List of Pacific War campaigns
This is a list of campaigns during the Pacific War.
Flags indicate the country, or countries, winning the offensive.
Second Sino-Japanese war
Before 1942 and inclusion in the Pacific War:- 1937-07-07 – 1937-07-09 Marco Polo Bridge incident
- 1937-08-13 – 1937-11-26 Battle of Shanghai
- 1937-09-01 – 1937-11-09 Battle of Taiyuan
- 1937-12-09 – 1938-01-31 Battle of Nanking
- 1938-03-24 – 1938-05-01 Battle of Xuzhou
- 1938-06-11 – 1938-10-27 Battle of Wuhan
- 1939-03-17 – 1939-05-09 Battle of Nanchang
- 1939-04-20 – 1939-05-24 Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang
- 1939-09-13 – 1939-10-08 Battle of Changsha (1939)
- 1939-11-15 – 1940-11-30 Battle of South Guangxi
- 1940-05-01 – 1940-06-18 Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang
- 1940-08-20 – 1940-12-05 Hundred Regiments Offensive
- 1941-01-30 – 1941-03-01 Battle of South Henan
- 1941-03-14 – 1941-04-09 Battle of Shanggao
- 1941-05-07 – 1941-05-27 Battle of South Shanxi
- 1941-09-06 – 1941-10-08 Battle of Changsha (1941)
- 1941-12-24 – 1942-01-15 Battle of Changsha (1941–1942)
- 1942-05-14 – 1942-09-07 Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign
- 1943-05-12 – 1943-06-03 Battle of West Hubei
- 1943-11-02 – 1943-12-20 Battle of Changde
- 1944-04-17 – 1944-12-10 Operation Ichi-Go
- 1945-03-21 – 1945-05-11 Battle of West Henan–North Hubei
- 1945-04-09 – 1945-06-07 Battle of West Hunan
- 1945-04-18 — 1945-08-04 Second Guangxi campaign
- 1940-09-22 – 1940-09-25 Battle of Lạng Sơn
- 1940-09-24 – 1940-09-26 Bombing of Hải Phòng
- October 1940 – 9 May 1941
- 1938-07-29 – 1938-08-11 Battle of Lake Khasan
- 1939-05-11 – 1939-09-16 Battles of Khalkhin Gol
Japanese conquest of Southeast Asia and Pacific
- 1941-12-07 Attack on Pearl Harbor
- 1941-12-08 Japanese invasion of Thailand
- 1941-12-08 Battle of Guam (1941)
- 1941-12-07 Japan declares war on the United States and the United Kingdom; 1941-12-08 The United States and the United Kingdom declare war on Japan
- 1941-12-08 – 1941-12-25 Battle of Hong Kong
- 1941-12-08 – 1942-01-31 Malayan Campaign
- 1941-12-10 Sinking of and
- 1941-12-11 – 1941-12-24 Battle of Wake Island
- 1941-12-16 – 1942-04-01 Battle of Borneo (1941–42)
- 1941-12-22 – 1942-05-06 Battle of the Philippines
- 1942-01-01 – 1945-10-25 Transport of POWs via hell ships
- 1942-01-11 – 1942-01-12 Battle of Tarakan
- 1942-01-23 Battle of Rabaul (1942)
- 1942-01-24 Battle of Balikpapan
- 1942-01-25 Thailand declares war on the Allies
- 1942-01-30 – 1942-02-03 Battle of Ambon
- 1942-01-30 – 1942-02-15 Battle of Singapore
- 1942-02-04 Battle of Makassar Strait
- 1942-02-14 – 1942-02-15 Battle of Palembang
- 1942-02-19 Air raids on Darwin, Australia
- 1942-02-19 – 1942-02-20 Battle of Badung Strait
- 1942-02-19 – 1943-02-10 Battle of Timor
- 1942-02-27 – 1942-03-01 Battle of the Java Sea
- 1942-03-01 Battle of Sunda Strait
- 1942-03-01 – 1942-03-09 Battle of Java
- 1942-03-31 Battle of Christmas Island
- 1942-03-31 – 1942-04-10 Indian Ocean raid
- 1942-04-09 Bataan Death March begins
- 1942-04-18 Doolittle Raid
- 1942-05-03 Japanese invasion of Tulagi
- 1942-05-04 – 1942-05-08 Battle of the Coral Sea
- 1942-05-31 – 1942-06-08 Attacks on Sydney Harbour area, Australia
- 1942-06-04 – 1942-06-06 Battle of Midway
Allied offensives
South East Asian campaigns: 1941-12-08 – 1945-08-15- Burma campaign: 1941-12-16 – 1945-08-15
- October 1943 – March 1945 Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan
- 1945-05-15 – 1945-05-16 Battle of the Malacca Strait
- 1942-01-23 – Battle of Rabaul
- 1942-03-07 – Operation Mo
- 1942-05-04 – 1942-05-08 Battle of the Coral Sea
- 1942-07-01 – 1943-01-31 Kokoda Track Campaign
- 1942-08-25 – 1942-09-05 Battle of Milne Bay
- 1942-11-19 – 1943-01-23 Battle of Buna-Gona
- 1943-01-28 – 1943-01-30 Battle of Wau
- 1943-03-02 – 1943-03-04 Battle of the Bismarck Sea
- 1943-06-29 – 1943-09-16 Battle of Lae
- 1943-06-30 – 1944-03-25 Operation Cartwheel
- 1943-09-19 – 1944-04-24 Finisterre Range campaign
- 1943-09-22 – 1944-01-15 Huon Peninsula campaign
- 1943-11-01 – 1943-11-11 Attack on Rabaul
- 1943-12-15 – 1945-08-15 New Britain campaign
- 1944-02-29 – 1944-03-25 Admiralty Islands campaign
- 1944-04-22 – 1945-08-15 Western New Guinea campaign
- 1942-05-05 – 1942-11-06 Battle of Madagascar
- 1942-06-06 – 1943-08-15 Battle of the Aleutian Islands
- 1942-06-07 – 1943-08-15 Battle of Kiska
- 1943-03-26 – Battle of the Komandorski Islands
- 1942-08-07 – 1943-02-09 Battle of Guadalcanal
- 1942-08-09 Battle of Savo Island
- 1942-08-24 – 1942-08-25 Battle of the Eastern Solomons
- 1942-10-11 – 1942-10-12 Battle of Cape Esperance
- 1942-10-25 – 1942-10-27 Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
- 1942-11-13 – 1942-11-15 Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
- 1942-11-30 Battle of Tassafaronga
- 1943-01-29 – 1943-01-30 Battle of Rennell Island
- 1943-03-06 Battle of Blackett Strait
- 1943-06-10 – 1943-08-25 New Georgia campaign
- 1943-07-06 Battle of Kula Gulf
- 1943-07-12 – 1943-07-13 Battle of Kolombangara
- 1943-08-06 – 1943-08-07 Battle of Vella Gulf
- 1943-08-17 – 1943-08-18 Battle off Horaniu
- 1943-08-15 – 1943-10-09 Battle of Vella Lavella (land)
- 1943-10-06 Battle of Vella Lavella (naval)
- 1943-11-01 – 1945-08-21 Bougainville campaign
- 1943-11-01 – 1943-11-02 Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
- 1943-11-26 Battle of Cape St. George
- 1943-11-20 – 1943-11-23 Battle of Tarawa
- 1943-11-20 – 1943-11-24 Battle of Makin
- 1944-01-31 – 1944-02-07 Battle of Kwajalein
- 1944-02-16 – 1944-02-17 Attack on Truk
- 1944-02-16 – 1944-02-23 Battle of Eniwetok
- Operation Cockpit 1944-04-19
- Operation Transom 1944-05-17
- Bombing of Bangkok 1944-05-20
- Operation Matterhorn 1944-06-05 – May 1945
- Operation Meridian 1945-01-24 – 1945-01-29
- 1944-10-12 - 1944-10-16 Formosa Air Battle
- 1944-06-15 – 1944-07-09 Battle of Saipan
- 1944-06-19 – 1944-06-20 Battle of the Philippine Sea
- 1944-07-21 – 1944-08-10 Battle of Guam
- 1944-07-24 – 1944-08-01 Battle of Tinian
- 1944-09-15 – 1944-11-25 Battle of Peleliu
- 1944-09-17 – 1944-09-30 Battle of Angaur
- 1944-10-20 – 1944-12-10 Battle of Leyte
- 1944-10-24 – 1944-10-25 Battle of Leyte Gulf
- 1944-10-25 battle off Samar
- 1944-11-11 – 1944-12-21 Battle of Ormoc Bay
- 1944-12-13 - 1944-12-16 Battle of Mindoro
- 1944-12-15 – 1945-07-04 Battle of Luzon
- 1945-01-09 Invasion of Lingayen Gulf
- 1945-01-31 – 1945-02-08 Recapture of Bataan
- 1945-02-03 – 1945-03-03 Battle of Manila
- 1945-03-18 – 1945-07-30 Battle of the Visayas
- 1945-03-10 – 1945-08-15 Battle of Mindanao
- 1945-02-16 – 1945-03-26 Battle of Iwo Jima
- 1945-04-01 – 1945-06-21 Battle of Okinawa
- 1945-04-07 Operation Ten-Go
- 1945-05-01 – 1945-05-25 Battle of Tarakan
- 1945-06-10 – 1945-06-15 Battle of Brunei
- 1945-06-10 – 1945-06-22 Battle of Labuan
- 1945-06-17 – 1945-08-15 Battle of North Borneo
- 1945-07-07 – 1945-07-21 Battle of Balikpapan
- 1945-07-22 Battle of Tokyo Bay
- 1945-08-06 – 1945-08-09 Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- 1945-08-08 – 1945-09-02 Soviet invasion of Manchuria
Command areas
The command structures of the Pacific War varied, reflecting the different roles of various belligerent nations, and often involving different geographic scopes. These included the following:- American commands:
- * Pacific Ocean Areas
- * South West Pacific Area
- British and Allied commands:
- * GHQ India, commanding the British Army in India
- * Eastern Fleet
- * American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
- * South East Asia Command
- * Far East Command, the Soviet command during the war against Japan in 1945
- Japanese commands:
- * Japanese Combined Fleet, the Japanese command which oversaw naval operations
- * Southern Expeditionary Army Group, the Japanese army command in the South West Pacific and South East Asia