On 7 December 1941, Japanese planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor.Today, the small island nation’s decision to wage war on the mighty United States seems incredibly foolish. &#...

The attack on Pearl Harbor was just Japan’s first move.  Within weeks, Japanese forces had taken Singapore, Hong, Kong, and the Netherlands' East Indies.  American installations at Guam...

American success in the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway did not bring Japanese ambitions in Oceania to an end.  Beginning in July, American and Australian forces engaged in fierce battle w...

American success at Guadalcanal was a turning point in the war in the Pacific.  Japanese designs on Australia were thwarted, and the US began to actually roll back Japanese gains in the South...

By February 1945, the United States had turned back the Japanese advance in the Pacific and had re-taken a sweeping arc of islands that surrounded the enemy nation.  For all these gains, howev...

By the summer of 1945, it was clear that Japan was nearing defeat.  The only question remaining was how that final defeat would come.  A few American statesmen believed that a negotiated...