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Turning points in the Pacific

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Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942): First check on Japanese expansion. American and Australian forces stopped a Japanese attempt to seize Port Moresby in New Guinea.
Battle of Midway (June 1942): Decisive naval battle in the central Pacific. American aircraft carriers ambushed and destroyed four Japanese carriers, breaking the back of Japanese naval power. After Midway, the Pacific war shifted to American offensives.

Island-hopping campaign (1943-1945): American forces advanced across the Pacific by seizing strategic islands while bypassing others. Major battles included Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Each battle was bloody.