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Reference Maps on World War II
1939-1945

Map of Europe after World War One

Map of the World after World War One

Map of Europe 1936-1939: German aggressions prior WWII

Map of the Major Operations of WWII in Europe

Map of the Major Operations of WWII in Asia and the Pacific

Map of the Allied Operations in Europe and North Africa 1942-1945

Map of the Battle of Stalingrad July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943

Map of Europe 1944: Allied Gains

Map of Operation Overlord - 1944

Map of Allied Gains in Europe - December 15, 1944-May 7, 1945

Map of Central Europe 1945: Allied Occupation Zones

 


Map Description
Historical Map of WWII - Major Operations in Asia and the Pacific 1939-1945

Illustrating

Battle sites
Allied Routes
Allied Command Boundaries
Japanese Command Boundaries
Territory Controlled by Allies (1942)
Territory Controlled by Japanese (1942)
Allied Victory
Japanese Victory

 

 

Phase One
From December 7, 1941, until June 1942, the Japanese successfully attacked the Pacific Fleet's base at
Pearl Harbor,
took Wake Island and Guam,
invaded and conquered the Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaya, and seized the British base
of Singapore. They conquered Burma, thereby cutting off China from all overland routes to the western allies, and
seized the Netherlands' East Indies and British Borneo, thereby securing a much needed source of oil.

The Japanese advance came to a halt with the American victories at the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942) and
the
Battle of Midway (June 1942.)


Phase Two

The second phase was one of a relative stalemate. From June 1942 until late 1943, neither side could muster the land,
sea, or air required to take the offensive and seized the initiative from the other.

The Battle of Guadalcanal is a good example of this stalemate.


Phase Three

The third phase, from mid 1943 to September 1945, can be characterized as the period of Allied offensives. Two drives
were under American control: General MacArthur's Southwest Pacific campaign and Admiral Nimitz's Central Pacific campaign.

MacArthur's drive was a series of army amphibious operations up the Solomon Island chain and along the northern coast of
New Guinea, with the Philippine Islands as the ultimate objective. Nimitz's strategy was designed to move directly towards Japan
and draw the Imperial Navy into a decisive fleet engagement as happened at the Battles of the Philippine Sea (June 1944)
and Leyte Gulf (October 1944.) MacArthur's and Nimitz's campaigns merged into one for the invasion of the Philippines.

Afterwards the Central Pacific campaign continued with the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.


Phase Four
During the later stages of the war, the army Air Force, operating from the Mariana Islands and flying the B-29 Superfortress,
had begun to fire bomb the cities of Japan. These raids culminated with the dropping of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima on
August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later. Japan surrendered to the Allies on September 2, 1945.

 

Credits
Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Department of History.


Related Links

Burma Campaign: Initial Engagements November 1943 - May 1944

Burma Campaign: Lieutenant General William Slim's Offensive June 1944 - March 1945

Burma Campaign: Allied Victory, April - May 1945


About World War 2     WWII Timelines     About the Bataan Death March     Map of the Battle of the Points


Map of WWII: Major Operations in Asia and the Pacific



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