Question

In the Pacific theater, the United States relied mainly on a strategy of

Answer 1

QUESTION:

What strategy did the United States use to gain ground in the Pacific theater?

ANSWER CHOICES:

◎ A. Massed invasions

◉ B. Island hopping

◎ C. Lightning war

◎ D. Atomic bombing

ANSWER:

In the Pacific theater, the United States relied mainly on a strategy of island hopping.

Step-by-step explanation:

*This excerpt is directly from the Penn Foster reading material

Key Players and Battles in the Pacific Theater

The Pacific Theatre of the war was primarily fought between the US and Japanese forces. For the rest of the Allies, the war in Europe was more important than the war in the Pacific. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, it took a few months for the US Pacific Fleet to get back into fighting shape. Once operational again, though, the fleet ran into another problem. Island warfare was brutal, and the conditions on the islands were awful. The heat, humidity, and difficult jungle conditions made fighting tough. The Japanese fighting style amplified those conditions. Japanese soldiers rarely surrendered or let themselves be captured. Every battle was a literal fight to the death. The Japanese would even use island inhabitants as human shields. This forced US troops to leave behind their dead and shoot innocent people. Taking the Pacific back island-by-island was disastrous for US morale.

To boost morale, Douglas MacArthur, the commander of US troops in the Pacific, implemented "island hopping." This maneuver targeted high-priority islands in the Pacific. Three criteria determined whether or not to attack an island. The criteria included whether it was a former colony of an Allied nation, the amount of valuable natural resources on the island, and how close the island was to the Japanese mainland. This strategy allowed US troops to essentially skip some islands. This strategy was rather successful, and MacArthur and his troops hopped to the Japanese mainland.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Attention! PF students!

This is the CORRECT answer for the following exam!

Exam Lesson Name: Contemporary International Relations

Exam number: 703381RR

Answer 2

The US military strategy in the Pacific theater is known as island hopping. The goal of this strategy was to focus on taking control of important Japanese islands and establishing military bases at the islands they took over. This strategy was meant to accomplish two goals:

1) Cut off the supply line of the Japanese military.
2) Establish military bases close to mainland Japan in order to prepare for an attack.

This strategy was highly effective and allowed US to have a favorable outcome in the Pacific theater.