After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese were very successful in the Pacific. They controlled the waters from the Gilbert and Solomon Islands to Asia's mainland, about 4500 miles by March 1942. Only the southern part of New Guinea and the Batan peninsula of Luzon in the Philippines were beyond their control. The Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Thailand, and Burma were also part of their acquisition. While destroying their enemy's navies, the Japanese lost no ships larger than a destroyer.
             The Allies decided on a more active defense policy to prevent further loses in the Pacific.
             Holding onto their remaining bases was a major concern if they were going to go on the offensive against the Nazis. Hawaii and Samoa were their key bases in protecting the seas from the US to Australia. The Japanese tended to use their few submarines to attack warships, so allied supply convoys were seldom attacked.
             During the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US was fortunate to have aircraft carriers at sea. The navy used these carriers for nuisance raids on Japanese held islands such as Wake. General James Doolittle launched an attack by B-25s on the Japanese capital, Tokyo. Without causing extensive damage, the Japanese people were given a hint of what was to come, and it boosted American morale.
             The Japanese established a "defensive perimeter" running from the Aleutian Islands through Midway, Wake, the Marshalls, the Gilberts, Figi, Samoa to New Guinea and the Solomons in the hopes of stopping air raids similar to the one on Tokyo. They hoped to disrupt American supply convoys as well. Planes patroled the waters between the islands, and the Japanese navy was centered ready togo anywhere they were needed. Although this would help them to save face, it would later be known as a "victory disease."
             The Japanese navy, under the skilled leadership of Admiral Yamamoto hoped for a victory at the Battle of Coral Sea. In 194...