The Naval Battles That Turned The Tide Of WW2's Pacific Theater | WWII In Colour | War Stories

Discover the pivotal naval battles, from the Coral Sea to the Battle of Midway, that turned the tide of World War II in the Pacific. Witness Admiral Nimitz's strategic brilliance as US forces clash with the Japanese navy in a bid for supremacy. Explore the daring maneuvers, the courage of sailors and pilots, and the decisive moments that shaped the course of WW2.
War Stories is your one stop shop for all things military history. From Waterloo to Verdun, we'll be bringing you only the best documentaries and stories from history's most engaging and dramatic conflicts.
Discover the past on History Hit, with ad-free exclusive podcasts and documentaries released weekly and presented by world-renowned historians Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Matt Lewis and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code 'WARSTORIES': historyhit.com/subscription
You can find more from us on:
/ warstoriesdocs
This channel is part of the History Hit Network. For any queries, please contact [e-mail].
#warstories #documentary #military

[@peterlovett5841]

This makes it sound as though the only reason the Japanese were not able to take Port Morseby was because of the arrival of US troops. Wrong. The Australian forces had already stopped the Japanese advance and was beginning to force them back. This also completely overlooks the defeat Australian forces inflicted on Japanese troops at Milne Bay, the first defeat of a Japanese army force in the war.

[@jameskhan1320]

Go make your own documentary then you whining Sheila

[@Rusty_Gold85]

Grinds my back teeth the way we were Underestimated in what we achieved. We had troops in Africa desert come back to fight in Jungles -no one else did this

[@chuckfrezzel348]

Australians have never been underestimated. It took time to build up the US forces and armament. Australian troops played a pivotal role in keeping the Japanese at bay until that came into fruition. As a grandson of a WWII combat bombardier do not ever minimize Australia’s role in the war.

[@k75romeofive]

I met some Australian troops on R and R in Hong Hong. That experience left no doubt in my mind about the Australian soldiers. I know the history of that area , the Kota trail and the battles they fought. I for one have no doubt about the strength and courage of those men. My dad served with some Australian Engineers in the Philippines, and he was astounded by their skills, courage and will to" just do what it took". Americans do tend to forget about the others, for several reasons, but rest assured that despite the obvious overlooking in this work, there are many Americans who fully understand and appreciate what those men did .

[@chuckfrezzel348]

@@k75romeofive You are absolutely correct. Aussie’s will never fall into a category of doubt regarding their heroism, determination and commitment to whatever comes their way. History has proven that time and again. 🇺🇸 will always stand proudly together with Australia 🇦🇺.

[@robertdelacruz2951]

A very good summary of the Pacific War for the first year. It, however, was lacking in the discussion of the promised NAVAL battles during that period.

[@Hexbox117]

This channel does this with every video they ever upload. You can guarantee that the title is NOT accurate to the video because it's a form of click bait. Bet you watched the entire video waiting for those naval battles.

[@cleverusername9369]

I mean... Midway....?

[@robertdelacruz2951]

@@cleverusername9369 The coverage of the Midway Campaign lacked the depth of a serious discussion about the battle itself.

[@thardingau]

A good overview of these battles as a whole. If people want more detail, they should study each battle individually.

[@grayfullbuster9137]

I always feel like the battles against Japan are overshadowed by the ones in Europe. The Korean war is hardly ever mentioned even. We should remember all these heroes who died for our freedom in both North America and Asia

[@oceanhome2023]

I agree but the tide Is turning !!

[@jonwingfieldhill6143]

I think a lot of the reasons the Asian front isn't talked about a lot in modern history is because many allied prisoners suffered under Japanese treatment and the colonial way of thinking was that people who died in Asia as a whole weren't as important as those from closer to home. After the war we generally detached Nazis actions from Germany as a whole to aid in reconstruction . In the same vein the darker sides of Japanese actions in WW2 aren't mentioned now because to this day Japan as a whole denies vehemently denies a lot of the crimes it committed. In a drive to improve diplomatic relationships it is generally considered bad etiquette to remind them they were monstrous animals with very little humanity because if you weren't Japanese you weren't considered worthy of humane treatment so to them everything was justified.

[@Russia-bullies]

I think so too because the world is fed with biased nonsense.US citizens know more about the US Civil War than WW1.Believe it or not.

[@boatingexplainedwithcapndr8359]

I totally agree. The soldier who fought in Africa and Italy are even more forgotten. The Americans began fighting in Africa right after Pearl Harbor in mid 1942 and the Brits and Aussie’s had been fighting there as early as 1940! By the time D-Day occurred, all those men were fighting in those other theaters for YEARS!

[@user-hk3wu4si7i]

Nah everyone knows japans naval fleet against the Americans fleet was the best sea combat in WW2

[@gregorylumpkin2128]

Personally, I think the tide really turned after Guadalcanal was secured, at great sacrifice to the USN, Army, Marines, and Australian units too. Just my opinion, debatable for sure.

[@johnofnz]

Reminds me of the old Midway episode from the Battlefield series., it would be so cool see their documentaries remastered with colorized footage like in this video

[@wecuyler]

The Japanese didn't just wake "the sleeping giant", they went into his yard, and smashed his toys

[@kenkleinsasser8165]

And then the Giant went and stomped on their house and destroyed it.

[@tommarin3468]

Always interesting to watch these documentaries.

[@juhis8921]

I love these documents

[@Russia-bullies]

The 1st steps Japan took towards war wasn’t in 1940,as they have been fighting since 1937.

[@aaronhayes4677]

Yup in China

[@Idahoguy10157]

Before deciding on attacking the Pacific Fleet the Japanese Imperial Army tried taking on the the Red Army in Siberia. Got their butt’s handed to them. Then the Army dominated government made their fateful decisions

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

In Asian WW2, it started in 1937, not 1941 .US navel forces had the most advanced 11 aircraft carriers rathar than several escorting aircraft carriers .. Japan was spotted 👀 by US intelligences since 1925 ..Japan underestimated US navel fleets strengthen and wagered suicide adventures during WW2.

[@anthonygonzales3523]

I love ww2 documentaries

[@ronaldfinkelstein6335]

Three US aircraft carriers in the Pacific, at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. Enterprise and Lexington were both delivering fighters, to Wake, and Midway. Saratoga was on the West Coast of the US.

[@Lady-Shun94]

The third one in the Pacific was the USS Hornet

[@charlesfiscus4235]

Its a series on American Heroes Channel called World War II in color. I remember seeing this episode a while back.

[@briancooper2112]

US Navy had 3 carriers at Midway.

[@AbbyNormL]

Not when they left.

[@BillSmith-ut5li]

Delete the seventh coral See battle was The turning point ND Pacific roar, not midway. This is when the Japanese advance stopped and planning for The allies return begin. It's also affected the number of Carriers that were at midway, which reflect the number of aircraft available For the Japanese counter.

[@joseanrodriguez3423]

Out of I love WW2 and specially Vietnam war all documentaries 👍

[@robskalas]

The Aleutians campaign was never a diversion. It was part of the strategy of forming a protective ring around Japan

[@emerald640]

The diversion was a secondary goal. The Aleutian campaign was a waste of time and troops for everybody there. My neighbor was there and all it accomplished was to kill pilots and crew with impossible weather.

[@vanringo]

My grandfather was part of the 206th CA from the Arkansas National Guard that was stationed at Dutch Harbor. From the books I have read about his unit and the Aleutian campaign, the Japanese invasion force was to be a diversion in force. Basically, it was to hopefully draw attention away from Midway and if any substantial territory had been gained, then they could seek for reinforcements, but it really was a hey I'm here you can't get me type of thing then when they didn't get as much of a response as they were looking for, they pulled out so to not put the entire task force at jeopardy of being caught and destroyed. With the loss of the carriers at Midway, the Japanese had to know there was no way they would ever be able to keep Kiska and Attu without naval protection. When US/Canadian troops invaded Attu then Kiska, the Japanese were able to evacuate under the cover of dense fog. The American General in command was the son of a Confederate General. The son's name was Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr who was also a racist, maybe due to the times, but honestly, I don't think so for this general. I think he was influenced too much by his father.

[@robskalas]

@@vanringo Read "Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway," by Jonathan Parshall, and Anthony Tully. The Aleutians campaign was added to Midway campaign by the Navy General staff, to close the gap in the north (under the assumption that Midway would be successful). There is no evidence at all that the Japanese considered it a diversion. Nor would it make sense as a diversion, if you look at the timing of the campaign.

[@maryholder3795]

Its an interesting documentary, it gives you a time line of the war between Japan and USA plus allies from Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal. How the Japanese started well but that the USA started to catch up as they honed their battle skills.

[@johnmarlin7269]

The fighting in New Guinea was probably the hardest and most strenuous in the war. Some days troops fought to gain 10 or 20 meters.

[@masroor5672]

No doubt it may be true but What about the battle of Stalingrad.. ? Both armies used to fight for control of severage lines streets houses and even rooms of houses for months without electricity and without heat at minus 30c temp.... I remember a line from a German soldier.... We advanced meter by meter but pls remember that it was a Stalingrad meter...

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

"We won a great tactical victory at Pearl Harbor and thereby lost the war." -- Rear Admiral Chuichi "King Kong" Hara

[@edwinwhitaker5679]

" The American military ďiscovered many of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero's unique attributes when they recovered a largely intact specimen of an A6M2, the Akutan Zero, on Akutan Island in the Aleutians. During an air raid over Dutch Harbor on the 4th June 1942, one A6M fighter was hit by ground-based anti-aircraft fire. Losing oil Flight Petty Officer Tadayoshu Koga attempted an emergency landing on Akutan Island about 20 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor, but his Zero flipped over on soft ground in a sudden crash-landing. Koga died instantly of head injuries (his neck was broken by the tremendous impact) but his wingman hoped he had survived and so went against Japanese doctrine to destroy disabled Zeros. The relatively undamaged fighter was found over a month later by an American salvage team and was shipped to Naval Air Station North Island" (at San Diego, California) "where testing flights of the repaired A6M revealed both strengths and deficiencies in performance and design" (source Wikipedia). Two defects in Zero aircraft was the lack of self sealing fuel tanks and the absence of armour plating behind the pilot's seat.

[@jeffhelton2735]

3 carriers not 2

[@markrowland1366]

Many times more bombs on Darwin than Pearl. The fight back by Admiral Nimitz had long been in operation. The greatest concrete Batching plant was dispatched from the giant storage areas in the mid west. Planning had been helped by the Japanese deciding they had succeeded but Nimitz was jubilant upon seeing what was left undamaged.

[@jerrycoleman882]

The quintessential, " Sucker Punch!" 😠

[@user-qx1yj1jn1z]

While to the Japanese the aircraft carriers were of secondary importance; it was disappointing to them that they weren't there. Funny considering the Pearl Harbor attack was conducted by aircraft carriers. The Japanese like everyone else at that time believed that battleships were the most important element of a navy. To that extent in their minds, it was a success.

[@rudytagala7076]

Communicatios hotlines of the US Armed Forces and its allies were very weak at that time. I wish that it is more alert nowadays ... no more lines like 'while England slept' ...

[@RalphTempleton-vr6xs]

The misleading title is disappointing, but this is an accounting I had not seen before, so worth the time, click bait notwithstanding!

[@danzgoogle845]

You missed the part after the 4 us warships were sunk (they were destroyers) where Ching Lee turned his battle ship around past the damaged South Dakota and destroyed the capital ship of the japenese task force, a Japanese battle ship. He peppered it to death in 5 minutes then lured the remaining Japanese fleet away from the South Dakota. You are talking about naval battles but that's the last naval battle with battleship on battleship combat. Ever. In this documentary it was described as. The Japanese sunk 4 warships. You didn't mention they lost a battleship for 4 destroyers

[@robertdendooven7258]

Have you never heard of the Battle of the Surigao Strait?

[@genehorne1956]

Battle of Midway. The beginning of the end of the Japanese empire.

[@JokingAroundChronicles]

What doc is this from?

[@JokingAroundChronicles]

Nevermind. I'm dumb

[@charlesarmstrong5292]

At <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="414">6:54</a> it says Japan had the worlds most advanced ced naval aircraft. I DONT THINK SO.

[@emerald640]

Japan thought the US had no stomach for war? While seventy years before then we had massive casualties in the Civil War. About 620,000 killed in a much smaller population. Did they think we changed?

[@kostasvrionis781]

Και μετά τον πόλεμο η Ιαπωνία έγινε η καλύτερη γκομενα της Αμερικής

[@JakeSpeed1000]

22 minutes in and still no naval battles? Title seems misleading.

[@cleverusername9369]

Enjoy what you're given and stop complaining.

[@ledenhimeganidleshitz144]

No! FDR did not declare war. Congress declared war. That power is vested in Congress. I am disappointed in whoever wrote the script. Sad, because the rest is quite good!

[@chadrowe8452]

I think the Japanese attack on pearl harbor was too limited in scope. They should have brought ground troops and invaded. Then the battleships couldn't have been repaired. Midway would have fell soon after. Early in the war was bug out fever for American forces they would have surrendered all of Hawaii

[@DingDangDandy]

Multiple descendants of Italians and Germans (Nimitz, Einstein, Oppenheimer) helped lead America to victory over Japan.

[@billdowhower335]

Don't worry Aussie friends when real American men think of who our best allies and fierce fighting men are we depend on Australia to stand shoulder to shoulder with us and that goes both ways as far as I am concerned!

[@denniscashell2407]

Ok, and 1937??????,,,,,

[@billyrock8305]

Long live a free Japan 🇯🇵 Bow to the emperor.

[@bearants]

propaganda.

[@othaVada]

Joe Biden; My uncle was in WW2 & crashed his plane. Then he was eaten by cannibals. C'mon man! 😂😮😅😊

[@Johnnycdrums]

"No joke, man."

[@mr.l7471]

😂😂😂

[@007phanrang2]

After watching two or three of these Pacific war stories , I discovered that the narrator, always say that this battle was the turning point of the war, It is absolutely not true, Narrators don't get paid for their looks, Like actors, politicians, and preachers, hey I have a good question why don't narrators hire a proofreader before they read the script ? 🥸