Next update is ready. This will wrap up WW2 and set the stage for the postwar world in Asia
The Marianas and Palau (1944)
In May of 1944, the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions landed on the island of Guam, occupied by the Japanese soon after Pearl Harbor. Since then, retaking their former possession had been a major part of the overall American strategy. The Marines opened the liberation of Guam by landing on the western shore near Agat, and managed to take Mount Alifan within 24 hours of landing. Within two days of landing, the Americans had made significant progress, securing nearly half of the island while brushing up against enemy strongpoints on Mt. Lamlam and Mt. Tenjo. After smashing a major Japanese counterattack on May 14, the Marines pushed through the capital of Agana, and bottling up the Japanese at opposite ends of Guam. However, the battle then became a stalemate, which lasted for 24 days; on the 25th day the Marines stormed Mt. Bolanos, while the Japanese troops chose suicide over surrender. After the perimeter at Machanan was reinforced, the Marines began a slow advance to the shore, steadily gaining ground until the few Japanese troops left surrendered on June 19. The 2nd Marine Division then began reinforcing the 3rd Division on Tinian.
The 3rd Marines had landed on Tinian less than a week before, and were encountering significant resistance. However, after the arrival of the 2nd Marine Division, the fight quickly drew ot a close, ending on the 24th. Meanwhile, the 4th Marines had landed on Saipan, and resistance there was subdued by July 4. A photo taken of a pair of Marines raising the Stars and Stripes over Mt. Tapochau on the 4th would become one of the most iconic photographs of the war.
During July, the 2nd and 3rd Marines would land on Peliliu, taking the island with great difficulty by mid-August. Now the Americans had only two major objectives left: retaking the Philippines and bringing the fight to Japan itself.
Liberating the Philippines (1944-1945)
After the Marianas had fallen to the Americans, the Japanese had recognized the inevitability of an American attempt to retake the Philippines. Thus, in fall 1944 the Japanese fleet, reinforced by new carriers, set sail for the Philippine Sea. The two fleet carriers in the Japanese fleet, Shinano and Taiho, were formidable ships; Shinano dwarfed all other carriers afloat, even the massive Lexington and Saratoga. Taiho was also large, but more importantly she had an armored flight deck. Both Japanese carriers were escorted by Yamato and her sister ship Musashi, as well as Fuso and numerous cruisers and destroyers. This formidable flotilla positioned itself in northern Philippine Sea to await the Americans.
The American naval command, of course, new about the Japanese movements due to ULTRA, and Admiral Nimitz consolidated much of his fleet to strike at the Japanese. He gathered together five carriers: Saratoga, Enterprise, Essex, Franklin, and Concord. He guarded these carriers with several battleships, namely North Carolina, Iowa, and Missouri; many cruisers and destroyers were also detailed to this fleet. The stage was now set for the largest naval engagement of the war, and the show was about to begin.
At dawn on October 25th, Nimitz' fleet arrived on station in the Philippine Sea, and immediately began a painstaking sweep of the area for the Japanese fleet. Reports had indicated it would be somewhere north of the island of Polillo, and it was here that Nimitz concentrated most of his efforts. After several hours, a scout reported the Japanese fleet bearing down from the north; Nimitz immediately ordered a strike. However, unlike previous engagements the Japanese were aware of the American's presence, and were better prepared to meet their attackers head on.
The American planes sent to hit the Japanese included some of the latest types, such as the F8F Bearcat and the BTD Destroyer. The improved Corsair fighters held their own against the Japanese Zeros, while the Bearcats and Hellcats tore more holes in the Japanese air defenses. The Destroyers and Avengers meanwhile scored several hits on the Japanese ships, Shinano suffering the most damage. Taiho shrugged off the bomb hits, but one torpedo did manage to find its mark, tearing a hole in her hull which slowed Taiho to three quarters speed. Unfortunately, neither Japanese carrier was mortally wounded in the first round of attacks, while the American air groups were badly mauled. By mid-afternoon the Japanese had launched their retaliatory strike against the Americans.
Most of the American fighter screens had been held back from the earlier fighting, and were freshly fueled and well rested; the Japanese had been forced to scrape their fighter screens bare to shield their bombers, and most pilots were already tired form the earlier fighting. The result was a near-slaughter of the Japanese planes, but some pilots turned their planes into flaming missiles, slamming into the American ships. Saratoga and Enterprise suffered the most from these 'kamikazes', with Enterprise being knocked out of the fight, and Saratoga barely limping away. Franklin also suffered a severe torpedo hit; she would be sunk soon after the battle by a Japanese submarine, the only Essex-class carrier to be sunk in the war. Later that night, the Americans again spotted the Japanese carriers, and a second attack was launched just after dawn. The Shinano was again the main target, due to her size; this time, she suffered several major hits, while Taiho suffered little damage from the bombs. A massive blaze soon broke out on Shinano, spreading to her hangars within a few minutes; she would be abandoned and scuttled later in the evening. Taiho and part of the Japanese fleet retreated northwards, while Fuso and Musashi stayed behind in the hopes that Shinano could be saved. Following the smoke trail, the American battleships North Carolina, Washington, Iowa, Indiana, and Pennsylvania came across the two battleships just before dark, as the Shinano was slipping beneath the waves. The battleships engaged in a running duel as the Fuso and Musashi began running northwards. Musashi was hit hard by the guns of the Iowa and Washington, slowing down before being pummeled to death; Fuso was quickly overtaken and sunk relatively quickly. Pennsylvania would be the only American loss of this gunnery duel, a victim of a pierced magazine.
After the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Imperial Navy was reduced to a shadow of its former self; never again would it embark on offensive operations. Most of its ships would be sunk near the Japanese Home Islands or Taiwan, with Taiho dying a slow death from American firebombs at her berth in Tokyo Bay. For the Americans, the battle cleared the way to the Philippines, with the first landings on Luzon and Mindoro in mid December.
Manila would be liberated by late February, and Luzon pacified enough for use as a base by late April. The rest of the Philippines were ignored by the Army, although the airfields were thoroughly bombed by the Army Air Force for the rest of the war. In essence, the Japanese garrisons on the other islands became prisoners, unable to leave or be resupplied in a hostile nation.
Approaching the Castle(June-August 1945)
After the liberation of Luzon, there were relatively few other targets for the Americans to take; in fact, a clear, tangible objective was seemingly elusive for days afterward. However, a proposal by Admiral Nimitz changed this situation; he suggested landing on the Japanese possession of Formosa. This would greatly reduce the distance for resupplying the Chinese, as well as provide a closer base of operations against Japan itself. The landings were set for June, and on June 12, the first American troops landed on a beach south of Hualien.
Taipei was secured on July 1st by the 1st Marine Division and the 7th Infantry Division. The battalion of M3 Lees that were instrumental in the initial assault became infamous as the 'Tigers of Formosa'. The Americans bypassed the central highlands of Formosa, full of Japanese troops in hiding, and secured the western side of the island through July and into early August. Fighting in the central highlands and Kaohsiung was still ongoing at the time of the Japanese surrender.
Meanwhile the newly formed 7th Marine Division was tasked with securing Iwo Jima as a forward base for American bombers. The Marines landed on the 15th of May, meeting heavy resistance not only from Japanese troops bu Japanese civilians as well. The fighting continued into early July, before the island was declared secure on the 18th, and the airfields there were repaired and upgraded by Army engineers.
On July 25th, the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions landed on Okinawa, in the Ryukyu Islands north of Formosa. Despite heavy resistance, the island was fully pacified by early September; here the island hopping campaigns of the Pacific came to an end, and the war entered its final and most controversial stage.
Endgame(August-September 1945)
After the end of the war in Europe in August 1944, the United States had issued an ultimatum for Japanese surrender, echoed by the British and French. Also at the time, the United States had raised the question about possible Soviet participation in the Pacific Theater. However, by the beginning of 1945 it was abundantly clear that Japan was on the verge of defeat, and America dropped the issue. However, Stalin was determined to have his way, and since it was partially blocked in Europe, he opted for further gains in Asia.
On August 24, 1945, as the atomic bomb was being shipped to Iwo Jima, the Soviets declared war on Japan. At the same moment, Soviet tanks rolled into Manchuria from Siberia and Mongolia, easily brushing aside the Japanese outposts in the region. Harbin was captured by September 8th, and Changchun was occupied on the 15th of September.
Simultaneously to his invasion of Manchuria, Stalin launched a master stroke of an attack that thoroughly surprised the Americans and Japanese alike: he invaded Japan itself. Soviet troops landed at Wakkanai and Rumoi, swiftly moving inland against the surprised Japanese militia. By September 8th, most of northern Hokkaido was under Soviet occupation, and the Red Army was on the outskirts of Sapporo at the time of the Japanese surrender. This invasion, pulled off with absolute secrecy and preparation, would come to have a massive influence on postwar politics in Asia. However, no other event has affected the world in such a way as did the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan.
On September 1st, 1945, the Enola Gay, a large B-29 bomber commanded by Paul Tibbets dropped 'Little Boy', the first atomic bomb used in warfare. Its target was the city of Hiroshima, and its effects were devastating; over 80,000 people were killed in the blast and ensuing fires. Three days later, 'Fat Man' was dropped on Kokura, killing another 70,000. After waiting another 4 days, 'Fat Man 2' was dropped on Nagasaki; the death toll there was 75,000. Finally, after desperate deliberation by the War Cabinet, the Japanese Emperor intervened himself. In a radio address to his entire nation and to the Allies, Emperor Hirohito asked his people to "bear the unbearable" and surrender. A few hours later, on September 9th.1945, Japan began broadcasting a surrender order to its armed forces. The deadliest and most far reaching conflict in the history of mankind was over.
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Good grief, that was a long update! But now the Second World War is finished, and a new conflict is beginning to approach over the horizon. The next few updates will deal with the immediate aftermath of the war, as well as the two sets of trials for the high-ranking Axis leaders. After that, the updates will focus on one region of the world at a time, with each decade being summed up in a separate update. Thanks to all of you for keeping up with the TL, I hope you've enjoyed the first part of it. Cheers to all.