Kwajalein and Eniwetok

Kwajalein and Eniwetok

Battered Marine at Kwajalein

A Battered Marine at Kwajalein

The Marshall Islands are northwest of the Gilberts.It consists of hundreds of islands and coral atoll that are scattered over some 400,000 square miles of ocean.Admiral Nimitz planned to bypass all of the smaller islands and take on the Kwajalein atoll.Vice Admiral Spruance and General Smith, who both had led the bloody campaign in the Gilberts, led this operation.They both thought that it was too daring, as it was close to Truk, a major Japanese naval base.
The Marshalls were not too well defended.In September 1943, as part of their new defensive stratagy, Japanese GHQ decided that the Marshalls should be an outpost, to warn of any enemy attack force.The Allies realized this, but it had to be taken, as it was a major part of the road to Japan.
The American assualt troops were divided into two groups.The first group would attack the inlets off of Kwajalein, Roi and Namur, while the other would attack the island itself from the south.Between December 1943 and January 1944, the Marshalls were subject to constant air bombardment.
The Americans were ready to attack.With 54,000 assualt troops waiting to go ashore, four carrier group, and almost a hundred other warships.On January 31st, the Marines took Majuro, which provided the Americans with an excellent naval anchorage for bombarding Kwajalein.The next day, the U.S. ships began their shelling, firing over 36,000 shells at the Japanese.After the shelling, the Japanese only had 2200 combat-trained troops to fight the Marines.The attack took the Imperial GHQ totally by surprise and although they resisted fiercely, launching counterattacks against the Marines without artillary support, the atoll fell within a week.The Marines lossed 373 men in the fight for Kwajalein.
After Kwajalein fell, Spruance's 5th Fleet raided Truk.Although they failed to catch Admiral Koga's carriers there, they did sink two cruisers and four destroyers and destroyed over 130,000 tons of shipping.This attack also forced the Japanese to move their air forces in the Carolines to the Bismarcks, further south.But there was another reason for these raids.The Japanese now knew about the attack on Kwajalein and expected another one, but they didn't know where.The Americans used the raids as a diversion from the landing at Eniwetok Atoll.8000 Marines went ashore and took the island in four days.They lost 339 men, but the Japanese suffered worse.They lost 2677.

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