Disc One - A Day of Infamy
The Pacific Ocean becomes the flash point for a new crisis, a struggle between imperialistic Japan and isolationist America. Japan, eager for raw materials to feed her fledgling industries, invades Manchuria and later China. The fighting in Asia sets Japan on a collision course with the United States.
On December 7, 1941, the uneasy peace is shattered as the Japanese carrier fleet launches a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the island of Oahu. Within thirty minutes, the power of the United States Pacific Fleet is devastated. By the end of the attack, seven battleships are damaged or sunk, half the aircraft on the island are wiped out and 2,400 American lives are lost.
The attack had been a tremendous success for the Japanese, but for the Americans, Pearl Harbor became a rallying cry, and proof positive of Japan's treachery. America's resolve to fight until the bitter end was forged in the flames of battleship row.
Chapters:
- Prologue
- The Japanese Paradox
- The Great Depression
- The China Incident
- The Drift to War
- The Choice for War
- Last Days of Peace
- Eleven Minutes of Terror
- Battleship Row
- Hell in the Harbor
- Second Wave
Extras include:
- Rescue and Escape
- Aftermath
- Salvage Effort
- What Went Wrong?
- Pearl Harbor in Retrospect
- "In Their Own Words"
- Extended Interviews with Pearl Harbor Veterans
Disc Two - The War in the Pacific
Just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines fell under the Japanese sword in the opening move of what would become an inhuman ordeal for many of the American and Filipino defenders.
As Imperial Japan sought to stretch their dominion throughout Asia, the first attempts to strike back were made as American carriers launched several attacks, culminating with the Doolittle Raid in April 1942. In response, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto formulated an elaborate, multi-faceted plot to destroy the American carrier fleet once and for all. Invasion fleets were dispatched toward the Aleutian Islands and the tiny American outpost at Midway. The resulting Battle of Midway became the defining moment of the Pacific War.
Chapters:
- The Tide of Conquest
- The Battle for the Philippines
- The Early Combat
- The Philippines' Final Agony
- The Home Front
- The Silent Hunters
- The Carrier Raids
- A Coming Storm
- The Battle of Midway
- War Comes to the Aleutians
- The Aleutian Patrol
- The Invasion of Attu
- The Invasion of Kiska
Disc Three - The War in the Pacific
The war in the Pacific was fought island to island, and the first men ashore were usually Marines. Experience firsthand many of these epic battles from the grim campaign at Guadalcanal, the Island Of Death, to ultimate victory in the final battle of Okinawa.
This was total war, fought against a tenacious enemy across fortified beachheads, through dense jungles and over fire-swept, barren hilltops. Never before had the world witnessed such heroism and self-sacrifice as was exhibited by the Marines, who fought their way across the vast reaches of the Pacific in these pivotal battles of World War II.
Chapters:
- Guadalcanal
- Tarawa
- Peleliu
- Iwo Jima
- Okinawa
Extras:
