The Pacific Theatre of the Second World War can really be split into three phases, which the most important battles form key parts of.

1 - Pearl Harbour to Midway The early part of the war contains Pearl Harbour, the rapid Japanese expansion in the western Pacific and culminates in the first real US victories at the Coral Sea and Midway, essentially ending successful Japanese operations.

2 - Guadalcanal to Truk This is really the decisive phase of the war for both sides, the US numbers were starting to make themselves felt but the Combined Arms tactics which were so important in this sector of the war, because of the geography of the Pacific, were still being developed This lead to battles like Tarawa, where a massive naval bombardment struggled to destroy Japanese tunnel networks and the subsequent landings became a very hard fought battle. The development of the US military machine between Guadalcanal and Truk cannot be underestimated. Guadalcanal is really the coming of age of the USMC in the Pacific and by Truk the combined forces of Marine Corps, Navy and Naval Air power were unstoppable, able to strike anywhere in superior numbers and with superior quality thanks to the development of the carrier task forces. These armadas can be argued as being one of the greatest military forces of all time in my opinion.

3 - Marianas to the surrender By this stage of the war it was a essentially a question of how long Japan could survive, the naval blockade was overwhelming them, their carrier air forces were almost non-existent and fuel, personnel and equipment shortages were starting to make themselves known. This phase includes the retaking of the Philippines and the large Japanese strongholds which had been fortified in the years between 1942 and 1944-45. With the final battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and the deployment of the kamikazis it became a question of taking Japan with minimal casualties, and the secondary objective, often overlooked, of doing so without the Soviet Union who having defeated Nazi Germany had their sites set on territorial expansion in the Far East. Hence the deployment of the atomic bombs and the end of the war.

I hope this signposted some of the key battles for you, and that you enjoyed reading it. If you have any more questions, particularly on this theatre of the war please don't hesitate to ask me.