These events were The Doolittle raid, The Battle of the Coral Sea, and The Battle of Midway.
The Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle raid was on April 18, 1942. The
United States staged a bombing on Japan. This was done to show Japan
that they could be beaten. James H. Doolittle led 16 B-25 Bombers
to a surprise attack on the Japanese city of Tokyo, as well as, several
others. The bombing raid did very little damage to Japan, but it
did awaken the Japanese leaders.
The Battle of Coral Sea
The Battle of Coral Sea began on May 4 1942.
This was the first battle when no enemy ships saw one another. All
the fighting during this battle was done with planes taking off aircraft
carriers. A Japanese invasion force was sailing towards Australia's
base port of Moresby so they could capture this in an attempt to gain more
power. The United States met with the Japanese force in the Coral
Sea and fought for four days to defend Australia's port. The battle
halted the invasion of Moresby port.
The Battle of Midway
In another attempt to gain more land, Japan sent a large fleet of ships
to the capture the island of Midway. The island of Midway is the
westernmost tip of the Hawaiian island chain. On June 4 1942, the
Japanese bombed the island of Midway. The United States
had cracked Japan's naval code and were aware of the coming invasion of
Midway. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz led a fleet of surviving planes
from Pearl Harbor to ambush the Japanese and defend the island. During
the battle, the United States shot down 200 Japanese planes and sank 4
out of 9 aircraft carriers. Japan sank 1 United States aircraft carrier
and destroyed 150 planes. This battle was the first clear victory
for the Allies during W.W.II.
Although Japan did not capture the Hawaiian island of Midway, it did capture
two islands at the tip of Alaska's Aleutian island chain on June 7, 1942.
During the spring and summer of 1943 the United States regained control
of these islands.
Although Japan had early victories and success during the first part of W.W.II, the Doolittle raid, Battle of the Coral Sea, and Battle of Midway helped turn the war so the Allies would cause Japan to surrender.
