"use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. The Battle of Kwajalein, the opening of Marshall Islands Campaign, was fought from January 29 to February 3, 1944. The triumph opened the way for the subsequent capture of Eniwetok and a campaign against the Marianas.Â. Eniwetok Island was a long, fairly thin island. Invasion of the Kwajalein Atolls: January 31-February 7, 1944 (Codename: Operation Flintlock) Not unlike Operation Galvanic, the overall command of the invasion of Kwajalein, Majuro, and Roi-Namu Island Atolls on January 31, 1944 was with Commander Fifth Fleet, Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, USN. On January 30, 1944, after a massive air and naval bombardment lasting some two months, a U.S. Marine and Army amphibious assault force of 85,000 men and some 300 warships) approached the Marshall Islands. Considered part of the outer ring of Japanese territory, planners in Tokyo decided after the loss of the Solomons and New Guinea that the islands were expendable. The attack was also aided by the weak nature of the Japanese defenses which could not be built in-depth due to the island's narrowness. Fighting continued for four days with the Japanese mounting nightly counterattacks. Kwajalein Island and the nearby islets of Roi and Namur were the first of the Marshall Islands to be captured by U.S. troops, and would allow the Pacific Fleet to advance its planned assault on the islands and its drive towards the Philippines and the Japanese home islands. The Battle of Kwajaleinwas fought as part of the Pacific campaignof World War II. Allied losses in the battle numbered 372 killed and 1,592 wounded. Attacking Roi-Namur on February 1, they succeeded in securing the airfield on Roi that day and eliminated Japanese resistance on Namur the next day. February 1, 2013 marks the sixty-ninth anniversary of Operation FLINTLOCK, the battle to seize the Marshall Islands from the Japanese. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The Battle of Kwajalein occurred January 31 to February 3, 1944 in the Pacific Theater of World War II (1939 to 1945). Operation Flintlock. The battle of Eniwetok (18-21 February 1944) was the second phase in the American conquest of Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands (Operation Catchpole). In the wake of the US victory at Tarawa in November 1943, Allied forces continued their "island-hopping" campaign by moving against Japanese positions in the Marshall Islands. First off, I am a little surprised at the lack of books written on the battle for Kwajalein. Moving forward from victories in the Solomons and Gilbert Islands in 1943, Allied forces sought to penetrate the next ring of Japanese defenses in the central Pacific. Kwajalein, in the Ralik (western) chain of the Marshalls, was the world’s largest coral atoll, numbering some 90 islets (with a total land area of six square miles) surrounding a 655-square-mile lagoon. All Rights Reserved. In November 1943, American airstrikes began whittling down Akiyama's airpower, destroying 71 aircraft. Pummeling the island, the bombardment allowed the 7th Infantry to land and easily overcome the Japanese resistance. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-kwajalein. In 1943, after Japan had scored victory after victory during the first months of war in the Pacific, Admiral Chester Nimitz proposed an aggressive counteroffensive strategy consisting of a series of amphibious assaults on selected Japanese-held islands on the way to the Philippines and on towards Japan itself. In addition, the victories intensified the isolation of those Japanese island outposts that had been skipped in the Allied island-hopping campaign, including Wake Island, one of the first islands Japan had captured in the beginning stages of the war. The battle for Kwajalein would prove more difficult, as the 7th Infantry pounded the Japanese garrison there for three days until the island was declared secure on February 4. With this in mind, what troops were available were shifted to the area to make the islands' capture as costly as possible. Five-Night Event Premieres November 15 at 9/8c. Between Tarawa and Luzon, the main island of the Philippines, were 2,000 miles of sea, plus more than a thousand scattered atolls, many of them fortified with Japanese troops. The Marshall Islands and the U.S. “Island-Hopping” Strategy. A single Marine regiment captured Roi on that first day, while Namur fell by noon of the second day. After the capture of Makin and Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, the next step in the United States Navy’s campaign in the central Pacific was the Marshall Islands. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Did you know? The largest single loss of life in the battle occurred when a Marine threw a satchel charge into a bunker containing torpedo warheads. In the Battle of Tarawa (November 20-23, 1943) during World War II (1939-45), the U.S. began its Central Pacific Campaign against Japan by seizing the heavily fortified, Japanese-held island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilian personnel) often called by the shortened name, Kwaj / k w ɑː dʒ /. This operation was conducted by the V Amphibious Corps Marine Reconnaissance Company and 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry.Â. Troop Transport take soldiers to beach front. The Battle of Kwajalein occurred January 31 to February 3, 1944 in the Pacific Theater of World War II (1939 to 1945). Moving forward van overwinningen in de Solomons en Gilbert-eilanden in 1943, geallieerde troepen zocht naar de volgende ring van de Japanse verdediging in de centrale Stille Oceaan te dringen. These were partially replaced over the next several weeks by reinforcements flown in from Truk. On February 1, the 7th Infantry (Army) Division landed on Kwajalein Island, while the 4th Marine Division landed on the twin islands of Roi and Namur, 45 miles to the north. In addition, many of Akiyama's troops were labor/construction details or naval forces with little ground combat training. This saw B-24 Liberators stage through Baker Island to bomb a variety of strategic targets including the airfield on Mili. In assessing the outcome at Kwajalein, Allied planners were pleased to find that the tactical changes made after the bloody assault on Tarawa had bore fruit and plans were made to attack Eniwetok Atoll on February 17. The "island-hopping" strategy of 1943 represented a compromise between two major U.S. commanders: General Douglas MacArthur, who pushed for the immediate recapture of the Philippines (taken by the Japanese in 1942) and Nimitz, who advocated bypassing the Philippines for weaker-held positions in the Pacific. Marine Reconnaissance Company and 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry. result, Akiyama could only muster around 4,000 effective against! To bombardment by ships and planes through Baker Island to bomb a variety of strategic targets including the on. Pacific campaignof World War I am a little surprised at the lack of books written on battle. “ Island-Hopping ” Strategy February 1, 2013 marks the sixty-ninth anniversary operation... 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