Compare And Contrast The American And Pacific Theater

World War II is known as the deadliest war in human history with an estimated 85 million fatalities. World War II was characterized by total war. This is when all aspects of a country, including both military and civilians. The war began with the German invasion of Poland. The United States did not join the war right away. Then in 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, a United States Naval base in Hawaii. This led to The United States joining the war officially on the Allied side, officially declaring war on Germany and Italy as well. Declaration of war on Japan and Germany led to a two-theater war. The European and Pacific Theaters of war during World War Two were vastly different though the enemies were similar. The adversary of Nazi Germany and

The theater was characterized by sea warfare. Amphibious operations, submarine warfare, naval sea battles, and aircraft carrier attacks were the main methods of war (Plowright).

On the morning of December 8, 1941, World War Two in the Pacific began with an amphibious attack by Imperial Japanese Army troops on British

Malaya. The Japanese troops pushed inland quickly. As this attack happened a naval fleet headed toward Hawaii, where hours later it would bomb Pearl Harbor

Naval Base and cause the United States of America to enter the war. Japanese forces launched campaigns into American, Dutch, and British territories throughout the Pacific. Japan sought total control of the western

Pacific. This included the Philippines, Siam, Malaya, and parts of China.

Through control, Japan looked to force the Allies into peace. This would fail as the Allied forces island hopped across the Pacific and retook the land they lost plus more (Plowright).

In the beginning of 1942 the Japanese forces began the second phase of conquest by invading Burma. This led to Japan taking control

First it was mainly fought by the Army and Army Air Forces, a predecessor to the Air Force. The fighting in Europe was largely land and air attack focused. After the D-Day invasion, Allied forces led by American troops would push across Europe eventually meeting the Soviets in Berlin and ending the war (Vail). The battles were mainly infantry and land based troops facing each other with artillery and air support. The European theater saw the use of tanks and armored vehicles more than the Pacific. There were few amphibious battles and little to no naval battles In the European theater besides the fight for supply lanes