Pacific War History: Who was the Mastermind of Island-Hopping Strategy? Quiz

Japan provoked the US into the Pacific War during World War II, aiming to gain control of Asia and secure resources.
The US had to transport troops and supplies to Asia, leading to a large-scale battle for every island.
Airplanes played a crucial role, but ground troops suffered heavy casualties on beaches and in the jungle.
Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941: Japan caught the US unawares, destroying much of the Pacific Fleet and killing over 2,400 soldiers.
The attack was intended as a liberating move for Japan, but all American aircraft carriers were away at the time.
Battleships, considered the rulers of the ocean, proved defenseless against airplanes.
Pearl Harbor marked a tactical and strategic revolution, turning the US battleship fleet into a fleet of aircraft carriers.
President Roosevelt declared December 8, 1941, a "day of infamy" and the US declared war on Japan, dragging Germany into the war as well.
Japan had been on a military campaign for over 10 years in Manchuria, China, and the Pacific region, aiming to expand its imperial reach.
The attack on Pearl Harbor bought Japan additional time to conquer more land.
The US responded with an unconventional plan to bomb Tokyo in April 1942, known as the Doolittle Raid.
The US naval base, Midway Island, became a target for Japan to bring about the complete destruction of the US Pacific Fleet.
The Battle of Midway in June 1942 was the first sea battle fought at such long distance and using planes exclusively.
The US gained a decisive advantage after decoding Japanese communications, preventing further surprise attacks.
The Battle of Guadalcanal in August 1942 was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific War, with both sides suffering heavy losses.
Operation Watchtower aimed to drive the Japanese away from Guadalcanal and secure control of the airfield.
The allies launched a global offensive against Germany in Europe and the Pacific, starting with the invasion of North Africa.
The turning point of the war came in November 1942, with the US seizing an important base and airfield on Guadalcanal.
The Battle for Guadalcanal resulted in heavy casualties, with the US losing nearly 7,000 men and the Japanese suffering over double that number.
Admiral Yamamoto, mastermind behind Pearl Harbor, was intercepted and shot down in April 1943 during a mission to intercept his plane.- Yamamoto, a Japanese admiral, was killed in a plane crash on Bougainville Island in 1943. His death eliminated a significant Japanese figure and paved the way for the U.S. to focus on the Aleutian Islands.
The Aleutian Islands were uninhabited and strategically insignificant, but Japan occupied them as a diversion before the attack on Midway. Over 2,500 Japanese soldiers had been holding out on the islands since then.
The U.S. sent 150,000 soldiers to the islands of Atu and Kiska to liberate them from Japanese occupation. Adverse weather conditions caused more American casualties than enemy encounters.
The Japanese soldiers on the islands fought fiercely, and approximately 500 of them committed mass suicide following the bushido samurai codex.
U.S. aircraft carriers began advancing towards the Japanese motherland in 1943, with the Essex class being approximately 270 meters long, displacing 27,000 metric tons, and having a crew of over 2,600 men.
In November 1943, Operation Galvanic was launched to conquer the Gilbert Islands, a strategically important chain of atolls on the dividing line between the north and south Pacific.
The Battle of Tarawa, part of Operation Galvanic, saw the U.S. landing on the island with the intent of capturing its airfield. Japanese defenders fought fiercely and inflicted heavy losses on the U.S. troops.
The U.S. maintained the upper hand and eventually captured the island, but the battle resulted in over 1,000 American and 4,500 Japanese fatalities.
The U.S. used the captured airfield, which they named Hawkins Field, and broadcasted a documentary of the battle to the American public, leading to increased support for the war effort.
The U.S. continued to advance throughout the Pacific region and began the Battle of Leyte in October 1944 to recapture the Philippines.
The Japanese fleet retaliated with a desperate plan to engage the U.S. navy while their battleships destroyed the American landing fleet. The Battle of the Philippine Sea resulted in the sinking of four Japanese aircraft carriers, three battleships, and numerous other units.
The Japanese navy lost the capacity to coordinate future attacks and the first kamikaze attacks occurred off Leyte in response.
The U.S. launched its first strategic attack on Tokyo from the Mariana Islands in November 1944. The B-29 Super Fortress bomber could reach any target in Japan from the new bases.
The Battle of Iwo Jima, which lasted from February to March 1945, involved fierce fighting for every inch of the 20 square kilometer island. The defenders had retreated into the depths of the island and were riddled with caves and tunnels.
The U.S. raised the star-spangled banner on the summit of Suribayachi on February 23, 1945, but the battle was not yet won.
Fighter planes accompanied the B-29s on their missions over Japan, and in March 1945, the U.S. fleet lay off Okinawa for the biggest battle of its kind in the Pacific.
The defenders followed orders to fight to the last cartridge, and about 12,000 Americans died on Okinawa, while approximately 75,000 Japanese soldiers died in the same battle.
The war in Europe ended in May 1945, and the Allied leaders met in Potsdam to discuss Europe's post-war situation.
U.S. President Truman called for Japan's unconditional surrender, but Japan refused. The U.S. had become a nuclear power and dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
Japan surrendered in response to the attack on Nagasaki three days later. The war ended on September 2, 1945, with General Douglas MacArthur accepting Japan's surrender aboard the U.S. battleship Missouri.
The end of the war saw Tokyo in ruins, with Hiroshima and Nagasaki both in a sea of debris and contaminated graveyards for countless victims.