_The 37mm gun provided invaluable direct fire support throughout the
campaigns of the Pacific War. Here, one of the guns takes on a stubborn
Japanese position on Kwajalein, reinforcing the ability of riflemen to
deal with the enemy._]
[Illustration: _Army soldiers lie warily on the ground as their
flamethrower pours a sheet of fire on a Japanese pillbox. Since there
were often multiple exits from the strongpoints, these soldiers are on
the alert for any of the enemy who may try to escape._
Department of Defense Photo (Army) 212770
]
With these advances and some direct fire from self-propelled 105mm
guns against concrete pillboxes, the whole of Engebi had been overrun
by the Marines by the afternoon of D plus 1. On the following morning
the American flag was raised to the sound of a Marine playing “To
the Colors” on a captured Japanese bugle. An engineer company,
however, spent a busy day using flamethrowers and demolitions to mop
up by-passed enemy soldiers. More than 1,200 Japanese, Koreans, and
Okinawans were on Engebi, and only 19 surrendered.
The main action now shifted quickly on D plus 2 to the attack on
Eniwetok Island. This mission was assigned to the 1st and 3d Battalions
of the Army’s 106th Infantry Regiment. When they landed, their advance
was slow. Only 204 tons of naval gunfire rounds (compared to the 1,179
tons which had plastered Engebi) hit Eniwetok. “Spider hole” defenses
held up their advance. A steep bluff blocked the planned inland advance
of their LVTAs, resulting in a traffic jam on the beaches. Less than an
hour after the initial landing, General Watson felt obliged to radio
Colonel Russell G. Ayers, commanding the 106th, “Push your attack.”
Things were clearly not going as planned, for General Watson had hoped
to secure Eniwetok quickly, and then have the battalions of the 106th
immediately ready for an attack on the final objective, Parry Island.
To speed the progress on Eniwetok, the reserve troops, the 3d Battalion
of the 22d Marines, were ordered to land early in the afternoon. Moving
forward, they were soon in heavy combat. Japanese soldiers who had
been by-passed kept up their harassing fire; permission to bring the
battalions half-track 75mm cannon ashore was flatly denied Colonel
Ayers. The Marines had to take responsibility for clearing two-thirds
of the southern zone on the island. Tanks were ashore but “not
available,” and coconut log emplacements provided the Japanese with
strong defensive positions.
[Illustration: