The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945
The war between China and Japan, then the Pacific War: Pearl Harbor, the Java Sea, the Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, the Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf and Okinawa.
This chapter of Naval Battles holds 130 battles. For each one we give when and where it was fought, who fought it, the ships that took part, what happened, how it ended and why it is remembered. See all 2,188 battles on one page.
Marea can build any of the ships that fought in these battles, as she was on the day, with the maximum detail the records permit. Many of these battles cost thousands of lives, and we build their ships with that in mind.
This database was put together by Ai Refloat™, Marea’s own artificial intelligence, from naval histories, museums, official records and encyclopaedias in many languages. Ai Refloat is still young & like any teenager, it can be a little volatile and unpredictable at times, but above all, it is learning fast. So this list may well contain mistakes and we welcome the input of everyone who knows these battles better than we do.
Have you spotted a mistake, or is a battle missing? Tell us which battle and what to correct, and we will amend it accordingly. Tell us here
The battles
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945
Alice Dollar incident Single-ship action
20 to 21 July 1920 · Near Tang Chia To and Chongqing, Yangtze River, China
Fought between United States against Chinese rebels
Commanders C. D. Gilroy (United States)
Forces 1 gunboat and 1 steamer against an unknown number of rebels
Ships USS Monocacy, SS Alice Dollar
Losses United States: 2 wounded, gunboat and steamer damaged. Rebels: unknown.
Result United States victory
Chinese rebels on the Yangtze fired on the American merchant ship SS Alice Dollar on 20 July. The gunboat USS Monocacy of the Yangtze Patrol was sent to escort her out of the area, and when the rebels attacked again the next day they were silenced by American fire.
Why it is remembered It is one of the actions of the United States Navy's Yangtze Patrol.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945
Wanhsien incident Single-ship action
27 August to 5 September 1926 · Wanxian (Wanhsien) and Yunyang, Yangtze River, Sichuan, China
Fought between Britain against the forces of General Yang Sen
Commanders Commander Acheson (Britain); Yang Sen (China)
Forces The gunboats HMS Cockchafer and HMS Widgeon and the chartered armed steamer Kiawo, against Chinese troops with field artillery on both banks
Ships HMS Cockchafer, HMS Widgeon, Kiawo, Wanhsien, Wanliu, Wantung
Losses Britain: seven naval and one merchant sailor killed, many wounded; the steamers Wanhsien and Wantung not recovered. China: according to Wellington Koo, nearly 1,000 soldiers and civilians killed or wounded and more than 1,000 buildings destroyed; he also said 64 Chinese drowned when sampans capsized in the Wanliu incident.
Result British withdrawal without the seized steamers
General Yang Sen tried to commandeer British merchant steamers of the China Navigation Company for his troops. Royal Marines retook the Wanliu, but Yang seized the Wanhsien and Wantung. On 5 September Cockchafer, Widgeon and Kiawo tried to recover them and a battle followed with Chinese troops on the riverbank; the British rescued the crews but withdrew without the ships.
Why it is remembered China protested at the bombardment of a civil port, and Austen Chamberlain told Parliament that the Royal Navy had fired only on military targets.
Sources differ Chinese casualty figures come from Wellington Koo, the Chinese side; no British count of Chinese losses is given.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Royal Navy official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945
Irene incident Other action
19 to 20 October 1927 · Bias Bay, South China Sea, about sixty miles from Hong Kong
Fought between Britain against pirates
Commanders Frederick Halahan (Britain)
Forces The submarines HMS L4 and HMS L5, the destroyer HMS Stormcloud, the cruiser HMS Delhi, the minesweeper HMS Magnolia and the Hong Kong Police, against pirates holding the steamship SS Irene
Ships HMS L4, HMS L5, HMS Stormcloud, HMS Delhi, HMS Magnolia, SS Irene
Losses Britain: none. Pirates: about 1 killed, 17 captured, SS Irene sunk. 14 passengers on the Irene died.
Result British victory
Pirates seized the China Merchants steamship SS Irene on the night of 19 October. Royal Navy submarines intercepted her near Bias Bay and attacked, stopping the hijacking but sinking the ship.
Why it is remembered It was a British anti-piracy operation off the China coast in which submarines were used against a captured merchant ship.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929
Battle of Lahasusu Landing or siege
12 October 1929 · Lahasusu, Tongjiang, at the mouth of the Songhua River, China
Fought between Soviet Union against the Republic of China
Commanders Vasily Blyukher, Jēkabs Ozoliņš, Ivan Onufriyev, Jānis Kārkliņš (Soviet Union); Shen Honglie, Li Du (China)
Forces Soviet Amur Military Flotilla of 4 river monitors, 4 river gunboats, 3 armoured motor gunboats, 1 minelayer and 2 minesweepers, with 1,117 landing troops and 29 aircraft; Chinese Songhua River Flotilla of 3 river gunboats, 4 armed steam vessels and a floating battery, with a garrison of about 2,200 troops and shore guns
Losses China: 1 river gunboat and 3 armed steam vessels lost, 2 gunboats damaged, the floating battery captured, about 200 killed, 98 taken prisoner. Soviet Union: 1 river monitor and 1 river gunboat damaged, 5 killed, 24 wounded.
Result Soviet victory
The Soviet Amur Military Flotilla attacked the Chinese Songhua River Flotilla and the garrison at Lahasusu, at the mouth of the Songhua. Supported by aircraft, Soviet river monitors and gunboats engaged the Chinese vessels while troops landed. The Chinese lost a gunboat and three armed steamers, and their floating battery and guns were captured.
Why it is remembered It was a river battle of the Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929, fought by the Soviet Amur Military Flotilla against the Chinese Songhua River Flotilla.
Sources differ The main account gives Chinese strength from Soviet sources as about 2,200 troops; the Chinese side said about 2,600 troops with up to 900 killed, which a Russian historian considers inflated.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second Sino-Japanese War
Battle of Shanghai Landing or siege
Also known as Songhu Huizhan
13 August to 26 November 1937 · Shanghai and the coasts of the Yangtze and Hangzhou Bay, China
Fought between Japan against the Republic of China
Commanders Iwane Matsui, Heisuke Yanagawa, Kiyoshi Hasegawa (Japan); Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng, Zhang Zhizhong, Feng Yuxiang, Chen Shaokuan (China)
Forces 300,000 Japanese troops with 500 aircraft, 300 tanks and 130 naval ships, against 700,000 Chinese troops with 180 aircraft and 70 tanks
Losses China: 187,200 killed and wounded by a Chinese report of 5 November 1937; about 300,000 casualties by the Chinese Ministry of Military Affairs; 250,000 by Japanese estimate. Japan: over 47,000 casualties in official records; a 2017 Western estimate gives 18,800 killed, 35,000 to 40,000 wounded and 40,000 sick.
Result Japanese victory; Shanghai captured and heavily damaged
Chinese forces besieged the Japanese Naval Landing Force in Shanghai, and Japan answered with amphibious landings on the Jiangsu coast and at Hangzhou Bay. Over three months the armies fought in the city, in the creek country to the north and on the beaches, with heavy Japanese air and naval support. Outflanked, the Chinese army retreated and the city fell.
Why it is remembered It was the largest urban battle before Stalingrad and cost China many of its best troops. Some historians regard it as the first battle of the Second World War.
Sources differ Casualty figures differ widely between Chinese, Japanese and Western sources, as listed in losses.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second Sino-Japanese War (Battle of Nanjing); Japan and the United States were not at war
USS Panay incident Air and submarine attack
12 December 1937 · Yangtze River, off Nanjing, China
Fought between Japan against the United States
Commanders James J. Hughes (United States, wounded); Shigeharu Murata and Okumiya Masatake (Japan)
Forces 13 Japanese aircraft against the gunboat USS Panay and 3 Standard Oil river tankers
Ships USS Panay
Losses United States: Panay sunk, 3 tankers destroyed, 3 Americans killed and 48 wounded; also 1 American civilian killed and 5 wounded, and an unknown number of Chinese passengers killed and injured. Japan: 1 killed.
Result Japanese victory
Japanese aircraft bombed the American river gunboat Panay and three Standard Oil tankers on the Yangtze near Nanjing. Panay was sunk and three Americans aboard died, with an unknown but probably high toll among the Chinese passengers of the tankers. Japan said its pilots had not seen the large American flags painted on the gunboat.
Why it is remembered Japan apologised and paid an indemnity of 2.2 million dollars, but film taken during the attack showed aircraft flying low enough for the pilots' faces to be seen, casting doubt on the claim of mistaken identity.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: US Signal Corps, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, East African campaign
Attack on Convoy BN 7 Convoy battle
20 to 21 October 1940 · Red Sea off Massawa and Harmil Island, Italian East Africa
Fought between Britain, India, New Zealand and Australia against Italy
Commanders James Rivett-Carnac, J. S. M. Richardson, H. E. Horan (Britain); Costantino Borsini (killed), Adriano M. D. Adimari, Paolo Aloisi (Italy)
Forces 1 light cruiser, 1 destroyer, 3 sloops and 2 minesweepers escorting the 32 ships of Convoy BN 7, against 4 Italian destroyers and a shore battery on Harmil Island
Ships HMS Kimberley, HMS Leander, Francesco Nullo
Losses Britain: 3 wounded, 1 destroyer damaged, 1 merchant ship slightly damaged. Italy: 14 killed, 1 destroyer sunk.
Result British victory
Italian destroyers attacked Convoy BN 7 at night in two groups but damaged only one merchant ship. After a chase, HMS Kimberley torpedoed the destroyer Francesco Nullo, which was beached on Harmil Island. Kimberley was then disabled by the shore batteries and towed to safety by the cruiser HMS Leander.
Why it is remembered The Italians lost a destroyer for no result, and their later sorties in the Red Sea achieved nothing.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War
Action of 8 May 1941 Single-ship action
8 May 1941 · Indian Ocean off the Seychelles, north of Madagascar
Fought between Britain against Germany
Commanders P. C. W. Manwaring (Britain); Ernst-Felix Krüder (Germany, killed)
Forces The heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall against the auxiliary cruiser Pinguin
Ships HMS Cornwall, Pinguin
Losses Germany: Pinguin sunk, 323 of her 401 crew killed, 60 captured. Britain: 1 killed on Cornwall, slight damage; about 200 of the 222 British and Indian merchant seamen held prisoner aboard Pinguin killed, 22 freed.
Result British victory
HMS Cornwall found the German raider Pinguin off the Seychelles. Pinguin slightly damaged the cruiser before Cornwall's fire caused an explosion that sank her. Most of her crew and the merchant seamen she held prisoner, taken from over thirty ships, died with her.
Why it is remembered About 200 of the merchant seamen held prisoner aboard Pinguin, taken from over thirty ships, died when she was sunk.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Royal Navy official photographer William Berwick Reid, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran Landing or siege
Also known as Operation Countenance; Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia; Allied invasion of Iran
25 to 31 August 1941 · Iran, along its borders with Iraq, the Azerbaijan SSR and the Turkmen SSR
Fought between Britain, British India, Australia (naval only) and the Soviet Union against Iran
Commanders Dmitry Kozlov, Sergei Trofimenko (Soviet Union); Edward Quinan, William Slim (Britain); Reza Shah, Ahmad Nakhjavan, Gholamali Bayandor (Iran)
Forces British: 2 divisions, 3 brigades, 4 sloops, 1 gunboat, 1 corvette, 1 armed merchant cruiser, 1 armed yacht and auxiliary vessels; Soviet: 3 armies. Iranian: 9 divisions, 60 aircraft, 2 sloops and 4 patrol boats.
Losses Soviet: 40 killed, 3 aircraft. British: 22 killed, 50 wounded, 1 tank. Iranian: about 850 killed, 7 aircraft, 3 sloops destroyed, 3 patrol boats captured. About 450 Iranian civilians killed.
Result Anglo-Soviet victory; Reza Shah abdicated and Iran was occupied until 1946
Britain and the Soviet Union invaded officially neutral Iran in a coordinated attack on several fronts. The outmatched Iranian forces offered little resistance. British naval forces took part, and Iran lost three sloops destroyed and three patrol boats captured. Iran agreed a ceasefire on 30 August and surrendered on 31 August.
Why it is remembered The invasion opened the Persian Corridor for Allied supplies to the USSR and forced Reza Shah to abdicate in favour of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War
Battle between HMAS Sydney and Kormoran Single-ship action
Also known as Sinking of HMAS Sydney; Sydney and Kormoran action
19 November 1941 · About 106 nautical miles off Dirk Hartog Island, Western Australia
Fought between Australia against Germany
Commanders Joseph Burnett (Australia, killed); Theodor Detmers (Germany)
Forces The light cruiser HMAS Sydney with 645 crew, against the auxiliary cruiser Kormoran with 399 crew
Ships HMAS Sydney, Kormoran
Losses Australia: Sydney sunk with all 645 aboard. Germany: Kormoran scuttled, 82 killed; 318 survived.
Result Both ships lost
Sydney met the disguised German raider Kormoran off Western Australia and approached her closely, losing the advantage of her heavier armour and longer gun range. In a half hour action both ships were fatally damaged. Kormoran's survivors reached land or were picked up, but no one from Sydney survived.
Why it is remembered It is the largest loss of life in the history of the Royal Australian Navy and the largest Allied warship lost with all hands in the war. The loss led to long controversy and two government inquiries, and the wrecks were found in 2008.
Sources differ Some postwar publications alleged a cover-up, breaches of the laws of war or Japanese involvement; the main account says no evidence supports these theories.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Allan C. Green 1878 to 1954, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Battle of Hong Kong Landing or siege
Also known as Defence of Hong Kong; Fall of Hong Kong
8 to 25 December 1941 · British Hong Kong
Fought between Britain, British India, Canada and China against Japan
Commanders Mark Young, Christopher Maltby, Cedric Wallis, John K. Lawson, Chan Chak (Allies); Takashi Sakai, Masaichi Niimi (Japan)
Forces 10,976 to 14,564 Allied troops, 5 aircraft, 1 destroyer, 4 gunboats, 1 minelayer and 8 motor torpedo boats, against 26,928 Japanese troops, 51 aircraft, 1 cruiser, 3 destroyers, 4 torpedo boats and 3 gunboats
Losses Allied: 1,560 to 2,278 killed or missing, 2,300 wounded, 10,947 captured; 1 destroyer captured, 4 gunboats, 1 minelayer and 3 motor torpedo boats sunk; 5 aircraft lost. Japanese: 675 killed, 2,079 wounded. About 4,000 civilians killed.
Result Japanese victory; Hong Kong surrendered
Japan attacked the British colony of Hong Kong on the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor. The garrison of British, Indian and Canadian units and local volunteers abandoned Kowloon and the New Territories within a week. Less than two weeks later Hong Kong Island was untenable and the colony surrendered. The small British naval force lost most of its ships.
Why it is remembered The surrender is remembered as Black Christmas, the start of a Japanese occupation that lasted until 1945.
Sources differ Allied strength is given as 10,976 to 14,564 troops and Allied killed or missing as 1,560 to 2,278.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Mainichi Newpaper, Japan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Ecuadorian and Peruvian War of 1941 (Zarumilla offensive)
Battle of Jambelí Single-ship action
July 1941 · Jambelí channel, near Puerto Bolívar, Ecuador
Fought between Peru against Ecuador
Forces The Peruvian destroyer BAP Almirante Villar against the Ecuadorian gunboat BAE Abdón Calderón
Ships BAP Almirante Villar, BAE Abdón Calderón
Losses Each side claimed to have damaged the other's ship; no casualty figures are given for the engagement.
The Peruvian destroyer Almirante Villar was patrolling Ecuadorian waters near the Jambelí channel when she sighted the gunboat Abdón Calderón on passage to Guayaquil. The gunboat turned back towards Puerto Bolívar firing as she went, while the destroyer manoeuvred in circles and kept clear of the shallow coast. The exchange of fire ended after 21 minutes.
Why it is remembered It was the naval clash of the Zarumilla offensive in the war between Peru and Ecuador in 1941.
Sources differ Ecuador says the Peruvian destroyer was damaged; Peru says the Ecuadorian gunboat was damaged. No exact date is given; the offensive ran from 23 to 31 July 1941.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Franco-Thai War
Battle of Ko Chang Fleet battle
17 January 1941 · Off Ko Chang, Gulf of Thailand
Fought between Vichy France against Thailand
Commanders Régis Bérenger (France); Luang Phrom Viraphan (Thailand, killed)
Forces The light cruiser Lamotte-Picquet and the avisos Dumont d'Urville, Amiral Charner, Tahure and Marne, with 9 seaplanes for reconnaissance, against the coastal defence ship Thonburi and torpedo boats
Ships Lamotte-Picquet, Dumont d'Urville, Amiral Charner, Tahure, Marne, HTMS Thonburi, HTMS Chonburi, HTMS Songkhla
Losses Thailand: torpedo boats Chonburi and Songkhla sunk, Thonburi grounded and later capsized; 36 killed by Thai figures, about 300 by French estimates. France: 11 killed, no ships lost.
Result French tactical victory
A French squadron closed on the Thai anchorage at Ko Chang at dawn and sank two torpedo boats early in the action. Lamotte-Picquet then fought a running battle with the coastal defence ship Thonburi among the islets, knocking out her aft turret and killing her captain. Thonburi grounded at the mouth of the Chanthaburi river, and the French withdrew under Thai air attack.
Why it is remembered Japan stepped in to mediate, and the peace left Thailand holding the contested territory. Thonburi was raised and her guns and bridge are a memorial at the Royal Thai Naval Academy.
Sources differ Thai dead are given as 36 by Thai figures and about 300 by French estimates. The Thai Navy claimed heavy damage to Lamotte-Picquet, which French records do not mention.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Allan C. Green 1878 to 1954, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Attack on Pearl Harbor Raid
Also known as Hawaii Operation; Operation AI; Operation Z
7 December 1941 · Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii
Fought between Japan against the United States
Commanders Isoroku Yamamoto, Chūichi Nagumo (Japan); Husband E. Kimmel, Walter Short (United States)
Forces Japan: 6 aircraft carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, Hiryū, Shōkaku, Zuikaku), 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers, 23 fleet submarines, 5 midget submarines and 414 aircraft, of which 353 took part. United States: 8 battleships, 8 cruisers, 30 destroyers, 4 submarines, 73 other ships and 390 aircraft.
Ships Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, Hiryū, Shōkaku, Zuikaku, USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS California, USS West Virginia, USS Nevada, USS Maryland, USS Tennessee, USS Pennsylvania, USS Utah, USS Ward
Losses United States: 4 battleships sunk and 4 damaged, 1 former battleship sunk, 3 cruisers and 3 destroyers damaged, 188 aircraft destroyed; 2,403 killed and 1,178 wounded, military and civilian. Japan: 4 midget submarines sunk and 1 grounded, 29 aircraft destroyed, 129 killed, 1 sailor captured.
Result Japanese victory
At 6:37 a.m. the destroyer Ward sank a Japanese midget submarine near the harbour entrance. At 7:48 a.m. the first of two waves of aircraft from six Japanese carriers struck the Pacific Fleet at its moorings. All eight battleships present were damaged and four sunk; all but Arizona and Utah were later refloated. The three American carriers were at sea and escaped.
Why it is remembered The surprise attack on a neutral United States brought it into the war against Japan the next day.
Sources differ One account gives 130 Japanese personnel lost; another account gives 129 killed and 1 captured.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Imperial Japanese Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Shelling of Johnston and Palmyra Raid
Also known as Shelling of Johnston and Palmyra Atoll
12 to 24 December 1941 · Johnston Atoll and Palmyra Atoll, central Pacific
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Francis B. Loomis Jr. (United States)
Forces US Marine 5-inch coastal guns of the 1st Defense Battalion, US Navy forces and civilian contractors, against several Japanese submarines and possibly surface vessels
Losses United States: 1 Marine wounded and military installations damaged. Japan: possible damage to ships.
Result Inconclusive; minor damage to US installations, and both islands were afterwards heavily strengthened
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese naval forces attacked Allied possessions across the Pacific, including the two US atolls of Johnston and Palmyra. Japanese submarines shelled the islands and Marine coastal guns replied.
Why it is remembered The attacks led to both atolls being heavily strengthened.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Unknown photographer of the Signal Corps, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse Air and submarine attack
Also known as Naval Battle of Malaya (Marē-oki kaisen)
10 December 1941 · South China Sea, 70 miles east of Kuantan, Malaya
Fought between Japan against Britain and Australia
Commanders Niichi Nakanishi, Shichizo Miyauchi, Hachiro Shoji (Japan); Tom Phillips (killed), John Leach (killed), William Tennant (Britain)
Forces 88 Japanese land-based aircraft (34 torpedo aircraft, 51 level bombers, 3 scouts), against Force Z of 1 battleship, 1 battlecruiser and 4 destroyers
Ships HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Repulse
Losses Britain: HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse sunk, 840 killed. Japan: 4 aircraft destroyed, 28 damaged, 2 seaplanes missing, 18 killed.
Result Japanese victory
Force Z sailed without air cover to intercept the Japanese invasion fleet off Malaya but failed to find the main convoy. On its return to Singapore it was attacked in open water by Japanese bombers and torpedo bombers, and both capital ships were sunk. Admiral Phillips kept radio silence until Repulse sent an alert an hour after the first attack.
Why it is remembered Two days after Pearl Harbor it showed that even the heaviest warships were vulnerable to air attack without air cover. It left the British Eastern Fleet much weakened before the fall of Singapore.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Photograph by Underwood & Underwood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Battle of Wake Island Landing or siege
8 to 23 December 1941 · Wake Island, with Peale and Wilkes islets, central Pacific
Fought between Japan against the United States
Commanders Shigeyoshi Inoue, Sadamichi Kajioka, Shigematsu Sakaibara, Eiji Gotō, Tamon Yamaguchi (Japan); Winfield S. Cunningham, James Devereux, Paul A. Putnam (all captured), Henry T. Elrod (killed) (United States)
Forces First landing attempt: 3 light cruisers, 6 destroyers, 2 patrol boats, 2 transports, 1 submarine tender and 3 submarines; reinforced for the second attempt by 2 aircraft carriers, Sōryū and Hiryū, 2 heavy cruisers, 2 destroyers and 2,500 infantry. Defenders: 449 marines, 6 coastal guns, 12 aircraft and 12 anti-aircraft guns, with 68 navy and 5 army personnel and 1,221 civilian workers.
Ships Yūbari, Hayate, Kisaragi, Sōryū, Hiryū, USS Triton, USS Saratoga
Losses Japan: in the first attempt 2 destroyers (Hayate and Kisaragi) and 1 submarine sunk, 340 killed and 65 wounded; in the second 2 patrol boats wrecked, 10 aircraft lost, about 600 casualties. United States: 52 killed, 49 wounded, 2 missing, 12 aircraft lost, 433 captured; 70 civilians killed and 1,104 interned, of whom 180 died in captivity.
Result Japanese victory
Japanese bombers struck Wake within hours of Pearl Harbor. On 11 December the marines beat off the first landing: shore guns blew up the destroyer Hayate and Wildcat fighters sank Kisaragi. A relief force built around the carrier Saratoga was recalled, and on 23 December a second, stronger landing supported by the carriers Sōryū and Hiryū forced the garrison to surrender.
Why it is remembered The garrison beat off the first landing on 11 December before the island fell. Ninety eight civilian prisoners kept on the island were used for forced labour and executed in October 1943.
Sources differ US Marine dead are given as 52 in one account and 49 in another account. Japanese casualties in the first attempt are given as 407 in another account and 340 killed and 65 wounded in one account.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Jpbrenna at en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Aleutian Islands campaign
Action of 5 July 1942 Air and submarine attack
Also known as 7月5日の海戦 (Japanese)
5 July 1942 (4 July in Allied records) · Off Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Howard W. Gilmore (United States); Gisaburō Harada, Yoshito Miyasaka (Japan)
Forces The submarine USS Growler against the destroyers of the 18th Destroyer Division at anchor, with the seaplane carrier Chiyoda and the transport Aruzentina Maru nearby
Ships USS Growler, Arare, Shiranui, Kasumi, Chiyoda
Losses Japan: Arare sunk with 104 killed; Shiranui heavily damaged, 3 killed; Kasumi heavily damaged, 10 killed. United States: none reported.
Result American victory
In fog in the early hours, the US submarine Growler attacked Japanese destroyers anchored off Kiska. Her torpedoes sank Arare, which fired back with her main guns before breaking apart. Shiranui and Kasumi were badly damaged and could not move under their own power; both needed more than a year of repairs at Maizuru.
Why it is remembered One submarine put three Japanese destroyers out of action in a single attack during the Aleutian campaign.
Sources differ Japanese records give 5 July, Allied records 4 July.
Sources Wikipedia (JA)
Image: 不明Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Indian Ocean raid
Air raid on Ceylon (5 April 1942) Raid
Also known as Easter Sunday raid
5 April 1942 · Colombo harbour, British Ceylon
Fought between Japan against Britain, Ceylon, Canada and the Netherlands
Forces Carrier aircraft of the 1st Air Fleet (Kidō Butai), against RAF and Fleet Air Arm fighters and anti-aircraft guns
Losses Allied: 37 Royal Navy personnel, 23 merchant sailors and 37 civilians killed; 26 aircraft destroyed; 3 ships sunk, 3 damaged. Japanese: 7 aircraft.
Result Japanese victory, though the Eastern Fleet escaped
Japanese carrier aircraft attacked Colombo, aiming to destroy the British Eastern Fleet in harbour. Warned by decoded signals and air reconnaissance, the British had dispersed shipping beforehand. Fighters and guns met the raid; port facilities were damaged and ships in the harbour sunk or damaged, but the bulk of the fleet was not found.
Why it is remembered The Eastern Fleet moved for a time to East Africa, and Japan never repeated the raid.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Dutch East Indies campaign
Battle of Ambon Landing or siege
30 January to 3 February 1942 · Ambon Island, Moluccas, Dutch East Indies
Fought between Japan against the Netherlands and Australia
Commanders Takeo Takagi, Takeo Itō (Japan); Joseph Kapitz (Netherlands, surrendered); William Scott (Australia, surrendered)
Forces Japanese: 5,300. Dutch: 2,600. Australian: 1,100.
Losses Allied: 340 killed, 2,182 captured, 309 executed. Japanese: 95 killed, 185 wounded, 1 minesweeper sunk and 2 minesweepers damaged.
Result Japanese victory
Japanese forces landed on Ambon and, against a combined Dutch and Australian defence, took the island and its airfield in several days, losing one minesweeper sunk and two damaged.
Why it is remembered It was followed by a major massacre of Dutch and Australian prisoners of war by the Japanese army, for which many Japanese personnel were later tried for war crimes.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Leonard Thomas Woods, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Battle of Badung Strait Fleet battle
19 to 20 February 1942 · Badung Strait, off Bali, Dutch East Indies
Fought between Netherlands, United States and Britain against Japan
Commanders Karel Doorman (ABDA); Kyūji Kubo (Japan)
Forces 3 cruisers, 7 destroyers, 2 submarines and 20 aircraft, against 4 destroyers escorting 2 transports
Ships HNLMS Piet Hein
Losses Allied: 1 destroyer sunk, 1 cruiser damaged, 1 destroyer damaged and later scuttled. Japanese: 25 killed, 83 wounded, 3 destroyers and 1 transport damaged.
Result Japanese victory
In a night action four Japanese destroyers defeated a larger and more heavily armed ABDA force. They sank the Dutch destroyer Piet Hein and brought two transports to safety.
Why it is remembered It showed the Japanese navy's superiority in night fighting, which lasted until the Battle of Cape St. George. It is not to be confused with the Javanese city of Bandung.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Naval Historical Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Dutch East Indies campaign
Battle of Balikpapan (1942) Landing or siege
Also known as First Battle of Balikpapan; sometimes called the Battle of Makassar Strait
23 to 25 January 1942 · Off Balikpapan, Borneo, Dutch East Indies
Fought between Netherlands and United States against Japan
Commanders Cornelis van den Hoogenband (Netherlands); Paul H. Talbot (United States); Shizuo Sakaguchi, Shōji Nishimura (Japan)
Forces About 1,100 Allied troops and a US naval task force, against about 6,600 Japanese
Losses Allied: 1 destroyer lightly damaged, 1 submarine heavily damaged; most troops deserted or surrendered, only 200 evacuated. Japanese: 47 infantry and at least 121 sailors killed; 5 transports sunk, 2 transports, 1 patrol boat and 1 seaplane tender damaged.
Result Japanese victory
Japan had warned the Dutch they would be executed if they destroyed the Balikpapan oilfields; the Dutch destroyed them anyway and withdrew inland. The Japanese landed and seized the wrecked refineries. An American naval task force then ambushed the invasion convoy and sank several transports, but could not stop the occupation.
Why it is remembered The US destroyer attack on the invasion convoy was an early Allied success at sea in the East Indies, though Balikpapan still fell.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Netherlands Ministry of Defense, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Guadalcanal campaign
Battle for Henderson Field Landing or siege
Also known as Battle of Guadalcanal; Battle of Lunga Point (Japanese)
23 to 26 October 1942 · Henderson Field and the Lunga perimeter, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Alexander Vandegrift, William Rupertus (United States); Harukichi Hyakutake (Japan)
Forces 23,088 US troops against 20,000 Japanese troops of the 17th Army, with Japanese naval air and sea forces
Losses US: 61 to 86 killed, 1 tug and 1 patrol boat sunk, 3 aircraft. Japanese: 2,200 to 3,000 killed, 1 cruiser sunk, 14 aircraft.
Result American victory
This land, sea and air battle was the last of three major Japanese land offensives on Guadalcanal. Over three days the Japanese 17th Army made repeated assaults on the Lunga perimeter around Henderson Field, all beaten back with heavy losses. At the same time aircraft from Henderson Field defended the American positions against Japanese naval air and sea forces, and a Japanese cruiser was sunk.
Why it is remembered It was the last serious Japanese ground offensive on Guadalcanal.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Bombing of Darwin Raid
19 February 1942 · Darwin and Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, Australia
Fought between Japan against Australia and the United States
Commanders Chūichi Nagumo, Mitsuo Fuchida (Japan); David V. J. Blake, Frederick Scherger (Australia)
Forces 242 aircraft, 188 of them from 4 carriers with 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 7 destroyers and 3 submarines, against 31 aircraft, 18 anti-aircraft guns and some 45 ships in harbour including a destroyer, a seaplane tender, 2 sloops and 9 merchant ships
Losses Allied: 236 killed, 300 to 400 wounded, 30 aircraft, 11 vessels sunk, 3 grounded, 25 damaged. Japanese: 2 killed, 1 captured, 34 aircraft damaged.
Result Japanese victory
In two raids, 188 Japanese aircraft bombed Darwin, the ships in its harbour and its two airfields, to stop the Allies using them against the invasion of Timor and Java. The lightly defended port suffered heavy losses at little cost to the attackers.
Why it is remembered It was the largest single attack ever made on Australia by a foreign power, and more than half of Darwin's civilians left the area for good.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: RAN Historical Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Guadalcanal campaign
Battle of Cape Esperance Fleet battle
Also known as Second Battle of Savo Island; Sea Battle of Savo Island (Japanese)
11 to 12 October 1942 · Between Savo Island and Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Norman Scott (United States); Aritomo Gotō, Takatsugu Jōjima, Gunichi Mikawa (Japan)
Forces US Task Force 64: 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 5 destroyers. Japan: 3 heavy cruisers and 2 destroyers, with a reinforcement convoy of 6 destroyers and 2 seaplane tenders.
Losses US: 1 destroyer sunk, 1 heavy cruiser, 1 light cruiser and 1 destroyer damaged, 163 killed. Japan: 1 heavy cruiser and 1 destroyer sunk, 1 heavy cruiser heavily damaged, 341 to 454 killed, 111 captured, and 2 more destroyers sunk by aircraft next day.
Result American victory, strategically inconclusive
While a Japanese convoy carried supplies and troops to Guadalcanal, Rear Admiral Gotō led three heavy cruisers and two destroyers to bombard Henderson Field. Shortly before midnight Rear Admiral Scott's cruisers and destroyers surprised them near Savo Island, sank a cruiser and a destroyer, badly damaged another cruiser and mortally wounded Gotō; the Americans lost one destroyer. The Japanese convoy unloaded unseen, and next day aircraft from Henderson Field sank two of its destroyers sent back to help Gotō.
Why it is remembered It gave the US Navy a needed boost in morale after the defeat at Savo Island, though neither side gained control of the waters.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War
Battle of Christmas Island Landing or siege
31 March to 1 April 1942 · Christmas Island, Indian Ocean
Fought between Britain, British India and the United States against Japan
Commanders Shōji Nishimura (Japan)
Forces 32 infantry and 1 US submarine, against 850 Japanese infantry, 3 light cruisers, 8 destroyers, 1 oiler, 2 troop transports and 2 seaplanes
Ships USS Seawolf, Naka
Losses Allied: 27 captured. Japanese: 1 light cruiser damaged.
Result Japanese victory; the island was occupied
Soldiers of the British Indian Army mutinied against their British officers, and Japanese troops occupied Christmas Island unopposed. During the landings the US submarine Seawolf severely damaged the Japanese cruiser Naka.
Why it is remembered The island was taken after a mutiny of its garrison.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Japanese Press (1930s-1940s), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Battle of the Coral Sea Fleet battle
4 to 8 May 1942 · Northern Coral Sea, and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands
Fought between United States and Australia against Japan
Commanders Frank Jack Fletcher, Aubrey Fitch, John Gregory Crace (Allies); Shigeyoshi Inoue, Takeo Takagi, Chūichi Hara, Aritomo Gotō (Japan)
Forces Allied: 2 fleet carriers, 8 cruisers, 14 destroyers, 2 oilers and 128 carrier aircraft. Japanese: 2 fleet carriers, 1 light carrier, 9 cruisers, 15 destroyers, smaller warships, 12 transports and 139 carrier aircraft.
Ships USS Yorktown, USS Lexington, USS Sims, USS Neosho, Shōhō, Shōkaku, Zuikaku
Losses Allied: 1 fleet carrier, 1 destroyer and 1 oiler sunk, 1 fleet carrier damaged, 69 aircraft, 715 killed. Japanese: 1 light carrier, 1 destroyer and 3 minesweepers sunk, 1 fleet carrier damaged, 69 to 97 aircraft, 966 killed.
Result Japanese tactical victory and Allied strategic victory; the invasion of Port Moresby was called off
Japan planned to occupy Port Moresby and Tulagi, and the US, warned by signals intelligence, sent two carrier task forces and an Australian and American cruiser force under Fletcher. After Japan took Tulagi on 3 to 4 May, the carrier fleets searched for each other; on 7 May US aircraft sank the light carrier Shōhō and Japanese aircraft sank the destroyer Sims and damaged the oiler Neosho. On 8 May each side found the other's fleet carriers: Shōkaku and Yorktown were damaged, and Lexington was so badly hit she was later scuttled.
Why it is remembered It was the first naval battle in which the fleets never sighted or fired on each other, and the first battle between aircraft carriers. It turned back a major Japanese advance and kept Shōkaku and Zuikaku out of the Battle of Midway.
Sources differ Japanese aircraft losses are given as 69 to 97.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Doolittle Raid Raid
Also known as Doolittle's Raid; Tokyo Raid
18 April 1942 · Tokyo and other cities on Honshu, launched from the western Pacific
Fought between United States and China against Japan
Commanders James Doolittle (United States); Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni (Japan)
Forces 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers with 80 airmen, launched from USS Hornet, with 2 aircraft carriers, 4 cruisers and 8 destroyers in the task force
Ships USS Hornet
Losses US: 16 B-25s lost (15 destroyed, 1 interned in the USSR), 3 killed, 8 captured of whom 3 were executed and 1 died in captivity. Japan: about 50 killed, 400 injured, 5 patrol boats sunk, 5 sailors captured, 1 carrier under conversion damaged.
Result Minimal damage, but a large boost to American morale
Sixteen B-25 medium bombers, without fighter escort, flew from the carrier USS Hornet to bomb military and industrial targets in Tokyo and elsewhere on Honshu, then flew on towards China. Fifteen were lost in crashes and one landed at Vladivostok, where its crew was interned. Eight airmen were captured by the Japanese in China and three were executed.
Why it is remembered It was the first American air attack on Japan, it pushed Yamamoto towards the attack on Midway, and Japan took reprisals in the Zhejiang to Jiangxi campaign. Doolittle received the Medal of Honor.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Aleutian Islands campaign
Battle of Dutch Harbor Raid
3 to 4 June 1942 · Dutch Harbor, Amaknak Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Fought between Japan against the United States
Commanders Kakuji Kakuta (Japan); Robert Theobald, Simon Buckner, Archibald Arnold (United States)
Forces 1 aircraft carrier, 1 light carrier, 3 cruisers, 5 destroyers and 86 aircraft, against the base garrison, anti-aircraft batteries and 30 aircraft
Losses US: 43 killed, 50 wounded, 14 aircraft, 1 barracks ship destroyed. Japanese: 10 killed, 5 captured, 8 aircraft destroyed, 1 captured.
Result Japanese victory
The Japanese navy launched two carrier air raids on the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears on Amaknak Island. The raids opened the Aleutian Islands campaign.
Why it is remembered It was the first air attack by an enemy on North America, though Alaska was then a territory and not a state.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Guadalcanal campaign
Battle of the Eastern Solomons Fleet battle
Also known as Battle of the Stewart Islands; Second Battle of the Solomon Sea (Japanese)
24 to 25 August 1942 · North of Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Frank Jack Fletcher, Thomas C. Kinkaid (United States); Nobutake Kondō, Chūichi Nagumo, Hiroaki Abe, Chūichi Hara, Gunichi Mikawa (Japan)
Forces US: 2 fleet carriers, 1 battleship, 4 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 13 destroyers and 176 aircraft. Japan: 2 fleet carriers, 1 light carrier, 3 battleships, 13 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 30 destroyers, other ships, 3 transports and 171 to 177 aircraft.
Losses US: 1 fleet carrier heavily damaged, 20 aircraft, 90 killed. Japan: 1 light carrier, 1 destroyer and 1 transport sunk, a seaplane tender and a light cruiser damaged, 75 aircraft, over 290 killed.
Result American victory
In the third carrier battle of the Pacific War, the fleets never came within sight of each other and all attacks were made by carrier or land based aircraft. After several damaging air attacks both sides withdrew. Japan lost more ships and dozens of aircraft with experienced crews.
Why it is remembered Japanese reinforcements for Guadalcanal were delayed and had to be landed from warships instead of transports, so no heavy artillery or large supplies could be put ashore.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Battle of Malaya
Battle off Endau Convoy battle
26 to 27 January 1942 · Off Endau, Malaya
Fought between Britain and Australia against Japan
Commanders William Moran (Allies); Shintarō Hashimoto (Japan)
Forces 2 destroyers, 21 fighters, 15 light bombers and 22 torpedo bombers, against 1 light cruiser, 6 destroyers, 5 minesweepers, 3 subchasers, 4 converted patrol ships and 32 fighters escorting 2 troopships and 2 auxiliaries
Losses Allied: 1 destroyer sunk, 15 aircraft lost, 39 killed, 33 captured. Japanese: 1 aircraft lost, 8 killed, 18 wounded.
Result Japanese victory
A Japanese convoy landing troops at Endau was attacked several times by Allied aircraft without effect, at heavy cost to the attackers. That night the Royal Navy sent two destroyers to break up the landings. They found the convoy without being seen but could not locate the troopships in the dark, and as they withdrew the escorts opened fire and sank one destroyer early on 27 January.
Why it is remembered It was the first notable naval action after the loss of Prince of Wales and Repulse, and the Royal Navy's last attempt to intercept Japanese convoys around the Malay Peninsula.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Indian Ocean raid Raid
Also known as Operation C; Third Mobile Operation in the Indian Ocean; Battle of Ceylon (Japanese)
31 March to 10 April 1942 · Indian Ocean, around Ceylon and in the Bay of Bengal
Fought between Britain, Ceylon, Australia, the Netherlands, the United States and Canada against Japan
Commanders James Somerville (Britain); Chūichi Nagumo, Mitsuo Fuchida, Jisaburō Ozawa (Japan)
Forces Eastern Fleet: 2 fleet carriers, 1 light carrier, 5 battleships, 7 cruisers, 15 destroyers, 7 submarines and over 100 aircraft. Japan: 5 fleet carriers, 1 light carrier, 4 battleships, 11 cruisers, 23 destroyers, 5 submarines and 275 aircraft.
Ships Ryūjō
Losses Allied: 825 killed; 1 light carrier, 2 heavy cruisers, 2 destroyers, 1 armed merchant cruiser, 1 corvette, 1 sloop and 20 merchant ships sunk; 54 aircraft. Japanese: 32 killed, 17 aircraft destroyed, 31 damaged.
Result Japanese victory
Japanese carriers under Admiral Nagumo struck Allied shipping, naval bases and airfields around Ceylon but failed to find most of the Eastern Fleet, which had been warned by signals intelligence and had sailed. At the same time Malaya Force, with the carrier Ryūjō and cruisers, raided the northern Bay of Bengal and sank twenty merchant ships in three days.
Why it is remembered The British moved the Eastern Fleet's main base to East Africa, but Japan never followed up the raid.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Photo taken from a Japanese aircraft, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, New Guinea campaign
Invasion of Salamaua to Lae Landing or siege
Also known as Invasion of Salamaua-Lae; Operation SR
8 to 13 March 1942 · Salamaua and Lae, Territory of New Guinea
Fought between Japan against Australia and the United States
Commanders Shigeyoshi Inoue (Japan); Wilson Brown (United States)
Forces Japan's 4th Fleet: 4 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 8 destroyers, 1 minesweeper, 1 minelayer and 4 transports. US Task Force 17: 2 aircraft carriers and 122 aircraft, with B-17 and Hudson bombers.
Ships USS Yorktown, USS Lexington
Losses Japanese: 3 transports and 1 minesweeper sunk, a light cruiser, 2 destroyers, a minelayer, a seaplane tender and a transport damaged; 130 killed, 250 wounded. Allied: 1 aircraft destroyed, 11 damaged, 2 killed.
Result Japanese victory; Salamaua and Lae were occupied
Japanese forces landed at Salamaua and Lae to build an airfield and base, and the small Australian garrison withdrew without opposing them. On 10 March aircraft from the carriers Yorktown and Lexington, supported by B-17 and Hudson bombers, struck the invasion fleet, sinking three transports and damaging other ships. The Japanese still occupied the area.
Why it is remembered The base later supported the Japanese advance on Port Moresby along the Kokoda Track.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Photographer's Mate 2nd Class F. J. Meers, USN., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Operation Mo
Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942) Landing or siege
3 to 4 May 1942 · Tulagi and Gavutu, Solomon Islands
Fought between Japan against the United States, Australia and Britain
Commanders Shigeyoshi Inoue, Aritomo Gotō, Kiyohide Shima (Japan); Frank Jack Fletcher (United States); William Sydney Marchant (Britain)
Forces Japan: 2 destroyers, 5 minesweepers, 2 minelayers, 1 transport, 2 subchasers, 6 aircraft and 400 to 500 troops. Allies: 1 aircraft carrier, 3 cruisers, 4 destroyers and 58 aircraft.
Losses Japanese: 1 destroyer and 3 minesweepers sunk, 2 minelayers, 1 destroyer and 1 transport damaged, 5 to 6 aircraft, 87 killed. Allied: 4 aircraft.
Result Japanese victory; Tulagi was occupied
Japanese navy troops landed on Tulagi on 3 May 1942 after the British Resident Commissioner and the small Australian garrison had left. The next day aircraft from a US carrier task force on its way to the Coral Sea struck the landing force, destroying or damaging several ships and aircraft. The Japanese still occupied the island and began building a naval base.
Why it is remembered Japan's base at Tulagi and its airfield on nearby Guadalcanal led to the Allied landings of 7 August 1942 that opened the Guadalcanal campaign.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Battle of the Java Sea Fleet battle
Also known as Pertempuran Laut Jawa; Surabaya oki kaisen (Sea Battle off Surabaya)
27 February 1942 · Java Sea, off Surabaya
Fought between Netherlands, United States, Britain and Australia against Japan
Commanders Karel Doorman (ABDA); Takeo Takagi (Japan)
Forces 2 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers and 9 destroyers, against 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 14 destroyers and 10 transports
Ships Haguro, Nachi, Asagumo, HMS Exeter, HNLMS Kortenaer, HMS Electra, HMS Jupiter, HNLMS Java, HNLMS De Ruyter
Losses Allied: 2,300 killed, 2 light cruisers and 3 destroyers sunk, 2 heavy cruisers damaged. Japanese: 36 killed, 3 destroyers and 1 transport damaged.
Result Japanese victory
Rear Admiral Karel Doorman's Combined Striking Force tried to intercept a Japanese troop convoy and was met by its escorts. The heavy cruiser Haguro crippled HMS Exeter with gunfire and torpedoed the Dutch destroyer Kortenaer, and HMS Electra was sunk in a destroyer fight. In a night attack HMS Jupiter hit a Dutch mine and sank, then torpedoes from Nachi and Haguro sank the Dutch cruisers Java and De Ruyter; Doorman was killed.
Why it is remembered The defeat and the actions that followed led to the break up of the Allied fleet and the Japanese occupation of the whole Dutch East Indies.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Operation K Raid
Also known as K-Sakusen
4 March 1942 · Pearl Harbor, Oahu, staged from Wotje Atoll and French Frigate Shoals
Fought between Japan against the United States
Commanders Hisao Hashizume (Japan)
Forces 2 Kawanishi H8K flying boats supported by 3 submarines
Ships I-23
Losses US: minimal damage to private property. Japan: the submarine I-23 lost.
Result Inconclusive; the attack failed
Japan planned Operation K to reconnoitre Pearl Harbor and disrupt the repair and salvage work after the attack of 7 December 1941. On 4 March 1942 two H8K flying boats, supported by submarines, made an unsuccessful bombing attack.
Why it is remembered It was the longest distance ever flown by a two plane bombing mission, and one of the longest bombing sorties ever planned without fighter escort.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this battle has been found yet.
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, New Guinea campaign
Operation Lilliput Convoy battle
18 December 1942 to June 1943 · Between Milne Bay and Oro Bay, New Guinea
Fought between Australia, the United States and the Netherlands against Japan
Forces Convoys largely of Dutch KPM merchant ships, escorted mainly by Royal Australian Navy corvettes, against Japanese aircraft
Ships 's Jacob, Van Heemskerk
Losses 2 merchant ships, 's Jacob and Van Heemskerk, sunk and 2 badly damaged; several corvettes damaged with casualties
Result 60,000 tons of supplies and 3,802 troops delivered
A regular convoy service ran troops, weapons and supplies from Milne Bay to Oro Bay to support the Australian 7th Division and US 32nd Division around Buna and Gona. Over six months the convoys delivered 60,000 tons of supplies and 3,802 troops. Japanese air attacks sank two merchant ships and damaged two more, and several escorting corvettes were also hit.
Why it is remembered It kept the Allied forces at Buna and Gona supplied by sea.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War
Battle of Madagascar Landing or siege
Also known as Operation Ironclad (first phase); Operations Stream, Line and Jane (later phases)
5 May to 6 November 1942 · Madagascar, beginning at Diego-Suarez (Antsiranana)
Fought between Britain, India, the Rhodesias and South Africa, with naval support from Australia, the Netherlands, Poland and Norway, against Vichy France with Japanese naval support
Commanders Robert Sturges, Edward Syfret (Allies); Armand Annet (Vichy France); Noboru Ishizaki (Japan)
Forces Allied: 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers, 2 aircraft carriers, 1 seaplane carrier, 1 battleship, 6 light cruisers, 22 destroyers, 8 corvettes, 1 monitor and other ships, over 81 aircraft. Vichy: 8,000 soldiers, 35 aircraft, 4 warships. Japan: 4 submarines and 2 midget submarines.
Losses Allied: 107 killed, 280 wounded, 108 died of disease; 1 battleship heavily damaged, 1 oil tanker sunk. Vichy and Japanese: 152 killed, 500 wounded, 1,000 captured, 34 aircraft, 2 midget submarines lost.
Result Allied victory; Madagascar placed under Free French control
Britain seized Vichy French Madagascar to deny its ports to the Japanese navy and protect shipping routes to India, Australia and South East Asia. The campaign began with Operation Ironclad, the capture of the port of Diego-Suarez near the northern tip, on 5 May 1942. A further campaign from 10 September secured the rest of the island by the end of October, and an armistice was granted on 6 November.
Why it is remembered It was the first large Allied operation combining sea, land and air forces.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: British Official Photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Battle of Makassar Strait Air and submarine attack
Also known as Action of Madura Strait; Action North of Lombok Strait; Battle of the Flores Sea
4 February 1942 · Bali Sea, south of the Kangean Islands, Dutch East Indies
Fought between Netherlands and United States against Japan
Commanders Karel Doorman (ABDA); Nishizō Tsukahara (Japan)
Forces 4 cruisers and 7 destroyers, against Japanese land based bombers (36 G4M1 Betty and 24 G3M2 Nell)
Losses Allied: 70 sailors killed, 2 cruisers damaged. Japanese: at least 4 aircraft destroyed.
Result Japanese victory; the Allied fleet retreated
An ABDA fleet under Rear Admiral Karel Doorman was on its way to intercept a Japanese invasion convoy reported as bound for Surabaya, though it was really heading for Makassar. Japanese medium bombers attacked the fleet and forced it to retreat.
Why it is remembered It showed the Allied ships in the East Indies were exposed to Japanese land based aircraft. It should not be confused with the Battle of Balikpapan, sometimes given the same name.
Sources differ Japanese aircraft: 37 to 45 by Allied estimate, 60 land based bombers by Japanese reports.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Raid on Makin Island Raid
17 to 18 August 1942 · Makin Island, Gilbert Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Chester W. Nimitz, Evans Carlson (United States); Kōsō Abe, Kyuzaburō Kanemitsu (Japan)
Forces 211 Marines of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion carried by 2 submarines, against 71 Japanese servicemen, 13 aircraft and 3 small ships
Losses US: 19 killed, 17 wounded, 2 missing, 9 captured and later executed. Japanese: 46 to over 160 killed, 2 flying boats destroyed, 2 small boats sunk.
Result American victory
Marine Raiders landed from two submarines on Japanese held Makin Island to destroy installations, take prisoners and intelligence, and draw Japanese attention away from Guadalcanal and Tulagi. Only the first aim was achieved. Nine Marines left behind were captured and later executed.
Why it is remembered The raid boosted American morale and tested Raider tactics.
Sources differ Japanese killed are given as 46 to over 160.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Malaya Force raid in the Bay of Bengal Blockade and raiding
Also known as Malaya Force
1 to 11 April 1942 · Northern Bay of Bengal, off the east coast of India
Fought between Japan against Britain, the Netherlands, the United States and Norway
Commanders Jisaburō Ozawa, Takeo Kurita (Japan)
Forces 1 light aircraft carrier, 5 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser and 4 destroyers, against a few aircraft, a couple of Indian sloops and the Greek destroyer Ierax
Ships Ryūjō, Ierax
Losses Allied: 20 merchant ships sunk and 3 damaged, of over 130,000 GRT; 139 merchant sailors killed. Japanese: none.
Result Japanese victory
Alongside the carrier raid on Ceylon, Japan sent Malaya Force under Vice Admiral Ozawa from Mergui into the northern Bay of Bengal, where the British had almost nothing to defend merchant shipping. From 5 April the force split into three groups south of False Point and Cocanada; Ryūjō's aircraft sank shipping and bombed Cocanada and Vizagapatnam. It sank 20 merchant ships before returning on 11 April.
Why it is remembered Calcutta cancelled sailings and the bombing caused an exodus from the coastal towns.
Sources differ One account gives six cruisers and a light cruiser; another account five heavy cruisers and one light cruiser.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Japanese Imperial Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Marshalls to Gilberts raids Raid
Also known as Marshalls-Gilberts raids
1 February 1942 · Marshall and Gilbert Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders William Halsey Jr., Frank Jack Fletcher (United States); Shigeyoshi Inoue, Eiji Gotō (Japan)
Forces 2 aircraft carriers with 133 aircraft, 4 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 12 destroyers and 2 oilers, against 51 Japanese aircraft
Losses US: 1 cruiser damaged, 14 aircraft. Japanese: 3 auxiliary ships sunk; a minelayer, a light cruiser, 4 transports and 2 auxiliaries damaged; 18 aircraft.
Result Minor damage to the Japanese garrisons
US Navy carrier aircraft and warships struck Japanese garrisons in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands with air strikes and naval gunfire on 1 February 1942.
Why it is remembered It was the first of six American raids on Japanese held territory in the first half of 1942.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: William T. Barr, photographer's mate, USN, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Battle of Midway Fleet battle
4 to 7 June 1942 · Near Midway Atoll, about 1,300 miles north west of Oahu
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Chester Nimitz, Frank Jack Fletcher, Raymond Spruance (United States); Isoroku Yamamoto, Nobutake Kondō, Chūichi Nagumo, Tamon Yamaguchi (Japan)
Forces US: 3 fleet carriers, 7 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 15 destroyers, 233 carrier aircraft, 127 land based aircraft, 16 submarines and 9 PT boats. Japan's carrier striking force: 4 fleet carriers, 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 12 destroyers, 248 carrier aircraft and 13 submarines, with more ships that did not take part.
Ships Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, Hiryū, Mikuma, USS Yorktown, USS Hammann, USS Enterprise, USS Hornet
Losses US: 1 fleet carrier and 1 destroyer sunk, about 150 aircraft, about 307 killed. Japan: 4 fleet carriers and 1 heavy cruiser sunk, 248 aircraft, 3,057 killed, 37 captured.
Result American victory
Yamamoto planned to take Midway and draw out and destroy the US Pacific Fleet's carriers. US code breakers had found the date and place of the attack, and Nimitz sent a force under Fletcher to wait for it. On 4 June planes from Midway and from the US carriers caught Nagumo's carriers while they were rearming and refuelling; Akagi was wrecked by a single hit that exploded among her armed aircraft. All four Japanese fleet carriers, Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū and Hiryū, were sunk, with the heavy cruiser Mikuma, while the US lost Yorktown and the destroyer Hammann.
Why it is remembered With the Guadalcanal campaign it is widely seen as the turning point of the Pacific War, as Japan lost many trained pilots it could not replace. Historians have ranked it with Salamis, Trafalgar and Tsushima.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: USN, photographed from USS Pensacola (CA-24), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Battle of Palembang Landing or siege
13 to 15 February 1942 · Palembang and the refineries at Plaju, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies
Fought between Netherlands, Britain, Australia and New Zealand against Japan
Commanders L. N. W. Vogelesang, Karel Doorman, Henry Hunter, Stanley Vincent (Allies); Jisaburō Ozawa, Seiichi Kume (Japan)
Forces 2,000 Allied infantry, 50 aircraft and an ABDA naval force, against a Japanese amphibious force of 3,000, 350 paratroopers and air groups
Result Japanese victory
Japan attacked Palembang on Sumatra with paratroopers and an amphibious force, aiming at the Royal Dutch Shell oil refineries at Plaju and the nearby airfield. An ABDA naval force under Karel Doorman was among the Allied units engaged.
Why it is remembered The refineries were a major objective for Japan, which had been cut off from oil by the American, Dutch and British embargo.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War
Battle of Réunion Landing or siege
Also known as Liberation of Réunion; Bataille de La Réunion; Libération de La Réunion
28 November 1942 · Saint Denis, Réunion
Fought between Free France against Vichy France
Commanders Jules Évenou, André Capagorry (Free France); Pierre Émile Aubert, Émile Hugot (Vichy France)
Forces The destroyer Léopard, a company of Fusiliers Marins and local resistance, against 260 men
Ships Léopard
Losses Free French: at least 1 killed. Vichy: at least 2 killed and 1 wounded.
Result Free French victory
The Free French destroyer Léopard landed a force on Réunion, and with a local uprising it toppled the administration loyal to Vichy and replaced it with a Free French one.
Why it is remembered It brought Réunion onto the Allied side.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Operation RY Landing or siege
Also known as Japanese invasion of Nauru and Ocean Island
10 May to 30 August 1942 · Nauru and Ocean Island (Banaba), central Pacific
Fought between Japan against the United States
Commanders Kiyohide Shima (first invasion force); Takeo Takagi (5th Cruiser Division, covering force)
Forces Japanese invasion and covering forces including the minelayer Okinoshima, the cruisers Tatsuta, Myōkō and Haguro, the minelayer Tsugaru, destroyers and transports
Ships Okinoshima, Shoei Maru, Tatsuta, Tsugaru, Myōkō, Haguro, USS S-42, USS S-44, USS Enterprise, USS Hornet
Losses Japanese: one minelayer and one auxiliary ship sunk (Okinoshima and the repair ship Shoei Maru).
Result Japanese occupation of Nauru and Ocean Island after the first attempt was abandoned
The first invasion force sailed from Rabaul on 11 May 1942, but its flagship, the minelayer Okinoshima, was torpedoed by the US submarine S-42 and capsized under tow, and the repair ship Shoei Maru sent to help her was sunk by S-44. When a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft sighted the carriers Enterprise and Hornet heading towards Nauru, the operation was called off on 15 May. A second force sailed from Truk on 26 August and landed unopposed on Nauru on 29 August and on Ocean Island on 30 August.
Why it is remembered Japan wanted the islands for their phosphate. Japanese forces held both islands until the end of the war, increasingly isolated and repeatedly bombed by American aircraft.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Guadalcanal campaign
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands Fleet battle
25 to 27 October 1942 · North of the Santa Cruz Islands, south west Pacific
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders William Halsey, Thomas C. Kinkaid, George Murray, Charles P. Mason (United States); Nobutake Kondō, Chūichi Nagumo, Hiroaki Abe, Kakuji Kakuta (Japan)
Forces US: 2 fleet carriers, 1 battleship, 3 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 14 destroyers and 136 aircraft. Japan: 3 fleet carriers, 1 light carrier, 4 battleships, 8 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 24 destroyers and 199 aircraft.
Ships USS Hornet, USS Enterprise
Losses US: 266 killed; 1 fleet carrier and 1 destroyer sunk; 1 fleet carrier, 1 battleship, 1 light cruiser and 2 destroyers damaged; 81 aircraft. Japan: 400 to 500 killed, including 148 aircrew; 2 carriers heavily damaged, 1 heavy cruiser and 1 destroyer damaged; 99 aircraft.
Result Japanese tactical victory; long term strategic advantage to the Allies
Japanese carriers moved near the southern Solomons to support the army's offensive against Henderson Field and to destroy any American carriers that responded. On the morning of 26 October the two fleets exchanged carrier air strikes. The US carrier Hornet was sunk and Enterprise heavily damaged; two Japanese carriers were badly damaged and Japan lost many aircraft.
Why it is remembered The loss of so many veteran Japanese aircrews could not be made good, and the victory came after the Japanese land offensive had already failed.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Guadalcanal campaign
Battle of Savo Island Fleet battle
Also known as First Battle of Savo Island; First Battle of the Solomon Sea (Japanese); Battle of the Five Sitting Ducks
8 to 9 August 1942 · Off Savo Island, near Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
Fought between Japan against the United States and Australia
Commanders Gunichi Mikawa (Japan); Richmond Turner, Victor Crutchley (Allies)
Forces 5 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 1 destroyer, against an Allied screen of 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 15 destroyers, of which 5 cruisers and 7 destroyers fought
Ships USS Quincy, USS Vincennes, USS Astoria, HMAS Canberra, USS Chicago, USS Ralph Talbot, USS Patterson, Chōkai, Tenryū, Kinugasa
Losses Allied: 4 heavy cruisers sunk, 1 heavy cruiser and 2 destroyers damaged, 1,077 killed. Japanese: 2 heavy cruisers and 1 light cruiser damaged, 58 killed.
Result Japanese victory
Two days after the Allied landings on Guadalcanal, Vice Admiral Mikawa brought seven cruisers and a destroyer down the Slot to attack the amphibious fleet. In a night action he surprised and routed the Allied screen, sinking three American cruisers and badly damaging the Australian cruiser Canberra, with little damage in return. Fearing carrier strikes in daylight, Mikawa withdrew without attacking the transports.
Why it is remembered The Allied ships withdrew early, leaving the Marines short of supplies, and the battle is counted among the worst US naval defeats. It was the first of the battles in what became known as Ironbottom Sound.
Sources differ One account says three American cruisers were sunk and one Australian cruiser badly damaged; another account counts 4 heavy cruisers sunk, Canberra among them.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Netherlands East Indies campaign
Second Battle of the Java Sea Fleet battle
1 March 1942 · Java Sea, Dutch East Indies
Fought between Japan against Britain and the United States
Commanders Takeo Takagi, Ibō Takahashi (Japan); Oliver Gordon (Britain)
Forces 1 heavy cruiser and 2 destroyers, against 4 heavy cruisers, 5 destroyers, 1 light aircraft carrier and 2 seaplane tenders
Ships HMS Exeter
Losses Allied: 1 heavy cruiser and 2 destroyers sunk, 800 captured. Japanese: 1 destroyer damaged.
Result Japanese victory
Two days after the first Battle of the Java Sea, the damaged heavy cruiser HMS Exeter and her two escorting destroyers were caught by a Japanese squadron that included the cruiser Haguro. All three Allied ships were sunk.
Why it is remembered It ended the last Allied warship operations around Java and let Japan complete the conquest of the Dutch East Indies unhindered.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Photo taken from a Japanese aircraft, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Shelling of Newcastle Raid
8 June 1942 · Newcastle, New South Wales
Fought between Japan against Australia
Commanders Matsumura Kanji (Japan)
Forces The submarine I-21, against the coastal guns of Fort Scratchley
Ships I-21
Losses Australian: 1 injured, 1 house damaged. Japanese: none.
Result Indecisive
In the early hours of 8 June 1942, shortly after I-24 shelled Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, the submarine I-21 fired 34 shells at Newcastle, eight of them illumination rounds, causing little damage. The gunners at Fort Scratchley fired four shells back without scoring a hit.
Why it is remembered It followed the midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour and is one of the few times an Australian city was shelled.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Operation Stab Other action
21 July to 4 August 1942 · Bay of Bengal
Fought between Britain, Australia and the Netherlands against Japan
Commanders James Somerville (Britain)
Forces 1 battleship, 2 aircraft carriers, 4 light cruisers, 6 destroyers, 1 minelayer, 2 corvettes, 2 sloops, 1 auxiliary, 2 tankers and 10 transports
Losses Allied: 4 aircraft, 4 killed in flying accidents. Japanese: 1 aircraft, 9 killed.
Result Allied victory
The Eastern Fleet under Somerville made a naval deception in the Bay of Bengal to draw Japanese attention away from the coming US campaign on Guadalcanal.
Why it is remembered It was a British contribution to the opening of the Guadalcanal campaign.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Battle of Sunda Strait Fleet battle
28 February to 1 March 1942 · Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra, Dutch East Indies
Fought between United States, Australia and the Netherlands against Japan
Commanders Hector Waller, Albert H. Rooks (Allies); Kenzaburō Hara, Takeo Kurita (Japan)
Forces 1 heavy cruiser, 1 light cruiser and 1 destroyer, against a Japanese force of 1 light carrier, 1 seaplane carrier, 5 cruisers, 12 destroyers, 1 minelayer and 1 minesweeper covering 58 troopships
Ships HMAS Perth, USS Houston, HNLMS Evertsen
Losses Allied: all 3 ships sunk, 1,071 killed, 675 taken prisoner. Japanese: 1 minesweeper and 4 troopships sunk or grounded, all by friendly fire; 1 cruiser and 3 destroyers damaged; 10 killed, 37 wounded.
Result Japanese victory
On the night of 28 February to 1 March 1942 the Australian light cruiser Perth, the American heavy cruiser Houston and the Dutch destroyer Evertsen met a large Japanese task force in the Sunda Strait. After several hours of fierce fighting all three Allied ships were sunk and both captains were killed. Five Japanese ships were sunk, three of them by their own side's fire.
Why it is remembered It followed the Battle of the Java Sea and completed the destruction of the Allied naval force in the East Indies.
Sources differ One account says five Japanese ships were sunk, three by friendly fire; another account lists 1 minesweeper and 4 troopships sunk or grounded, all by friendly fire.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Australian armed forces, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Attack on Sydney Harbour Raid
31 May to 8 June 1942 · Sydney Harbour, Australia
Fought between Japan against Australia, the United States, Britain, India and the Netherlands
Commanders Gerard Muirhead-Gould (Allies); Hankyu Sasaki (Japan)
Forces 5 fleet submarines carrying 3 midget submarines and 2 seaplanes, against Allied warships in harbour including 2 heavy cruisers, a light cruiser, destroyers, corvettes and patrol boats
Ships M-14, M-21, M-24, USS Chicago, HMAS Kuttabul
Losses Allied: the depot ship HMAS Kuttabul sunk, 21 killed, 10 wounded. Japanese: 2 midget submarines sunk, 1 scuttled, 2 aircraft, 6 killed. In the follow-up, 3 merchant ships sunk and 50 killed.
Result Indecisive
On the night of 31 May to 1 June three Japanese midget submarines, M-14, M-21 and M-24, entered Sydney Harbour past the unfinished anti-submarine boom. M-14 was detected and scuttled by her crew, and M-21 was attacked and sunk. M-24 fired at the heavy cruiser USS Chicago but sank the converted ferry HMAS Kuttabul, killing 21 sailors. The mother submarines then attacked shipping off eastern Australia and on 8 June shelled Sydney and Newcastle.
Why it is remembered It is the only time either city has been attacked. M-24's wreck was found off Sydney's northern beaches by amateur divers in 2006.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Keam, Ronald Noel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Guadalcanal campaign
Battle of Tassafaronga Fleet battle
Also known as Fourth Battle of Savo Island; Battle of Lunga Point (Japanese)
30 November 1942 · Ironbottom Sound, near Tassafaronga Point, Guadalcanal
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Carleton H. Wright (United States); Raizō Tanaka (Japan)
Forces US Task Force 67: 4 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser and destroyers, against 8 Japanese destroyers
Losses US: 395 to 417 killed, 1 heavy cruiser sunk, 3 heavy cruisers badly damaged. Japanese: 197 to 211 killed, 1 destroyer sunk.
Result Japanese victory, though the supply run was not completed
A US force of cruisers and destroyers under Rear Admiral Wright intercepted eight Japanese destroyers bringing food to Guadalcanal. The US destroyers waited for permission after radar contact, fired late, missed and retired. The US cruisers sank one destroyer, but their gun flashes gave away their positions and Tanaka's destroyers replied with Type 93 Long Lance torpedoes, sinking one cruiser and heavily damaging three.
Why it is remembered The Naval History and Heritage Command counts it with Savo Island among the worst US naval defeats, behind only Pearl Harbor.
Sources differ One account gives 5 cruisers and 4 destroyers, another account 6 destroyers.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Attack on the Dureenbee Blockade and raiding
3 August 1942 · Off Moruya, New South Wales
Fought between Japan against Australia
Forces The submarine I-175 against the fishing trawler Dureenbee
Ships Dureenbee, I-175
Losses 3 killed and 8 injured; the trawler was wrecked
Result The trawler was damaged beyond repair
The Japanese submarine I-175 attacked the fishing trawler Dureenbee off Moruya and badly damaged her. Three of her crew were killed. She later ran aground and was damaged beyond repair.
Why it is remembered The attack on a fishing boat has been called a war crime.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Guadalcanal campaign
Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu to Tanambogo Landing or siege
Also known as Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo
7 to 9 August 1942 · Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo, Solomon Islands
Fought between United States, Britain and the British Solomon Islands against Japan
Commanders Alexander Vandegrift, William H. Rupertus (United States); Sadayoshi Yamada, Shigetoshi Miyazaki, Masaaki Suzuki (Japan)
Forces 7,500 Allied troops against 1,500 Japanese
Losses Allied: 248 dead. Japanese: 1,500 dead, 23 captured.
Result Allied victory
US Marines of the 1st Marine Division landed on Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo, where the Japanese navy had built a naval and seaplane base, while other troops landed on nearby Guadalcanal. The Japanese navy troops, heavily outnumbered, resisted fiercely and died almost to the last man.
Why it is remembered These landings opened the six month Guadalcanal campaign.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Action of 13 November 1943 Single-ship action
13 November 1943 · Strait of Malacca, off Penang
Fought between Britain against Japan
Commanders Mervyn Wingfield (HMS Taurus); Irie Tatsushi (I-34)
Forces The submarine HMS Taurus against the submarine I-34
Ships HMS Taurus, I-34
Losses Japanese: I-34 sunk, 84 killed. British: none.
Result British victory
The British submarine HMS Taurus sank the Japanese Type B1 submarine I-34 in the Strait of Malacca. I-34 was on a Yanagi mission, secretly carrying goods by submarine between Japan and Germany.
Why it is remembered It was a rare sinking of one submarine by another, and it cut one of the secret Yanagi links between Japan and Germany.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Royal Navy official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Aleutian Islands campaign)
Battle of Attu Landing or siege
Also known as Operation Landcrab
11 to 30 May 1943 · Attu Island, Aleutian Islands, Territory of Alaska
Fought between United States and Canada against Japan
Commanders John DeWitt, Thomas Kinkaid, Albert Brown, Eugene Landrum and Archibald Arnold (United States); Yasuyo Yamasaki, killed (Japan)
Forces 15,000 Americans against 2,600 Japanese
Losses American: 549 killed, 1,148 wounded, 1,814 frostbitten and sick. Japanese: 2,351 killed or died by suicide, 28 captured, about 200 missing or holding out
Result Allied victory
United States forces, aided by Canadian reconnaissance and fighter-bomber support, invaded Japanese-held Attu on 11 May 1943 in Operation Landcrab. The fighting in snow and cold lasted almost three weeks and ended when most of the Japanese defenders were killed after a final banzai charge broke through the American lines; Japanese holdouts remained until 8 September.
Why it is remembered Attu was the only land battle fought on United States territory in the Second World War, and the only one in which Japanese and American forces fought in snow.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (New Guinea campaign)
Battle of the Bismarck Sea Air and submarine attack
Also known as Operation 81 (the Japanese convoy operation)
2 to 4 March 1943 · Bismarck Sea, near Lae, New Guinea
Fought between United States and Australia against Japan
Commanders Ennis Whitehead (United States); Joe Hewitt (Australia); Gunichi Mikawa and Masatomi Kimura (Japan)
Forces Allies: 39 heavy bombers, 41 medium bombers, 34 light bombers, 54 fighters and 10 torpedo boats. Japan: 8 destroyers and 8 troop transports with about 100 aircraft, carrying some 6,900 troops
Losses Allies: 2 bombers and 4 fighters destroyed, 13 killed. Japan: all 8 transports and 4 destroyers sunk, 15 fighters destroyed, more than 2,890 dead
Result Allied victory
A Japanese convoy of eight destroyers and eight transports left Rabaul on 28 February 1943 to carry about 6,900 troops to Lae. Allied codebreakers had learned its destination, and aircraft of the US Fifth Air Force and the RAAF attacked it on 2 and 3 March, using new methods such as skip bombing. On 4 March PT boats and aircraft attacked lifeboats and rafts. All eight transports and four destroyers were sunk; only about 1,200 troops reached Lae and some 2,700 were taken back to Rabaul.
Why it is remembered The Japanese made no further attempt to reinforce Lae by ship, which hampered their efforts to stop the Allied offensives in New Guinea.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Australian armed forces, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Solomon Islands campaign
Battle of Blackett Strait Single-ship action
Also known as Battle of Vila to Stanmore (Japanese)
6 March 1943 · Blackett Strait, between Kolombangara and Arundel Island, Solomon Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Aaron S. Merrill (United States); Masao Tachibana (Japan)
Forces 3 light cruisers and 3 destroyers, against 2 destroyers
Losses Japanese: both destroyers sunk, 174 killed, 2 captured. US: none.
Result American victory
A US force sent to bombard Japanese positions around Vila met two Japanese destroyers returning from a supply run as they withdrew through Kula Gulf. In a short fight both Japanese destroyers were sunk, and the US ships then carried out their bombardment of Vila.
Why it is remembered It was a chance night encounter that cost Japan two destroyers.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Bougainville campaign)
Battle of Cape St. George Fleet battle
25 November 1943 · Between Cape St. George, New Ireland, and Buka Island
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Arleigh Burke (United States); Kiyoto Kagawa (Japan, killed)
Forces 5 US destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 23 against 5 Japanese destroyers and destroyer transports of Destroyer Division 31
Ships Onami, Makinami, Yugiri
Losses United States: none. Japan: 3 destroyers sunk, 1 damaged, 647 killed
Result American victory
A Japanese destroyer force had landed reinforcements on Buka and was returning to Rabaul. Five US destroyers under Captain Arleigh Burke intercepted it. Three Japanese destroyers were sunk and one damaged, with no American losses.
Why it is remembered It was the last surface engagement of the Solomon Islands campaign.
Sources differ The Japanese death toll is a calculation: Nevitt says Onami was lost with all 228 hands and Makinami lost 200, and Nevitt and Morison give 278 survivors from Yugiri, which carried about 497 men by Morison's figures.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Convoy GP 55 Convoy battle
Also known as Convoy GP55
15 to 20 June 1943 · Off the east coast of Australia, Sydney to Brisbane
Fought between Japan against Australia and the United States
Forces The submarine I-174, against 10 cargo ships, 3 LSTs and 5 corvettes
Ships I-174, Portmar, USS LST-469
Losses Allied: the US Army transport Portmar sunk, USS LST-469 damaged, 28 killed, 21 injured. Japanese: I-174 lightly damaged; another submarine possibly sunk by RAAF aircraft.
Result Japanese victory
On 16 June 1943 the Japanese submarine I-174 attacked the convoy, sinking the transport Portmar and damaging LST-469. Two corvettes counter-attacked but only lightly damaged her. An intensive search followed, in the mistaken belief that she had been badly hurt, and failed.
Why it is remembered I-174 was the last Japanese submarine to operate off Australia's east coast, and the search exposed poor communication between the RAN and RAAF.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Aleutian Islands campaign)
Operation Cottage Landing or siege
15 August 1943 · Kiska, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Fought between United States and Canada against Japan (whose garrison had already left)
Commanders Charles Corlett (United States); Harry W. Foster (Canada)
Forces 34,000 United States and 5,300 Canadian troops, with US Navy Task Group 16.22. No Japanese forces present; only sea mines, mines and booby traps
Ships USS Abner Read
Losses Allies: 92 killed and 221 wounded in total, of which landing forces 32 killed and 100 wounded and US Navy 71 killed and 47 wounded; the destroyer USS Abner Read heavily damaged. Japan: none
Result Allied victory; the landings were unopposed
American and Canadian forces landed on Kiska, held by Japan since June 1942, to complete the recapture of the Aleutians. The Japanese had secretly abandoned the island two weeks earlier, so the landings met no opposition. Casualties came from mines, booby traps, friendly fire and vehicle accidents, and USS Abner Read was badly damaged.
Why it is remembered It ended the Aleutian Islands campaign, though the island had already been left empty.
Sources differ One account speaks of over 500 Allied casualties; another account gives 92 killed and 221 wounded overall.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Bougainville campaign)
Battle of Empress Augusta Bay Fleet battle
Also known as Battle of Gazelle Bay; Operation Cherry Blossom; Sea Battle off Bougainville Island (Japanese sources)
1 to 2 November 1943 · Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, Solomon Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Aaron S. Merrill and Arleigh Burke (United States); Sentaro Omori and Matsuji Ijuin (Japan)
Forces US Task Force 39: 4 light cruisers and 8 destroyers with land based air cover, against Japanese Cruiser Division 5: 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 6 destroyers and about 100 aircraft
Ships USS Columbia, USS Cleveland, Sendai, Hatsukaze, Shiratsuyu, Samidare
Losses United States: 1 cruiser and 2 destroyers damaged, 19 killed. Japan: 1 light cruiser and 1 destroyer sunk, 1 heavy cruiser and 1 light cruiser damaged, 2 destroyers heavily damaged, 25 aircraft shot down, 198 to 658 killed
Result American victory
On the first day of the Allied landings at Cape Torokina on Bougainville, the Japanese sent a large force from Rabaul hoping to repeat their night victory at Savo Island. The US covering force of cruisers and destroyers met it at night in Empress Augusta Bay and turned it back. The landings went ahead successfully.
Why it is remembered The victory secured the Cape Torokina beachhead, where an airfield was to be built as part of the Allied plan to isolate Rabaul.
Sources differ Sources differ widely on Japanese deaths, from 198 to 658: for Sendai 412 (Dull), 185 (Hackett and Kingsepp), 320 (Morison) and 335 (Hara); for Hatsukaze 9 (Dull) against 240 (Nevitt, Morison and Hara).
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Aleutian Islands campaign
Evacuation of Kiska (1943) Other action
Also known as Operation Ke (Ke-Go); Kiska-tō Tettai Sakusen; Miracle of Kiska
27 May to 29 July 1943 · Kiska, Aleutian Islands
Fought between Japan against the United States
Commanders Shirō Kawase, Masatomi Kimura (Japan); Thomas C. Kinkaid (United States)
Forces First phase 15 submarines; second phase 2 light cruisers, 11 destroyers, 1 auxiliary cruiser and 1 escort ship; against a US blockade of 2 battleships, 4 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser and 9 destroyers
Losses Japanese: 3 submarines sunk, 1 destroyer damaged. US: about 92 killed and 200 wounded in the later landing, mostly from friendly fire and accidents.
Result Japanese victory; the garrison was evacuated
After losing Attu, Japan decided to abandon the Aleutians. A first attempt to take off the Kiska garrison by submarine cost three submarines. Rear Admiral Kimura's surface force then used the thick fog to slip through the American blockade, embarked over 5,000 men in under an hour and left without losing a ship. Unaware of this, the Allies landed on the empty island on 15 August.
Why it is remembered Japanese historians call it the Miracle of Kiska, and Samuel Eliot Morison called the Allied landing the largest and most practical landing exercise in history.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Solomon Islands campaign
Battle off Horaniu Convoy battle
Also known as First Battle of Vella Lavella (Japanese)
17 to 18 August 1943 · Near Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Thomas J. Ryan (United States); Matsuji Ijuin (Japan)
Forces 4 destroyers, against 4 destroyers escorting 22 barges and auxiliary ships
Losses Japanese: 5 auxiliary ships sunk, 2 destroyers slightly damaged. US: none.
Result Inconclusive; most of the barges reached Horaniu
On the night of 17 to 18 August 1943 four US destroyers intercepted a Japanese convoy taking troops to Horaniu on Vella Lavella to set up a barge base. Both sides exchanged torpedoes and gunfire at long range, and after two Japanese destroyers were slightly damaged the escort withdrew. The Americans sank five small ships, but most of the troop barges hid along the coast and completed their mission on 19 August.
Why it is remembered In October the Japanese used the Horaniu base for the mass withdrawal of troops from Kolombangara.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Solomon Islands and New Guinea campaigns)
Operation I-Go Air and submarine attack
Also known as I-Go sakusen
1 to 16 April 1943 · Guadalcanal and the Russell Islands in the Solomons; Port Moresby, Oro Bay and Milne Bay in New Guinea
Fought between Japan against the United States, Australia and New Zealand
Commanders Isoroku Yamamoto and Jinichi Kusaka (Japan); William Halsey and Douglas MacArthur (Allies)
Forces Japan: 350 aircraft based at Rabaul, Bougainville and the Shortland Islands
Losses Allies: 1 destroyer, 1 tanker, 2 transports and 1 corvette sunk, 25 aircraft destroyed. Japan: 55 aircraft destroyed
Result Inconclusive
Japanese naval aircraft made several massed raids on Allied shipping, airfields and bases around Guadalcanal, the Russell Islands and eastern New Guinea, aiming to halt the Allied advance. Several transports and warships were sunk, but no serious damage was done. Trusting exaggerated aircrew reports, Yamamoto ended the operation on 16 April believing it a success.
Why it is remembered It did not delay the Allied offensives, and Yamamoto was killed shortly afterwards while flying to congratulate the units that had taken part.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Guadalcanal campaign)
Operation Ke Other action
Also known as Ke-gō Sakusen
14 January to 7 February 1943 · Guadalcanal and the surrounding waters, Solomon Islands
Fought between Japan against the United States, Australia and New Zealand
Commanders Isoroku Yamamoto, Hitoshi Imamura, Jinichi Kusaka, Gunichi Mikawa, Harukichi Hyakutake and Shintaro Hashimoto (Japan); William Halsey Jr, Aubrey Fitch, Alexander Patch, Nathan F. Twining, Francis P. Mulcahy and J. Lawton Collins (Allies)
Ships I-1, HMNZS Kiwi, HMNZS Moa, PT 59
Losses Allies: 1 heavy cruiser, 1 destroyer and 3 PT boats sunk, 1 destroyer heavily damaged, 53 aircraft destroyed. Japan: 1 destroyer and 1 submarine sunk, 3 destroyers heavily damaged, 56 aircraft destroyed; about 600 of the evacuated men died during the evacuation
Result Japanese victory; the withdrawal largely succeeded
After failing to retake Henderson Field, Japan decided to give up Guadalcanal. A rearguard battalion was landed on 14 January 1943 while Japanese air forces fought for air superiority, sinking a US cruiser in the Battle of Rennell Island and a destroyer off Verahue. Destroyers then took the troops off in three night runs on 1, 4 and 7 February, evacuating 10,652 men for one destroyer sunk and three damaged. The submarine I-1 was sunk at Kamimbo on 29 January by HMNZS Kiwi and Moa.
Why it is remembered On 9 February the Allies realised the Japanese had gone and declared Guadalcanal secure, ending the six month campaign for the island.
Sources differ One account dates the operation 14 January to 7 February 1943; another account gives 14 January to 8 February.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: U.s. Army Signal Corps, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, New Georgia campaign
Battle of Kolombangara Fleet battle
Also known as Second Battle of Kula Gulf
12 to 13 July 1943 · Off the north east coast of Kolombangara, Solomon Islands
Fought between United States and New Zealand against Japan
Commanders Walden Ainsworth (United States); Shunji Isaki (Japan)
Forces 3 light cruisers and 10 destroyers, against 1 light cruiser, 5 destroyers and 4 destroyer transports
Losses Allied: 1 destroyer sunk, 3 light cruisers damaged, two severely, 89 killed. Japanese: 1 light cruiser sunk, 482 killed including Isaki.
Result Disputed; the Japanese landed their troops
On the night of 12 to 13 July 1943 a US and New Zealand force of light cruisers and destroyers intercepted a Japanese force carrying reinforcements to Vila. The Japanese sank an Allied destroyer and damaged three cruisers, and landed 1,200 troops on Kolombangara's west coast, but lost a light cruiser.
Why it is remembered Japanese torpedo attacks again inflicted heavy damage on Allied cruisers in the New Georgia campaign.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Aleutian Islands campaign
Battle of the Komandorski Islands Fleet battle
27 March 1943 · North Pacific, south of the Komandorski Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Charles McMorris (United States); Boshirō Hosogaya (Japan)
Forces 1 heavy cruiser, 1 light cruiser and 4 destroyers, against 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 4 destroyers escorting a three ship convoy
Losses US: 1 heavy cruiser severely damaged, 2 destroyers slightly damaged, 7 killed, 20 wounded. Japanese: 2 heavy cruisers damaged, 14 killed, 26 wounded.
Result American victory
An American force patrolling west of the Aleutians met Japanese warships escorting a three ship convoy. In a daylight surface action with no air support on either side, the outnumbered Americans escaped greater damage when the Japanese chose to withdraw.
Why it is remembered It was a pure daylight gunnery battle between surface ships, with no part played by aircraft.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, New Georgia campaign
Battle of Kula Gulf Fleet battle
6 July 1943 · Kula Gulf, off the east coast of Kolombangara, Solomon Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Walden L. Ainsworth, Robert W. Hayler (United States); Teruo Akiyama (Japan)
Forces Task Group 36.1: 3 light cruisers and 4 destroyers, against 10 destroyers of the 3rd Destroyer Squadron
Losses US: 1 light cruiser sunk, 168 killed. Japanese: 2 destroyers sunk, 2 damaged, 324 killed including Akiyama.
Result Inconclusive; the Japanese landed 1,600 troops
In the early hours of 6 July 1943 US cruisers and destroyers intercepted a Japanese destroyer force landing reinforcements at Vila on Kolombangara. One US light cruiser was sunk; two Japanese destroyers were sunk and two damaged. The Japanese withdrew after landing 1,600 troops.
Why it is remembered It was one of the night destroyer battles of the New Georgia campaign.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Photographed from USS Honolulu (CL-48), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign)
Battle of Makin Landing or siege
20 to 24 November 1943 · Makin Atoll (Butaritari), Gilbert Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Richmond K. Turner and Ralph C. Smith (United States); Saisuke Fujino (Japan, killed)
Forces United States: 6,470 soldiers, 3 escort carriers, 4 old battleships, 4 heavy cruisers, 16 destroyers and 9 transports and landing ships. Japan: 400 soldiers, 400 Japanese and Korean labourers, 3 light tanks, 4 anti tank guns and 1 submarine
Losses United States: 821 killed (755 Navy, 66 Army), 185 wounded, 1 escort carrier sunk, 1 battleship lightly damaged. Japan: 395 killed, 17 soldiers and 129 Korean labourers captured, 1 submarine damaged
Result American victory
Soldiers of the US 27th Infantry Division landed on Makin Atoll, supported by escort carriers, old battleships, cruisers and destroyers. The small Japanese garrison was overcome in four days. Most American deaths were naval: 755 of the 821, with an escort carrier sunk.
Why it is remembered Fought alongside Tarawa, it opened the American campaign in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Aleutian Islands campaign)
Battle of the Pips Other action
27 July 1943 · About 80 miles west of Kiska, Aleutian Islands
Fought between United States against radar contacts with no enemy present
Commanders Robert M. Griffin (United States)
Forces US Task Group 16.22, centred on the battleships Mississippi and Idaho
Ships USS Mississippi, USS Idaho
Result No enemy engaged; 518 shells fired without a hit
Task Group 16.22 was formed to support the planned assault on Kiska. On 27 July 1943 its radar picked up seven unknown contacts and the battleships fired 518 fourteen inch shells at them, hitting nothing. No Japanese surface warships were within 200 miles.
Why it is remembered It is remembered as a battle against radar ghosts at a time when radar was new and unreliable; the pips have been explained as reflections from distant mountains or as rafts of migrating shearwaters.
Sources differ The cause is disputed: suggestions include Japanese submarines evacuating Kiska, ionised clouds, reflections from Amchitka or Semisopochnoi, and flocks of shearwaters, the explanation favoured by Brian Garfield.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Guadalcanal campaign
Battle of Rennell Island Air and submarine attack
Also known as Renneru-shima oki kaisen (Japanese)
29 to 30 January 1943 · Between Rennell Island and Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders William Halsey Jr., Robert C. Giffen (United States); Jinichi Kusaka, Rinosuke Ichimaru (Japan)
Forces 1 aircraft carrier, 2 escort carriers, 3 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 8 destroyers and 14 fighters, against 43 land based medium bombers
Ships USS Chicago, USS La Vallette
Losses US: 1 heavy cruiser sunk, 1 destroyer heavily damaged, 85 killed. Japanese: 12 bombers, 60 to 84 killed.
Result Japanese victory
A US task force south of Rennell Island was protecting a convoy carrying replacement troops to Guadalcanal and looking for Japanese ships. Over two days Japanese land based torpedo bombers attacked it to cover the coming evacuation of Guadalcanal. The heavy cruiser USS Chicago was sunk and the destroyer La Vallette heavily damaged, and the task force withdrew.
Why it is remembered It was the last major naval engagement of the Guadalcanal campaign, and it helped Japan evacuate its troops by 7 February 1943.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Battle for Australia)
Shelling of Port Gregory Raid
28 January 1943 · Port Gregory, Western Australia
Fought between Japan against Australia
Commanders Tatenosuke Tosu (Japan)
Forces One Japanese submarine, I-165
Ships I-165
Losses None on either side
Result No damage done
The Japanese submarine I-165 fired 10 shells at Port Gregory to divert Allied attention from the evacuation of Guadalcanal. None caused any damage. Allied naval authorities only learned of the attack a week later, when a radio signal from the submarine's commander was decoded.
Why it is remembered One of the Japanese naval attacks on the Australian mainland.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Solomon Islands campaign
Operation SO and SE Air and submarine attack
Also known as Lunga Air Battle (Japanese)
7 to 16 June 1943 · Around Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
Fought between Japan against the United States
Commanders Jinichi Kusaka (Japan); Marc Mitscher (United States)
Forces 94 Japanese aircraft, against over 100 US aircraft
Losses US: 1 cargo ship and 1 LST damaged, 6 aircraft. Japanese: 28 aircraft.
Result Inconclusive
Japan launched an air offensive against Allied air power and shipping around Guadalcanal. Two fighter sweeps (Operation SO) were followed by air strikes on Allied ships gathering for the invasion of New Georgia (Operation SE).
Why it is remembered The Japanese called the resulting fights the Lunga Air Battle.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign)
Battle of Tarawa Landing or siege
Also known as Part of Operation Galvanic
20 to 23 November 1943 · Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati)
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Raymond A. Spruance, Richmond K. Turner, Harry W. Hill, Holland M. Smith, Julian C. Smith, Leo D. Hermle, Merritt A. Edson and David M. Shoup (United States); Keiji Shibazaki (Japan, killed)
Forces United States: 35,000 troops including 18,000 marines, 5 escort carriers, 3 battleships, 2 heavy and 2 light cruisers, 22 destroyers, 2 minesweepers and 18 transports and landing ships. Japan: 2,636 troops, 2,200 construction labourers (1,200 Korean, 1,000 Japanese), 14 tanks, 40 artillery pieces and 14 naval guns
Losses United States: Marine Corps 1,009 killed and 2,101 wounded; Navy 687 killed; 1 destroyer damaged by coastal guns. Japan: 4,690 killed, soldiers and labourers together; 17 soldiers and 129 Korean labourers captured; 14 tanks destroyed
Result Decisive American victory
US forces of Operation Galvanic made an amphibious assault on Betio, a small island at the south west of Tarawa Atoll. About 4,500 well supplied and well prepared Japanese defenders fought almost to the last man. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans and Americans died in four days.
Why it is remembered It was the first American offensive in the Central Pacific and the first time in the Pacific War that a US amphibious landing met serious opposition.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: USMC Archives from Quantico, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Solomon Islands campaign
Battle of the Treasury Islands Landing or siege
27 October to 12 November 1943 · Mono and Stirling Islands, Treasury Islands, Solomon Islands
Fought between New Zealand and the United States against Japan
Commanders Robert A. Row (New Zealand); George Fort (United States); Toyosaku Nakaseko (Japan, killed)
Forces Allied: 6,574 men, mostly of the New Zealand 3rd Division, with 6 destroyers and 32 aircraft. Japanese: over 231 men and 49 aircraft.
Losses Allied: 52 dead, 174 wounded, 1 destroyer damaged. Japanese: 223 dead, 8 taken prisoner, 12 aircraft.
Result Allied victory
New Zealand and American forces landed on the Japanese held Treasury Islands on 27 October 1943, with landing ships under fire, to secure Mono Island for a radar station and Stirling Island as a staging area for the assault on Bougainville. The small Japanese garrison was destroyed by 12 November.
Why it is remembered It helped isolate Bougainville and Rabaul, and the landing is the subject of Russell Clark's painting Landing ships under fire, Treasury Island.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Russell Clark / Archives New Zealand, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (New Georgia campaign)
Battle of Vella Gulf Fleet battle
Also known as Berawan yasen (Japanese)
6 to 7 August 1943 · Vella Gulf, between Vella Lavella and Kolombangara, Solomon Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Frederick Moosbrugger (United States); Kaju Sugiura (Japan)
Forces 6 US destroyers of Task Group 31.2 against 4 Japanese destroyers of Destroyer Division 4
Losses United States: none. Japan: 3 destroyers sunk, 1,210 killed
Result American victory
Warned by intelligence, six American destroyers waited in Vella Gulf on the night of 6 to 7 August 1943 for four Japanese destroyers bringing reinforcements to Kolombangara. Using radar, they closed undetected and fired torpedoes. Three Japanese destroyers were sunk and no American ship was damaged.
Why it is remembered It was the first time in the Pacific campaign that American destroyers were allowed to operate independently of the cruiser force.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: U.S. Navy, photographed from a USS Chenango (CVE-28) aircraft., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War
Action of 10 November 1944 Air and submarine attack
Also known as Sinking of U-537
10 November 1944 · Java Sea, just north of the Lombok Strait and east of Surabaya, at 07°13'S 115°17'E
Fought between United States against Germany
Commanders Lieutenant Commander James E. Stevens (United States, USS Flounder); Kapitänleutnant Peter Schrewe (Germany, U-537)
Forces One American submarine against one German submarine
Ships USS Flounder, U-537
Losses Germany: U-537 sunk with all hands, 58 killed including her commander. United States: none.
Result American victory
The Gato class submarine USS Flounder was patrolling around the Lesser Sunda Islands when she sighted a craft north of the Lombok Strait, at first taken for a sailing boat; the sails proved to be the conning tower of the German Type IXC/40 U-boat U-537. After shadowing her, Flounder fired four torpedoes and two of them hit. U-537 blew up and sank at 00:26, and when Flounder surfaced half an hour later to search for survivors she found no debris and no bodies.
Why it is remembered U-537 is the boat that in October 1943 set up an automatic weather station at Martin Bay in Labrador. She sank no ships in three patrols and was lost with every man aboard in the Java Sea.
Sources Wikidata · uboat.net · web.archive.org
Image: US Navy (photo 19-N-87653), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War
Action of 14 February 1944 Single-ship action
14 February 1944 · Off Penang, Strait of Malacca
Fought between Britain against Germany
Commanders Leslie Bennington (Britain); Werner Striegler (Germany)
Forces The British submarine HMS Tally-Ho against the German submarine UIT-23
Ships HMS Tally-Ho, UIT-23
Losses Britain: none. Germany: UIT-23 sunk, 26 killed
Result British victory
The British submarine HMS Tally-Ho sank the German U-boat UIT-23 off Penang near the Strait of Malacca. Twenty-six men were killed.
Why it is remembered It was one of the few naval engagements in the Asian and Pacific theatre that involved German or Italian forces.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Royal Navy official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War
Action of 17 July 1944 Single-ship action
17 July 1944 · Off Penang, Strait of Malacca
Fought between Britain against Japan
Commanders Bill King (Britain); Suwa Koichiro (Japan)
Forces The British submarine HMS Telemachus against the Japanese submarine I-166
Ships HMS Telemachus, I-166
Losses Britain: none. Japan: I-166 sunk, 88 killed
Result British victory
On her first patrol with the Eastern Fleet, HMS Telemachus under Commander Bill King sailed from Colombo on 13 July 1944 to wait on One Fathom bank for Japanese traffic between Penang and Singapore. On 17 July her ASDIC operator heard propellers and the watch sighted the submarine I-166, which Telemachus sank. Eighty-eight Japanese sailors died.
Why it is remembered A rare sinking of one submarine by another in the Strait of Malacca.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Derives from png uploaded by User:Wolrd blank map, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Philippines campaign)
Battle off Cape Engaño Air and submarine attack
Also known as Battle of Cabo Engaño; part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf
25 to 26 October 1944 · Open sea about 300 km east of Cape Engaño, northern Luzon, Philippines
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders William F. Halsey (United States); Jisaburō Ozawa (Japan)
Forces United States: Third Fleet with 5 carriers, 5 light carriers, 6 battleships, 8 cruisers and 40 destroyers, about 1,000 aircraft from 10 carriers. Japan: Ozawa's Northern Force of 1 carrier, 3 light carriers, 2 battleships converted to carry aircraft but with none aboard, 3 light cruisers and 9 destroyers
Ships Zuikaku, Zuihō, Chitose, Chiyoda, Ise, Hyūga, Ōyodo, Tama, Isuzu, Hatsuzuki, Akizuki, USS Intrepid, USS Franklin, USS Lexington, USS Enterprise, USS Essex, USS Independence, USS Belleau Wood, USS Langley, USS Cabot, USS San Jacinto, USS Alabama, USS Iowa, USS Massachusetts, USS New Jersey, USS South Dakota, USS Washington, USS Jallao
Losses United States: no ship damaged. Japan: 7 ships sunk, the carriers Zuikaku, Zuihō, Chitose and Chiyoda, the light cruiser Tama and the destroyers Hatsuzuki and Akizuki
Result Decisive American victory
Ozawa's carriers, carrying few aircraft, were sent as a decoy to draw the US Third Fleet away from Leyte so that Kurita's Centre Force could reach the landings. Believing the Japanese fleet was retreating after the Sibuyan Sea and Surigao Strait, Halsey took the bulk of his fleet north after Ozawa. US carrier aircraft sank all four Japanese carriers, including the flagship Zuikaku, and the submarine USS Jallao torpedoed the light cruiser Tama.
Why it is remembered The decoy worked in part, since it left the San Bernardino Strait unguarded and led to the Battle off Samar fought at the same time, but it cost Japan its last carrier force and did not stop the landing.
Sources differ The Spanish account gives 120 Japanese fighters in one place and 108 aircraft in total in another.
Sources Wikipedia (ES) · Wikipedia
Image: Japanese photographer (captured by US forces), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (South East Asian theatre)
Operation Cockpit Raid
19 April 1944 · Sabang, Dutch East Indies
Fought between Britain, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Free France against Japan
Commanders James Somerville (Allies); Hirose Sueto (Japan)
Forces Allies: 2 aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, 1 battlecruiser, 6 cruisers, 15 destroyers and 1 submarine. Japan: anti-aircraft batteries and 3 torpedo bombers
Losses Allies: 1 aircraft. Japan: 1 merchant ship sunk, 1 beached, up to 24 aircraft destroyed on the ground and 3 shot down
Result Inconclusive
Aircraft from British and American carriers of the Eastern Fleet attacked Japanese shipping and airfields at Sabang. The defenders were taken by surprise and there was little opposition. A few ships and aircraft were destroyed for the loss of one American aircraft.
Why it is remembered It was the first of the Eastern Fleet's carrier raids of 1944 and 1945, though it failed to draw Japanese forces away from the planned American landing in New Guinea.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Convoy Hi-71 Convoy battle
18 to 19 August 1944 · South China Sea
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Glynn R. Donaho (United States); Sadamichi Kajioka (Japan)
Forces 9 US submarines in 2 wolfpacks against a convoy of 13 merchant ships escorted by 1 escort carrier, 3 destroyers and 9 kaibōkan
Losses United States: 1 submarine sunk, 60 killed. Japan: about 8,000 killed; 7 merchant ships, 1 escort carrier, 2 destroyers and 3 kaibōkan sunk
Result American victory
The heavily escorted convoy of fast tankers and troop transports was carrying reinforcements from Japan for the defence of the Philippines. Scattered by a typhoon in August 1944, it met a wolfpack of US submarines in the South China Sea. Heavy seas prevented the rescue of men from the sunken ships.
Why it is remembered The loss of about 8,000 lives made it one of the most costly convoy disasters of the Pacific War.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Convoy Hi-81 Convoy battle
Also known as Battle of Convoy Hi-81
15 to 18 November 1944 · Yellow Sea
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Gordon W. Underwood and Eugene B. Fluckey (United States); Tsutomu Sato and Shizue Ishii (Japan)
Forces United States: 6 submarines and 1 B-29 bomber. Japan: 1 escort carrier, 1 seaplane tender, 1 destroyer, 7 escort ships, 1 submarine chaser, 4 landing craft carriers, 5 oilers and 27 B5N torpedo bombers
Ships Shin'yō, Akitsu Maru
Losses United States: none. Japan: about 6,600 killed; the escort carrier Shin'yō, a submarine chaser and 2 landing craft carriers including Akitsu Maru sunk
Result American victory
The convoy was carrying soldiers to Singapore and the Philippines under a strong escort. Over four days in November 1944 American submarines attacked it in the Yellow Sea. They sank the escort carrier Shin'yō and the landing craft carrier Akitsu Maru among others, without loss to themselves.
Why it is remembered Nearly 7,000 Japanese were killed, one of the heaviest losses of life in a single convoy battle.
Sources differ One account gives nearly 7,000 Japanese killed; another account about 6,600.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Operation Desecrate One Raid
30 to 31 March 1944 · Palau Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Forces Aircraft from the US carriers Enterprise, Bunker Hill, Hornet, Yorktown, Lexington, Monterey, Belleau Wood, Cowpens, Cabot, Princeton and Langley
Ships USS Enterprise, USS Bunker Hill, USS Hornet, USS Yorktown, USS Lexington, USS Monterey, USS Belleau Wood, USS Cowpens, USS Cabot, USS Princeton, USS Langley, Akashi, Kamikaze Maru, Urakami Maru, Goshu Maru, Iro, Ose, Sata
Losses Japan: 36 ships sunk or damaged
Result American victory
Aircraft from eleven US carriers attacked Japanese bases on and around Palau to prepare for the Allied invasion of western New Guinea. Thirty-six Japanese ships were sunk or damaged, among them the repair ship Akashi, several tenders and transports, and the tankers Iro, Ose and Sata. Avengers also laid extensive minefields in the channels and approaches.
Why it is remembered It was the first tactical use in the Pacific War of mines laid by carrier aircraft.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign
Battle of Eniwetok Landing or siege
Also known as Operation Catchpole
17 to 23 February 1944 · Enewetak Atoll (Engebi, Eniwetok and Parry islands), Marshall Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Harry W. Hill, John T. Walker, Thomas E. Watson (United States); Yoshimi Nishida (Japan, killed)
Forces American: the 22nd Marine Regiment and the 106th Infantry Regiment, supported by battleships, cruisers, destroyers and carrier aircraft. Japanese: 3,500 men with 9 light tanks and coastal guns.
Ships USS Colorado, USS Tennessee, USS Pennsylvania, USS Louisville, USS Indianapolis, USS Phelps, USS Hailey
Losses American: 313 killed, 77 missing, 879 wounded. Japanese: 3,380 killed, 144 captured.
Result American victory
After carrier aircraft of Task Group 58.4 struck Engebi on 16 February, the battleships Colorado, Tennessee and Pennsylvania, the cruisers Louisville and Indianapolis and destroyers bombarded the three main islands of the atoll in turn. Troops landed on Engebi on 18 February, then on Eniwetok, which was declared secured on 21 February, and on Parry on 22 February after more than 900 tons of shells and bombs had been delivered onto the island.
Why it is remembered Its capture gave the Americans an airfield and anchorage for the attack on the Mariana Islands, and the atoll became Naval Base Eniwetok.
Sources differ The Wikipedia text dates the first landing on Eniwetok island to 18 February, while the photograph caption shows landing craft heading for it on 19 February.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Mariana and Palau Islands campaign)
Battle of Guam (1944) Landing or siege
21 July to 10 August 1944 · Guam, Mariana Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Richard L. Conolly, Roy Geiger, Allen H. Turnage, Andrew D. Bruce and Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. (United States); Takeshi Takashina (killed) and Hideyoshi Obata (Japan)
Forces United States: 65,787 (Navy and Marines 37,292; Army 19,245). Japan: 18,500 (Army 11,500; Navy 5,000; air 2,000)
Losses United States: 1,760 dead and 6,012 wounded by 10 August 1944, of which Navy 16 killed and 42 wounded. Japan: 18,377 dead and 1,250 captured by 31 August 1945. Civilians: over 600 killed
Result American victory; Guam recaptured
Postponed by the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the hard fighting on Saipan, the landings went in on 21 July 1944 on both sides of the Orote Peninsula. The Marines were pinned down under heavy fire, and supply was hard because landing ships could not cross the reef. Japanese counter attacks on 25 July failed, the beachheads joined on 28 July, and after the Japanese line at Mount Barrigada collapsed, organised resistance ended on 10 August.
Why it is remembered The recapture of Guam, taken by Japan in 1941, gave the United States airbases from which B-29s could bomb the Japanese home islands.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: National Archives, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign)
Operation Hailstone Raid
17 to 18 February 1944 · Truk Lagoon, Caroline Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Marc Mitscher (United States); Masami Kobayashi (Japan)
Forces United States: 5 fleet carriers, 4 light carriers, 6 battleships, 10 cruisers, 28 destroyers, 10 submarines and 560 aircraft. Japan: 5 cruisers, 8 destroyers, 5 other warships, 50 merchant ships and 350 aircraft
Losses United States: 40 killed, 1 fleet carrier damaged, 1 battleship slightly damaged, 25 aircraft destroyed. Japan: over 4,500 killed; 2 light cruisers, 4 destroyers, 3 auxiliary cruisers, 6 auxiliary ships and 32 merchant ships sunk; 9 vessels damaged; over 250 aircraft destroyed
Result American victory
US carrier aircraft and surface ships attacked the Japanese base at Truk Lagoon over two days in February 1944. Warships, auxiliaries and 32 merchant ships were sunk, and more than 250 aircraft destroyed, for the loss of 25 American aircraft.
Why it is remembered It wrecked Truk as a major Japanese base during the American drive across the Central Pacific.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: US Navy, photographer aboard USS Intrepid (CV-11)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Indian Ocean raid (1944) Blockade and raiding
Also known as Operation SA No.1; Second Indian Ocean raid
1 to 16 March 1944 · Indian Ocean
Fought between Japan against Britain
Commanders Naomasa Sakonju (Japan); James Somerville (Britain)
Forces 3 Japanese heavy cruisers against 1 British steamer
Ships Tone, Behar
Losses Britain: the steamer Behar sunk, 3 killed; afterwards 72 or 89 prisoners murdered. Japan: none
Result Inconclusive
Three Japanese heavy cruisers left Japanese held territory on 1 March 1944 to raid Allied shipping. On 9 March they sank the British steamer Behar, and Tone picked up over 100 survivors. Fearing detection, the force returned to the Netherlands East Indies on 16 March, and two days later many of Behar's crew and passengers were murdered aboard Tone.
Why it is remembered It is remembered for the murder of Behar's survivors: after the war Rear Admiral Sakonju was executed for the crime and Tone's captain Haruo Mayuzumi was imprisoned for seven years.
Sources differ Sources give the number of prisoners murdered as either 72 or 89.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Solomon Islands campaign)
Battle of Karavia Bay Raid
17 to 18 February 1944 · Karavia Bay, Rabaul, New Britain
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Rodger F. Simpson (United States)
Forces 5 US destroyers against about 10 artillery pieces and 4 shore batteries, 2 destroyers and 2 transports
Losses Japan: 2 transports sunk
Result American victory
At night a squadron of US destroyers attacked the harbour defences of Karavia Bay and exchanged gunfire and torpedoes with two Japanese destroyers. The Japanese artillery was silenced and two transports were sunk, and the port was blockaded.
Why it is remembered It was the first surface engagement fought in the Rabaul area.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign)
Battle of Kwajalein Landing or siege
31 January to 3 February 1944 · Kwajalein Atoll (Kwajalein and Roi-Namur), Marshall Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Richmond K. Turner, Holland M. Smith, Harry Schmidt, Thomas E. Watson and Charles H. Corlett (United States); Monzo Akiyama (killed), Masami Kobayashi, Yamada Michiyuki (killed) and Yoshimi Nishida (Japan)
Forces United States: 46,670 men of V Amphibious Corps, including the 4th Marine Division and 7th Infantry Division. Japan: about 5,000 on Kwajalein and about 3,000 on Roi-Namur
Losses United States: Kwajalein 142 killed, 845 wounded, 2 missing; Roi-Namur 206 killed, 617 wounded, 181 missing. Japan: Kwajalein 4,300 killed, 166 captured; Roi-Namur 3,500 killed, 87 captured
Result American victory
Applying the lessons of Tarawa, US forces made simultaneous amphibious assaults on Kwajalein island in the south of the atoll and Roi-Namur in the north. The outnumbered Japanese defenders resisted stubbornly. Of the Roi-Namur garrison of 3,500, only 51 survived.
Why it is remembered It was the first American penetration of Japan's outer defensive ring in the Pacific. Its failure led the Japanese to abandon beach line defence in favour of defence in depth, which made later battles such as Peleliu and Guam far costlier.
Sources differ One account gives 51 survivors from Roi-Namur; another account lists 87 captured there.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Philippines campaign (1944 to 1945)
Battle of Leyte Gulf Fleet battle
23 to 26 October 1944 · Leyte Gulf and the surrounding waters of the Philippines, including the Sibuyan Sea, Surigao Strait, the waters off Samar and off Cape Engaño
Fought between United States and Australia against Japan
Commanders William Halsey (US 3rd Fleet); Thomas Kinkaid (US 7th Fleet); Clifton Sprague (Taffy 3); Jesse Oldendorf (Task Group 77.2); John Collins (Australia, Task Force 74, wounded); Soemu Toyoda (Combined Fleet); Takeo Kurita (Center Force); Shōji Nishimura (Southern Force, killed); Kiyohide Shima (Southern Force); Jisaburō Ozawa (Northern Force)
Forces Allied: about 300 ships, including 8 fleet carriers, 9 light carriers, 18 escort carriers, 12 battleships, 24 cruisers and 116 destroyers and destroyer escorts, with PT boats, submarines and about 1,500 aircraft. Japanese: about 70 ships, including 1 fleet carrier, 3 light carriers, 2 hybrid carrier battleships, 7 battleships, 13 heavy cruisers, 6 light cruisers, more than 35 destroyers and more than 300 aircraft. Over 200,000 naval personnel took part.
Ships USS Princeton, USS West Virginia, USS Maryland, USS Mississippi, USS Tennessee, USS California, USS Pennsylvania, Yamato, Musashi, Nagato, Kongō, Haruna, Fusō, Yamashiro, Atago, Maya, Asagumo
Losses Allied: about 3,000 killed; 11 ships lost, including 1 light carrier, 2 escort carriers, 2 destroyers and 1 destroyer escort sunk; 255 aircraft. Japanese: about 12,000 killed; 26 ships lost, including 1 fleet carrier, 3 light carriers, 3 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers and 9 destroyers sunk; about 300 aircraft.
Result Allied victory
Japan committed nearly all of its remaining major warships to repel the Allied landings in the Philippines, sending three forces against the beachhead while Ozawa's carriers drew Halsey's fleet north as a decoy. In four main engagements, the Sibuyan Sea, Surigao Strait, off Samar and off Cape Engaño, and several lesser actions, the US Third and Seventh Fleets defeated them. US submarines sank the cruisers Atago and Maya in the Palawan Passage, aircraft sank the battleship Musashi in the Sibuyan Sea, and at Surigao Strait Oldendorf's battleships, led by USS West Virginia, sank Fusō and Yamashiro. The light carrier USS Princeton was bombed and scuttled.
Why it is remembered It was the largest naval battle of the Second World War and by some criteria the largest in history, the first battle in which Japanese aircraft made organised kamikaze attacks, and the last ever fought between battleships. The Japanese navy never again sailed in comparable force, and Halsey's decision to chase the decoy force, leaving San Bernardino Strait unguarded, has been argued over ever since.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War
Operation Millet Raid
17 to 20 October 1944 · Nicobar Islands
Fought between Britain against Japan
Forces British ships including the carriers HMS Victorious and HMS Indomitable, the battlecruiser HMS Renown and the light cruiser HMS Phoebe. Japan: a force of twelve torpedo bombers in the air battle of 19 October
Ships HMS Victorious, HMS Indomitable, HMS Renown, HMS Phoebe
Losses Britain: 3 carrier aircraft. Japan: 7 torpedo bombers shot down
Result Tactical British success; the diversion failed
A British force bombarded and made air strikes on Japanese positions in the Nicobar Islands to draw Japanese attention from the American invasion of Leyte. There was little opposition until the morning of 19 October, when seven of twelve attacking Japanese torpedo bombers were shot down for the loss of three British aircraft.
Why it is remembered As a diversion it had no effect, since the Japanese had already gathered their naval forces to defend the Philippines.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Pilot on a plane from USS Saratoga (CV-3)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Battle of Leyte)
Battle of Ormoc Bay Convoy battle
9 November to 21 December 1944 · Camotes Sea and Ormoc Bay, Leyte, Philippines
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Douglas MacArthur (United States); Tomoyuki Yamashita (Japan)
Losses United States: 6 ships sunk. Japan: 29 ships, 1 submarine and 1 patrol boat sunk
Result American victory
Over six weeks Japan ran convoys to reinforce and supply its troops on Leyte through Ormoc Bay, and US forces fought a series of air and sea battles in the Camotes Sea to stop them. Twenty-nine Japanese ships were sunk for six American.
Why it is remembered The battles cut the Japanese reinforcement route to Leyte during the Philippines campaign.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Mariana and Palau Islands campaign)
Battle of Peleliu Landing or siege
Also known as Operation Stalemate II; Emperor's Island (Japanese)
15 September to 27 November 1944 · Peleliu, Palau Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders William H. Rupertus, Paul J. Mueller, Roy Geiger, Herman H. Hanneken, Harold D. Harris and Lewis B. Puller (United States); Sadae Inoue, Kunio Nakagawa and Murai Kenjiro (Japan)
Forces United States: 47,561 men of III Amphibious Corps. Japan: over 12,393 across the southern Palau islands, 10,900 on Peleliu and Ngesebus, with 17 tanks
Losses United States (Palau group): 1,989 to 2,143 battle deaths and 8,514 wounded and injured, of which Navy 195 killed and 504 wounded. Japan (Palau group): 12,033 dead and 360 prisoners
Result American victory
US Marines of the 1st Marine Division, later joined by the Army's 81st Infantry Division, landed from LVTs on Peleliu on 15 September 1944 to capture its airfield. The divisional commander predicted four days; new Japanese defence tactics and strong fortifications stretched the battle to more than two months. The outnumbered defenders often fought to the death.
Why it is remembered It was controversial for the island's small strategic value and for the highest casualty rate of any US amphibious operation in the Pacific; the National Museum of the Marine Corps called it the bitterest battle of the war for marines.
Sources differ US battle deaths are given as a range of 1,989 to 2,143.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: USGov-Military, Post-Work: User:W.wolny, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Mariana and Palau Islands campaign)
Battle of the Philippine Sea Fleet battle
Also known as Great Marianas Turkey Shoot (the air battle)
19 to 20 June 1944 · Philippine Sea, west of the Mariana Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Raymond A. Spruance and Marc Mitscher (United States); Jisaburō Ozawa, Takeo Kurita, Takeo Takagi and Kakuji Kakuta (Japan)
Forces United States: Fifth Fleet with 7 fleet carriers, 8 light carriers, 7 battleships, 8 heavy and 13 light cruisers, 68 destroyers, 28 submarines and about 900 carrier aircraft. Japan: 1st Mobile Fleet with 3 fleet carriers, 6 light carriers, 5 battleships, 7 heavy and 2 light cruisers, 31 destroyers, 24 submarines, 6 oilers, about 450 carrier aircraft and about 300 land based aircraft
Ships Zuikaku, USS Lexington
Losses United States: 1 battleship damaged, 123 aircraft destroyed, 109 dead. Japan: 2 fleet carriers, 1 light carrier and 2 oilers sunk, 1 fleet carrier, 2 light carriers, 1 battleship and 1 oiler damaged, 550 to 645 aircraft destroyed, an estimated 2,987 dead
Result American victory
During the American reconquest of the Marianas, the Japanese Mobile Fleet attacked the US Fifth Fleet. Its massed air strikes were shot down in great numbers by experienced American pilots and by anti-aircraft fire using the new proximity fuze, while US submarines sank two of the largest Japanese fleet carriers. On 20 June the American carriers launched a long range strike that sank a light carrier and damaged other ships, but many aircraft ran short of fuel returning at night and 80 were lost.
Why it is remembered It was the largest carrier battle in history, with 24 carriers and about 1,350 carrier aircraft, and the last of the five great carrier battles of the war. Japanese carrier air power never recovered.
Sources differ Japanese aircraft losses are given as a range of 550 to 645.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Mariana and Palau Islands campaign)
Battle of Saipan Landing or siege
15 June to 9 July 1944 · Saipan, Mariana Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Chester W. Nimitz, Raymond Spruance, Richmond K. Turner and Holland Smith (United States); Hideyoshi Obata, Yoshitsugu Saitō and Chūichi Nagumo (Japan)
Forces United States: 94,650 (71,034 assault, 23,616 garrison) of V Amphibious Corps. Japan: 31,629 (Army 25,469, Navy 6,160)
Losses United States: land forces 3,100 to 3,225 killed, 326 missing and 13,061 to 13,099 wounded; ships' personnel at least 51 killed, 32 missing and 184 wounded. Japan: over 25,144 dead, 1,810 prisoners. Civilians: 8,000 to 10,000 dead
Result American victory
After a two day naval bombardment, two Marine divisions and the Army's 27th Infantry Division under Holland Smith landed on Saipan on 15 June 1944. The invasion drew out the Japanese fleet and led to the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Organised resistance ended after at least 3,000 Japanese soldiers died in a mass gyokusai attack, and about 1,000 civilians then killed themselves.
Why it is remembered Saipan brought the Japanese home islands within B-29 range, broke the inner defence perimeter and led to the resignation of Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō. Its heavy losses shaped American planning for the invasion of Japan.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Philippines campaign)
Battle off Samar Fleet battle
Also known as Part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf
25 October 1944 · Philippine Sea, east of Samar, Philippines
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Clifton Sprague (United States); Takeo Kurita (Japan)
Forces United States: Taffy 3 of 6 escort carriers, 3 destroyers and 4 destroyer escorts, with about 322 aircraft from Taffy 2 and Taffy 3. Japan: Centre Force of 4 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 11 destroyers, and 36 aircraft in kamikaze attacks
Ships Yamato, USS Johnston, USS Samuel B. Roberts, USS Gambier Bay, USS Saint Lo
Losses United States: 2 escort carriers, 2 destroyers and 1 destroyer escort sunk; 4 escort carriers, 1 destroyer and 2 destroyer escorts damaged; 23 to 29 aircraft lost; 1,161 killed and missing, 913 wounded. Japan: 3 heavy cruisers sunk, 1 damaged beyond repair; 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser and 1 destroyer damaged; 11 aircraft; over 2,700 killed and wounded
Result American victory
With Halsey's Third Fleet drawn north by a decoy, Kurita's battleships and cruisers came through the San Bernardino Strait and at dawn fell on Taffy 3, a small group of escort carriers and destroyers, which Kurita took for the main American carriers. The escort carriers ran for rain squalls and launched their aircraft, while the destroyers led by USS Johnston and the destroyer escort Samuel B. Roberts made a torpedo attack that threw the Japanese into disorder. Under growing air attack and fearing the Third Fleet was near, Kurita withdrew north at 09:30 without reaching the landings. Kamikaze aircraft from Luzon then sank the escort carrier Saint Lo and damaged three others.
Why it is remembered Historians cite it as one of the greatest last stands in naval history. Taffy 3 received the Presidential Unit Citation, Commander Ernest E. Evans of Johnston was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, and Nimitz called its success special dispensation from the Lord Almighty.
Sources differ The main account gives 23 to 29 US aircraft lost.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Shin'yō Maru incident Convoy battle
Also known as Shinyo Maru Incident
7 September 1944 · Off Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines, Sulu Sea
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Byron Nowell (United States)
Forces 1 US submarine, USS Paddle, against a Japanese convoy of 2 torpedo boats, 2 tankers and 4 cargo ships
Ships USS Paddle, Shinyō Maru
Losses United States: submarine damaged; Allied prisoners of war killed by their guards or by the sinking. Japan: 47 killed, 1 tanker sunk, 1 cargo ship grounded
The US submarine Paddle attacked a Japanese convoy off Mindanao. One of the ships hit, Shinyō Maru, was carrying Allied prisoners of war. Prisoners were killed fighting their Japanese guards or died when the ship sank; only 82 Americans survived and were later rescued.
Why it is remembered It is remembered for the deaths of Allied prisoners killed by their own side's torpedoes and by their guards.
Sources differ One account gives 668 Allied prisoners killed; another account gives 687.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: United States Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Philippines campaign)
Battle of the Sibuyan Sea Air and submarine attack
Also known as Part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf
24 October 1944 · Sibuyan Sea, Philippines
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders William F. Halsey and Marc A. Mitscher (United States); Takeo Kurita and Takijirō Ōnishi (Japan)
Forces United States: 7 carriers, 6 light carriers, 6 battleships, 1 heavy cruiser, 9 light cruisers, 40 destroyers and 260 aircraft. Japan: Kurita's Centre Force of 5 battleships (Yamato, Musashi, Nagato, Kongō, Haruna), 7 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 13 destroyers, with 150 to 180 land based aircraft
Ships Musashi, Yamato, Nagato, Kongō, Haruna, Myōkō, Noshiro, Yahagi, USS Princeton, USS Birmingham, USS Reno, USS Enterprise, USS Intrepid, USS Cabot, USS Essex
Losses United States: the light carrier USS Princeton sunk and USS Birmingham badly damaged, 18 aircraft lost, 341 dead and 426 missing. Japan: Musashi sunk with 1,023 of her 2,399 crew, Myōkō heavily damaged, three battleships, a heavy cruiser, a light cruiser and two destroyers lightly damaged
Result Tactical American victory; strategic Japanese success, as Kurita later passed the San Bernardino Strait
Aircraft of Task Force 38 found and attacked Kurita's Centre Force in the Sibuyan Sea on 24 October 1944. Land based Japanese aircraft from Luzon struck back; most were shot down by fighters from Essex under David McCampbell, but one bomber hit USS Princeton, which burned, exploded and was finished off by USS Reno, with heavy casualties also aboard Birmingham alongside. Repeated carrier strikes crippled and sank the battleship Musashi, hit by 17 bombs and 19 torpedoes in all. Kurita regrouped and at 17:14 resumed his course, passing the San Bernardino Strait at 23:30.
Why it is remembered It saw the loss of Musashi, one of the largest battleships ever built. Halsey's choice to go north after the Japanese carriers instead of blocking Kurita left the strait open and led to the Battle off Samar.
Sources differ The Spanish account's text lists ten heavy cruisers and fifteen destroyers with Kurita, another account seven and thirteen. The English account treats this battle within the Battle of Leyte Gulf rather than separately.
Sources Wikipedia · Wikipedia (ES)
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Philippines campaign)
Battle of Surigao Strait Fleet battle
Also known as Part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf
24 to 25 October 1944 (night) · Surigao Strait, Philippines
Fought between United States and Australia against Japan
Commanders Jesse B. Oldendorf (United States); Shōji Nishimura (Japan, killed) and Kiyohide Shima (Japan)
Forces United States: six battleships (Maryland, West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, California, Pennsylvania), eight cruisers including HMAS Shropshire, destroyers and PT boats. Japan: Nishimura's force of the battleships Yamashiro and Fusō, the heavy cruiser Mogami and four destroyers, followed by Shima's force of the heavy cruisers Nachi and Ashigara, the light cruiser Abukuma and four destroyers
Ships Yamashiro, Fusō, Mogami, Shigure, Asagumo, Michishio, Yamagumo, Nachi, Ashigara, Abukuma, USS West Virginia, USS Maryland, USS Mississippi, USS Tennessee, USS California, USS Pennsylvania, USS Louisville, HMAS Shropshire, USS Melvin, USS Albert W. Grant
Losses United States: the destroyer USS Albert W. Grant damaged, 50 dead. Japan: the battleships Yamashiro and Fusō, the heavy cruiser Mogami and three destroyers lost, Nishimura killed; about 5,000 dead is the figure given
Result Decisive Allied victory
Nishimura's Southern Force entered the strait at night and was soon found by PT boats, which attacked without scoring hits. US destroyers then made torpedo attacks from both sides around 03:00, sinking Fusō and several destroyers and hitting Yamashiro. From about 03:50 the American battleships and cruisers across the exit of the strait opened radar directed fire; Yamashiro sank at about 04:20 with Nishimura, and only Shigure escaped intact while the damaged Mogami was later scuttled. Shima's force arrived afterwards, Nachi was rammed in the confusion, and Shima withdrew.
Why it is remembered It was the last battle fought between battleships, and the US battle line crossed the Japanese T, though by then the Japanese formation was already broken.
Sources differ Sources give different US numbers: 22 destroyers and 38 PT boats, 13 destroyers and 39 small craft, or 28 destroyers and 39 PT boats. Accounts of Fusō differ: the traditional account says she blew up and broke in two, Morison has her bow sunk by gunfire, and a survivor said she capsized without breaking. The Spanish account dates the battle 24 October; the English account gives 24 to 25 October.
Sources Wikipedia (ES) · Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Take Ichi convoy Convoy battle
Also known as Take-Ichi sendan (Bamboo Number One convoy)
17 April to 9 May 1944 · Off Luzon and Celebes
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Ralph Waldo Christie (United States); Sadamichi Kajioka (Japan)
Forces 2 US submarines against a convoy of 15 merchant ships escorted by 1 minelayer, 3 destroyers, 2 kaibokan, 1 minesweeper, 2 subchasers and 3 gunboats
Losses United States: none. Japan: 4 transports sunk, 4,290 soldiers killed
Result American victory
The convoy left Shanghai on 17 April 1944 carrying two infantry divisions to the Philippines and western New Guinea. US submarines attacked it on 26 April and 6 May, sinking four transports and killing more than 4,000 soldiers. The convoy was diverted to Halmahera, where the survivors were landed.
Why it is remembered The losses helped persuade Imperial General Headquarters to pull Japan's defensive perimeter back by about 1,000 km, and the two weakened divisions achieved little afterwards.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Central Intelligence Agency derivative work: Nick-D (talk), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Mariana and Palau Islands campaign)
Battle of Tinian Landing or siege
24 July to 1 August 1944 · Tinian, Mariana Islands
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Harry Schmidt, Thomas E. Watson and Clifton B. Cates (United States); Kiyochi Ogata, Kakuji Kakuta and Goichi Oie (Japan)
Forces United States: 40,000 men of V Amphibious Corps. Japan: 9,000, about 5,000 army troops and 4,000 navy personnel
Losses United States: ashore 290 killed, 1,515 wounded and 24 missing; afloat 63 killed and 177 wounded. Japan: 5,745 dead, 404 captured. Civilians: 2,610 dead
Result American victory
The 4th Marine Division landed on two small, lightly defended beaches on the north west coast on 24 July 1944, supported by naval bombardment and artillery firing across the strait from Saipan, while the 2nd Marine Division made a feint in the south west. Bad weather from 28 July damaged the pontoon causeways, but Tinian Town and the airfield were taken on 30 July. The island was declared secure on 1 August, though mopping up went on into 1945.
Why it is remembered Napalm was used for the first time. Tinian became the base for B-29 bombers that took part in the bombing of Tokyo and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (South East Asian theatre)
Operation Transom Raid
17 May 1944 · Surabaya, Java, Netherlands East Indies
Fought between Britain, the United States, Australia, France, the Netherlands and New Zealand against Japan
Commanders James Somerville (Allies)
Forces Allies: 2 aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, 1 battlecruiser, 6 cruisers, 14 destroyers, 8 submarines and 76 aircraft. Japan: anti-aircraft batteries
Losses Allies: 3 aircraft (1 American torpedo bomber shot down, 2 British torpedo bombers lost in accidents). Japan: accounts differ. Civilian casualties unknown
Result Allied victory
The Eastern Fleet sailed from Ceylon, refuelled in Western Australia and launched its carrier aircraft south of Java. On the morning of 17 May 1944 two groups of American and British aircraft surprised the Japanese at Surabaya, bombing the docks and an oil refinery. American heavy bombers struck that night and Australian aircraft laid mines nearby.
Why it is remembered It was the last joint American and British carrier raid in the Indian Ocean in 1944, and gave the Royal Navy useful experience of US Navy carrier tactics; it did not change Japanese deployments.
Sources differ Estimates of the damage differ: some sources call the results modest, others significant.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: U.S. Navy (Carrier Air Group 12), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Action of 24 July 1945 Convoy battle
24 July 1945 · Off Luzon, Philippines
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Robert M. Newcomb (United States, killed); Saichi Oba (Japan)
Forces United States: 1 destroyer escort, 7 submarine chasers, 1 patrol boat, 1 troopship and 6 LSTs. Japan: the submarine I-53 with 4 kaiten manned torpedoes, and 1 bomber
Ships USS Underhill, I-53
Losses United States: 1 destroyer escort sunk, 112 killed, 122 wounded. Japan: 4 kaiten lost, 4 killed
Result Japanese victory
The Japanese submarine I-53, armed with kaiten manned torpedoes, attacked a US convoy off Luzon. The convoy's only destroyer escort was sunk, with 112 killed including her commander. The four kaiten pilots died.
Why it is remembered It was one of the last naval battles of the Pacific War and an example of the Japanese use of manned suicide torpedoes.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Attacks on Kure and the Seto Inland Sea Raid
Also known as Attacks on Kure and the Inland Sea
24 to 28 July 1945 · Kure Naval Arsenal and the Seto Inland Sea, Japan
Fought between United States and Britain against Japan
Commanders William Halsey (Allies); Kanazawa Masao (Japan)
Forces Carrier aircraft of the US Third Fleet (Task Force 38) and the British Pacific Fleet (Task Force 37)
Ships Haruna
Losses Allies: 102 killed, 133 aircraft destroyed. Japan: 1 fleet carrier, 3 battleships, 1 former battleship, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 2 armoured cruisers, 1 destroyer and 2 escort ships sunk; 1 escort carrier grounded; 1 fleet carrier heavily damaged; 306 aircraft destroyed and 392 damaged
Result Allied victory
On 24, 25 and 28 July 1945 aircraft of the US Third Fleet struck Kure Naval Arsenal and nearby ports, sinking an aircraft carrier, three battleships, five cruisers and smaller warships; Haruna was among the battleships attacked. The British Pacific Fleet attacked other targets in the Inland Sea, sinking two escort ships and smaller vessels and damaging an escort carrier.
Why it is remembered The raids sank most of the Imperial Japanese Navy's surviving large warships.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: photographed from a USS Intrepid (CV-11) plane, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Borneo campaign)
Battle of Balikpapan (1945) Landing or siege
Also known as Operation Oboe Two
1 to 21 July 1945 · Balikpapan, Borneo, Netherlands East Indies
Fought between Australia, the United States and the Netherlands against Japan
Commanders Edward Milford and Kenneth Eather (Australia); Michiaki Kamada (Japan)
Forces Allies: 33,000 personnel and around 100 ships. Japan: 8,400 to 10,000, of whom 3,100 to 3,900 were soldiers and 1,100 to 4,500 armed labourers
Losses Allies: 229 killed, 634 wounded. Japan: 2,032 killed, 63 captured
Result Allied victory
After heavy bombing and shelling by Australian and US air and naval forces, the Australian 7th Division with some KNIL troops landed a few miles north of Balikpapan on 1 July 1945 from a fleet of about 100 ships. They took the town and port and then the two Japanese airfields. Major fighting ended around 21 July.
Why it is remembered It was the last stage of Operation Oboe to retake Borneo and one of the last large Allied amphibious landings of the war.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Operation Inmate Raid
14 to 15 June 1945 · Truk Atoll, Caroline Islands
Fought between Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States against Japan
Commanders E. J. P. Brind (Allies); Shunzaburo Mugikura and Chuichi Hara (Japan)
Forces Ships of the British Pacific Fleet including the carrier HMS Implacable, cruisers and destroyers
Ships HMS Implacable
Losses Allies: 2 killed, 1 aircraft lost in combat and 6 in accidents. Japan: damage to airfields and installations, 2 aircraft believed destroyed
Result Allied victory
To give HMS Implacable and several cruisers and destroyers combat experience, the British Pacific Fleet attacked Truk. Aircraft raided Japanese positions on 14 June 1945, British and Canadian cruisers bombarded several islands the next morning, and more air strikes followed. Only one of the four bombarding cruisers achieved any success.
Why it is remembered A training operation for the British Pacific Fleet before its operations off Japan; the damage to Truk was modest.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Unidentified member of the Royal Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Philippines campaign)
Invasion of Lingayen Gulf Landing or siege
Also known as S-Day landings
3 to 13 January 1945 · Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippines
Fought between United States, the Philippines and Australia against Japan
Commanders Jesse B. Oldendorf, Douglas MacArthur and Walter Krueger (Allies); Tomoyuki Yamashita (Japan)
Forces Allies: over 875 US warships, 1 Australian heavy cruiser and 203,608 soldiers. Japan: roughly 450 to 600 aircraft, 200 of them used as kamikazes, and 262,000 troops on Luzon
Ships USS Pennsylvania, USS Colorado, USS Louisville
Losses United States: 24 ships sunk and 67 damaged between 13 December 1944 and 13 January 1945 across the Luzon and Mindoro operations. Japan: roughly 450 to 600 aircraft lost, 1 destroyer sunk and 2 damaged
Result Allied victory
A large Allied force under Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf approached Lingayen on 6 January 1945, and US and Australian warships bombarded the coast for three days while kamikazes attacked the fleet. On 9 January, S-Day, the US Sixth Army landed on a beachhead of about 40 km between Lingayen and San Fabian.
Why it is remembered It opened the American campaign to retake Luzon, the main island of the Philippines.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign)
Battle of Iwo Jima Landing or siege
Also known as Operation Detachment; Iōtō no Tatakai
19 February to 26 March 1945 · Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, Japan
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Raymond A. Spruance, Marc Mitscher, William H. P. Blandy, Holland M. Smith, Harry Schmidt and Graves B. Erskine (United States); Tadamichi Kuribayashi and Takeichi Nishi (Japan)
Forces United States: 110,000 men of all branches and over 500 ships. Japan: 20,933 (13,586 Army, 7,347 Navy)
Losses United States, main battle: 6,821 dead, 19,217 wounded, 2 captured, 2,648 combat fatigue, 44 tanks destroyed. Japan, main battle: 17,845 to 18,375 killed or missing, 216 prisoners; 867 more taken prisoner afterwards
Result American victory
US Marines landed on Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945 to take its two airfields, supported by heavy naval gunfire and complete air supremacy. The Japanese had fortified the island with bunkers, hidden artillery and 18 km of tunnels, and the five week battle was among the fiercest of the Pacific War. Of 21,000 Japanese defenders only 216 were taken prisoner during the main fighting.
Why it is remembered It was the only Pacific landing battle where American casualties exceeded Japanese. Joe Rosenthal's photograph of Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi became one of the most famous images of the war.
Sources differ Japanese killed and missing are given as 17,845 to 18,375. The value of the island was disputed: William V. Pratt called it useless as an army or fleet base, while its airfield served P-51 escorts and emergency B-29 landings.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: USMC Archives from Quantico, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Battle off Kasumi Single-ship action
Also known as Kasumi-oki kaisen (Japanese)
14 August 1945 · Off Kasumi, Sea of Japan coast of Honshu
Fought between United States against Japan
Forces The US submarine Torsk against the Japanese escort ships Kaibōkan No. 47 and Kaibōkan No. 13
Ships USS Torsk, Kaibōkan No. 13, Kaibōkan No. 47
Losses Japan: both escort ships sunk
Result American victory
On 14 August 1945, at the very end of the Pacific War, the US submarine Torsk fought two Japanese escort ships off Kasumi. Both Japanese ships were sunk.
Why it is remembered Kaibōkan No. 13 is counted as the last ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy lost in the war.
Sources Wikipedia (JA)
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Battle of Okinawa)
Operation Kikusui Air and submarine attack
Also known as Kikusui sakusen
6 April to 22 June 1945 · Seas around Okinawa
Fought between Japan against the United States and Britain
Commanders Matome Ugaki (Japan); Marc Mitscher (United States)
Forces Japan: 1,827 kamikaze aircraft, often with other aircraft. Allies: the US Pacific Fleet and the British Pacific Fleet
Ships USS Enterprise
Losses Allies, per Zaloga: over 7,000 sailors killed, 11 destroyers and 6 other vessels sunk, 279 vessels damaged. Japan: 3,860 aircrew killed, about 2,500 aircraft destroyed
Result Allied victory
Throughout the Battle of Okinawa, Japanese naval and army air forces launched a series of mass kamikaze attacks on the Allied fleets around the island. Destroyers on picket duty and carriers such as USS Enterprise were struck repeatedly. The attacks sank seventeen ships and damaged hundreds but did not drive off the fleet.
Why it is remembered It was the largest campaign of suicide air attacks of the war and cost the Allied navies more sailors than any other phase of the Pacific War.
Sources differ Zaloga gives over 7,000 Allied sailors killed for Kikusui and other sorties; Wolk and Hallion give 4,907 American sailors killed and 36 ships sunk from all kamikaze attacks in 1944 and 1945.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: U.S. Navy, photograped from USS Bataan (CVL-29)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Operation Kita Blockade and raiding
Also known as Hoku-gō sakusen
10 to 20 February 1945 · Waters between Singapore and Japan
Fought between Japan against the United States, Britain and Australia
Commanders Matsuda Chiaki (Japan); James Fife Jr. and Charles A. Lockwood (United States)
Forces Japan: 2 Ise class battleship carriers, 1 light cruiser, 3 destroyers and 52 aircraft. Allies: 26 submarines, over 88 aircraft and 2 destroyers
Losses Japan: several aircraft. Allies: none
Result Japanese victory
Loaded with oil and raw materials, the Japanese Completion Force sailed from Singapore on 10 February 1945. Allied codebreakers knew its route, and 26 submarines were placed along it, but submarine attacks between 11 and 16 February failed and bad weather stopped more than 88 USAAF aircraft from bombing it. The force reached Kure on 20 February without loss.
Why it is remembered Its ships were among the last Japanese warships to run the blockade home; in March Japan gave up shipping oil from South East Asia, and all the ships of the force were later sunk in home waters.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Kure Naval Arsenal Shipbuilding unit, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Attack on Kure (March 1945) Raid
19 March 1945 · Kure, Japan
Fought between United States against Japan
Forces 321 US carrier aircraft against 17 Japanese warships and land based aircraft
Ships Kaiyo, Amagi or Katsuragi, USS Franklin
Losses United States: 825 killed, 2 fleet carriers damaged, 27 aircraft shot down and 59 destroyed aboard USS Franklin. Japan: 4 battleships, 4 fleet carriers and 1 light cruiser damaged, 25 aircraft destroyed
Result Japanese victory
321 US Navy aircraft attacked the remnants of the Combined Fleet in and near Kure. No Japanese warship was sunk, though several were damaged. Japanese aircraft struck the American fleet the same morning, crippling one carrier and badly damaging another.
Why it is remembered The failure was followed in July by raids on Kure and the Inland Sea that sank or disabled most of Japan's surviving large warships.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War
Battle of the Malacca Strait Fleet battle
Also known as Sinking of Haguro; Battle off Penang (Japanese sources); part of Operation Dukedom
15 to 16 May 1945 · Strait of Malacca, off Penang
Fought between Britain against Japan
Commanders Manley Power (Britain); Shigeru Fukudome, Shintarō Hashimoto (killed) and Sugiura Kajū (killed) (Japan)
Forces 5 British destroyers against 1 Japanese heavy cruiser and 1 destroyer
Ships Haguro
Losses Britain: 2 killed, 3 wounded, 1 destroyer damaged. Japan: 927 killed, the heavy cruiser Haguro sunk, 1 destroyer damaged
Result British victory
Since April 1945 the cruiser Haguro had been carrying supplies to Japanese garrisons in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal. In Operation Dukedom five British destroyers hunted her down in the Strait of Malacca and sank her at night. Nine hundred and twenty-seven Japanese were killed.
Why it is remembered It is remembered as a destroyer attack that sank a heavy cruiser, one of the last surface actions of the war.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Burma campaign)
Operation Matador (1945) Landing or siege
21 to 22 January 1945 · Kyaukpyu, Ramree Island, Burma
Fought between Britain and India against Japan
Forces The battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth, the light cruiser HMS Phoebe and the escort carrier HMS Ameer, with RAF aircraft of No. 224 Group, supporting the Indian 71st and 4th Infantry Brigades
Ships HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Phoebe, HMS Ameer
Result Landing successful and unopposed
An hour before the Indian 71st Brigade landed on 21 January 1945, HMS Queen Elizabeth bombarded the beaches near Kyaukpyu with her main guns, spotted by aircraft from HMS Ameer, joined by HMS Phoebe and RAF bombers. The assault troops landed unopposed, and the Indian 4th Infantry Brigade followed the next day.
Why it is remembered It secured the port of Kyaukpyu and its airfield at the north of Ramree Island.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Beadell, S J (Lt) Royal Navy official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War, Pacific War
Operation Meridian Air and submarine attack
Also known as Palembang Raids
24 and 29 January 1945 · Oil refineries at Pladjoe and Soengei Gerong near Palembang, Sumatra, attacked from carriers in the Indian Ocean
Fought between Britain against Japan
Commanders Philip Vian (Britain, Task Force 63)
Forces British: the carriers Indomitable, Illustrious, Indefatigable and Victorious, the battleship King George V, the anti-aircraft cruisers Argonaut, Black Prince and Euryalus and destroyers, with a refuelling force of the cruiser Ceylon, the destroyer Urchin and three oilers. On 24 January 43 Avengers, 12 Fireflies and 50 fighters were launched; on 29 January 46 Avengers bombed.
Ships HMS Indomitable, HMS Illustrious, HMS Indefatigable, HMS Victorious, HMS King George V, HMS Argonaut, HMS Black Prince, HMS Euryalus, HMS Ceylon, HMS Urchin
Losses British: on 24 January 7 aircraft lost to enemy action and 25 in crash landings; on 29 January 16 aircraft lost to the enemy and 25 to other causes. Japanese: on 29 January at least 11 aircraft shot down and 30 destroyed on the ground.
Result British success; refinery output was stopped for about two months
Carrier aircraft of the British Pacific Fleet struck the Japanese held oil refineries near Palembang in two raids, Meridian I on Pladjoe on 24 January 1945 and Meridian II on Soengei Gerong on 29 January. A small Japanese air counter attack on the fleet on 29 January was beaten off by fighters and anti-aircraft fire.
Why it is remembered The raids cut the aviation fuel output of the Palembang plants by about seventy five per cent; by the end of March the refineries were producing a third of their capacity.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Unidentified Royal Navy photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign)
Battle of Okinawa Landing or siege
Also known as Operation Iceberg; Okinawa-sen; typhoon of steel
1 April to 22 June 1945 · Okinawa and the Kerama Islands, Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Fought between United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada against Japan
Commanders Chester W. Nimitz, Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. (killed), Roy Geiger, John R. Hodge, Raymond A. Spruance, Richmond K. Turner, Marc Mitscher (United States); Bernard Rawlings (Britain); Mitsuru Ushijima, Isamu Chō, Hiromichi Yahara (captured), Soemu Toyoda, Minoru Ōta and Seiichi Itō (killed) (Japan)
Forces US Navy: 7 fleet carriers, 6 light carriers, 18 escort carriers, 8 fast and 10 old battleships, 14 heavy and 17 light cruisers, 132 destroyers and 45 destroyer escorts. Royal Navy: 5 fleet carriers, 6 escort carriers, 2 fast battleships, 4 light cruisers and 12 destroyers, with Australian, New Zealand and Canadian ships. Ground: about 541,000 in the US Tenth Army. Japan: 1 battleship, 1 light cruiser, 8 destroyers, 1,815 navy aircraft (1,050 kamikaze) and 850 army kamikaze; about 76,000 soldiers and 40,000 Okinawan conscripts
Ships Yamato
Losses Allies: about 50,000 casualties, including about 12,500 dead. Japan: around 100,000 casualties. Okinawan civilians: at least 149,425 killed, driven to suicide or missing. Both sides lost many ships and aircraft, including the battleship Yamato
Result Allied victory
After the Kerama Islands were taken on 26 March 1945, the US Tenth Army landed on Okinawa on 1 April in the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific War. The 82 day battle against the Japanese Thirty-Second Army was fought with great ferocity ashore, while kamikaze attacks struck the supporting fleet. It was the longest sustained carrier campaign of the war.
Why it is remembered It was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific theatre, remembered in Japanese as the typhoon of steel, and gave the Allies bases close to Japan for the planned invasion.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Staff Sergent Walter F. Kleine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Attack on Ōminato Raid
9 to 10 August 1945 · Ōminato (now Mutsu), northern Honshu, Japan
Fought between United States and Britain against Japan
Commanders William Halsey and John S. McCain (United States); Kanji Ugaki (Japan)
Forces Carrier aircraft of the US Third Fleet (Task Force 38) and the British Task Force 37
Ships Tokiwa
Losses Allies: 6 aircraft at Ōminato. Japan at Ōminato: 129 killed, an armoured cruiser grounded, a destroyer heavily damaged, an auxiliary minelayer and a dry dock damaged. Across northern Honshu and Hokkaido: numerous auxiliary and merchant ships sunk or damaged, 251 aircraft destroyed and 141 damaged
Result Allied victory
US Navy carrier aircraft raided the naval base and dockyard at Ōminato on 9 and 10 August 1945 as part of a wider attack on Japanese aircraft gathered in northern Honshu. The armoured cruiser Tokiwa was driven aground and other ships damaged.
Why it is remembered One of the last carrier raids of the Pacific War, aimed at aircraft thought to be readied for a commando raid on the B-29 bases in the Marianas.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Burma campaign)
Battle of Ramree Island Landing or siege
Also known as Operation Matador
14 January to 22 February 1945 · Ramree Island, Arakan, Burma
Fought between United Kingdom and British India against Japan
Commanders Cyril Lomax (Britain); Kan'ichi Nagazawa (Japan)
Forces About 6,000: two brigades of the 26th Indian Infantry Division, a squadron of 146 Regiment RAC and elements of 3 Commando Brigade. Japanese: about 1,000 of the 2nd Battalion, 121st Regiment
Losses British: described as trifling. Japanese: about 500 killed, 20 captured and about 500 evacuated to the mainland
Result British victory
In January 1945 forces of the Indian XV Corps landed on Ramree and the neighbouring island of Cheduba to build airfields for supplying the campaign on the mainland; British troops went ashore in landing craft on 21 January. The Japanese battalion on the island lost about 500 killed, and about 500 escaped to the mainland.
Why it is remembered It is known for claims that hundreds of Japanese soldiers were killed by crocodiles in the mangrove swamps, claims that zoologists and modern military historians have dismissed.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Battle of Sagami Bay Convoy battle
22 to 23 July 1945 · Off the tip of the Bōsō Peninsula, Japan
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders T. H. Hederman (United States)
Forces 9 US destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 61 against a convoy of 2 freighters escorted by Subchaser No. 42 and Minesweeper No. 1
Ships USS De Haven, No. 5 Hakutetsu Maru, Enbun Maru
Losses United States: none. Japan: the freighter No. 5 Hakutetsu Maru sunk and the freighter Enbun Maru damaged
Result American victory
On the night of 22 July 1945 US Destroyer Squadron 61, led by USS De Haven, attacked a small Japanese convoy off the Bōsō Peninsula. The freighter No. 5 Hakutetsu Maru was sunk and Enbun Maru damaged; the escorts were untouched and took Enbun Maru into Tateyama Bay.
Why it is remembered It is described as the last surface action of the war.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Soviet invasion of the Kuril Islands)
Battle of Shumshu Landing or siege
18 to 23 August 1945 · Shumshu, Kuril Islands
Fought between Soviet Union against Japan
Commanders Alexey Gnechko and Dmitry Ponomarev (Soviet Union); Fusaki Tsutsumi (surrendered) and Ikeda Sueo (killed) (Japan)
Forces Soviet Union: 8,821 troops and 64 ships and craft, including Pacific Fleet marines. Japan: 8,480 to 8,500 troops and 77 tanks
Losses Soviet Union: by Soviet figures 1,516 to 3,472 killed, wounded and missing, excluding naval personnel; five landing ships destroyed. Japan: by Japanese figures 191 killed and about 409 wounded; 20 tanks destroyed
Result Soviet victory; Shumshu annexed by the Soviet Union
Soviet forces landed from the sea on Shumshu, at the northern end of the Kuril chain, on 18 August 1945, three days after Japan announced its surrender. The Japanese garrison, with tanks, resisted for several days and destroyed five landing ships. The fighting ended on 23 August.
Why it is remembered It was the only major battle of the Soviet Kuril campaign and is arguably the last battle of the Second World War.
Sources differ Soviet losses: Soviet figures 1,516 to 3,472, Japanese figures 3,000 to 4,500 killed and wounded. Japanese losses: Japanese figures about 600, Soviet figures 1,018 (given as 369 killed and 649 wounded, or 473 killed and 545 wounded).
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Unknown photographer
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
South China Sea raid Raid
Also known as Operation Gratitude
10 to 20 January 1945 · South China Sea: off French Indochina, Formosa, Hong Kong, Canton, Hainan and Macau
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders William Halsey Jr. and John S. McCain Sr. (United States); Hisaichi Terauchi (Japan)
Forces The US Third Fleet and its carrier air groups
Losses United States (3 to 25 January): 98 aircraft and 136 aircrew in combat, 103 aircraft and 31 aircrew in accidents. Japan (3 to 25 January): 300,000 tons of shipping and 615 aircraft. Civilians: hundreds killed and wounded
Result American victory
In support of the Luzon landings, the Third Fleet entered the South China Sea on the night of 9 to 10 January 1945. On 12 January its aircraft attacked shipping off French Indochina and sank 44 vessels. It then struck Formosa, and on 16 January Hong Kong, Canton, Hainan and Macau, before leaving on 20 January.
Why it is remembered The destruction of cargo ships and tankers helped close a supply route vital to Japan, which stopped sending ships into the South China Sea after March 1945.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Unidentified US Navy photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Soviet-Japanese War)
Soviet invasion of the Kuril Islands Landing or siege
18 August to 2 September 1945 · Kuril Islands (then Chishima Province, Japan)
Fought between Soviet Union against Japan
Commanders Aleksandr Ksenofontov, Aleksei Gnechko and Dmitry Ponomarev (Soviet Union); Fusaki Tsutsumi, who surrendered (Japan)
Forces Soviet: about 15,000 troops and some 60 ships and vessels of the Pacific Fleet from Petropavlovsk, including transports. Japanese: 80,000 troops
Ships TShch-589, TShch-590 (mine trawlers)
Losses Soviet: at least 962 killed and 1,026 wounded. Japanese: at least 1,018 killed or wounded and 50,422 surrendered
Result Soviet victory; the Kuril Islands were annexed by the Soviet Union
The invasion was decided on when plans to land on Hokkaido were abandoned. Ships and transports of the Pacific Fleet from Petropavlovsk carried the troops; on 18 August the mine trawlers TShch-589 and TShch-590 landed a reconnaissance detachment on Iturup, and on 1 September torpedo boats, mine trawlers and transports from Otomari carried the landings on Kunashir and Shikotan. The Japanese garrisons were ordered to surrender on 23 August, though some units fought on, and the remaining islands were occupied without resistance after 4 September. The fighting on Shumshu is treated as a separate battle.
Why it is remembered The islands remained Soviet and then Russian, and their status is still disputed with Japan.
Sources differ Japanese garrison strength: about 20,000 in one account against 80,000 in another account; the Soviet figure of 15,000 is unsourced.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Battle of Okinawa)
Operation Ten-Go Air and submarine attack
Also known as Operation Kikusui I; Battle off Cape Bono (Japanese sources)
7 April 1945 · Between Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands, East China Sea
Fought between United States against Japan
Commanders Marc Mitscher, Joseph J. Clark and Frederick C. Sherman (United States); Seiichi Itō (killed), Keizō Komura, Kosaku Aruga (killed) and Tameichi Hara (Japan)
Forces United States: Task Force 58 with 11 aircraft carriers, 6 battleships, 11 cruisers, over 30 destroyers and 386 aircraft. Japan: the battleship Yamato, the light cruiser Yahagi, 8 destroyers and 115 aircraft, mostly kamikaze
Ships Yamato, Yahagi
Losses United States: 97 killed, 122 wounded, 10 to 13 aircraft destroyed, 1 carrier, 2 battleships and 1 destroyer damaged. Japan: 4,137 killed; Yamato, Yahagi and 4 destroyers sunk; 1 destroyer severely damaged; about 100 aircraft destroyed
Result American victory
In April 1945 Yamato, the largest battleship in the world, sailed from Japan with nine other warships on a suicide mission against the Allied forces at Okinawa. US carrier aircraft attacked the force before it got there and sank Yamato and five other ships. Kamikaze aircraft caused moderate damage to several ships of the American carrier force.
Why it is remembered It was the last major Japanese naval operation of the war, and the sinking of Yamato showed how helpless surface ships without air cover had become.
Sources differ US aircraft losses are given as 10 in one account and 10 to 13 in another account.
Sources Wikipedia
The Pacific and the Indian Ocean, 1919 to 1945 · Second World War (Pacific War)
Attack on Yokosuka Raid
18 July 1945 · Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan
Fought between United States and Britain against Japan
Commanders William Halsey, John S. McCain and Bernard Rawlings (Allies); Michitaro Tozuka (Japan)
Forces Carrier aircraft of the US Third Fleet (Task Force 38) and the British Task Force 37
Ships Nagato
Losses Allies: 14 aircraft (12 American, 2 British), 18 aircrew killed. Japan: 1 destroyer, 1 submarine and 2 escort vessels sunk; the battleship Nagato and 5 small vessels damaged; 43 aircraft destroyed and 77 damaged
Result Allied victory
US Navy aircraft attacked Yokosuka with the battleship Nagato as their main target, while other American and British aircraft struck airfields around Tokyo. Nagato was only lightly damaged, but a destroyer, a submarine and two escort vessels were sunk. Anti-aircraft fire shot down fourteen Allied aircraft.
Why it is remembered One of the final carrier raids on the remains of the Japanese fleet in home waters.
Sources Wikipedia
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