Today, these territories have become vital sources of strategic supplies such as oil and rubber.

Now the United States laid plans to roll back the Japanese Games.

The aim was to cut the country's supply lines by seizing the occupied territories.

Japan would then be gradually strangled to death.

But to win in the vast expanse of the Pacific, the U.

S would need to develop new forms of mobile warfare.

They would be based on amphibious landings supported by aircraft flying from carriers.

Japanese unable to match American firepower, resorted to increasingly desperate measures.

The country fell back on ancient notions of military create suicide units.

The result.

It would be a terrible loss.

This'll be a decisive phase in the war in the Pacific would mark the end of Japan's dreams of empire.

Back in the spring of 1943 the U.

S.

Military chiefs faced a dilemma.

They have been presented with two options for the defeat of Japan.

The flamboyant U.

S.

Army General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the U s and Australian forces in the southwest Pacific favorite, a primary land based route.

His idea was to seize the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea on the Philippines.

They could then be turned into a strategic barrier that would cut off Japan from its newly conquered lands in Burma.

Malaria on the Dutch East Indies, Japan would be starved into surrender.

Equally importantly, this plan would mean MacArthur could repay a debt.

Earlier in the war, he had been kicked out of the Philippines by the Japanese, and he had promised to return to liberate the country.

But the U.

S Navy had a different.

It would bypass the heavily defended Solomon Islands popular New Guinea on the Philippines.

Instead, it would seize a string of much smaller islands scattered across the Central Pacific and close to the Japanese homeland rather than about it.

The U.

S would have a Siri's of strategic bases from which to attack Japan supply lines.

On June 11th 1944 the U.

S.

Started to soften up the three main islands.

In the four days later, Marines stormed the beaches of the northerly island of SaiPan.

This'll time terrain was mountains, with many caves on the preliminary bombardment had not disrupted the Japanese defenses as Muchas.

Nevertheless, By the end of the day, the American Bridget, the U.

S task force had 15 aircraft carriers on more than 900 aircraft ranged against it.

The Japanese have nine carriers have nearly 500 but Japan had lost many of its experienced aircrews during the Solomon of Marshall Islands campaigns, It's novice pilots faced battle hardened US flies.

Japanese were outgunned and it would go down in history as a Great Marianas.

Half an hour into the battle, a torpedo from a U.

S submarine hit the newest and largest Japanese carrier, the Taiho, while she was still launching The Battle of the Philippine Sea has claimed its first major victim.

At around the same time, another U.

S submarine torpedoed the carrier Shaukat.

She was completely destroyed.

The third Japanese carry hyo was hit, and some the Japanese had lost over 300.

But as the U.

S planes now returned dangerously short of fuel, they ran into a problem, gathering darkness.

They couldn't find their own carries.

Many ran out of fuel and had to ditch in the sea.

Mitchell, in an active, extraordinary courage ordered his carriers to switch on their lights to guide in the returning.

Fortunately for the Americans, there were no Japanese submarines to see.

Nevertheless, over 80 U S planes were lost either through having to ditch in the sea through crashing while they land.