What were some battles that led up to the US being able to get within bombing range of Japan.

In essence,
every battle after Pearl Harbor (or at least after the Philippines had been lost) can be seen as
a battle that helped to get the US within bomber range of Japan.  Having been pushed out of the
Philippines and Guam, the US was trying first to prevent the Japanese from expanding any further
and then to push them back towards the home islands.

There were, however,
a...