Stunning colorized pictures show the brutal conditions faced by US soldiers in the Pacific War against Japanese troops who fought to the death

Guam and Wake Island fell to the Japanese in December 1941, followed in early 1942 by the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, and Burma. The Japanese retreat began after the US naval victory in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, which saw the Japanese fleet suffer heavy losses

The brutal conditions faced by US soldiers fighting in the Pacific during World War Two has been brought to life in color.

The fascinating images show men being stretchered away to hospital, captured Japanese prisoners of war crammed onto a boat and men fighting at Okinawa.

One picture shows a group of soldiers on the shores of Tarawa, whilst another shows the deceased being taken away covered by the American flag.

The images were brought to life by 54-year-old electrician Royston Leonard from Cardiff, Wales.

He said: 'The Japanese code was to not surrender and to fight to the death which was their way to die in battle with honor, almost no prisoners were taken unless they were badly injured and could no longer fight.

'I've seen a lot of photos of the European war in color but almost nothing from the Pacific War. The Japanese held every inch of every island they were on and the American soldiers had to fight for every inch that was taken as nothing was given for free.

The unexpected Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 signalled the start of the Pacific War and the USA's involvement in World War Two. There were around 36 million casualties during the Pacific War.

More than three million American troops were called into action during the Pacific War, and an estimated 400,000 were killed

War began in the Pacific in 1937, when Japan invaded China, hoping to dominate the whole of Southeast Asia. In 1940 Japan joined the Axis alliance with Germany and Italy when it signed the Tripartite Pact. The following year a former army general, Hideki Tojo, became Prime Minister, and opted to launch an attack on the United States

Overall there an estimated 36 million casualties of the War in Pacific, which saw Allied forces battle against Japan, Germany and Italy

The Phillipines were liberated in late 1944 by American forces, and the US began large scale air attacks on the Japanese mainland. Burma was recaptured by British forces, with the Allies facing an enemy whose soldiers considered it an honor to die in battle and not surrender

The images were brought to life by 54-year-old electrician Royston Leonard from Cardiff, Wales, who said that although color has been added to numerous photographs from the war in Europe, there were very few such images of the war in the Pacific

Mr Leonard said: 'The Japanese code was to not surrender and to fight to the death which was their way to die in battle with honor, almost no prisoners were taken unless they were badly injured and could no longer fight'