Pacific Theater of Operations
The
Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) is the term used in the
United States for all military activity in the
Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, during
World War II.
Pacific War is a more common name, around the world, for the broader conflict between the
Allies and
Japan, between
1937 and
1945.
|
A map of the Pacific Theater. |
Partly because of the nearly equal roles of the
U.S. Army and the
U.S. Navy in conducting war in the Pacific
Theater, but largely for domestic political reasons, there was not a single Allied or US commander for the theater (comparable to
Eisenhower in the
ETO). Indeed, the organizational structure was rather tangled, with the
Joint Chiefs of Staff frequently required to be involved, and the Army and Navy commanders reporting to both the
Secretary of the Navy and the
Secretary of War. (No doubt the attendant difficulties helped motivate the formation of the
Department of Defense in
1947.)
The two main Allied commanders in the PTO were
Commander-in-Chief Pacific Ocean Areas, the title held by Admiral
Chester Nimitz and
Supreme Allied Commander South West Pacific Area1, General
Douglas MacArthur (following termination of the short-lived
ABDACOM, in early
1942.)
* Initially in World War II, the official
Japanese name for the war was
Dai toua sensou (大東亜戦争,
Greater East Asia War). This name was chosen by a
cabinet decision on
December 10,
1941, to refer to both the war with the
United States and the ongoing war in
China, which began with the China Incident (or
Mukden Incident). The name was released to the public two days later, on
December 12, with a government explanation that it referred to the motivation of Asian nations to achieve independence from the Western nations — it was not intented to set parameters for the battlefield. Soon after the start of the war with the U.S., this term was prohibited in official documents, though some say its use continued.
* The war was from this point called
Taiheiyo sensou (太平洋戦争) literally meaning the
Pacific War. This latter term has been in use since that time.
* Less often,
Jyugonen'sensou (十"年戦争
15 Year War) is used to refer to the war, beginning with the Japanese invasion of China in
1931 (also called the
Sino-Japanese War) to the end of
World War II in
1945. The term is used to highlight the rule of militarism over the years.
The term "theater of operations" was defined in the [American] field manuals as the land and sea areas to be invaded or defended, including areas necessary for administrative activities incident to the military operations (chart 12). In accordance with the experience of World War I, it was usually conceived of as a large land mass over which continuous operations would take place and was divided into two chief areas-the combat zone, or the area of active fighting, and the communications zone, or area required for administration of the theater. As the armies advanced, both these zones and the areas into which they were divided would shift forward to new geographic areas of control.2*
Pacific War*
Greater East Asia War, describing Japanese war plans
*
Timeline WW II - Pacific Theatre*
Pacific Ocean Areas.
*The
South West Pacific Area.
*The
South-East Asian Theatre of World War II.
*
Carl Spaatz U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific.
*
Operation August Storm, the Soviet Campaign against Japan in 1945.
*
Imperial Japanese Army*
Imperial Japanese Navy#
Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander SWPA#
88 Msg: through established channels#
Chapter VII: Prewar Army Doctrine for Theater* http://ask.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~yasutomi/private2/home/glossary.html (Some English translations for Japanese terms.)
