Guadalcanal campaign
On 7 December 1941, Japanese forces attacked the neutral United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  The attack killed almost 2,500 people and damaged much of the US battleship fleet, starting a war between the two nations next day. The initial goals of Japanese leaders were to destroy the US Navy, seize lands rich in natural resources, and establish strategic military bases to defend Japan's empire in the Pacific Ocean and Asia.  To do this, Japanese forces captured the Philippines, Thailand, Malaya, Singapore, Burma, the Dutch East Indies, and many small islands.  Joining the U.S. in the war against Japan were the rest of the Allied powers, several of whom, including the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands had also been attacked by Japan.