The Island Hoppers
"Island Hopping"
McArthur Memorial
"As they advanced westward toward Japan, Allied forces repeatedly bombed and stormed Japanese-held territory, targeting tiny islands as well as the jungles of New Guinea and the Philippines."
"The Pacific Strategy", The National WWII Museum
"World War II Anti Japanese Propaganda" | Fine Art America
"Pacific Theater of Operations" | Battle Archives
The Allies, including the U.S. and Great Britain, knew they could not invade mainland Japan immediately because of the isolated geographical location of Japan, and also due to the numerous islands under Japanese control that could easily obstruct them. So, the Allies decided to methodically take back small islands in the Pacific and gradually diminish the area of Japanese rule.
"Amphibious Invasions"
"The Pacific Strategy", The National WWII Museum
"In the Battle of Midway [in 1942] the following month, US carrier aircraft dealt a devastating blow to the Japanese navy".
"The Pacific Strategy", National WWII Museum
"Well, the Navy gave the Japs quite a licking, eh? It sure sounds like propaganda and exaggeration... to say that all those Jap carriers, battleships, cruisers, and transports were sunk and damaged with U.S. losses only a damaged [carrier], doesn't it?"
- Letter from Navy soldier Art Burke about Midway
"In August 1942, American forces attacked the Japanese in the Solomon Islands, forcing a costly withdrawal of Japanese forces from the island of Guadalcanal in February 1943."
"World War II in the Pacific", United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
“In the first six to twelve months of a war with the United States... I will run wild and win victory upon victory. But then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of success”.
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
"Torpedo Squadron SIX (VT-6) TBD-1 aircraft are prepared for launching [at Midway] | Naval History and Heritage Command
"The Japanese Heavy Cruiser Mikuma following an Attack by U.S. Planes at the Battle of Midway" | Encyclopedia Britannica
Slowly, the Allies were making progress. But in order for the U.S. to win the war, they needed to successfully clear out the Japanese opposition.