angel falqués: World War II: 70 photos of the Pacific Theater

Sparked by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II saw a bitter confrontation between the Allied forces – led by the U.S. – and Japan. Take a look at some powerful photographs from the period which lasted until the end of the war in September 1945.

American and Filipino soldiers hide in a fox-hole during the Battle of Bataan on April 7, 1942.

Japanese troops capture an American gun during the Battle of Bataan, between January and April 1942.

U.S. Marines come ashore from their landing craft during the early days of Battle of Guadalcanal in August 1942.

American prisoners of war being marched by the Japanese troops during the Battle of Java (Feb. 28 – March 12, 1942).

A captured Japanese 70-mm field gun is seen during the Battle of Guadalcanal on Oct. 23, 1942.

American soldiers cross a makeshift bridge made from amphibious tractors as the base during the Guadalcanal Campaign, in November 1942.

A human chain of soldiers remove supplies of oil from the flames after Japanese bombers attacked an U.S. Army Depot in New Guinea, circa 1943.

U.S. Marines make their way through muddy terrain in Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea, on Nov. 4, 1943.

An injured Filipino soldier is treated by U.S. troops following a skirmish in Leyte, Philippines, circa 1943.

Sandbags form a protective barrier around the entrance of a dugout surgery room in the Solomon Islands in 1943.

American volunteer group aircraft, known as the "Flying Tigers," aid the Chinese Army against Japanese forces, circa 1943.

A U.S. Marine holds a carbine rifle and ammo as his fellow soldier rears back to lob a grenade, during the Battle of Tarawa, in Kiribati in 1943.

U.S. Marines examine a wrecked Japanese bomber on Munda Airfield in Solomon Islands on Aug. 20, 1943.

A wave of charging Fourth Division U.S. Marines begin an attack from the beach at Iwo Jima, Japan on June 6, 1944.

U.S. Air Force personnel fight fires caused by Japanese air raids on their base at Saipan Island in 1944.

Shells from an American destroyer take out a Japanese fuel dump in Northern New Guinea, circa 1944.

U.S. Marines form a line as they pass down munitions from landing craft carriers in the Solomon Islands, in the mid-1940s.

American airmen, who found their way safely into China after their bombing run on Tokyo, Japan, pose with Chinese soldiers, circa 1944.

The American forces deploy their 58th Amphibious Tanks and Tractor Battalion during a landing experiment from a floating dock in 1944.

An American soldier pushes a baby carriage as he escorts a family to an internment camp during the Battle of Saipan in June 1944.

An American landing craft brings in troops and supplies to the Filipino island of Leyte, while soldiers build a makeshift pier with sandbags in 1944.

A landing vehicle carries U.S. artillery and personnel off New Guinea in 1944.

American troops hold up a bullet-torn Japanese flag after capturing the Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands, in 1944.

An armada of American landing craft seen near an airstrip on Leyte Island on Nov. 21, 1944.

U.S. Coast Guardsmen pose with a captured Japanese flag shortly after landing on Leyte island on Oct. 20, 1944.

U.S. infantrymen photographed while taking a break on Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea, in 1944.

U.S. supply jeeps cross a makeshift bridge made from a base of pontoon boats, in New Guinea, circa 1944.

A signpost at a military base in Tacloban, Philippines, points to the different hometowns of American soldiers, photographed in 1944.

American servicemen on board a landing craft during the Battle of Guam, in 1944.

Two soldiers plant an American flag on a beach in Guam on July 20, 1944.

U.S. Marines take cover behind a Sherman tank nicknamed "King Kong" during the Battle of Saipan in 1944.

Soldiers look on as a U.S. B-29 bomber takes off from Saipan on Nov. 23, 1944.

Soldiers of the U.S. 29th infantry moves under cover of smoke during a field exercise in Okinawa, Japan, circa 1940s.

The American flag is raised in the Solomon Islands to mark a victory over the Japanese forces in 1944.

A crowd of soldiers listen to comedian Bob Hope as he entertains the troops in New Caledonia on Oct. 17, 1944.

Trails of Japanese phosphorus bombs are seen over American planes as they fly back home after a raid in the Pacific on Oct. 15, 1944.

Filipino civilians carry cases of field rations for the American troops through a jungle trail, on Leyte Island in October 1944.

American forces bomb Hansa Bay in New Guinea, circa 1945.

American paratroopers land in New Guinea, circa 1945.

Misslies fly off an American vessel, aimed at Okinawa, Japan on March 31, 1945.

American paratroopers land in New Guinea, circa 1945.

U.S. personnel operate an M7 Priest carriage, overlooking the mountains of Luzon, Philippines in 1945.

A U.S. ship launches rockets at the shores of Pokishi Shima, near Okinawa, Japan, circa 1945.

A violent explosion staggers a Japanese ship during a bombing run by American B-25 Air Apache planes, off the coast of China on April 6, 1945.

A Marine signals his companion to hold fire as a Japanese soldier emerges from a cave in Okinawa, persuaded by a smoke grenade, in 1945.

U.S. soldiers of the XI Corps fire a howitzer gun at Japanese forces near Ipo Dam in the Philippines, in 1945.

An aerial shot reveals a destroyed refinery in Tokyo, Japan – a result of aerial raids by American Boeing B-29 Superfortress planes, circa 1945.

Widespread destruction is seen due to American bombings in Hiroshima, Japan, circa 1945.

Advancing American forces use explosive charges to attack the Japanese forces entrenched on the crest of a hill, circa 1945.

Marines wait at a cave entrance to ambush hiding Japanese soldiers, circa 1945.

Smoke rises from the bomb-ridden city of Manila, Philippines in February 1945.

American tanks are seen leaving a landing ship at the Lingayen Gulf in Philippines on Feb. 16, 1945.

Soldiers raise the American flag on the island of Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945.

A U.S. Marine aims his flamethrower on an enemy cave in Okinawa in 1945.

An American amphibious battalion forms a line as they dash for the shores of Okinawa in April 1945.

U.S. Marines pose on top of Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima in 1945.

A U.S. Marine braves machine gun fire as he rushes to his goal on the "Death Valley" in Okinawa, Japan in 1945.

A U.S. Marine cemetery photographed at the foot of Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima, circa 1945.

U.S. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz leans out of a B-29 bomber on June 21, 1945.

An U.S. paratrooper lands on the island of Iwo Jima, circa 1945.

An American soldier sprays oil on swamp water to kill mosquito larvae, on a South Pacific island, circa 1945.

U.S. troops advance with flame throwers, on the South pacific island of Bougainville, circa 1945.

Atomic bomb mushroom clouds are seen over Hiroshima (L) and Nagasaki (R), Japan, in August 1945

A Japanese transport officer, who was captured on the Filipino island of Mindanao, guides an American bombing raid on the Japanese headquarters on the same island, on Aug. 10, 1945.

Enlisted men aboard the USS Ticonderoga celebrate Japan's surrender, in August 1945.

U.S. Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz signs surrender documents recognizing the defeat of Japan and end of the war, aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan on Sept. 2, 1945.