Great Battles of WWII: The Early Pacific Battles

The early Pacific battles bring heroism and hardship, success and failure... long before victory. In the aftermath of World War I, the vast Pacific Ocean became the setting for a struggle between imperialistic Japan and isolationist America. Japan, eager for resources it lacked, invaded Manchuria, and later China. The situation in the Far East set Japan on a collision course with the United States, a course that ultimately led to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan's success on December 7th began an unbroken tide of victory and conquest. For the next six months, the military forces of Imperial Japan swept virtually unchecked throughout the Pacific. However, in May of 1942, the tide began to turn at the Battle of the Coral Sea, before the pivotal American victory at Midway opened the way for the United States to strike back. The question was when and where.