Map of Pacific Theater

Pacific Ocean Areas was a major Allied military command during World War II. It was one of four major commands during the Pacific War, and one of two United States commands in the Pacific theatre of operations. Admiral Chester Nimitz of the US Navy headed the command throughout its existence. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1199x873, 141 KB) THE BATTLE OF PELLIEU Pacific_Theater_Areas; http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1199x873, 141 KB) THE BATTLE OF PELLIEU Pacific_Theater_Areas; http://www. ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... This article is becoming very long. ... US landings in the Pacific, 1941–1945 The Pacific War was the part of World War II — and preceding conflicts — that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, between July 8, 1937, and August 14, 1945. ... The Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) is the term used in the United States for all military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, in World War II. Pacific War is a more common name, around the world, for the broader conflict between the Allies and Japan... Chester William Nimitz (February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was the Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces for the United States and Allied forces during World War II. He was the United States leading authority on submarines, as well as Chief of the Navys Bureau of Navigation in 1939. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ...

The vast majority of Allied forces in the theatre were from the US Navy and US Marine Corps. However units and/or personnel from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Fiji and other countries also saw active service. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ...

On 24 March 1942, the newly-formed British and US Combined Chiefs of Staff issued a directive designating the Pacific theater an area of American strategic responsibility. Six days later the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) divided the Pacific theater into three areas: the Pacific Ocean Areas (POA), the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), and the South East Pacific Area. March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in leap years). ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... The Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) was the supreme military command for the western Allies during World War II. It was a body constituted from the British Chiefs of Staff Committee and the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff. ... Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States of America symbol The Joint Chiefs of Staff, photographed in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gold Room in the Pentagon on Jan. ... South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to one of the four major Allied commands in the Pacific theatre of World War II, during 1942-45. ...

The JCS designated Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPOA), with operational control over all units (air, land, and sea) in that area. Mainland Asia was excluded from the POA, as were the Philippines, the Netherlands East Indies, the Territory of New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago) and the western part of the Solomon Islands. US strategic bomber forces in the theatre were under the direct control of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. All land forces in Alaska and Canada remained under the control of the US Army's Western Defense Command (see World War II: Aleutian Islands). World map showing the location of Asia. ... The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, (Dutch: Nederlands Indië) was the name of the colonies colonised by the Dutch East India Company which came under administration of the Netherlands during the ninteenth century (see Indonesia). ... The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of New Guinea in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, named in honour of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck and belonging to Papua New Guinea. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,854 km²)  - Width 808 miles (1,300 km)  - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km)  - % water 13. ... The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States armed forces and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ...

The Joint Chiefs further divided the Pacific Ocean Areas into the North, Central, and South Pacific Areas. Nimitz designated subordinate commanders for the North and South Pacific Areas (NORPAC and SOPAC) but retained the Central Pacific Area (CENPAC), including the Hawaiian Department, under his direct command. Pacific Ocean Areas was a major Allied military command during World War II. It was one of four major commands during the Pacific War, and one of two United States commands in the Pacific theatre of operations. ...

In the separate South West Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur assumed command. The effective result of this organizational scheme was the creation of two separate commands in the Pacific: POA and SWPA, each reporting separately to the Joint Chiefs, each competing for scarce resources in an economy-of-force theater, and each headed by a commander in chief (CINC) from a different service. In particular, the division of the Solomons caused problems, since the battles of the Solomon Islands campaign in 1942–1943 ranged over the whole region, with the main Japanese bases in SWPA and the main Allied bases in SOPAC. Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880 – April 5, 1964) was an American general and Medal of Honor recipient, who was Supreme Commander of Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II. He led the defense of Australia, and the recapture of New Guinea, the Philippines and Borneo. ... The Solomon Islands Campaign was a large series of battles that occurred in the Pacific Theater of World War II. This was the first large-scale campaign in the War in the Pacific, and the victories achieved by the Americans in the battles of this campaign helped secure vital bases...

Commanders, South Pacific Area

• Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley (19 June – 18 October 1942)
• Vice Adm./Adm. William F. Halsey (18 October 1942 – 15 June 1944)
• Vice Adm. John H. Newton (15 June 1944 – 13 March 1945)
• Vice Adm. William L. Calhoun (13 March – 2 September 1945)

Robert Lee Ghormley (15 October 1883 – 21 June 1958) was an admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. VADM Robert L. Ghormley, 1942 Ghormley was born in Portland, Oregon, on 15 October 1883. ... June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 195 days remaining. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... William Bull Halsey William Frederick Bull Halsey, Jr. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ...

Commanders, North Pacific Area

• Rear Adm. Robert A. Theobald (17 May 1942 – 4 January 1943)
• Rear Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid (4 January – 11 October 1943)
• Vice Adm. Frank J. Fletcher (11 October 1943 – 2 September 1945)

Robert Alfred Fuzzy Theobald (1884-1957) was a United States rear admiral and, most notably the author of the 1947 book The Final Secret of Pearl Harbor: The Washington Background of the Pearl Harbor Attack. ... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Thomas Cassin Kinkaid (3 April 1888 – 17 November 1972) was an admiral of the United States Navy, who commanded the 7th Fleet in the Pacific during World War II. Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid watches landing operations in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, from the bridge of his flagship, USS Wasatch (AGC... January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, USN Photographed on board ship, 17 September 1942. ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ...

External links

• army.mil: Central Pacific 1941–1943
• Strategy and Command: The First Two Years
• The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II, Appendix I