The Pacific War
The Doolittle's Raid
April 18, 1942. This battle was the first air raid by the United States to strike Japan. This attack showed that Japan was vulnerable to attack from the Allied, it also stopped Japan from invading India. The origin of the name came from Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle. He led 15 bombers in attack and the next day the headlines read, "Tokyo Bombed! Doolittle Do'od it." The lieutenant pulled off a Pearl Harbor-style air raid over Japan which lifted American spirits. All of the aircraft involved were lost and 11 crewmen were either captured or killed. The raid caused Japan to withdraw a carrier from the Indian Ocean to defend their homeland and the raid also contributed to the Battle of Midway. After the Doolittle Raid, many of the B-29 bombers landed in China and made it to safety thanks to the Chinese civilians. The Japanese did not like this idea of the Chinese helping American soldiers, so they created a campaign called the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign. This prevented Chinese civilians from helping the American soldiers. The Japanese killed an estimated 250,000 civilians while searching for American soldiers from the Doolittle Raid.
