Divyanshu67/squad_v2 huggingface dataset:
Pacific_War

A Japanese force was sent north to attack the Aleutian Islands. The next stage of the plan called for the capture of Midway, which would give him an opportunity to destroy Nimitz's remaining carriers. In May, Allied codebreakers discovered his intentions. Nagumo was again in tactical command but was focused on the invasion of Midway; Yamamoto's complex plan had no provision for intervention by Nimitz before the Japanese expected him. Planned surveillance of the U.S. fleet by long range seaplane did not happen (as a result of an abortive identical operation in March), so Fletcher's carriers were able to proceed to a flanking position without being detected. Nagumo had 272 planes operating from his four carriers, the U.S. 348 (115 land-based).

Question: In Yamamoto's plan, what northern islands were to be attacked?
Answer: Aleutian Islands

Question: What was the second stage objective of Yamaoto's plan?
Answer: capture of Midway

Question: How many planes did Nagumo have for the Midway invasion?
Answer: 272

Question: How many planes did the United States have in the Battle of Midway?
Answer: 348

Question: How many U.S. planes were land-based?
Answer: 115
Pacific_War

As anticipated by Nimitz, the Japanese fleet arrived off Midway on 4 June and was spotted by PBY patrol aircraft. Nagumo executed a first strike against Midway, while Fletcher launched his aircraft, bound for Nagumo's carriers. At 09:20 the first U.S. carrier aircraft arrived, TBD Devastator torpedo bombers from Hornet, but their attacks were poorly coordinated and ineffectual; thanks in part to faulty aerial torpedoes, they failed to score a single hit and all 15 were wiped out by defending Zero fighters. At 09:35, 15 additional TBDs from Enterprise attacked in which 14 were lost, again with no hits. Thus far, Fletcher's attacks had been disorganized and seemingly ineffectual, but they succeeded in drawing Nagumo's defensive fighters down to sea level where they expended much of their fuel and ammunition repulsing the two waves of torpedo bombers. As a result, when U.S. dive bombers arrived at high altitude, the Zeros were poorly positioned to defend. To make matters worse, Nagumo's four carriers had drifted out of formation in their efforts to avoid torpedoes, reducing the concentration of their anti-aircraft fire. Nagumo's indecision had also created confusion aboard his carriers. Alerted to the need of a second strike on Midway, but also wary of the need to deal with the American carriers that he now knew were in the vicinity, Nagumo twice changed the arming orders for his aircraft. As a result, the American dive bombers found the Japanese carriers with their decks cluttered with munitions as the crews worked hastily to properly re-arm their air groups.

Question: When did the Japanese fleet arrive off Midway?
Answer: 4 June

Question: How many TBD Devastator torpedo bombers were lauched from the Hornet?
Answer: 15

Question: How many carriers did Nagumo have at the Battle of Midway?
Answer: four

Question: How many times did Nagumo change orders for arming his aircraft?
Answer: twice

Question: What were on the decks of the Japanese aircraft carriers when the American dive bobers attacked?
Answer: munitions
Pacific_War

With the Japanese CAP out of position and the carriers at their most vulnerable, SBD Dauntlesses from Enterprise and Yorktown appeared at an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and commenced their attack, quickly dealing fatal blows to three fleet carriers: Sōryū, Kaga, and Akagi. Within minutes, all three were ablaze and had to be abandoned with great loss of life. Hiryū managed to survive the wave of dive bombers and launched a counter-attack against the American carriers which caused severe damage to Yorktown (which was later finished off by a Japanese submarine). However, a second attack from the U.S. carriers a few hours later found and destroyed Hiryū, the last remaining fleet carrier available to Nagumo. With his carriers lost and the Americans withdrawn out of range of his powerful battleships, Yamamoto was forced to call off the operation, leaving Midway in American hands. The battle proved to be a decisive victory for the Allies. For the second time, Japanese expansion had been checked and its formidable Combined Fleet was significantly weakened by the loss of four fleet carriers and many highly trained, virtually irreplaceable, personnel. Japan would be largely on the defensive for the rest of the war.

Question: At what altitude did the American dive bombers commence their attck on the Japanese carriers?
Answer: 10,000 feet

Question: Which Japanese carrier survived the first wave of American dive bombers in the Battle of Midway.
Answer: Hiryū

Question: Who won the Battle of Midway?
Answer: Allies

Question: How many fleet carriers were lost by the Japanese in the Battle of Midway?
Answer: four
Pacific_War

Japanese land forces continued to advance in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. From July 1942, a few Australian reserve battalions, many of them very young and untrained, fought a stubborn rearguard action in New Guinea, against a Japanese advance along the Kokoda Track, towards Port Moresby, over the rugged Owen Stanley Ranges. The militia, worn out and severely depleted by casualties, were relieved in late August by regular troops from the Second Australian Imperial Force, returning from action in the Mediterranean theater. In early September 1942 Japanese marines attacked a strategic Royal Australian Air Force base at Milne Bay, near the eastern tip of New Guinea. They were beaten back by Allied (primarily Australian Army) forces.

Question: What mountains did the Australian battalions fight a rearguard action over on the Kokoda Track?
Answer: Owen Stanley Ranges

Question: What forces releived the worn Australian reserve battalions? 
Answer: Second Australian Imperial Force

Question: In 1942, what Australian Air Force base was attacked by Japanese marines?
Answer: Milne Bay

Question: Where was Milne Bay located in New Guinea?
Answer: eastern tip

Question: What theater did the Second Australian Imperial Force come from before they relieved the reserve battalions in New Guinea?
Answer: Mediterranean
Pacific_War

With Japanese and Allied forces occupying various parts of the island, over the following six months both sides poured resources into an escalating battle of attrition on land, at sea, and in the sky. Most of the Japanese aircraft based in the South Pacific were redeployed to the defense of Guadalcanal. Many were lost in numerous engagements with the Allied air forces based at Henderson Field as well as carrier based aircraft. Meanwhile, Japanese ground forces launched repeated attacks on heavily defended US positions around Henderson Field, in which they suffered appalling casualties. To sustain these offensives, resupply was carried out by Japanese convoys, termed the "Tokyo Express" by the Allies. The convoys often faced night battles with enemy naval forces in which they expended destroyers that the IJN could ill-afford to lose. Later fleet battles involving heavier ships and even daytime carrier battles resulted in a stretch of water near Guadalcanal becoming known as "Ironbottom Sound" from the multitude of ships sunk on both sides. However, the Allies were much better able to replace these losses. Finally recognizing that the campaign to recapture Henderson Field and secure Guadalcanal had simply become too costly to continue, the Japanese evacuated the island and withdrew in February 1943. In the sixth month war of attrition, the Japanese had lost as a result of failing to commit enough forces in sufficient time.

Question: Where were most of the Japanese aircraft in the South Pacific redeployed to defend?
Answer: Guadalcanal

Question: Where did Japanese ground attack repeatedly?forces 
Answer: Henderson Field

Question: What did the Allies call the Japanese convoys supplying the ground forces attacking Henderson Field?
Answer: "Tokyo Express"

Question: What was the reason for the name "Ironbottom Sound" of the water stretches new Guadalcanal?
Answer: the multitude of ships sunk

Question: When did the Japanese give up trying to recapture Henderson Field?
Answer: February 1943
Pacific_War

In mainland China, the Japanese 3rd, 6th, and 40th Divisions massed at Yueyang and advanced southward in three columns and crossed the Xinqiang River, and tried again to cross the Miluo River to reach Changsha. In January 1942, Chinese forces got a victory at Changsha which was the first Allied success against Japan.
After the Doolittle Raid, the Japanese army conducted a massive sweep through Zhejiang and Jiangxi of China, now known as the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign, with the goal of searching out the surviving American airmen, applying retribution on the Chinese who aided them and destroying air bases. This operation started on 15 May 1942 with 40 infantry battalions and 15–16 artillery battalions but was repelled by Chinese forces in September. During this campaign, The Imperial Japanese Army left behind a trail of devastation and had also spread cholera, typhoid, plague and dysentery pathogens. Chinese estimates put the death toll at 250,000 civilians. Around 1,700 Japanese troops died out of a total 10,000 Japanese soldiers who fell ill with disease when their own biological weapons attack rebounded on their own forces.
On 2 November 1943, Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the Imperial Japanese 11th Army, deployed the 39th, 58th, 13th, 3rd, 116th and 68th divisions, a grand total of around 100,000 troops, to attack Changde of China. During the seven-week Battle of Changde, the Chinese forced Japan to fight a costly war of attrition. Although the Japanese army initially successfully captured the city, the Chinese 57th division was able to pin them down long enough for reinforcements to arrive and encircle the Japanese. The Chinese army then cut off the Japanese supply lines, forcing them into retreat, whereupon the Chinese pursued their enemy. During the battle, in an act of desperation, Japan used chemical weapons.
In the aftermath of the Japanese conquest of Burma, there was widespread disorder in eastern India, and a disastrous famine in Bengal, which ultimately caused up to 3 million deaths. In spite of these, and inadequate lines of communication, British and Indian forces attempted limited counter-attacks in Burma in early 1943. An offensive in Arakan failed, while a long distance raid mounted by the Chindits under Brigadier Orde Wingate suffered heavy losses, but was publicized to bolster Allied morale. It also provoked the Japanese to mount major offensives themselves the following year.

Question: Where were the 40th, 3rd, and 6th divisions massed at in China?
Answer: Yueyang

Question: What is the first river that the 40th, 3rd, and 6th Japanese divisions crossed while advancing southward?
Answer: Xinqiang River

Question: What is the river that the 40th, 3rd, and 6th Japanese divisions tried crossing to reach Changsha?
Answer: Miluo River

Question: How many Chinese civilians were estimated to have died during the Japanese Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign?
Answer: 250,000

Question: Who commanded the Imperial Japanese 11th Army on November, 1943?
Answer: Isamu Yokoyama
Pacific_War

In August 1943 the Allies formed a new South East Asia Command (SEAC) to take over strategic responsibilities for Burma and India from the British India Command, under Wavell. In October 1943 Winston Churchill appointed Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten as its Supreme Commander. The British and Indian Fourteenth Army was formed to face the Japanese in Burma. Under Lieutenant General William Slim, its training, morale and health greatly improved. The American General Joseph Stilwell, who also was deputy commander to Mountbatten and commanded U.S. forces in the China Burma India Theater, directed aid to China and prepared to construct the Ledo Road to link India and China by land.

Question: What Allied command replaced the British India Command in August, 1943?
Answer: South East Asia Command

Question: Who was appointed Supreme Commander of the SEAC in October, 1943?
Answer: Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten

Question: Who was deputy commander to Mountbatten?
Answer: General Joseph Stilwell

Question: What was the name of the new link between India and China by land?
Answer: Ledo Road

Question: The British and Indian Fourteenth Army was formed to take on what force?
Answer: Japanese in Burma
Pacific_War

Midway proved to be the last great naval battle for two years. The United States used the ensuing period to turn its vast industrial potential into increased numbers of ships, planes, and trained aircrew. At the same time, Japan, lacking an adequate industrial base or technological strategy, a good aircrew training program, or adequate naval resources and commerce defense, fell further and further behind. In strategic terms the Allies began a long movement across the Pacific, seizing one island base after another. Not every Japanese stronghold had to be captured; some, like Truk, Rabaul, and Formosa, were neutralized by air attack and bypassed. The goal was to get close to Japan itself, then launch massive strategic air attacks, improve the submarine blockade, and finally (only if necessary) execute an invasion.

Question: What did the United States turn it's industry to in the two years folloing the Battle of Midway?
Answer: increased numbers of ships, planes, and trained aircrew

Question: How were the bypassed Japanese strongholds neutralized?
Answer: air attack

Question: What blockade against Japan  was to be improved on?
Answer: submarine blockade
Pacific_War

U.S. submarines, as well as some British and Dutch vessels, operating from bases at Cavite in the Philippines (1941–42); Fremantle and Brisbane, Australia; Pearl Harbor; Trincomalee, Ceylon; Midway; and later Guam, played a major role in defeating Japan, even though submarines made up a small proportion of the Allied navies—less than two percent in the case of the US Navy. Submarines strangled Japan by sinking its merchant fleet, intercepting many troop transports, and cutting off nearly all the oil imports essential to weapons production and military operations. By early 1945 Japanese oil supplies were so limited that its fleet was virtually stranded.

Question: What type of vessels were part of a major role in defeating Japan?
Answer: submarines

Question: What percent did submarines make up in the US Navy fighting Japan?
Answer: two percent

Question: What did submarines sinking Japanese ships do?
Answer: strangled Japan

Question: What happened to the Japanese fleet when nearly all oil imports were cut off?
Answer: virtually stranded
Pacific_War

U.S. submarines accounted for 56% of the Japanese merchantmen sunk; mines or aircraft destroyed most of the rest. US submariners also claimed 28% of Japanese warships destroyed. Furthermore, they played important reconnaissance roles, as at the battles of the Philippine Sea (June 1944) and Leyte Gulf (October 1944) (and, coincidentally,[clarification needed] at Midway in June 1942), when they gave accurate and timely warning of the approach of the Japanese fleet. Submarines also rescued hundreds of downed fliers, including future U.S. president George H.W. Bush.

Question: What percentage of Japanese merchantmen were sunk by U.S. submarines?
Answer: 56%

Question: What percentage of Japanese warships were sunk by U.S. submarines?
Answer: 28%

Question: What future U.S. president was rescued by a submarine?
Answer: George H.W. Bush

Question: What was one of the important roles submarine played in the war?
Answer: reconnaissance roles
Pacific_War

Allied submarines did not adopt a defensive posture and wait for the enemy to attack. Within hours after the Pearl Harbor attack, in retribution against Japan, Roosevelt promulgated a new doctrine: unrestricted submarine warfare against Japan. This meant sinking any warship, commercial vessel, or passenger ship in Axis-controlled waters, without warning and without help to survivors.[nb 13] At the outbreak of the war in the Pacific the Dutch Admiral in charge of the naval defense of the East Indies, Conrad Helfrich, gave instructions to wage war aggressively. His small force of submarines sank more Japanese ships in the first weeks of the war than the entire British and US navies together, an exploit which earned him the nickname "Ship-a-day Helfrich". The Dutch force were in fact the first to sink an enemy warship; On 24 December 1941, HNLMS K XVI torpedoed and sank the Japanese destroyer Sagiri.

Question: What doctrine did Roosevelt give for submarines against Japan?
Answer: unrestricted submarine warfare

Question: Who was the Dutch Admiral in charge of the East Indies?
Answer: Conrad Helfrich

Question: What was the nickname given to the Dutch Admiral in charge of the East Indies?
Answer: "Ship-a-day Helfrich"

Question: What was the first Japanese warship to be sunk by submarine?
Answer: Sagiri

Question: When was the first Japanese warship sunk by a submarine?
Answer: 24 December 1941
Pacific_War

While Japan had a large number of submarines, they did not make a significant impact on the war. In 1942, the Japanese fleet subs performed well, knocking out or damaging many Allied warships. However, Imperial Japanese Navy (and pre-war U.S.) doctrine stipulated that only fleet battles, not guerre de course (commerce raiding) could win naval campaigns. So, while the US had an unusually long supply line between its west coast and frontline areas, leaving it vulnerable to submarine attack, Japan used its submarines primarily for long-range reconnaissance and only occasionally attacked U.S. supply lines. The Japanese submarine offensive against Australia in 1942 and 1943 also achieved little.

Question: What doctrine stated that only fleet battles could win naval campaigns?
Answer: Imperial Japanese Navy

Question: What was commerce raiding refered to as?
Answer: guerre de course

Question: What was the primary use of Japanese submarines?
Answer: long-range reconnaissance

Question: When was the Japanese submarine offensive against Australia?
Answer: 1942 and 1943

Question: What did the Japanese submarine offensive against Austrailia achieve?
Answer: little
Pacific_War

The U.S. Navy, by contrast, relied on commerce raiding from the outset. However, the problem of Allied forces surrounded in the Philippines, during the early part of 1942, led to diversion of boats to "guerrilla submarine" missions. As well, basing in Australia placed boats under Japanese aerial threat while en route to patrol areas, reducing their effectiveness, and Nimitz relied on submarines for close surveillance of enemy bases. Furthermore, the standard-issue Mark 14 torpedo and its Mark VI exploder both proved defective, problems which were not corrected until September 1943. Worst of all, before the war, an uninformed US Customs officer had seized a copy of the Japanese merchant marine code (called the "maru code" in the USN), not knowing that the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) had broken it. The Japanese promptly changed it, and the new code was not broken again by OP-20G until 1943.

Question: What did the US Navy rely on?
Answer: commerce raiding

Question: What led to guerrilla submarine missions in early 1942?
Answer: Allied forces surrounded in the Philippines

Question: What did Admiral Nimitze rely on submarines for?
Answer: close surveillance of enemy bases

Question: When were the defective torpedo problems of the US Navy corrected?
Answer: September 1943

Question: What was the "maru code"?
Answer: Japanese merchant marine code
Pacific_War

Thus, only in 1944 did the U.S. Navy begin to use its 150 submarines to maximum effect: installing effective shipboard radar, replacing commanders deemed lacking in aggression, and fixing the faults in the torpedoes. Japanese commerce protection was "shiftless beyond description,"[nb 14] and convoys were poorly organized and defended compared to Allied ones, a product of flawed IJN doctrine and training – errors concealed by American faults as much as Japanese overconfidence. The number of U.S. submarines patrols (and sinkings) rose steeply: 350 patrols (180 ships sunk) in 1942, 350 (335) in 1943, and 520 (603) in 1944. By 1945, sinkings of Japanese vessels had decreased because so few targets dared to venture out on the high seas. In all, Allied submarines destroyed 1,200 merchant ships – about five million tons of shipping. Most were small cargo-carriers, but 124 were tankers bringing desperately needed oil from the East Indies. Another 320 were passenger ships and troop transports. At critical stages of the Guadalcanal, Saipan, and Leyte campaigns, thousands of Japanese troops were killed or diverted from where they were needed. Over 200 warships were sunk, ranging from many auxiliaries and destroyers to one battleship and no fewer than eight carriers.

Question: When did the US Navy begin to use it's submarines to maximum effect?
Answer: 1944

Question: How many Japanese ships were sunk in 1942 by United States submarines?
Answer: 180

Question: How many Japanese merchant ships did Allied submarines sink during the war?
Answer: 1,200

Question: How many Japanese carriers were sunk during the war?
Answer: eight

Question: How many Japanese ships were sunk in 1944 by United States submarines?
Answer: 603
Pacific_War

In mid-1944 Japan mobilized over 500,000 men  and launched a massive operation across China under the code name Operation Ichi-Go, their largest offensive of World War II, with the goal of connecting Japanese-controlled territory in China and French Indochina and capturing airbases in southeastern China where American bombers were based. During this time, many of the newest American-trained Chinese units and supplies were forcibly locked in the Burmese theater under Joseph Stilwell set by terms of the Lend-Lease Agreement. Though Japan suffered about 100,000 casualties, these attacks, the biggest in several years, gained much ground for Japan before Chinese forces stopped the incursions in Guangxi. Despite major tactical victories, the operation overall failed to provide Japan with any significant strategic gains. A great majority of the Chinese forces were able to retreat out of the area, and later come back to attack Japanese positions such as Battle of West Hunan. Japan was not any closer in defeating China after this operation, and the constant defeats the Japanese suffered in the Pacific meant that Japan never got the time and resources needed to achieve final victory over China. Operation Ichi-go created a great sense of social confusion in the areas of China that it affected. Chinese Communist guerrillas were able to exploit this confusion to gain influence and control of greater areas of the countryside in the aftermath of Ichi-go.

Question: What was the code name for the mid-1944 offensive across China?
Answer: Operation Ichi-Go

Question: What was the largest Japanese offensive in World War II?
Answer: Operation Ichi-Go

Question: Where did the Chinese stop the Operation Ichi-Go incursion?
Answer: Guangxi

Question: Who was able to take advantage of the social confusion created by Operation Ichi-Go?
Answer: Chinese Communist guerrillas

Question: How many casualties did the Japanese suffer during Operation Ichi-Go?
Answer: about 100,000
Pacific_War

After the Allied setbacks in 1943, the South East Asia command prepared to launch offensives into Burma on several fronts. In the first months of 1944, the Chinese and American troops of the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC), commanded by the American Joseph Stilwell, began extending the Ledo Road from India into northern Burma, while the XV Corps began an advance along the coast in the Arakan Province. In February 1944 the Japanese mounted a local counter-attack in the Arakan. After early Japanese success, this counter-attack was defeated when the Indian divisions of XV Corps stood firm, relying on aircraft to drop supplies to isolated forward units until reserve divisions could relieve them.

Question: What command prepared offensives into Burma after the Allied setbacks in 1943?
Answer: South East Asia command

Question: Who led Chinese and American troops for NCAC?
Answer: Joseph Stilwell

Question: What road did the NCAC extend into northern Burma?
Answer: Ledo Road

Question: Who advanced aling the Arakan Province coast?
Answer: XV Corps

Question: Who did aircraft drop supplies to isolated units until they could be relieved?
Answer: XV Corps
Pacific_War

The Japanese responded to the Allied attacks by launching an offensive of their own into India in the middle of March, across the mountainous and densely forested frontier. This attack, codenamed Operation U-Go, was advocated by Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi, the recently promoted commander of the Japanese Fifteenth Army; Imperial General Headquarters permitted it to proceed, despite misgivings at several intervening headquarters. Although several units of the British Fourteenth Army had to fight their way out of encirclement, by early April they had concentrated around Imphal in Manipur state. A Japanese division which had advanced to Kohima in Nagaland cut the main road to Imphal, but failed to capture the whole of the defences at Kohima. During April, the Japanese attacks against Imphal failed, while fresh Allied formations drove the Japanese from the positions they had captured at Kohima.

Question: What month did the Japanese launch an offensive into India?
Answer: March

Question: Who commanded the Japanese Fifteenth Army in Operation U-Go?
Answer: Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi

Question: Where had the Japanese advanced to?
Answer: Kohima in Nagaland

Question: What did the Japanese cut?
Answer: main road to Imphal

Question: What had the Japanese failed to capture?
Answer: defences at Kohima
Pacific_War

As many Japanese had feared, Japan's supply arrangements could not maintain her forces. Once Mutaguchi's hopes for an early victory were thwarted, his troops, particularly those at Kohima, starved. During May, while Mutaguchi continued to order attacks, the Allies advanced southwards from Kohima and northwards from Imphal. The two Allied attacks met on 22 June, breaking the Japanese siege of Imphal. The Japanese finally broke off the operation on 3 July. They had lost over 50,000 troops, mainly to starvation and disease. This represented the worst defeat suffered by the Japanese Army to that date.[citation needed]

Question: What happened to Mutaguchi's troops?
Answer: starved

Question: When was the Japanese siege of Imphal broken?
Answer: 22 June

Question: How many troops had the Japanese lost?
Answer: 50,000

Question: What was the main cause of death of the Japanese troops?
Answer: starvation and disease
Pacific_War

Although the advance in the Arakan had been halted to release troops and aircraft for the Battle of Imphal, the Americans and Chinese had continued to advance in northern Burma, aided by the Chindits operating against the Japanese lines of communication. In the middle of 1944 the Chinese Expeditionary Force invaded northern Burma from Yunnan province. They captured a fortified position at Mount Song. By the time campaigning ceased during the monsoon rains, the NCAC had secured a vital airfield at Myitkyina (August 1944), which eased the problems of air resupply from India to China over "The Hump".

Question: What battle was the advance in the Arakan halted to release troops for?
Answer: Battle of Imphal

Question: Who aided the Americans and Chinese during the advance in northern Burma?
Answer: Chindits

Question: When did the Chinese invade northern Burma?
Answer: middle of 1944

Question: What fortified position was captured by the Chinese Expeditionary Force?
Answer: Mount Song

Question: What airfield was taken by the NCAC in August, 1944?
Answer: Myitkyina
Pacific_War

It was imperative for Japanese commanders to hold Saipan. The only way to do this was to destroy the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which had 15 fleet carriers and 956 planes, 7 battleships, 28 submarines, and 69 destroyers, as well as several light and heavy cruisers. Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa attacked with nine-tenths of Japan's fighting fleet, which included nine carriers with 473 planes, 5 battleships, several cruisers, and 28 destroyers. Ozawa's pilots were outnumbered 2:1 and their aircraft were becoming or were already obsolete. The Japanese had considerable antiaircraft defenses but lacked proximity fuzes or good radar. With the odds against him, Ozawa devised an appropriate strategy. His planes had greater range because they were not weighed down with protective armor; they could attack at about 480 km (300 mi)[citation needed], and could search a radius of 900 km[citation needed] (560 mi). U.S. Navy Hellcat fighters could only attack within 200 miles (320 km) and only search within a 325-mile (523 km)[citation needed] radius. Ozawa planned to use this advantage by positioning his fleet 300 miles (480 km)[citation needed] out. The Japanese planes would hit the U.S. carriers, land at Guam to refuel, then hit the enemy again when returning to their carriers. Ozawa also counted on about 500 land-based planes at Guam and other islands.

Question: What was it imperative for the Japanese to hold?
Answer: Saipan

Question: How many fleet carriers did the U.S. Fifth Fleet have?
Answer: 15

Question: How many fleet planes did the U.S. Fifth Fleet have?
Answer: 956

Question: What was the search radius of U.S. Navy Hellcat fighters?
Answer: 325-mile

Question: How many carriers did Ozawa have?
Answer: nine
Pacific_War

The forces converged in the largest sea battle of World War II up to that point. Over the previous month American destroyers had destroyed 17 of 25 submarines out of Ozawa's screening force. Repeated U.S. raids destroyed the Japanese land-based planes. Ozawa's main attack lacked coordination, with the Japanese planes arriving at their targets in a staggered sequence. Following a directive from Nimitz, the U.S. carriers all had combat information centers, which interpreted the flow of radar data and radioed interception orders to the Hellcats. The result was later dubbed the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. The few attackers to reach the U.S. fleet encountered massive AA fire with proximity fuzes. Only one American warship was slightly damaged.

Question: How many of Ozawa's submarines were sunk by American destroyers?
Answer: 17

Question: How many American warships were damaged during the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot?
Answer: one

Question: In what sequence did Japanese planes arrive at their targets?
Answer: staggered

Question: Where did the radio interception orders to U.S> Hellcat fighters come from?
Answer: combat information centers

Question: Who gave the directive for all carriers in the US Navy to have combat information centers?
Answer: Nimitz
Pacific_War

On the second day, U.S. reconnaissance planes located Ozawa's fleet, 275 miles (443 km)[citation needed] away, and submarines sank two Japanese carriers. Mitscher launched 230 torpedo planes and dive bombers. He then discovered the enemy was actually another 60 miles (97 km)[citation needed] further off, out of aircraft range (based on a roundtrip flight). Mitscher decided this chance to destroy the Japanese fleet was worth the risk of aircraft losses due to running out of fuel on the return flight. Overall, the U.S. lost 130 planes and 76 aircrew; however, Japan lost 450 planes, three carriers, and 445 aircrew. The Imperial Japanese Navy's carrier force was effectively destroyed.

Question: On what day did U.S> planes located Ozawa's fleet?
Answer: second

Question: How many miles away was Ozawa's fleet located?
Answer: 275

Question: How many planes did the U.S. lose?
Answer: 130

Question: How many planes did Japan lose?
Answer: 450

Question: How many U.S. aircrews were lost?
Answer: 76
Pacific_War

The Battle of Leyte Gulf was arguably the largest naval battle in history and was the largest naval battle of World War II. It was a series of four distinct engagements fought off the Philippine island of Leyte from 23 to 26 October 1944. Leyte Gulf featured the largest battleships ever built, was the last time in history that battleships engaged each other, and was also notable as the first time that kamikaze aircraft were used. Allied victory in the Philippine Sea established Allied air and sea superiority in the western Pacific. Nimitz favored blockading the Philippines and landing on Formosa. This would give the Allies control of the sea routes to Japan from southern Asia, cutting off substantial Japanese garrisons. MacArthur favored an invasion of the Philippines, which also lay across the supply lines to Japan. Roosevelt adjudicated in favor of the Philippines. Meanwhile, Japanese Combined Fleet Chief Toyoda Soemu prepared four plans to cover all Allied offensive scenarios. On 12 October Nimitz launched a carrier raid against Formosa to make sure that planes based there could not intervene in the landings on Leyte. Toyoda put Plan Sho-2 into effect, launching a series of air attacks against the U.S. carriers. However the Japanese lost 600 planes in three days, leaving them without air cover.

Question: What is argued to be the largest naval battle in history?
Answer: Battle of Leyte Gulf

Question: What was the largest naval battle in World War II?
Answer: Battle of Leyte Gulf

Question: When did the Battle of Leyte Gulf occur?
Answer: 23 to 26 October 1944

Question: When did Nimitz launch a carrier raid against Formosa?
Answer: 12 October

Question: What did Nimitz favor blockading?
Answer: Philippines
Pacific_War

Sho-1 called for V. Adm. Jisaburo Ozawa's force to use an apparently vulnerable carrier force to lure the U.S. 3rd Fleet away from Leyte and remove air cover from the Allied landing forces, which would then be attacked from the west by three Japanese forces: V. Adm. Takeo Kurita's force would enter Leyte Gulf and attack the landing forces; R. Adm. Shoji Nishimura's force and V. Adm. Kiyohide Shima's force would act as mobile strike forces. The plan was likely to result in the destruction of one or more of the Japanese forces, but Toyoda justified it by saying that there would be no sense in saving the fleet and losing the Philippines.

Question: What was the namee of the plan where Ozawa's force would lure the U.S. 3rd Fleet away from Leyte?
Answer: Sho-1

Question: Who would enter Leyte Gulf to attack the Allied landing forces?
Answer: V. Adm. Takeo Kurita

Question: How many Japanese forces were likely to be destroyed?
Answer: one or more
Pacific_War

Kurita's "Center Force" consisted of five battleships, 12 cruisers and 13 destroyers. It included the two largest battleships ever built: Yamato and Musashi. As they passed Palawan Island after midnight on 23 October the force was spotted, and U.S. submarines sank two cruisers. On 24 October, as Kurita's force entered the Sibuyan Sea, USS Intrepid and USS Cabot launched 260 planes, which scored hits on several ships. A second wave of planes scored many direct hits on Musashi. A third wave, from USS Enterprise and USS Franklin hit Musashi with 11 bombs and eight torpedoes. Kurita retreated but in the evening turned around to head for San Bernardino Strait. Musashi sank at about 19:30.

Question: How many battleships were in Kurita's "Center Force"?
Answer: five

Question: How many cruisers were in Kurita's "Center Force"?
Answer: 12

Question: How many destroyers were in Kurita's "Center Force"?
Answer: 13

Question: When did Kurita's force enter the Sibuyan Sea?
Answer: 24 October
Pacific_War

Nishimura's force consisted of two battleships, one cruiser and four destroyers. Because they were observing radio silence, Nishimura was unable to synchronize with Shima and Kurita. Nishimura and Shima had failed to even coordinate their plans before the attacks – they were long-time rivals and neither wished to have anything to do with the other. When he entered the narrow Surigao Strait at about 02:00, Shima was 22 miles (40 km) behind him, and Kurita was still in the Sibuyan Sea, several hours from the beaches at Leyte. As they passed Panaon Island, Nishimura's force ran into a trap set for them by the U.S.-Australian 7th Fleet Support Force. R. Adm. Jesse Oldendorf had six battleships, four heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, 29 destroyers and 39 PT boats. To pass the strait and reach the landings, Nishimura had to run the gauntlet. At about 03:00 the Japanese battleship Fusō and three destroyers were hit by torpedoes and Fusō broke in two. At 03:50 the U.S. battleships opened fire. Radar fire control meant they could hit targets from a much greater distance than the Japanese. The battleship Yamashiro, a cruiser and a destroyer were crippled by 16-inch (406 mm) shells; Yamashiro sank at 04:19. Only one of Nishimura's force of seven ships survived the engagement. At 04:25 Shima's force of two cruisers and eight destroyers reached the battle. Seeing Fusō and believing her to be the wrecks of two battleships, Shima ordered a retreat, ending the last battleship-vs-battleship action in history.

Question: How many battleships were in Nishimura's force?
Answer: two

Question: Which Japanese admiral was a  rival of Nishimura?
Answer: Shima

Question: How many miles was Shima's fleet behind Nishimura?
Answer: 22

Question: Who set the trap for the Japanese forces as they sailed by Panaon Island?
Answer: R. Adm. Jesse Oldendorf

Question: How many battleships did the U.S.-Australian 7th Fleet have?
Answer: six
Pacific_War

Ozawa's "Northern Force" had four aircraft carriers, two obsolete battleships partly converted to carriers, three cruisers and nine destroyers. The carriers had only 108 planes. The force was not spotted by the Allies until 16:40 on 24 October. At 20:00 Toyoda ordered all remaining Japanese forces to attack. Halsey saw an opportunity to destroy the remnants of the Japanese carrier force. The U.S. Third Fleet was formidable – nine large carriers, eight light carriers, six battleships, 17 cruisers, 63 destroyers and 1,000 planes – and completely outgunned Ozawa's force. Halsey's ships set out in pursuit of Ozawa just after midnight. U.S. commanders ignored reports that Kurita had turned back towards San Bernardino Strait. They had taken the bait set by Ozawa. On the morning of 25 October Ozawa launched 75 planes. Most were shot down by U.S. fighter patrols. By 08:00 U.S. fighters had destroyed the screen of Japanese fighters and were hitting ships. By evening, they had sunk the carriers Zuikaku, Zuihō, and Chiyoda, and a destroyer. The fourth carrier, Chitose, and a cruiser were disabled and later sank.

Question: How many aircraft carriers were in Ozawa's "Northern Force"?
Answer: four

Question: When did the allies spot Ozawa's "Northern Force"?
Answer: 16:40 on 24 October

Question: How many planes were in the U.S. 3rd Fleet?
Answer: 1,000

Question: How many destroyers were in the U.S. Third Fleet?
Answer: 63

Question: How many cruisers were in the U.S. Third Fleet?
Answer: 17
Pacific_War

Kurita passed through San Bernardino Strait at 03:00 on 25 October and headed along the coast of Samar. The only thing standing in his path were three groups (Taffy 1, 2 and 3) of the Seventh Fleet, commanded by Admiral Thomas Kinkaid. Each group had six escort carriers, with a total of more than 500 planes, and seven or eight destroyers or destroyer escorts (DE). Kinkaid still believed that Lee's force was guarding the north, so the Japanese had the element of surprise when they attacked Taffy 3 at 06:45. Kurita mistook the Taffy carriers for large fleet carriers and thought he had the whole Third Fleet in his sights. Since escort carriers stood little chance against a battleship, Adm. Clifton Sprague directed the carriers of Taffy 3 to turn and flee eastward, hoping that bad visibility would reduce the accuracy of Japanese gunfire, and used his destroyers to divert the Japanese battleships. The destroyers made harassing torpedo attacks against the Japanese. For ten minutes Yamato was caught up in evasive action. Two U.S. destroyers and a DE were sunk, but they had bought enough time for the Taffy groups to launch planes. Taffy 3 turned and fled south, with shells scoring hits on some of its carriers and sinking one of them. The superior speed of the Japanese force allowed it to draw closer and fire on the other two Taffy groups. However, at 09:20 Kurita suddenly turned and retreated north. Signals had disabused him of the notion that he was attacking the Third Fleet, and the longer Kurita continued to engage, the greater the risk of major air strikes. Destroyer attacks had broken the Japanese formations, shattering tactical control. Three of Kurita's heavy cruisers had been sunk and another was too damaged to continue the fight. The Japanese retreated through the San Bernardino Strait, under continuous air attack. The Battle of Leyte Gulf was over; and a large part of the Japanese surface fleet destroyed.

Question: When did Kurita pass through the San Bernardino Strait?
Answer: 03:00 on 25 October

Question: Where did Kurit head after passing through the San Bernardino Strait?
Answer: along the coast of Samar

Question: Admiral Kincaid commanded what three groups of the Seventh Fleet?
Answer: Taffy 1, 2 and 3

Question: What broke the Japanes formations under Kurita?
Answer: Destroyer attacks

Question: How many of Kurita's heavy cruisers were sunk?
Answer: Three
Pacific_War

The battle secured the beachheads of the U.S. Sixth Army on Leyte against attack from the sea, broke the back of Japanese naval power and opened the way for an advance to the Ryukyu Islands in 1945. The only significant Japanese naval operation afterwards was the disastrous Operation Ten-Go in April 1945. Kurita's force had begun the battle with five battleships; when he returned to Japan, only Yamato was combat-worthy. Nishimura's sunken Yamashiro was the last battleship in history to engage another in combat.

Question: What were the Leyte beachheads of the U.S. Sixth Army secured from?
Answer: attack from the sea

Question: When did Operation Ten-Go occur?
Answer: April 1945

Question: How many battleships did Kurita begin Operation Ten-Go with?
Answer: five

Question: What was the last battleship in history to engage in combat with another battleship?
Answer: Yamashiro

Question: Which battleship was still capable of combat when Kurita returned to Japan?
Answer: Yamato
Pacific_War

On 20 October 1944 the U.S. Sixth Army, supported by naval and air bombardment, landed on the favorable eastern shore of Leyte, north of Mindanao. The U.S. Sixth Army continued its advance from the east, as the Japanese rushed reinforcements to the Ormoc Bay area on the western side of the island. While the Sixth Army was reinforced successfully, the U.S. Fifth Air Force was able to devastate the Japanese attempts to resupply. In torrential rains and over difficult terrain, the advance continued across Leyte and the neighboring island of Samar to the north. On 7 December U.S. Army units landed at Ormoc Bay and, after a major land and air battle, cut off the Japanese ability to reinforce and supply Leyte. Although fierce fighting continued on Leyte for months, the U.S. Army was in control.

Question: When did the U.S. Sixth Army land on the eastern shore of Leyte?
Answer: 20 October 1944

Question: Where did the Japanese rush reinforcments to on the western side of Leyte?
Answer: Ormoc Bay area

Question: What force devastated resupply attempts by the Japanese?
Answer: U.S. Fifth Air Force

Question: What was the neighboring island to the north of Leyte.
Answer: Samar

Question: Fighting continued on Leyte for how long?
Answer: months
Pacific_War

On 15 December 1944 landings against minimal resistance were made on the southern beaches of the island of Mindoro, a key location in the planned Lingayen Gulf operations, in support of major landings scheduled on Luzon. On 9 January 1945, on the south shore of Lingayen Gulf on the western coast of Luzon, General Krueger's Sixth Army landed his first units. Almost 175,000 men followed across the twenty-mile (32 km) beachhead within a few days. With heavy air support, Army units pushed inland, taking Clark Field, 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Manila, in the last week of January.

Question: Landings were made on the beaches of what island on December 15, 1944?
Answer: Mindoro

Question: Lingayen Gulf operations supported what landings?
Answer: Luzon

Question: Who led the Sixth Army?
Answer: General Krueger

Question: Clark field was how many miles northwest of Manila?
Answer: 40
Pacific_War

Palawan Island, between Borneo and Mindoro, the fifth largest and western-most Philippine Island, was invaded on 28 February with landings of the Eighth Army at Puerto Princesa. The Japanese put up little direct defense of Palawan, but cleaning up pockets of Japanese resistance lasted until late April, as the Japanese used their common tactic of withdrawing into the mountain jungles, dispersed as small units. Throughout the Philippines, U.S. forces were aided by Filipino guerrillas to find and dispatch the holdouts.

Question: What island was between Borneo and Mindoro?
Answer: Palawan

Question: What island was invaded by the Eighth Army on February 28?
Answer: Palawan

Question: Where did the Eighth Army land?
Answer: Puerto Princesa

Question: Who aided U.S. forces in finding Japanese holdouts in the Philippines?
Answer: Filipino guerrillas

Question: What is the western-most Philippine island?
Answer: Palawan
Pacific_War

The battle of Iwo Jima ("Operation Detachment") in February 1945 was one of the bloodiest battles fought by the Americans in the Pacific War. Iwo Jima was an 8 sq mile (21 km2) island situated halfway between Tokyo and the Mariana Islands. Holland Smith, the commander of the invasion force, aimed to capture the island, and utilize its three airfields as bases to carry out air attacks against the Home Islands. Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the commander of the island's defense, knew that he could not win the battle, but he hoped to make the Americans suffer far more than they could endure.

Question: What was "Operation Detachment"?
Answer: battle of Iwo Jima

Question: When did "Operation Detachment" occur?
Answer: February 1945

Question: How many square miles is the island of Iwo Jima?
Answer: 8

Question: Iwo Jima is halfway between the Mariana Islands and what city?
Answer: Tokyo

Question: How many airfields were on Iwo Jima?
Answer: three
Pacific_War

From early 1944 until the days leading up to the invasion, Kuribayashi transformed the island into a massive network of bunkers, hidden guns, and 11 mi (18 km) of underground tunnels. The heavy American naval and air bombardment did little but drive the Japanese further underground, making their positions impervious to enemy fire. Their pillboxes and bunkers were all connected so that if one was knocked out, it could be reoccupied again. The network of bunkers and pillboxes greatly favored the defender.

Question: How many miles of hidden tunnel were on the island?
Answer: 11

Question: Who transformed the island into a fortress?
Answer: Kuribayashi

Question: What were the pillboxes and bunkers connected by?
Answer: underground tunnels

Question: Who did the network of fortifications on the island favor?
Answer: the defender
Pacific_War

Starting in mid-June 1944, Iwo Jima came under sustained aerial bombardment and naval artillery fire. However, Kuribayashi's hidden guns and defenses survived the constant bombardment virtually unscathed. On 19 February 1945, some 30,000 men of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions landed on the southeast coast of Iwo, just under Mount Suribachi; where most of the island's defenses were concentrated. For some time, they did not come under fire. This was part of Kuribayashi's plan to hold fire until the landing beaches were full. As soon as the Marines pushed inland to a line of enemy bunkers, they came under devastating machine gun and artillery fire which cut down many of the men. By the end of the day, the Marines reached the west coast of the island, but their losses were appalling; almost 2,000 men killed or wounded.

Question: When did Iwo Jima come under bombardment?
Answer: mid-June 1944

Question: How many men landed on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945?
Answer: some 30,000

Question: What was the name of the mountain on Iwo Jima?
Answer: Mount Suribachi

Question: How many U.S. Marines were killed by the time thhey reached the west coast of the island?
Answer: almost 2,000