Island Hopping in the Pacific
I spent a module of my History GCSE level studying the war in the Pacific. It is not generally on the syllabus but we had an independent project to do on the second world war and I decided that instead of doing the usual D-Day/Battle of Britain/Blitzkrieg style thing I was going to look further East. Many people don’t know about the war in the Pacific as it seemed to have very little to do with the affairs in Europe but it is probably as, if not the most, crucial arena of all in WWII.
Before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in 1942 many accused the United States of being an Isolationist country, refusing to help with the affairs of war-stricken Europe. However, with this surprise attack the Americans were thrown headlong into the fight. Luckily for them, the majority of their fleet was out at sea on manoeuvres so the Japanese attack, although damaging, failed to deliver the crippling blow it was intended for.
After a quick regrouping the Americans took the fight to the Japanese all through the Pacific Ocean. Between 1942 and 1945 they employed a tactic known as ‘island hopping’, jumping from one Japanese-held pacific atoll to another and making their inexorable approach towards the Japanese mainland. It was one of the most brutal arenas in the world, with the Japanese soldiers refusing to give up even when an American victory was all but inevitable. Islands such as Iwo Jima have gone down in American history as some of the most bloody places that the US has ever fought.
Now the reason I mention this with regards to a travel site is because of the recent growth of the tourism industry as regards to old war sites and battleground. Famous battles in Europe have generated thousands of pounds of revenue from curious tourists who are willing to go and see where these momentous events really took place. Europe seems to be the main attraction at the moment but I would strongly recommend the Pacific Atolls.
While the war in Europe must not be forgotten, neither can the sacrifices American soldiers made in the Pacific (and British soldiers fighting the Japanese in places such as Burma). Some websites do good deals out to the Pacific Arena and travel insurance companies such as AA Travel offer extremely good policies with regards to this island hopping technique. In fact, moving from island to island is an extremely effective way of seeing that part of the world, whether you move by plane or by sea, and it will give such a huge insight into the kind of place where the modern world was fought for, and won.
Plus, the weather in the pacific is much nicer than in France or Germany so that is an extra incentive to go.