Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 23–26, 1944), decisive air and sea battle of World War II that crippled the Japanese Combined Fleet, permitted U.S. invasion of the Philippines, and reinforced the Allies’ control of the Pacific. The battle marked the firs
Bataan Death March, march in the Philippines of some 66 miles that 76,000 prisoners of war were forced by the Japanese military to endure in April 1942, during the early stages of World War II. Learn more about the lead-up to the march, details of it, an
Battle of Midway (June 3–6, 1942), World War II naval battle, fought almost entirely with aircraft, in which the United States destroyed Japan’s first-line carrier strength and most of its best trained naval pilots. The American victory effectively end
Battle of Guadalcanal (August 1942–February 1943), series of World War II land and sea clashes between Allied and Japanese forces on and around Guadalcanal, one of the Solomon Islands, in the South Pacific. Along with the Battle of Midway, Guadalcanal m
Battle of the Coral Sea (May 4–8, 1942), World War II naval and air engagement in which a U.S. fleet thwarted the Japanese invasion of Port Moresby in New Guinea. The battle, fought primarily between aircraft and naval vessels, foreshadowed the kind of
Strategic bombing during World War II, the mass bombing of military targets and population centers during the Second World War. Large multi-engine bombers operated in formations (sometimes numbering 1,000 or more) that were intended not to evade enemy de