December 7, 1941 is the day that will live in infamy. The war that followed crossed tens of thousands of miles in the pacific and cost hundreds of thousands of lives. ROAD TO IWO JIMA - World War II in the Pacific Vol 1 1941-1943 is the first half of the story of those bloody battles.Episodes:1. Rising Sun. For both America and Japan, the road to Pearl Harbour was long but straight and the date that will live in infamy was almost a hundred years in the dawning. The planes and submarines that attached Pearl Harbour were is a very real sense launched 88 years earlier. This is the story of that long road to war.2. Pearl HarbourDecember 7, 1941" Just before dawn 181 Japanese fighters and bombers prepare to take off from 6 aircraft carriers. They are the first wave in what will be a massive and devastating surprise attack on Pearl Harbour. From training in Japan to the last round fired, this is the complete story of the Pearl Harbour attack.3. Dark DaysAdmiral Nagumo instead of ordering a 3rd attack on Peal Harbour orders his carriers to stow their planes and come about for the return trip to Japan. By not staying to exploit their victory the Japanese left the Americans in better shape than they realised. For the next 72 hours Japan would unleash their military forces all across the Pacific. This is the story of the days of Japanese victory and America's response.4. Guadalcanal & The SolomonsAfter the attack at Pearl Harbour Japan appeared unstoppable. They seized a widespread network of islands in the Pacific and pushed southeast to New Guineas and the Solomon Islands. The first clear opportunity for the Allies to delivery a counterstroke came with the battle in the Solomons on Guadalcanal. From then on the Japanese were on the defensive.5. New GuineaAllied operations in New Guinea were essential to the liberation of the Philippine Islands from Japanese occupation. Despite defeats and heavy loosed in the continuing struggle for Guadalcanal the Japanese still held air, naval and ground strength in the Southwest Pacific. With these advantages they planned to strike for Port Moresby. This is the story of that battle.6. Tarawa & MakinIn order to set up forward air bases capable of supporting operations across the mid Pacific the US needed to take the Marianas Islands however the battle had to start far to the east at Tarawa. Tarawa was the first major amphibious assault in the Pacific in which troops faced sustained opposition on the beach. The casualties on both sides were extremely high for such a small island. Only 17 Japanese were alive at the end of the battle.