War In the Pacific

1. What was the importance of the Battle of Midway?
The Battle of Midway had horrible results for the Japanese - they lost 250 planes and four aircraft carriers, not to mention a cruiser though. Many saw the Battle of Midway was "revenge for Pearl Harbor". The real importance of the Battle of Midway, though, is that it allowed the Allies to begin taking over one island after another; each island brought them a little closer to Japan.

2. What strategy did the United States adopt in fighting Japan?
In fighting Japan, the Allies went on the offensive. They would not sit around and wait for the Japanese to attack; they decided to be completely forthright.

3. Why did the Japanese fight so hard on Iwo Jima?
The Japanese were aware that Iwo Jima would be incredibly useful to the U.S., because they could use it to send off heavily armed bomber planes from. The Japanese also knew that if the Allies took Iwo Jima, Okinawa would be the only thing left to stop them from invading Japan.

4. Why did the Allies believe Okinawa was a foretaste of an invasion of Japan?
The Allies predicted that an invasion of Japan would cost millions and millions of British and American lives. So many casualties took place simply in trying to take Okinawa that it seemed to foreshadow what it would be like during the invasion of Japan.

5. What was the Manhattan Project?
The Manhattan Project was the code name for the U.S. program to design an atomic bomb. Over 600,000 people were involved, and yet it was kept highly secret.

6. Ultimately, why did President Truman decide to drop atomic bombs on Japan?
Truman had, according to himself, never had any doubts about using the bomb. He saw no other way to end the war against Japan; he did not want to waste millions of American lives in trying to invade the country by force. He had always seen the bomb as a "miltary weapon", and military weapons get used when necessary.