Lably
Skip to content

South West Pacific theatre of World War II

Theatre of World War II

  • 5 min read
  • 2 chapters

Related on Lably

Through World War II, Australia and United Kingdom

Lab · Class 8–10India's Freedom StruggleLab · Class 8National MovementLab · Class 6–12Archaeology & Discovery

Japanese forces fought primarily against the United States and Australian forces in the South West Pacific Area. The Philippines, New Zealand, the Netherlands (in the Dutch East Indies), the United Kingdom, and other Allied nations also contributed forces.

The South Pacific became a major theatre of the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Initially, US war plans called for a counteroffensive across the Central Pacific, but this was disrupted by the loss of battleships at Pearl Harbor. During the First South Pacific Campaign, US forces sought to establish a defensive perimeter against additional Japanese attacks. This was followed by the Second South Pacific Campaign, which began with the Battle of Guadalcanal.

Commands

Allied

The U.S. General Douglas MacArthur had been in command of the American forces in the Philippines in what was to become the South West Pacific Area, but was then part of a larger theatre that encompassed the South West Pacific, the Southeast Asian mainland (including Indochina and Malaya) and the North of Australia, under the short lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM). Shortly after the collapse of ABDACOM, the supreme command of the South West Pacific Area passed to MacArthur, appointed Supreme Commander, South West Pacific Area, on 30 March 1942. However, MacArthur preferred to use the title "Commander-in-Chief." The forces remaining in South-East Asia under Japanese attack reverted to their local commanders, and were soon mostly destroyed or evacuated.

The other major theatre in the Pacific, Pacific Ocean Areas, was commanded by U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz, who was also Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet. The US Joint Chiefs and the British-U.S. Combined Chiefs of Staff oversaw MacArthur and Nimitz. Captain Allan Rockwell McCann was appointed to represent the Navy as General MacArthur's Senior Representative of Commander, Submarines, Southwest Pacific.

Japanese

Most Japanese forces in the theatre were part of the Southern Expeditionary Army (南方軍, Nanpo gun), which was formed on November 6, 1941, under General Hisaichi Terauchi (also known as Count Terauchi). The Nanpo gun was responsible for Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) ground and air units in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. The Combined Fleet (聯合艦隊, Rengō Kantai) of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was responsible for all Japanese warships, naval aviation units and marine infantry units. As the Japanese military did not formally utilize joint/combined staff at the operational level, the command structures/geographical areas of operations of the Nanpo gun and Rengō Kantai overlapped each other and those of the Allies.

Sign in to keep reading

One more chapter is free with a Lably account.

More in Modern

Nazi GermanyGerman state from 1933 to 1945COVID-19 pandemicPandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2Russian EmpireRussian state from 1721 to 1917American Civil War1861–1865 conflict in the United StatesBritish Raj1858–1947 Crown rule in IndiaUnited States NavyMaritime service branch of the U.S. military