NOT attack (In the 40’s), Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Borneo, Timor, the Philippines, etc. In reality, the Japanese attacked England, France, Belgium, Holland, the US, etc. That is, the Japanese attacked the Western Powers invading all of Asia. That is the verifiable truth. But, Propaganda has made us believe that the good guys were us, the US. And of course… Nanking was a horrendous Genocide committed by Japan, but, it was no more horrendous than the 12 Genocides committed by the United States in his History and all over the world. Nor was it less horrendous than the Genocide committed by King Leopold II of Belgium, in Central Africa. Nor was Nanking more or less horrendous than the Genocides that the British Empire committed in America, Africa, Australia, Middle East, India and also in China too. And now, the Japanese are our friends and allies... Yup… But, to fight against China, AGAIN!!! Well… No More. No More British Malaya nor British Borneo nor British wherever. No More French Indochina. No more Dutch Indies. No More Portugese Domains. No More US Domain here. Asia is for Asians and “The China Sea” belongs to CHINA. Westerns powers have nothing to do in Asia.
Instead of island hopping, why didn't they build their own island by picking a shallow spot and dropping concrete blocks until the top part is above sea level and build a runway on top. Another idea is to build long barges and chain them together. You could move the barge island (bargland) around at night with a fleet of tug boats to confuse the Japanese. I heard they tried making an iceberg into an aircraft carrier. Why not, just a lot bigger.
Thank you. Not a rewrite of history, only looking back the American campaign seemed wasteful. Can only imagine if Patten, after victory in Europe, were assigned to the Pacific battle. Not enough of the U.S. submarines in the pacific
You make it seen as if MacArthur was personally involved in these operations. Evidence is very clear in the he was a great strategic planner, but in the nitty-gritty, where it counted (logistics, local tactical requirements and conditions, etc) he was found lacking. What came to be known as the Battle of Savo Island might have had a different outcome, if not for MacArthur. Because MacArthur had wanted complete control over land AND naval forces in the Pacific, a pissing match between him and Nimitz over responsibilities, which eventually went all the way up to FDR, was finally decided, with Nimitz taking the naval assault on Guadalcanal, and MacArthur taking the assault on PNG. Where does the Battle of Savo Island come in? MacArthur, still miffed at not getting overall command, insisted that all communications from his zone of control -- which ended just west of Guadalcanal -- had to go to Washington DC, be routed to Hawaii, then on to the area commanders around Guadalcanal. So it was that on the evening of April 8, a patrol aircraft in the PNG sector spotted Japanese warships steaming southeast towards the Guadalcanal area. Rather than sending an alert, the radio operators followed protocol, and sent the message to Washington DC. The message telling area commanders on or near Guadalcanal received the warning message AFTER the crippling or outright sinking of the HMAS CANBERRA, USS ASTORIA, USS QUINCY, and USS VINCENNES on April 9th. On Papua-New Guinea, he never visited frontline areas to see on-the-ground conditions, and continued to insist that there were far fewer Japanese defenders than there actually were; as a result, no reinforcements OR supplies were sent to buttress the Australian troops. It was only by the skin of their teeth that the Aussies and Americans pulled it off, but they suffered far higher casualties than they should have because of MacArthur and his staff.
The entire concept for the Guadalcanal campaign came from Admiral Ernest J. King. The planning was done by his staff. Nimitz was directed to carry it out. Dugout Doug had nothing to do with it, or the island hopping campaign. That was King's initiative, too. People like to believe that Nimitz ran everything. Hogwash. Nimitz didn't do anything without King's permission, and the majority of strategic planning for the Pacific was done by King's Chief of Staff Savvy Cooke.
The American Marines have a very long history of amphibious operations, from there start.The Marines taught the army for there amphibious assaults , Africa, Italy, to france .
As an amateur history buff, I've laways detested the phrase "island hopping" to describe the incredibly brutal and costly campaign to cross the Pacific and defeat Japan.
After Midway, the Japanese Navy was defeated and no Island hoping was necessary! Each group Island was separated by large amounts of water and cut off already from resupply. There was no need to fight on them just put a destroyer to keep an eye on them as we focus on Japan. Our Industrial War machine was feed with un-needed bloodshed!
That’s a huge oversimplification. Japan would easily rebuild with their annexed resources. Triumphing over adversity is far more inspiring than succeeding effortlessly, which is why some people ignore the Pacific War.
Wow, nice video for its time, I suppose, but you can totally identify how outdated it is, in particular, with the dissemination of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. So much misinformation in that part from when the video was originally made compared to what is now known of the battle, especially with the conflict between IJN's Center Force and U.S. Taffy 3.
My late father had a piece of a Japanese Zero that missed him by a few yards. Nobody on his ship was injured by the attack, but they found a piece of the pilot on the fantail of his ship. My father's sister ship, the USS Liddle was hit on the bridge and became a floating graveyard for awhile.
Error at 24:09 ... and ommissions Re guadacanal campaign.. Its not "most of their experienced pilots were lost at Midway". The carriers took ages to sink, they had destroyers rescuing personell.. They had been lost since Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign involved Carrier battles.. which you have not mentioned .... They hadnt invented the carrier attack for the battle of Phillipines Sea..
I'll always think that we could have bypassed more islands than we did. Surely some of them could have been simply cut off from resupply and leave them to more or less starve. King's plan was the smart way to go. It's MacArthur's fault that all that death would ensue at the Philippines. And maybe avoid the bloodbath at Okinawa, too.
I laugh when I hear tall tales of how the Japanese were these renowned jungle fighters. Pray tell, where are the jungles in the home islands? Hmm? The only advantage they had was the ability to adapt about one year before my Marine Corps came ashore to root these jungle experts out one by one. It was all Japanese propaganda. While our troops were told this myths, they soon found that, after a few weeks of actual combat against them, the Marines too became experts in jungle warfare. I believe that Colonel Edson and General Vandegrift had actual jungle warfare, asymmetrical warfare expertise which they passed on to the men. So, when you hear this Bigfoot story, please debunk the teller of the tale…
Exactly. The only reason the Japanese created their paper empire is because NOBODY IN ASIA HAD GUNS. NOBODY. From Indonesia to Siam to China, they were ALL living in the friggin stone age f f s. Of course they won every fight! And the brainless Japanese ignored Sun Tsu's maxim: Know your enemy! The fools did the opposite, they went out of their way to NOT know anything about the USA except for their stupid oriental belief that "Westerners are not as smart as Asians". Next time you hear and Asian say, "Asians are so smart", we just have to laugh in their copycat faces.
August 1942 Marines still using the 1903 Springfield rifle. The Army had been given the M1 Garand years before.. Marines doing the fighting have the oldest weapons..
It makes sense that the Army was issued the M1 first considering it was an Army project. The Marine Corps actually had the opportunity to get M1s before the war, but senior leadership declined the offer believing, quite nonsensically, that self-loading rifles would discourage marksmanship.
It was not mcArthur who wanted to take Guadalcanal, but Adm King who wanted to take it. Many more of these mistakes are made in this documentary…. Shame you.. 26:51
Both of my grandfathers fought in this war. One was a Marine in the Pacific theater and the other was a Navy man. I am often dumbfounded that Japan ever thought that they stood a chance against men such as these. That an insignificant island nation ever conceived that they could stand against such an obviously vastly superior foe is astounding. Honestly, I have no way to understand this even in the furthest reaches of fantasy. This is Alice in Wonderland levels of delusion.
Many of the statements are wildly inaccurate. This was an operation run by the Navy, not MacArthur. B-17 did not pound Guadalcanal for seven days. The Japanese "garrison" was not waiting off the beach to surprise the Marines. The Japanese construction troops abandoned the airfield without a fight.
I have to admit that I fail to grasp the island hoping strategy. Given that Japan navy was mostly gone and no carriers left at that stage, an island has military value only if ot has an air field. Many of them do not. And even then Japan few planes which can fly from the main island to island in question. I think many of these island could have been just by passed and left to rot.
Real non-professional how you couldn't keep the chronology straight ... Japan knew it couldn't fight the U.S. - they had basically lost within 6 months, then we became Godzilla ...
MacArthur did island slugging, not island hopping, which was designed to bypass much significant opposition and isolate it without direct attack. The former is butchery, the latter is strategy.
It's very disrespectful to the greatest generation, to blur these historic videos. It also isn't going to gain viewers/subscribers. It just lost you,this one.
You cant discuss the battle of Leyte without mentioning the USS Johnston and what it did and the odds the group faced. "The Japanese lost their nerve and just retreated" ?!?
This video is a condensed version of the Pacific. There is another channel that breaks down every single major and minor battle, including the USS Johnston incident.
n December 1941 Japan, already at war with British, Dutch and American Australia territories in Asia and the Pacific. By June 1942, Japanese conquests encompassed a vast area of south-east Asia and the western Pacific
My Dad was an engineer in New Guinea, building bridges, landing strips, etc. As a WWII History fan, I asked him what went on over there, but he side-skirted the issue, using his infallible humor to mask what must have been a horrible time for him. Like many, he didn't much care for the Japanese until the day he died. 😢
My dad was at several island battles including Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. He an enlisted Marine, 19 years old, and was in charge of an amtrac ferrying his buddies to the islands, eventually telling his driver where to put the vehicle so they could join the fighting. His experiences really ruined him, especially Saipan, where they were reduced to using flamethrowers to kill the Japanese soldiers in their foxholes, dugouts, and caves, eventually killing 29,000, all on an island 12 miles long and 5.5 miles wide. He told me he witnessed the Japanese soldiers forcing the indigenous people to commit suicide by jumping from cliffs with bayonets in their backs, especially women holding infants or young children, and the desecration of his buddies’ bodies after death. The only other thing he told me was at Iwo Jima after parking their amtrac, he jumped out one side and his driver the other, right on a land mine blowing his legs off. The worst was his survivor’s guilt, because he never got a scratch. He wouldn’t use VA services until the last few years of his life because he didn’t think he deserved it. Although I’m very anti-racist, I never said a word when he used “Japs” to describe the enemy….I thought he’d earned the right.
My great Uncle would tear up when he talked about how he stayed behind and worked on building roads un the heat if Texas.
@@johnlawler4241one of my great uncles was a POW in a Japanese camp, he couldn’t eat rice till the day he died and would get violent if he was ever served it
My ex wife's grandfather fought against the Marines in WWII. He wasn't too happy when she told him she was marrying a Marine.
The day I went to go meet her grandparents she told me to wait outside and all I heard was an old man yelling. Her grandmother calmed him down. We locked eyes when I met him and I bowed down as he barely did so. Then he left the room.
Ironically, my son was born on the same birthday as his great-grandfather and was concieved around the same time he died.
His Japanese family thinks he's the reincarnation of his great-grandfather
yeah true enough....i had a friend who was in North Africa...the Germans were not as hated ....he couldn't stand the Japanese....he'd always say cant stand those Japs after what they did to our boys in Bataan...the Japanese did not treat POWs very well even the Germans had to tell them to treat prisoners better...
Japan,and Germany look so humbled this time around yet they were savages of that century,,what a world!!thanks to the great men who sacrificed for the little peace we have in our world🎉🎉
Japan was very lucky cause they avoided being nuked to extinction as well as being massacred by the soviots cause they surrendered.
Had japan not surrendered in time there would for sure be a north Japan and South Japan and the Hokkaido separation Wall
@@jason200912 Even worse they would've joined the dinosaurs cause of the nukes or the soviots would've massacred like nanking as well as treating them like animals and corrupt by communism we did the exact opposite so they should be very grateful they didn't become a North Korea despite nuking them it saved 1m Americans and 10m Japs including 30m lives at the cost of only 226k.
@@jason200912 For sure. If the IJA and IJN generals had their way, they would've continued the war and the Soviets would have proceeded with their plan on taking Hokkaido. The US would be forced to conduct Operation Downfall and Japan would be divided between the two powers. The current state of Japan is one that their people should be grateful to have even happened.
My Father whom is Japanese/American was assigned to the 32nd Division in 1942 for the Buna/Gona campaign the U.S. Army 1st offensive campaign of WWII, also the 1st gound victory, He spent the whole war in the jungles of New Guinea & Philippines.
Thanks for the informative comment Mark. I am sure he did good work in difficult conditions. I hope neither he nor your family suffered any prejudice because of your origins but I fear that may not have been the case. Greetings from Oxford UK
@@Th3Watch3r more so than your opinion.
I'd like to thank him for a great service. Its amazing to think about the amount of Resiliency these young men must of had.
So many were just getting done with high school. Then got sent directly to the most hardcore ki//ing school.
The first ground victory was at Milne bay. It was an Australian victory, not American.
@@Skipper.17 my bad American ground victory, Milins bay was defensive.
My father was drafted following pearl harbor. I miss my father so much !!!
I don't know what my dad saw as a Navy Corpsman, because he wouldnt talk about it, but he hated the Japanese until the day he died. He didn't believe nearly enough Japanese died in the war. When I watch these videos, I get it. I'm not saying that's a good way to think, but I get it.
The Japanese did horrible things to american soldiers and sailors. Kamikaze attacks traumatized many navy sailors
My father would never buy any Japanese-made cars and forbid me to do so.
I agree, people today have no concept of the times.
The Japanese had been convinced into a horrible mentality, no doubt. Their acts were unforgivable.
⌚🧡🧡
Admiral Nimitz as Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Area reported to Admiral Ernest J. King, the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations. General MacArthur as Supreme Commander Allied Forces, Southwest Pacific Theater reported to General George C. Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff. In August 1945 Nimitz was made commander of all U.S. Naval Forces in the Pacific while MacArthur was made commander of all U.S. Army Forces in the Pacific as well as Supreme Commander Allied Powers for the Occupation of Japan. Admiral Nimitz went on to be Chief of Naval Operations, he never served under MacArthur but by date of rank and order of precedence established in December 1944 for five star officers MacArthur was senior to Nimitz.
Island Hopping was a stroke of genius and tempered an increasingly agitated American public's anger towards island invasions in the Pacific. They were able to pick and choose important islands to invade for airbases and leave the other zillion islands to wither on the vine so to speak. Could you imagine having to invade every single Japanese occupied island in the pacific??
I am no military expert but I think King's idea of taking Formosa seems like a better idea. It would have been island hopping writ large. They could have taken the Philippines eventually, maybe after the Japanese surrender. Taking the Philippines when they did seems more like it was designed to soothe MacArthur's ego than to pursue the best strategy. Taking and securing Formosa would have cut the empire in two, imho.
@@jerometaperman7102that last phrase “imho” is just that. Thanks for Monday morning quarterbacking
@@brianr6651 - Yeah, sorry. I was hoping for a little discussion rather than an ad hominem attack.
@@jerometaperman7102 Wrong place
@@jerometaperman7102taking Formosa without securing the Philippines risk American forces on Formosa being pinched in and exposed from both sides
The 20,000 men holding the center of Manilla were SAILORS, under the command of a Japanese Admiral. The Japanese Army and Navy did NOT get along, and this disobedience of Yamashita's orders is not surprising.
That explains casualty numbers
@@kevinwalker6840pretty much
Island Hopping is also known as the Leapfrogging strategy. The principle of leapfrogging was not always followed in the Pacific. When MacArthur moved south to attack Mindanao after capturing the northern Philippines, when he instigated the reconquest of portions of Borneo, he violated the "basic tenets" of island hopping.
Are you talking about the Spanish American war?
As harsh as this may seem, I still support the idea of using nuclear weapon to defeat Japan. I think this country has proven that in a battle of attrition whenever casualties get too high, we just don't have the stomach for that.
5 million Japanese civilian lives were saved. Without the Bomb, the leaders would not have given up.
Why does that seem harsh? The A bombs possibly saved a million American lives. That’s a good thing.
The UN building, in New York, is clad in some of the green marble that was ordered by the US military for the 500,000 tombstones they thought they would need should it be necessary to take Japan by conventional means. Who knows how many Japanese would have died if atomic weapons weren’t available?
@@bob494949 But it killed and injured 199,000 Japanese lives
So we can't really say it's an entirely "Good Thing"
Admittedly though it stopped the War
Japan planned is to have battle of attrition. If Nukes are not dropped, they might turn the tides of the WW2
MacArthur had nothing to do with Guadalcanal. It was a Navy operation under Nimitz.
IMO, Gen Mac, should have been court martial for letting Philippines to be attacked.
MacAruther lost the Philippines ! He ran !!
And the USMC !!!
@@henriyoung3895imo he should’ve been president and glassed China and nk
Propaganda, but NOT History, has led us to believe that the Empire of Japan began its territorial expansion in the 1930’s, invading China, creating the puppet State of Manchukuo and “Provoking” the war with the Western Powers. But, Was this really, how events happened? Did Japan invade China and South East Asia? It seems so. However, the Propaganda does NOT say that for centuries, all Asia was invaded by Western Powers. England occupied India, Burma (Myanmar); Singapore, Malaysia and China (Hong Kong, Nanking, Shanghai, etc). France dominated all Indochina. The Netherlands intervened by the Force of its Arms, to all of Indonesia. And Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and of course, also the United States were in South East Asia cuz, for example this country, the US, occupied the Philippines since 1898. (Spanish-American War). Thus the panorama in the 30's, the Empire of Japan, when defeating to the Tsarist Russian Empire, it also decided to "Grow" by invading its neighbors. In those years, all European nations had colonies in Africa, India, the Middle East, Asia and America. (England came to occupy almost ¼ part of the planet). For its part, the US, in 113 years of existence as a nation in those years, had "Grown" 711 the size of its territory from its original 13 colonies. Now is the picture clear? Japan for its part, had fought on the side of the winners in World War I (1914-1918), and they, the Japanese, not awarded any "Gain". The western victors of WWI divided the world. Japan was excluded. Thus, Japan's motives for attacking and expanding as the Europeans and the US did seem clearer, right? Then they, the Japanese, attacked China in 30’s, which was occupied by 6 Western Powers for almost a century. None of the Western Powers occupying China at this time, OPPOSED or fought Japan for Invading China. NONE! Then, 11 years later after having occupied the territory of China and coexisted without any problem with the Western Powers within China, they, the Japanese, attacked Hawaii, which in turn, this Island had been occupied and annexed by the US in 1898. (In 1900-01, Hawaii became US territory and Hawaii ceased to be an independent nation after more than 630 years of sovereignty. By the time Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States had just completed the 40th anniversary of the military occupation and annexation of Hawaii). They, the Japanese, attacked Singapore, which was then a Colony of England. They, the Japanese, attacked the Philippines, which were occupied by the US and whose Gov’r, Douglas MacArthur reined as Emperor. Yup… Truly like an Absolute Autocrat. Therefore, the Japanese did NOT attack (In the 40’s), Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Borneo, Timor, the Philippines, etc. In reality, the Japanese attacked England, France, Belgium, Holland, the US, etc. That is, the Japanese attacked the Western Powers invading all of Asia. That is the verifiable truth. But, Propaganda has made us believe that the good guys were us, the US. And of course… Nanking was a horrendous Genocide committed by Japan, but, it was no more horrendous than the 12 Genocides committed by the United States in his History and all over the world. Nor was it less horrendous than the Genocide committed by King Leopold II of Belgium, in Central Africa. Nor was Nanking more or less horrendous than the Genocides that the British Empire committed in America, Africa, Australia, Middle East, India and also in China too. And now, the Japanese are our friends and allies... Yup… But, to fight against China, AGAIN!!! Well… No More. No More British Malaya nor British Borneo nor British wherever. No More French Indochina. No more Dutch Indies. No More Portugese Domains. No More US Domain here. Asia is for Asians and “The China Sea” belongs to CHINA. Westerns powers have nothing to do in Asia.
What really crushed Japan was the American submarines who sank Japan's tanker ships. Without the tankers, Japan could not import oil and thus did not have fuel for their machines.
I agree, it was the effective use of the submarine that was a decisive factor. The only reason it took so long was the incompetence of the Naval Ordinance in developing an effective submarine torpedo which tools years when should been months.
And the American Submarines would have done far more damage if their torpedoes weren't defective at the beginning of WWII.
@@johnpalmer5131 As the Northern Army Ordenance with the newer type rifles in the American Civil War. The Civil War was over in the end of 1863 and 300 000 people could be alive!
I think the American submarins would have got better torpedoes 1 years earler there are not Hiroshima and Nagasak only the sciencist tried 3 new bombs in Los Alamosi!
Some of the best footage I've seen, bravo
MacArthur did not command the forces invading Guadalcanal...Nimitz was their ultimate commander.
Whom ever made this video didn't do enough research.
@@rickkephartactual7706 After some intense "negotiations", the line between MacArthur's command and Nimitz's was moved slightly. This put Guadalcanal in Nimitz zone.
Idiot. It was past. Move on. No need to Argue about this. The important is success and they helping each other to liberate Philippines
28:13 , that line is crucial in understanding why dropping the atomic bombs were necessary and not only saved American lives but quite likely Japanese as well
I really like the music. From symphony to heavy metal!. It would be great to have the soundtrack.
Great video thank you
Love this chsnnel, it's my militsry history go to source!!!
Outstanding video
The Japanese only lost a little over 100 pilots at Midway it was Gaudalcanal that wiped out their best pilots between the carrier battles and all the air raids they lost 600 to 800 planes and almost all their best pilots and their crews were killed it broke their backs.
What? Japan lost 3k men at Midway, there's no way they would have only 100 pilots there. That means each carrier had to have 25 pilots on average
@@jessnalulila5552 Look it up they only lost 110.
@@jessnalulila5552 the experienced air crews of four carriers was devastating as was the one way air raids from Rabaul .
The japs lost 4 carrier fleets of seasoned pilots at Midway. Over 320 planes…
With zero aircraft carriers afloat, how is that Japan recovered all these pilots?
I’ve never seen this film, very good, thank you.
Mcarthur didn't Command at Guadalcanal. And there was no 7 days of B-17 bombing. This episode has some wildly inaccurate statements Edit: I watched the rest. Mac must have wrote this. And the poor Aussies are dismissed without even being properly named. 😂
Came here to write this same point.
@@markwilliams4264
Unbelievably bad history research. Some good footage though
Good video except for the obvious serious errors , some of which you accurately illuminate.Thanks for that.
Poor Nimitz ,who was wrongfully overshadowed by MacArthur. The official WW2 Pacific museum is at least in Nimitz’s hometown in Fredericksburg, Texas - and it worth a 2 day deep dive for sure.
Glad to see I am not the only one to see how horribly inaccurate this video is. For shame whomever produced this.
My dad’s position was that none of the marines-boys-on those island felt brave….they were terrified and they were on an island, so even when they gave everything within them, they couldn’t leave and they still died. Only the “lucky” stayed alive. I use “” bc my dad suffered terrible survivor’s guilt for the rest of his life.
My great uncle felt it was safer to stay in Los Angeles and work as a bellhop.
That’s if he was really there. I think you’re far too young to be talking like your father is a vet of the islands. Leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.
Remember this accolade about MacArthur: he was the person in 1962 who at the bequest of JFK -gave advice on the military benefit of employing the naval blockage (against Cuba) and not introducing large US combat forces in Vietnam despite contrary advice from the JCS.
OBTW: given China’s rise and Reddit actions, few critics today raise the wisdom of General MacArthur confronting China more directly during the Korean War!
War stories, your high production value seems to have cost you in the accuracy field.
Yup
It has always been forgoten that MacArthur's promise was not just for Filipinos but also for thousands of Americans that was left, both soldiers and civillians.
The Philippines, although granted a Commonwealth status, was still under the supervision of the United States, just like Puerto Rico now. That is one of the reason why The Philippines was targeted the next day after they've done surprise attack on Hawaii. The Philippines and Hawaii has almost the same status before and during war times. Philippines was granted Independence by the US in 1946, Hawaii gained its Statehood in 1950. That is also the reason i think why President Roosevelt backed MacArthur to go to Philippines first, aside from the fact that if Japan will see the American progress in Formosa, that they might massacre American civillians and POW in PH.
McArthur and the Army was not involved with the Guadalcanal campaign. It was a Navy (Nimitz)-Marine operation.
The army put two divisions on Guadalcanal in October
@CM-ve1bz True, but the worst of the battle was over by then. Also, tho they were army, I don't know that they were McArthur troops.
The Marines were DAMN GLAD to have the army show up to help the dreadfully beaten down Marines.
@SeattlePioneer So what? Of course they were glad to be relieved! They had been there for months. But the battle was essentially over except mop up. Nimitz and the Marines took the Guadalcanal, not McArthur and the army.
The initial battle was fought exclusively by the Marines and the Navy, who arrived in August of 1942, but US Army troops arrived in October of that year, and the battle didn't finally end until February of 1943. That means the Army fought there alongside the Marines for 4 months of the 6-month battle. At that point, the battle was a long way from over and it was by no means a mop up operation.
MacArthur received the Medal of Honor for leading from the rear. General Chesty Puller was in the mix with his men. Who would you rather follow? Besides, Nimitz was in charge of the Pacific Fleet, therefore the Ramrod of Guadalcanal. MacArthur was in charge AFTER the island had been taken and the Marines left to hop the other islands moving North. If you disagree with me, before arguing, research both of their blunders on the Internet.
Not only was Macarthur ''leading'' from the rear as you mention. He was responsible for the largest/worst surrender in American military history with the fall of the Philippine Islands First Battle and left Gen. Wainwright holding the bag of MacArthur dung. Dugout Dougie also was responsible for the largest retreat ever of the American Army in the Korea campaign in the early 50's. His first battle plan from Australia (Forever Sorry about dug Dougie Australia) was to invade Rabaul with a single carrier and a division!!!! I have NO idea what George Marshall was thinking in giving Dougie the CMH but also to send him & his antique military plan back out to Pacific Theater to ''be in charge''. We won in spite of Dougie not because of him! His campaign in New Guinea was a total joke. It held absolutely no military significance other than a defensive purpose. The seconf invasion of Philippines was not necessary, Taiwan was a much better option with more strategic location and fewer losses. Hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians were killed for Dougie promise to return to fix his Failures. When Dougie fled the Philippines he did it with ''family & staff'' it has now come to light that the staff part of the equation was a young 16 year Philippine girl he kept for sexual purpose. This has been verified and his name should be removed from every paer & monument that are up. He was a child molester!!!! Sometimes. History Hurts. face It!!!!
Chesty was with MacArthur at Inchon as a matter of fact. He worked GG or him.
My father was First Cav and fought there. He loved the Japanese people? To this day I still can't understand how? He loved Japan? He was aboard ship when the surrender was signed and marched off to occupy until he was shipped out to Korea. I still don't understand?
I've met several men, including my uncle, who said many of the Japanese people they met, were decent people and they got to know them.
My uncle was in the Army at the time, but he didn't see action, and my friends father didn't see a lot of action, but he was in the Philippines in the Army Signal Corp, and he was involved in relaying the message of the surrender.
My father experienced the many air sea battles and Kamikaze planes, during the many amphibious assaults.
He eventually bought a Honda Civic station wagon.
He would sometimes drive my mother's Mitsubishi Dodge Colt, even though he had a piece of a Mitsubishi Zero in a little box.
Thanks Social media talks about the allied advance and we see little on what happened to the Japanese soldiers who were bypassed in the south pacific by MacArthur. Few Americans realize the bulk of the ground troops after Guadalcanal and up to the Philippines were from Australia
They fought under MacArthur in the southern prong. The larger prong, under Nimitz, was a US show.
Very good graphics. Maybe the best I have seen on internet video.
Well it’s made by a cable program so that makes sense haha
Great documentary. Inappropriate soundtrack
We should stop calling it code of honor, because it's not honorable to treat civilians, prisoners and even the own population like that.
Bushido belonged to the class of the samurai, it really has more to do with vanity, delusion of grandeur and a fake class sentiment (since the overall majority of military personal didn't even had a samurai family background).
It's like calling the SS honorable, just because they had the motto "My honor means loyalty".
THIS IS WHAT I CALL QUALITY 💯🔥
One of these days, I hope we get a documentary about the courageous locals that rose up to work with the Allies to defeat the Japanese. The local knowledge of these peoples, along with their courage, were a crucial element in delaying the Japanese advance long enough for the US and UK to move forces into position to strike back and, in the case of the Gurkhas especially, they terrified the Japanese. This is even more remarkable because in many places there was simmering resentment of the colonial powers, yet these people still put aside that resentment to risk their lives fighting against the greater threat.
ALL THE TIME YOU ARE THE BEST IN THE BEST
The cutting of Japans' supply line was done by USN submarines, not by the loss of the Philippines or by-passing Rabaul.
I think one can safely say "both" submarines and Air power isolated Rabaul.
One scene caught my eye as a former 11B1P was the flies flying off the guy when he fired his weapon, lol.
NO COVERAGE OF THE HEROES OF LEYTE GULF ?? When destroyers & destroyer escorts attacked BATTLESHIPS (including Yamato) ???? History Channel you really blew this one. 39:15
I made a taffy3 memorial in sd......lucky znd honored to meet and work w a few of those men. Unbelievable mismatch and they pulled it off. Their dedication to their lost shipmates you could feel. Halsey left them in that position. They were expecting to give their lives. God bless them all. Regular men turned into supermen.
I agree. 100%! I know the video is at a very high-level; however, it mentions the southern force, it mentions the carrier battle, and all it says about the northern force is that the Japanese lost their nerve (36:00 pt in video). Why did they lose their nerve? Taffy3.
Heh, heh! Who would believe such a tall tale?
And not only that, they chased the Yamato into retreat!
Guadalcanal was a joint navy, army, marine, and Australian navy campaign. The US Navy suffered heavy casualties and ship losses. But all services bleed
Good content 🎉! However, important details omitted.
Let's just not mention Australia's contribution to the war in and around New Guinea.
And stop blurring and editing the videos.
Amen to that! They were some tough buggers.
I think you have to blame RUclips for the blurring.
Pretty good video. I’m not enjoying most of the music sound track. The script was good although it covered a lot in a short time, this could have gone on for 4 hours or more.
The script is riddled with mistakes.
It was Admiral King, far more than any other individual, who devised this brilliant strategy. Admiral Nimitz deserves credit too. The victory in the Pacific was above all a naval triumph. That's the reality.
I got to the 8:34 mark... and realized this video has NOTHING to do with actual history. First of all, the invasion of Guadalcanal was NOT an Army action. It was a Navy / Marine action. Admiral Nimitz was in charge, Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher was in overall command of the operation, Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner commanded the amphibious forces, and Major General Alexander Vandegrift was in charge of the Marines. MacArthur had nothing to do with the invasion. And, he had nothing to do with the Army personnel that arrived after the initial Marine landings. Maj. Gen. Millard F. Harmon, as Commanding General, South Pacific... was in command of the Army troops committed to Guadalcanal. MacArthur was given responsibility for planning and coordinating the advance AFTER Guadalcanal was secured. And second, the "Japanese garrison" did not put up heavy resistance immediately after the landings. They were NOT an Army garrison... they were mostly and primarily construction workers. They provided next to no resistance at all. The Marines took the under construction airfield the very first day. The "garrisons" arrived AFTER the Japanese military heard the news of the invasion. I didn't bother watching any more of this video. And, I will have to reevaluate the entire War Stories channel, and the historical accuracy of its video's content after this one.
What other strategies were on the table? Thete could ve difference in approach in terms of sequencing which island to take, but other that that rhe campaign would jave had to move ahead island by island only? How else?
Back to back world war champs!
At 6:40 the narrator says that "MacArthur's first target" was Guadalcanal. This is not correct. Guadalcanal was primarily a Navy and Marine operation under the command of Nimitz, MacArthur was not involved. In fact, before the invasion began, the line of demarcation between Nimitz's Central Pacific area and MacArthur's South Pacific area was moved by 60 miles so that Guadalcanal would fall completely in Nimitz's jurisdiction. Later, in October, Army troops landed to reinforce the Marines but they were not under MacArthur's command.
28:15 "How can you defeat an enemy that just won't back down?"
Delete every last one of them until nobodys left.
One of the best ww2 videos
I have noticed several sections where the video is “fuzzed” out. Has this been censored by RUclips?
1715. He's apparently moved on from Guadalcanal. But what about the Ichiki Detachment? Why was there no mention of the tropical diseases on Guadalcanal? What about Tulagi and Tananbogo? Accuracy should have to count for something, right?
Japan to America a plane is cheaper than a ship. America to Japan hold my beer a plane with our bomb is cheaper than a city lol 😂
The landing on Guadalcanal took place on 7 August not 31 July. Nimitz, not MacArthur was in overall command.
The casualty figures quoted here pertaining to Reboul appear to be incorrect. Those figures sound more like those of Okinawa.
History shouldn’t have to be blurred , otherwise a very good video.
What opportunity in Samar? To sink a few escort carriers and their few escorts while taking heavy battle damage and being trapped by remaining longer where Halsey’s carriers can strike them and sink them? The Japanese admiral saw what happened to his sister ship on the way there. And the seventh fleet battle ships weren’t that far away, let alone 3rd/5th fleets carriers and battleships
Why the blurred out parts. There are casualties in war?
And everybody knows that. Just sick to eat to see the blood
Imperial Japan, like Germany, made the strategic mistake of over-extension of forces and poor timing. Military victory and conquest -require a modicum of ‘digestion’ for which both Japan and Germany did not consider. Before ever thinking about attacking Pearl Harbor, Japan needs to subdue China and not to attack the U.S. 5,000 miles away from its home shores and at the extreme limit of its power projection! 😊
The music in this War story is giving me C&C Generals vibes
114000+:Americans and Filipinos dead, when we could have been bombing Japan from formosa the whole time.
That pic of MacArthur stepping onto the beach was sure worth it!
My salute to these great war generals and valiant warriors for our freedom. May God's favor be upon them.
Thing you have to give Japan credit for....their brilliant defensive capabilities using palm trees and whatever other natural resources.
Propaganda, but NOT History, has led us to believe that the Empire of Japan began its territorial expansion in the 1930’s, invading China, creating the puppet State of Manchukuo and “Provoking” the war with the Western Powers. But, Was this really, how events happened? Did Japan invade China and South East Asia? It seems so. However, the Propaganda does NOT say that for centuries, all Asia was invaded by Western Powers. England occupied India, Burma (Myanmar); Singapore, Malaysia and China (Hong Kong, Nanking, Shanghai, etc). France dominated all Indochina. The Netherlands intervened by the Force of its Arms, to all of Indonesia. And Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and of course, also the United States were in South East Asia cuz, for example this country, the US, occupied the Philippines since 1898. (Spanish-American War). Thus the panorama in the 30's, the Empire of Japan, when defeating to the Tsarist Russian Empire, it also decided to "Grow" by invading its neighbors. In those years, all European nations had colonies in Africa, India, the Middle East, Asia and America. (England came to occupy almost ¼ part of the planet). For its part, the US, in 113 years of existence as a nation in those years, had "Grown" 711 the size of its territory from its original 13 colonies. Now is the picture clear? Japan for its part, had fought on the side of the winners in World War I (1914-1918), and they, the Japanese, not awarded any "Gain". The western victors of WWI divided the world. Japan was excluded. Thus, Japan's motives for attacking and expanding as the Europeans and the US did seem clearer, right? Then they, the Japanese, attacked China in 30’s, which was occupied by 6 Western Powers for almost a century. None of the Western Powers occupying China at this time, OPPOSED or fought Japan for Invading China. NONE! Then, 11 years later after having occupied the territory of China and coexisted without any problem with the Western Powers within China, they, the Japanese, attacked Hawaii, which in turn, this Island had been occupied and annexed by the US in 1898. (In 1900-01, Hawaii became US territory and Hawaii ceased to be an independent nation after more than 630 years of sovereignty. By the time Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States had just completed the 40th anniversary of the military occupation and annexation of Hawaii). They, the Japanese, attacked Singapore, which was then a Colony of England. They, the Japanese, attacked the Philippines, which were occupied by the US and whose Gov’r, Douglas MacArthur reined as Emperor. Yup… Truly like an Absolute Autocrat. Therefore, the Japanese did NOT attack (In the 40’s), Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Borneo, Timor, the Philippines, etc. In reality, the Japanese attacked England, France, Belgium, Holland, the US, etc. That is, the Japanese attacked the Western Powers invading all of Asia. That is the verifiable truth. But, Propaganda has made us believe that the good guys were us, the US. And of course… Nanking was a horrendous Genocide committed by Japan, but, it was no more horrendous than the 12 Genocides committed by the United States in his History and all over the world. Nor was it less horrendous than the Genocide committed by King Leopold II of Belgium, in Central Africa. Nor was Nanking more or less horrendous than the Genocides that the British Empire committed in America, Africa, Australia, Middle East, India and also in China too. And now, the Japanese are our friends and allies... Yup… But, to fight against China, AGAIN!!! Well… No More. No More British Malaya nor British Borneo nor British wherever. No More French Indochina. No more Dutch Indies. No More Portugese Domains. No More US Domain here. Asia is for Asians and “The China Sea” belongs to CHINA. Westerns powers have nothing to do in Asia.
Instead of island hopping, why didn't they build their own island by picking a shallow spot and dropping concrete blocks until the top part is above sea level and build a runway on top. Another idea is to build long barges and chain them together. You could move the barge island (bargland) around at night with a fleet of tug boats to confuse the Japanese. I heard they tried making an iceberg into an aircraft carrier. Why not, just a lot bigger.
That wouldn’t hold up in a tropics storm.
Lmao, so build an aircraft carrier in enemy territory?
Thank you. Not a rewrite of history, only looking back the American campaign seemed wasteful. Can only imagine if Patten, after victory in Europe, were assigned to the Pacific battle. Not enough of the U.S. submarines in the pacific
How indeed.
You make it seen as if MacArthur was personally involved in these operations. Evidence is very clear in the he was a great strategic planner, but in the nitty-gritty, where it counted (logistics, local tactical requirements and conditions, etc) he was found lacking.
What came to be known as the Battle of Savo Island might have had a different outcome, if not for MacArthur. Because MacArthur had wanted complete control over land AND naval forces in the Pacific, a pissing match between him and Nimitz over responsibilities, which eventually went all the way up to FDR, was finally decided, with Nimitz taking the naval assault on Guadalcanal, and MacArthur taking the assault on PNG.
Where does the Battle of Savo Island come in? MacArthur, still miffed at not getting overall command, insisted that all communications from his zone of control -- which ended just west of Guadalcanal -- had to go to Washington DC, be routed to Hawaii, then on to the area commanders around Guadalcanal.
So it was that on the evening of April 8, a patrol aircraft in the PNG sector spotted Japanese warships steaming southeast towards the Guadalcanal area. Rather than sending an alert, the radio operators followed protocol, and sent the message to Washington DC. The message telling area commanders on or near Guadalcanal received the warning message AFTER the crippling or outright sinking of the HMAS CANBERRA, USS ASTORIA, USS QUINCY, and USS VINCENNES on April 9th.
On Papua-New Guinea, he never visited frontline areas to see on-the-ground conditions, and continued to insist that there were far fewer Japanese defenders than there actually were; as a result, no reinforcements OR supplies were sent to buttress the Australian troops. It was only by the skin of their teeth that the Aussies and Americans pulled it off, but they suffered far higher casualties than they should have because of MacArthur and his staff.
My Father served in the Pacific Theater in the Air Force New Guinea and the Philippines
The entire concept for the Guadalcanal campaign came from Admiral Ernest J. King. The planning was done by his staff. Nimitz was directed to carry it out. Dugout Doug had nothing to do with it, or the island hopping campaign. That was King's initiative, too. People like to believe that Nimitz ran everything. Hogwash. Nimitz didn't do anything without King's permission, and the majority of strategic planning for the Pacific was done by King's Chief of Staff Savvy Cooke.
The American Marines have a very long history of amphibious operations, from there start.The Marines taught the army for there amphibious assaults , Africa, Italy, to france .
What is the blurring, if its gore than cut it out of the video
As an amateur history buff, I've laways detested the phrase "island hopping" to describe the incredibly brutal and costly campaign to cross the Pacific and defeat Japan.
After Midway, the Japanese Navy was defeated and no Island hoping was necessary! Each group Island was separated by large amounts of water and cut off already from resupply. There was no need to fight on them just put a destroyer to keep an eye on them as we focus on Japan. Our Industrial War machine was feed with un-needed bloodshed!
That’s a huge oversimplification. Japan would easily rebuild with their annexed resources. Triumphing over adversity is far more inspiring than succeeding effortlessly, which is why some people ignore the Pacific War.
Wow, nice video for its time, I suppose, but you can totally identify how outdated it is, in particular, with the dissemination of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. So much misinformation in that part from when the video was originally made compared to what is now known of the battle, especially with the conflict between IJN's Center Force and U.S. Taffy 3.
My dad was on the US Colorado when the Kamikaze struck. He said the only thing that was left the one, kamikaze pilot was a finger
My late father had a piece of a Japanese Zero that missed him by a few yards.
Nobody on his ship was injured by the attack, but they found a piece of the pilot on the fantail of his ship.
My father's sister ship, the USS Liddle was hit on the bridge and became a floating graveyard for awhile.
Error at 24:09 ... and ommissions Re guadacanal campaign.. Its not "most of their experienced pilots were lost at Midway". The carriers took ages to sink, they had destroyers rescuing personell.. They had been lost since Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign involved Carrier battles.. which you have not mentioned .... They hadnt invented the carrier attack for the battle of Phillipines Sea..
How could a "history channel" get the command of the Battle of Guadalcanal so wrong?
I hate how they blurr out videos. Just show them as they taped it.
I'll always think that we could have bypassed more islands than we did. Surely some of them could have been simply cut off from resupply and leave them to more or less starve. King's plan was the smart way to go. It's MacArthur's fault that all that death would ensue at the Philippines. And maybe avoid the bloodbath at Okinawa, too.
We'd have faced 8 Japanese Army Divisions without the benefit of accurate intelligence from a sympathetic population if King had it his way.
Now i remember. I have started to watch this doc Two times and stopped in the middle, because the writers get the history so wrong.
I laugh when I hear tall tales of how the Japanese were these renowned jungle fighters. Pray tell, where are the jungles in the home islands? Hmm? The only advantage they had was the ability to adapt about one year before my Marine Corps came ashore to root these jungle experts out one by one. It was all Japanese propaganda. While our troops were told this myths, they soon found that, after a few weeks of actual combat against them, the Marines too became experts in jungle warfare. I believe that Colonel Edson and General Vandegrift had actual jungle warfare, asymmetrical warfare expertise which they passed on to the men. So, when you hear this Bigfoot story, please debunk the teller of the tale…
Exactly. The only reason the Japanese created their paper empire is because NOBODY IN ASIA HAD GUNS. NOBODY. From Indonesia to Siam to China, they were ALL living in the friggin stone age f f s. Of course they won every fight! And the brainless Japanese ignored Sun Tsu's maxim: Know your enemy! The fools did the opposite, they went out of their way to NOT know anything about the USA except for their stupid oriental belief that "Westerners are not as smart as Asians". Next time you hear and Asian say, "Asians are so smart", we just have to laugh in their copycat faces.
The show should have mentioned the Filipino rebels.
August 1942 Marines still using the 1903 Springfield rifle. The Army had been given the M1 Garand years before.. Marines doing the fighting have the oldest weapons..
It makes sense that the Army was issued the M1 first considering it was an Army project. The Marine Corps actually had the opportunity to get M1s before the war, but senior leadership declined the offer believing, quite nonsensically, that self-loading rifles would discourage marksmanship.
US manufactur capability at that time crushing Japan military strenght
It was not mcArthur who wanted to take Guadalcanal, but Adm King who wanted to take it.
Many more of these mistakes are made in this documentary…. Shame you.. 26:51
You are correct. Poor research.
Both of my grandfathers fought in this war. One was a Marine in the Pacific theater and the other was a Navy man. I am often dumbfounded that Japan ever thought that they stood a chance against men such as these. That an insignificant island nation ever conceived that they could stand against such an obviously vastly superior foe is astounding. Honestly, I have no way to understand this even in the furthest reaches of fantasy. This is Alice in Wonderland levels of delusion.
Many of the statements are wildly inaccurate. This was an operation run by the Navy, not MacArthur. B-17 did not pound Guadalcanal for seven days. The Japanese "garrison" was not waiting off the beach to surprise the Marines. The Japanese construction troops abandoned the airfield without a fight.
Rabaul was not a nearby island. It was over 1000 miles north.
I have to admit that I fail to grasp the island hoping strategy. Given that Japan navy was mostly gone and no carriers left at that stage, an island has military value only if ot has an air field. Many of them do not. And even then Japan few planes which can fly from the main island to island in question. I think many of these island could have been just by passed and left to rot.
Real non-professional how you couldn't keep the chronology straight ... Japan knew it couldn't fight the U.S. - they had basically lost within 6 months, then we became Godzilla ...
Quit blurring parts of the video.
MacArthur did island slugging, not island hopping, which was designed to bypass much significant opposition and isolate it without direct attack. The former is butchery, the latter is strategy.
Semantics
@@makidiaz3894 not if you look at what the plan was or the implementation.
War is butchery
It's very disrespectful to the greatest generation, to blur these historic videos. It also isn't going to gain viewers/subscribers. It just lost you,this one.
They have to or RUclips will remove it
@@alextownsend8624 War footage without intent to glorify it is allowed
@Alex Townsend that's a lie.
Agreed
Was is unforgiveable is the historical inaccuracies that could be prevented by reading more history.
You stopped short of Okinawa. It was the reason Truman authorized the atomic bomb drops. A lot of good men fought on Okinawa.
Okay I'm about to throw some criticism on this channel because as far as I know b-17s were never used in the opening rounds of guadalcanal.
You cant discuss the battle of Leyte without mentioning the USS Johnston and what it did and the odds the group faced. "The Japanese lost their nerve and just retreated" ?!?
This video is a condensed version of the Pacific. There is another channel that breaks down every single major and minor battle, including the USS Johnston incident.
13:49 Rabaul is in the other island.
What’s puzzling to me is if Japan had no way to provision these islands why not starve them out just clean drinking water would get rare in a hurry
Battle of tarawa was one of the most bloodiest brutal in ww2 🇺🇸🤘
n December 1941 Japan, already at war with British, Dutch and American Australia territories in Asia and the Pacific. By June 1942, Japanese conquests encompassed a vast area of south-east Asia and the western Pacific