We are now entering into 1942. And just a reminder - It´s been a little over two years
since the beginning of WW II in Europe when the Nazis invaded Poland. And even before that,
as early as 1937, you´ve had all-out war
between the Chinese and the Japanese. And even before that
you´ve had conflicts since the Japanese invasion
of Manchuria in 1931. So Asia has been in conflict
for some time. But as we go into 1942, the United States
has just entered into World War II. You might remember - December 1941,
Japan goes on a major offensive, tries to knock out
the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, attacks Wake Island, attacks Guam,
attacks Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore,
Malaya. Then shortly thereafter
goes after other possessions, Burma, goes after
the Dutch-East Indies in its quest
for natural resources. And so you can imagine
as we go into 1942, the Americans are
eager to retaliate. And in these videos - these are overview videos, I cannot talk about
every action and battle that happens. I`m just trying
to give you the hightlights - But the first notable
action in 1942 is the Doolittle Raid. Named after Colonel Doolittle,
who is the architect of this raid. The idea is not so much
as a strategic victory but more of a psychological one. If the U.S. could somehow
attack the mainland of Japan, bomb the mainland of Japan, it would be
a huge morale booster for the Americans, and it might cause the Japanese people
to question their own leadership. And so the idea is
sent a carrier within bomber range roughly 1000 miles
of the coast of Japan - and I tried to do research
on where they went but I wasn`t able to find - but roughly 1000 miles
of the coast of Japan and then send 16 B-25 bombers
to bomb the mainland. And they are actually able
to do this. 15 of the bombers, since they
can`t land back onto the carrier, they are to heavy and to large
to do that, they land in China and one of them gets diverted
to Russia or the Soviet Union. And out of the 80 crewman
all of planes get lost but out of the 80 crewman three are killed in action,
eight are captured, and three are killed in captivity
by the Japanese. But for the most part
a hugely successful operation. Only months after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. is able
to attack the Japanese mainland. Once again, more of a psychological victory
then a strategic one, but a major psychological accomplishment
from the ally point of view. This was in April, then you can fast forward to May, where you have
the first major naval engagement between the
Japanese and the American navy. And that happens
at the Battle of Coral Sea, or the Battle of the Coral Sea, which occurs
roughly over there. And this is significant because
the U.S. loses more than the Japanese do, but it is able to cripple
the Japanese navy enough that as they go
into the next major offensive, they don´t have quite
the firepower that they need. And that next major offensive
happens in June at Midway. In June you have
the Battle of Midway. At the Battle of Midway
this is a Japanese offensive. Their goal is to further knock
out the United States. But it ends up going the other way. And this is considered a big deal. This is the first Japanese naval loss since
the Battle of Shimonoseki Straits in 1863. You have a U.S. victory here. Many historians consider this
one of the most significant naval battles. We have a U.S. victory here. Once again,
it´s only seven months since Pearl Harbor. You have Coral Sea
which cripples the Japanese navy. - maybe cripple is a strong word
but tears them down a little bit - Then you have Midway
which is a major U.S. victory. And then that takes us to August
where you have the Battle of Guadalcanal. There are several islands over here,
the U.S. want to take it, the Japanese want to retake it. But between the on-the-ground forces
and the naval forces, the U.S. is able to defeat the Japanese
and keep them from taking Guadalcanal. This is a big deal because
between Midway and Guadalcanal in 1942, this is the turning point. And after this point, Midway,
the Japanese were on the offensive here, the Japanese tried to get the U.S.
out of Guadalcanal in August. But in both of those the U.S. are able
to defeat the Japanese at Midway, they are able
to fend them off at Guadalcanal. This is the turning point
where the U.S. is able to go on the offensive. 1942 is a very big deal. It´s only months after Pearl Harbor,
months after the U.S. enters the war but it´s able to start turning the tide, and start to go on the offensive
against the Japanese in the Pacific. And what we´ll see
in the next video is 1942 also marks
the turning of the tide in Europe.