The Strategic Defensive and Tactical Offensive[2]
By August 1942 the Allies had established a series of defensive island
bases, along an arc reaching from Honolulu to Sydney, which served
as steppingstones for the supply system and the springboard for
later offensive operations. The Japanese threat to these islands in
late summer 1942 put the Allies on the tactical offensive, strategic
defensive. Rabaul, the principal Japanese base in the Southwest
Pacific, became the objective of a two-pronged Allied counterattack.
One prong, starting with Guadalcanal, was directed up the chain of
Solomons; the other prong, starting from Port Moresby, was directed
through northeastern New Guinea toward New Britain.
[2] See John Miller, jr., _Guadalcanal: The First Offensive_,
Washington, D.C., 1949 and _Cartwheel: The Reduction of Rabaul_,
Washington, D.C. 1959; Samuel Milner, _Victory in Papua_, Washington,
D.C., 1957; and Philip A. Crowl and Edmund G. Love, _The Seizure of the
Gilberts and Marshalls_, Washington, D.C., 1955, in the series _U.S.
ARMY IN WORLD WAR II._
The Guadalcanal Campaign, first in the Solomon ladder, was undertaken
with extremely limited means. Ground forces, aided by the Navy and
Air Forces, fought tenaciously, bringing the campaign to an end on 21
February 1943, a little over six months after its inception. Advancing
further up the Solomon chain, the Allies made unopposed landings in the
Russells on 21 February. Construction of airstrips, a radar station, a
motor torpedo boat base, and facilities to accommodate a large quantity
of supplies was immediately undertaken there.
In preparation for the assault on the Munda airfield, New Georgia,
combat troops underwent rigorous training during the following months.
Before this assault, Rendova was occupied on 30 June against only light
opposition. This island provided gun positions and a staging point
for the thrust against Munda Point two days later. Munda airfield
was captured on 5 August and by the 25th all organized resistance
on New Georgia Island ceased. The next objective was Vella Lavella
where landings were made on the southern end of the island on 15
August without opposition. Simultaneously, the lesser islands in the
New Georgia group were occupied and the enemy evacuated Vella Lavella
during the night of 6-7 October. The New Georgia group operation was
closed on 15 October.
On the night of 26-27 October 1943, New Zealand troops landed on the
Treasury Islands which were to be used as a staging area for landing
craft. On 28 October a U.S. Marine battalion executed diversionary
landings on Choiseul in preparation for a surprise attack at
Bougainville on 1 November. By the end of the year a naval base and
three airfields had become operational on Bougainville. No further
offensive action was undertaken by U.S. forces on the island since the
American troops expected to be replaced by Australian units. Naval
engagements and air attacks throughout this entire period effected
considerable damage on the enemy.
In the latter part of September 1942, nearly two months after the
invasion of Guadalcanal, the initial Allied blow of the second prong
was made in Papua. On 16 September the enemy advance in Papua was
halted at a point less than 20 miles from Port Moresby where it was met
by stiffened Australian resistance. American troops were rushed into
Port Moresby by plane and boat, and a counter-attack was launched in
the last days of September. The enemy fell back to Buna and, while the
Australian forces laboriously made their way over the steep mountain
trails, American troops were flown overland toward Jaure. During this
campaign U.S. troops in New Guinea learned the bitter lessons of jungle
warfare by actual experience. By 23 January 1943 organized resistance
had been wiped out, ending the Papua Campaign.
While the ground forces were fighting the enemy in Papua, U.S. aircraft
struck at his bases at Salamaua, Lae, Finschhafen, Madang, and Wewak in
Northeast New Guinea. In the latter part of January, American troops
followed by Australian troops, were flown over the mountains to engage
the enemy at threatened points along his advance from his defense
bases. Fighting over the rugged terrain in this area was slow and
costly. Salamaua was overrun on 12 September, and when troops entered
Lae on 16 September the enemy had fled into the hills to the north. To
prevent the Japanese from attempting further advances between September
and December, pressure was maintained by the Allies in a slow move
toward Madang on the northeast coast of New Guinea.
New moves to isolate Rabaul started on 15 December, when troops landed
on Arawe on the southern coast of New Britain, and on 26 December, when
landings were made on both sides of Cape Gloucester. At the end of the
year Rabaul was under constant air attack by U.S. aircraft, and the
enemy’s line of communication from Rabaul to the Solomon-New Guinea
area was severed.
Meanwhile, the plan of operation against the Japanese in the Aleutians
was to attack Attu in an attempt to compel them to evacuate Kiska. Attu
was invaded on 11 May 1943 and for eighteen days a bitter and bloody
fight ensued. The fighting ended on 30 May but mopping-up operations
continued for several days. When Kiska was invaded on 15 August the
island was deserted; the Japanese had withdrawn.
While the enemy was fully occupied in the Southwest Pacific, an
invasion of the Gilbert Islands was made on the Makin and Tarawa Atolls
on 20 November. This was the first in a series of moves to recover
Japanese-held bases that could be used to further the Allied advance
toward the heart of the Japanese Empire. Only moderate opposition was
met at Makin and by evening of the 23d its capture was complete. At
Tarawa much stronger resistance was encountered but was destroyed by
the 24th, except for isolated groups which were later eliminated. Other
islands in both atolls were occupied during the following days.
[Illustration: SOLOMON ISLANDS]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: HENDERSON FIELD in the Lunga area, Guadalcanal, as it
appeared in November 1943. Lunga River can be seen in right foreground.
The airfield, in the process of being built by the Japanese in the
summer of 1942, was the immediate objective of the marines who landed
on the island on 7 August 1942. This broad, level, coastal plain on
the north coast of Guadalcanal was the only territory in the southern
Solomons offering terrain suitable for the construction of large
airfields.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: SOUTHWEST PORTION OF FLORIDA ISLAND, looking across
Gavutu Harbour toward the northwest part of Florida. The immediate
objectives in the Guadalcanal Campaign were the Tulagi-Gavutu-Tanambogo
area, the largest and best developed anchorage in the southern
Solomons, and the nearly completed airfield on Guadalcanal. The
Guadalcanal Campaign was the first amphibious offensive operation
launched by the United States in World War II.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: RESULTS OF AIR AND NAVAL BOMBARDMENT on Tanambogo, which
the Marines requested in order to halt enemy fire hindering their
progress on Gavutu. Gavutu Island, on left, is connected with Tanambogo
by a stone causeway and is about a mile and three quarters to the east
of Tulagi Island. These islands form the western side of Gavutu Harbour
where the Japanese had developed a seaplane base. On 7 August 1942,
concurrent with landings on Guadalcanal, marines landed on Tulagi,
Gavutu, and Florida Islands.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: TROOPS LANDING ON FLORIDA ISLAND. Occupation of the
island group, Tulagi and its satellites, was accomplished in three
days. The enemy garrisons were wiped out except for about 70 survivors
who made their way to Florida Island. Mopping-up operations on Florida
continued for a few weeks.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: MORTAR CREW IN ACTION on Guadalcanal. The mortar is
an 81-mm. M1 on mount M1. On the evening of 8 August, the airfield
on Guadalcanal was in U.S. hands. During the following weeks enemy
attempts to retake the airfield were repulsed. On 7 October, six Marine
battalions attacked westward to prevent the enemy from establishing
positions on the east bank of the Matanikau River.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: MARINES ON GUADALCANAL in October 1942 firing a 75-mm.
pack howitzer M1A1 mounted on carriage M8. Although this weapon was
primarily used for operations in mountainous terrain, it was capable of
engaging antitank targets.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: USS _WASP_ lists to starboard, 15 September 1942, as
smoke billows from the ship. Several men and a plane can be seen at the
bow of the ship. This aircraft carrier, patrolling near Guadalcanal,
was struck by three torpedoes from enemy submarines. Despite efforts of
her crew, fires and explosions made such a shambles of the ship that
she had to be sunk by her own men.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: FLYING FORTRESS ON A SORTIE over Japanese installations
on Gizo Island in October 1942. Smoke from bomb strikes can be seen in
the background. This raid was part of a series of air attacks on the
enemy during the fight for Guadalcanal. Most of the B-17’s came from
Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. (Boeing Flying Fortress heavy bomber
B-17.)]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: NAVAL-AIR ACTION IN THE SOLOMONS, October 1942. The
USS _Hornet_ after a Japanese dive bomber hit the signal deck; note
Japanese dive bomber over the ship and the Japanese torpedo bombing
plane on left (top). The USS _Enterprise_, damaged during the one-day
battle of Santa Cruz when a great Japanese task force advancing toward
Guadalcanal was intercepted by a much weaker American task force
(bottom). The American ships were forced to withdraw but the enemy
turned and retired to the north instead of pursuing them.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: DAMAGE AT HENDERSON FIELD following the bombardment
of 13 and 14 October 1942 by enemy bombers and field artillery which
severely damaged the runways and destroyed more than fifty planes.
Japanese bombing at first was amazingly accurate. Smoking ruins are all
that remain of an airplane hangar after a direct hit (top). Marines
extinguish fire destroying a burning Grumman Wildcat fighter by the
bucket brigade method (bottom). The raid also destroyed most of the
ready ammunition available at the time.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: ARMY TROOPS LANDING ON GUADALCANAL to reinforce the
marines. B-17 giving protection to the landing forces; landing craft
in left foreground is LCP(L), in the right foreground is LCP(R) (top).
Four 37-mm. M3 antitank guns on the beach (bottom). On 13 October
sorely needed reinforcements for the malaria-ridden marines started to
arrive, and by the end of the year U.S. forces were strong enough to
begin the final offensive on the island.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: NEAR THE FRONT LINES, December 1942. Natives of
Guadalcanal, employed by the Army, carry supplies to the fighting lines
(top); 37-mm. antitank gun M3 in an emplacement guarding a bridge over
the Matanikau River (bottom). The Japanese situation on the island had
deteriorated rapidly by this time, partly because of the costly defeats
suffered while attempting to bring in supplies and replacements.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: JAPANESE TRANSPORTS AFIRE off the coast of Guadalcanal,
15 November 1942. A group of eleven transports proceeding to
Guadalcanal were intercepted by aircraft from Henderson Field. Seven
ships were sunk or gutted by fire. Four were damaged and were later
destroyed near Tassafaronga Point where they had been beached.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: SURVIVORS OF THE SS _PRESIDENT COOLIDGE_. This transport
struck an Allied mine in Pallikula Bay. Espiritu Santo Island, 26
October 1942. Of the 4,000 troops aboard, only two men were lost;
however, vitally needed equipment and stores went to the bottom with
the ship.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: MUDDY TRAIL. Trails such as this made the use of
chains on wheeled vehicles imperative (top). Engineers, constructing
a heavy-traffic bridge across the Matanikau River, lay planking over
framework of palm tree logs (bottom). Advance on Guadalcanal was
difficult and slow. Troops cleared the areas from which the final drive
was to begin and pressure slowly increased against the enemy until the
offensive was in full swing.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: JEEPS ON NARROW TRAIL. This trail, having many grades
approaching 40 degrees, was slick and dangerous after heavy rains and
was of little use for heavier vehicles.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: BIVOUAC NEAR FRONT LINE, 15 January 1943. Note the use
of steel helmets as cooking vessels. Fighting during the first part
of the month had been bitter; the enemy had taken advantage of the
numerous north-south ridges and streams to establish a strong defensive
position. On the 15th a loud speaker was set up on this hill and the
Japanese were told to send an officer to arrange for a surrender. There
was no response to the order.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: FIELD TELEPHONE, still in working order after being
hit by a shell fragment when a Japanese “knee-mortar” shell landed
six feet away. In the absence of reliable radio communications, wire
communications were heavily relied upon. The EE-8 field telephone and
the sound-powered telephone were used for long and short distances,
respectively.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: MOVING SUPPLIES FORWARD. Native carriers bringing
supplies through the jungles into the hills (top); boat filled with
radio equipment being pushed through a narrow, shallow portion of the
Matanikau River. The boat line established on this river was called the
“Pusha Maru” (bottom). The supplies first had to be brought by boat up
the shallow river and then carried over the trails which were passable
only for men on foot. During January the enemy situation became
hopeless and some senior Japanese commanders began deserting their
troops.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: EVACUATING CASUALTIES FROM THE FRONT LINES. The jeep,
converted into an ambulance used to transport patients to the rear
areas, could carry three litters and one sitting patient (top).
Casualties being unloaded near new bridge construction. The first
part of their trip was in flat bottom boats pulled through shallow
rapids; the latter part was made in outboard motor boats (bottom). The
procedure for moving supplies forward for the most part was reversed
for the evacuation of the wounded.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: FIRE RESULTING FROM ENEMY BOMBS which fell into a
bivouac area near a U.S. division headquarters on 22 January 1943. In
mid-January ground force units attacked Mount Austen, the southern
anchor of the enemy’s position. While some Army units pushed through
the jungle in an enveloping maneuver designed to cut off the enemy
at Kokumbona, other Marine and Army units advanced along the coastal
road.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: ROAD LEADING TO FRONT LINE FROM BIVOUAC AREA (top).
Supply dump which was set up on Kokumbona beach after pushing the enemy
back; note shell and bomb craters which were used as foxholes by the
troops (bottom). The enveloping movement trapped several enemy units at
Kokumbona which were then quickly destroyed. By the end of the month
U.S. troops had reached the Bonegi River.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: A TWO-MAN JAPANESE SUBMARINE after being raised from
the sea, the remains of the Japanese transport _Yamazuki Maru_ in the
background (top); damaged Japanese landing craft on the beach near Cape
Esperance (bottom). The Guadalcanal Campaign was a costly experience
for the enemy. In addition to the loss of many warships and hundreds
of planes with experienced pilots, the Japanese expended some two and
one-half divisions of their best troops.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: JAPANESE PRISONERS RAISING VEGETABLES for their own
table. The Guadalcanal Campaign drew to a close shortly after two U.S.
forces converged on Cape Esperance where the Japanese were effecting
their evacuation on 8 February 1943. The enemy had committed at least
36,700 men on Guadalcanal. Of these, some 14,800 were killed or drowned
while attempting to land; 9,000 died of sickness, starvation, or
wounds; 1,000 were captured; and about 13,000 were evacuated.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: RENARD FIELD, as seen from the southeast, on the eastern
part of Banika Island in the Russell Island group. Sunlight Field can
be seen across Renard Sound. Unopposed landings in the Russell Islands,
located about sixty miles northwest of Guadalcanal, were made on 21
February 1943. By early evening all elements of the landing force could
communicate by telephone, the troops had dug themselves into defensive
positions, and outposts and observation posts had been established.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: RENARD SOUND, separating the two airfields on Banika.
Construction of roads, airfields, and boat bases began in February and
by 15 April the first of the two airfields was ready for operation. The
torpedo boat base at Lingatu (Wernham) Cove went into operation on 25
February.]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: SHIPS LOADING at the harbor, Nouméa, New Caledonia,
12 February 1943. During the tactical offensive of the U.S. forces
throughout 1943, New Caledonia remained a steppingstone in the supply
line to the forces fighting up the Solomon-New Guinea ladder.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: LCT(5) BEACHED FOR LOADING PURPOSES in the Russell
Islands. By 16 March, 15,669 troops of all services had reached the
Russells. Beach and antiaircraft defenses, including long-range and
fire-control radar, 155-mm. guns, and 90-mm., 40-mm., and other
antiaircraft guns, had been established. The Allied base there was
ready to support further advances northward.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: CONVOY OF SHIPS MOVING TOWARD RENDOVA ISLAND from Koli
Point, Guadalcanal, 29 June 1943. Only a few miles south of Munda
Point in New Georgia, Rendova was first to be occupied in strength to
provide positions for 155-mm. guns and a staging area from which the
main thrust against Munda would be made. This operation was covered by
fighter planes which shot down more than a hundred Japanese aircraft in
a few days.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: PARACHUTE, CARRYING FILM OF MUNDA POINT, being dropped
by a B-24 bomber to men on Rendova. The landing on Rendova, made on 30
June, met with light resistance. Fire from enemy batteries on nearby
Munda Point was effectively neutralized by naval bombardment.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: 90-MM. ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN IN ACTION against enemy aircraft
over Rendova. The later need for a dual-purpose weapon which could be
fired against both aerial and ground targets led to the development
of the 90-mm. gun M2. As soon as the Munda airfield and other
strategically important points on New Georgia were taken, preparations
were to be made for the capture of Kolombangara.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRY REINFORCEMENTS disembarking from LCI(L) on
New Georgia, 22 July 1943. On 2 July 1943 troops had landed on New
Georgia east of Munda Point. It was anticipated that these forces
would be sufficient to seize the airfield and other objectives within
thirty days, but because of the strong Japanese defenses encountered,
reinforcements were ordered to New Georgia in mid-July to supplement
the initial landing.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN fording a stream along a Munda trail in New
Georgia in an advance against the enemy on 10 July 1943. The first man
on the left is armed with a .30-caliber rifle M1; second man is armed
with a .30-caliber rifle M1903. Strong enemy defenses, mud, dense
jungle, and inaccurate maps all combined to slow the advance.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: MUNDA AIRFIELD ON MUNDA POINT, 8 September 1943. On 25
August, twenty days after the airfield was captured, all organized
resistance on New Georgia ceased. During this operation Allied planes
destroyed an estimated 350 enemy aircraft at a cost of 93 Allied
planes.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: U.S. NAVY DESTROYER IN ACTION against an enemy destroyer
force off Vella Lavella. The next step up the Solomon ladder became
Vella Lavella instead of Kolombangara Island which was bypassed. While
some units were still fighting in New Georgia, others landed on Vella
Lavella on 15 August, established a defensive perimeter, and began the
construction of an airstrip.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: NEW ZEALANDERS LANDING ON VELLA LAVELLA, 17 September,
to relieve U.S. units on the island. Earlier in September Americans had
moved north on Vella Lavella driving the small enemy garrison into the
northwestern part of the island.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: TRUCK, LOADED WITH AMMUNITION for the field artillery,
landing on Arundel Island from an LCT(5) (top); additional troops
landing on Arundel, Rendova Island on horizon (bottom). The results of
executing a landing on Vella Lavella and cutting the enemy’s supply
and reinforcement lines to Kolombangara and other lesser islands which
were bypassed became apparent when one enemy position after another was
abandoned, or easily neutralized by U.S. ground and air forces.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: MEN CARRYING MORTAR SHELLS into the dense jungle while
others rush back to the beach for another load (top); firing a 4.2-inch
M2 chemical mortar into an enemy position (bottom). Arundel was one of
the lesser islands in the New Georgia group, located between Rendova
and Kolombangara.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: 155-MM. HOWITZER M1918 on carriage M1918A3 in firing
position on Arundel. Without success the Japanese continually attempted
to reinforce their remaining garrisons in the New Georgia group of
islands.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: MEN RECEIVING ORDERS for the next attack. Rifle in
right foreground is a .30-caliber M1. The dense jungle on Arundel
afforded the men excellent concealment from Japanese pilots. Before the
New Georgia operation came to a close, the next phase of the Solomon
campaign had begun.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: NORTH AMERICAN B-25 MEDIUM BOMBERS on raid over
Bougainville (top); Navy torpedo bombers (TBF’s) on strafing mission
over Bougainville (bottom). During the latter half of September 1943,
before the New Georgia operation had ended, the Air Forces turned its
attention to the Bougainville area.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: MARINES IN CAMOUFLAGE SUITS hit the narrow beach at
Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, on D Day, 1 November 1943. Prior
to the landing on Bougainville, the Treasury Islands were seized
and developed as a staging area for landing craft, and diversionary
landings were made on Choiseul in preparation for a surprise attack at
Bougainville.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: COAST GUARDMEN TRYING TO FREE AN LCVP after discharging
its load of men and supplies during the initial attacks to secure a
beachhead on Bougainville. Enemy action and heavy surf took their toll
of many boats at the water edge. Enemy machine gun positions that
caused some disorganization among landing boats were taken before the
end of the day.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: LST BEACHED AT PURUATA, off Cape Torokina, Empress
Augusta Bay. Marines, supplies, and equipment landed from the open
bow of the ship to reinforce the men on the beachhead established on
1 November 1943. The troops that landed on the north shore of Empress
Augusta Bay encountered only slight initial resistance and losses
were considered negligible. Excellent air support for the assault was
rendered by both carrier and land-based planes.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: TROOPS RECEIVE A STIRRING SEND-OFF as they prepare to
embark at Guadalcanal to reinforce the marines at Bougainville (top).
LCV taking drums of gasoline to transports headed for Bougainville
(bottom). After the enemy had been driven off of Guadalcanal, efforts
were directed toward improving the defensive strength of the island
and establishing a base that could support further operations in the
Solomon chain.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: 105-MM. HOWITZER AMMUNITION for Bougainville being
loaded on an LCV at Guadalcanal. Artillery fire, prior to an attack
by the infantry, was effectively used against the Japanese system
of defense, usually consisting of well-dug-in, concealed foxholes,
equipped with a high percentage of automatic weapons.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN CLIMBING DOWN A CARGO NET of the transport
_President Jackson_, 5 November 1943, for the trip to Bougainville to
reinforce the marines. Note collapsible rubber raft (LCR) on side of
transport. Before the assault on Bougainville, combat troops underwent
rigorous training based upon lessons learned in the Guadalcanal
Campaign.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: 105-MM. HOWITZERS M2A2 BEING FIRED by American forces
near Buretoni Mission, 8 November. One of the early objectives on the
island was to establish a road block astride the Buretoni Mission-Piva
trail, which led inland from one of the beaches. The road block would
serve to deny the enemy use of the trail, the main route of access from
the east to an Allied position.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: MOVING ALONG A MUDDY TRAIL from the beachhead area, 9
November, men pass stalled water tanks and vehicles; note chains used
on vehicle in left foreground (top). Amphibian tractor, LVT(1), passing
men who have stopped to rest (bottom). The advance on foot progressed
at a rate of 100 yards an hour. The Japanese resisted the advance using
light machine guns and “knee mortars.” The assault was frontal of
necessity since swamps flanked the trail.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: 4-TON 6×6 STANDARD TRUCK, with closed cab, towing a
155-mm. howitzer off the ramp of an LST (top); beachhead loaded with
ammunition, oil drums, and other equipment (bottom). The barrage
balloons over the LST’s in the background of bottom picture helped
to protect the ships from Japanese dive bombers. Balloons had been
let down because of heavy rains. So rapidly were troops and equipment
sent in that by the middle of November 34,000 men and 23,000 tons of
supplies had been put ashore.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: RESULTS OF JAPANESE AIR RAID over Bougainville, 20
November. Fuel-dump fire raging on nearby Puruata Island; note wrecked
landing craft in foreground (top). Fire and wreckage can be seen in
background of the 90-mm. antiaircraft gun M1A1 which was hit during the
night of 19-20 November, killing five men and wounding eight (bottom).
Again on 21 November the same area was struck and fires continued all
night, this time destroying a trailer loaded with 3,000 rounds of
mortar ammunition and artillery propelling charges.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: DOUGLAS TRANSPORT C-47 dropping supplies and equipment
on an uncompleted airstrip, 30 November 1943 (top); members of a
construction battalion laying pierced planking across a runway in
the Cape Torokina area, 2 December (bottom). By the end of the
year three airfields had been put into operation. The mission of
the forces on the island at this time was to maintain a defensive
perimeter, approximately ten miles long and five miles deep, guarding
installations in the Empress Augusta Bay area.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN ON GUARD near the Laruma River, 16 November,
man a .30-caliber heavy barrel machine gun M1919A4, flexible. This gun
was an automatic, recoil-operated, belt-fed, air-cooled machine gun
(top). Taking time out to make a batch of fudge, these men are using
mess kits as cooking pans. Note treatment of identification tags (dog
tags) on center man. Binding the edges of the tags eliminated the
noise and made them more comfortable (bottom). Instead of infantrymen
slugging it out on the ground, land-based bombers neutralized enemy
airfields in the Buka-Bonis Plantation area of northern Bougainville,
and American cruisers and destroyers shelled enemy coastal positions.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: ADDITIONAL TROOPS ARRIVING ON BOUGAINVILLE, 25 December
1943. Trucks in foreground are 4-ton 6×6’s (top). 40-mm. automatic
antiaircraft gun M1 on carriage M2 in position to protect landing
operations; loaded ships in background are LST’s (bottom). Troops
continued to land at the base established on Cape Torokina for two
months after the invasion.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: MAIL CALL NEAR THE FRONT LINES (top). Message center in
operation, 9 January 1944; note the lamp shade improvised from a tin
can (bottom). By this time Allied air and naval power had isolated the
enemy; his line of communication to Rabaul had been severed.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: LITTER PATIENT being carried by medical aid men into an
underground surgery room (top). Emergency operation being performed in
a dugout. This underground surgery room was dug about four feet below
the surface and the sides were built up with sand bags and roofed with
heavy logs. The entire structure was covered with a pyramidal tent,
shielding the occupants from the sun (bottom).]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN FIRING MORTAR, located on one side of a
bitterly contested hill, at Japanese positions on the other side of the
hill, 8 March 1944. The mortar is a 60-mm. M2 on mount M2. The Japanese
forces had been ordered to drive the Allied forces from Bougainville
because of the precarious situation at Rabaul.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: MEMBERS OF A PATROL CROSSING A RIVER on Bougainville.
The bamboo poles on the right in the river form a fish trap. At the
end of 1943, further offensive action on Bougainville had not been
planned because of expected new strategic plans of operations against
the enemy; however, renewed enemy activity evidenced in February 1944
necessitated further action.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: HALF-TRACK PERSONNEL CARRIER M3 mounting a .30-caliber
machine gun parked at base of hill, its machine gun trained on a
hillside target. This vehicle was used to bring men and supplies to the
fighting lines and had seating capacity for thirteen men. The roller in
front assisted in climbing out of ditches (top). Infantrymen, walking
through a lane between barbed wire, carry 60-mm. mortar shells to the
front lines (bottom).]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: LIGHT TANKS M3A1, mounting 37-mm. guns and .30-caliber
machine guns in a combination mount in the turret, going up a steep
grade in an attempt to drive the Japanese from pillboxes on top of the
hill, 9 March 1944. Between 8 and 25 March the enemy launched several
major attacks against the Allied forces on Bougainville.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: THE SOUTHEAST SLOPE OF “BLOODY HILL” after the last
enemy had been routed. The enemy fought with his customary tenacity
and his resistance in defended positions won the grudging admiration
of the U.S. troops. By 24 April 1944, ground forces had crushed the
last important Japanese counteroffensive against the Bougainville
perimeter.]
SOLOMON ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN WITH BAYONETS FIXED advance through jungle
swamp, following an M4 medium tank, to rout out the enemy, 16 March.
The conquest of the island necessitated much advance patrol work and
many mopping-up operations deep in the tropical jungle. Casualties were
heavier than in any operation since the Guadalcanal Campaign in the
Solomon chain.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration]
AUSTRALIA
[Illustration: AN AUSTRALIAN AIRFIELD, 18 September 1942. An Australian
sentry is on guard near a Flying Fortress in right foreground as
soldiers await planes to go to New Guinea (top); troops boarding a
C-47 transport plane for New Guinea (bottom). During the last days
of September 1942 the Allies launched a counterattack in Papua, New
Guinea, thus starting the Papua Campaign. American troops for this
action were sent to Port Moresby from Australia, partly by plane and
partly by boat.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: MEN WADING ACROSS THE SAMBOGA, near Dobodura, New
Guinea. The enemy fell back under the weight of the 28 September 1942
attack. Australians laboriously made their way over steep mountain
trails of the Owen Stanley Range while most of the American troops, a
total of about 4,900, were flown overland to Jaure in C-47’s. This was
the first large-scale airborne troop movement of the war. Troops from
Milne Bay garrison occupied Goodenough Island early in November.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: MEN CROSSING AN IMPROVISED FOOTBRIDGE, 15 November.
From the 10th, troops advanced as rapidly as possible along the muddy
trails and waded, often breast high, through streams to approach Buna.
A surprise attack on Buna was not possible as Australian patrols had
learned that “bush wireless” carried the news of the American airborne
movement to the Japanese.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: AERIAL VIEW OF THE TERRAIN NEAR DOBODURA. The rugged
terrain of Papua includes the high Owen Stanley Range, jungles,
and impassable, malaria-infected swampy areas as well as coconut
plantations and open fields of coarse, shoulder-high kunai grass
encountered near Buna. Only one rough and steep trail existed over the
range from the Port Moresby area to the front, taking from 18 to 28
days to traverse on foot; however, American troops and supplies flown
over the range made the trip in about 45 minutes.]
AUSTRALIA
[Illustration: MEN BOARDING THE ARMY TRANSPORT _GEORGE TAYLOR_ in
Brisbane, Australia, for New Guinea on 15 November. The Papua Campaign
and the almost simultaneous action on Guadalcanal were the first
victorious operations of U.S. ground forces against the Japanese.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: SOLDIERS CARRYING RATIONS ALONG A TRAIL for the troops
at the front, 24 December. Only a few trails led from Allied positions
to the enemy’s fortified areas at Buna and Sanananda. Food was so short
during November and the early part of December that troops sometimes
received only a small portion of a C ration each day. The rain,
alternating with stifling jungle heat, and the insects seemed more
determined than the enemy; disease inflicted more casualties than the
Japanese.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: FIRING A 60-MM. MORTAR M2 into the enemy lines at Buna
Mission. Because of transportation difficulties which lasted until the
end of November, only about one third of the mortars were brought with
the troops. Allied attacks were made on both Sanananda and Buna with no
material gains.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: BREN-GUN CARRIERS, disabled in an attack on 5 December.
These full-track, high-speed cargo carriers, designed to transport
personnel, ammunition, and accessories, were produced for the British
only. The presence of several Bren-gun carriers proved a surprise
to the enemy. However, enemy soldiers picked off the exposed crews
and tossed grenades over the sides of the carriers. In a short time
they were all immobilized and infantry following behind them met with
intense fire from the enemy’s defenses.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: AMERICAN LIGHT TANKS M3, mounting 37-mm. guns, near
the Duropa Plantation on 21 December 1942. During the latter part of
December, tanks arrived by boat. Only one 105-mm. howitzer was used
in the campaign and it was brought to the front by plane. After many
setbacks, Buna Village was captured on 14 December. Although Allied
attacks at various points were often unsuccessful, the Japanese,
suffering from lack of supplies and reinforcements, finally capitulated
on 2 January 1943 at Buna Mission.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: U.S. SOLDIERS FIRING A 37-MM. GUN M3A1 into enemy
positions. The 37-mm. gun was the lightest weapon of the field-gun type
used by the U.S. Army. Japanese tactics during the Buna campaign were
strictly defensive; for the most part the enemy dug himself in and
waited for Allied troops to cross his final protective line.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: A NATIVE DRAWING A MAP to show the position of the
enemy forces. In general, the islanders were very friendly to the
Allies; their work throughout the campaign, in moving supplies over the
treacherous trails and in rescuing Allied survivors of downed aircraft,
was excellent.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN READY TO FIRE .30-CALIBER M1 RIFLES into
an enemy dugout before entering it for inspection (top); looking at a
captured Japanese antiaircraft gun found in a bombproof shelter in the
Buna area (bottom). Enemy fortifications covered all the approaches to
his bases except by sea, and were not easily discerned because of fast
growing tropical vegetation which gave them a natural camouflage.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: CONSTRUCTING A CORDUROY ROAD with the help of the
natives in New Guinea. Constant work was maintained to make routes
passable for jeeps. Construction of airstrips near Dobodura and
Popondetta, underway by 18 November, was assigned the highest priority
because of the lack of a harbor in the area. Some supplies were flown
to the airstrips and some arrived by sea through reef-studded coastal
waters near Ora Bay. The last vital transport link was formed by a few
jeeps and native carriers who delivered the supplies to dumps just
beyond the range of enemy small arms fire.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: ADVANCE PATROL CREEPING ALONG A BEACH to its objective
just ahead, 21 January 1943. Attacks from all sides by the American and
Australian units in their drive toward Sanananda met with stiff enemy
resistance after Buna Mission had been captured.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: CROSSING A JAPANESE FOOTBRIDGE, 22 January 1943.
Converging attacks by Allied units, starting on 17 January, isolated
the enemy units and by 22 January the Papua Campaign came to a close.
This long, hard counteroffensive freed Australia from the imminent
threat of invasion and gave the Allies a toe hold in the New Guinea
area of enemy defenses protecting Rabaul, one of the main Japanese
positions in the Pacific.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: WOUNDED AMERICAN AND AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS waiting to be
evacuated. Natives often acted as litter bearers for casualties. Of
the 13,645 American troops taking part in the Papua Campaign, 671 were
killed, 2,172 wounded, and about 8,000 evacuated sick. Troops fighting
in this campaign learned the art of jungle warfare which proved of
immense value in training divisions for subsequent operations.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: ENEMY PRISONERS being fed canned rations by Australian
soldiers. The enemy suffered heavy casualties in the Papua Campaign.
Disease and starvation claimed many; only a few were evacuated and
about 350 were captured by Allied troops.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: ANTIAIRCRAFT CREWS MANNING THEIR GUNS in New Guinea;
3-inch antiaircraft gun M3 (top) and 40-mm. automatic antiaircraft
gun M1 (bottom). On 29 January American transport planes began to
ferry troops from Port Moresby to Wau, about 30 miles inland from the
northeast coast of New Guinea. As the troops unloaded, they rushed to
defenses around the edge of the field since the Japanese were then
within easy rifle range of the airstrip. The next day a determined
enemy attack was repulsed. On 3 February the Japanese began to
withdraw.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: TAR BARRELS BURNING after a Japanese bombing raid, May
1943. After the enemy had withdrawn from the area of Wau, months of
constant fighting followed in the jungle-clad ridges between Wau and
Salamaua, during which time the enemy suffered heavy casualties. On
30 June the islands of Woodlark and Kiriwina, off the northeast coast
of Papua, were occupied. This facilitated the movement of troops and
supplies by water to that area and gained valuable new airfields for
the Allies.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: B-24 OVER SALAMAUA, on north coast of New Guinea,
during an air raid, 13 August 1943. Smoke from bomb bursts can be seen
on Salamaua. While the ground forces were battling with the enemy,
aircraft were striking at his bases at Salamaua, Lae, Finschhafen,
Madang, and Rabaul as well as at the barges and ships bringing supplies
and reinforcements to the enemy in New Guinea.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: C-47 TRANSPORT TAKING OFF FROM BUNA, New Guinea (top);
low-flying North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers leaving Japanese
planes and installations burning on Dagua airfield, one of the enemy’s
major air bases in the Wewak area (bottom). Aircraft operating
from Port Moresby and from newly won fields in the Buna-Gona area
intensified their attacks on the enemy’s bases. A sustained five-day
air offensive against Wewak, which began on 17 August, destroyed about
250 planes on the ground and in the air at a cost of only 10 U.S.
planes.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: AIRDROP AT NADZAB at its height, with one battalion of
parachute troops descending from C-47’s (foreground), while another
battalion descends against a smoke screen and lands beyond a hill (left
background). White parachutes were used by the troops, colored ones for
supplies and ammunition. The men were dropped to seize the airdrome at
Nadzab, located some 20 miles northwest of Lae, on the morning of 5
September 1943.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: AMERICAN AND AUSTRALIAN TROOPS CROSSING A RIVER near
Salamaua. An advance on Salamaua was initiated by Australian troops
with assistance from American units that had landed at Nassau Bay on 30
June. This drive was an attempt to divert enemy strength from Lae, the
real objective of the Allies. As a result of this move the Japanese did
divert their reinforcements arriving at Lae to Salamaua to strengthen
their defenses there, as the Allies moved closer to the town.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: REMAINS OF SALAMAUA, 12 September 1943. Wrecked
buildings and huge bomb craters resulted from earlier aerial attacks on
the area. On this date Salamaua was taken, the final attack having been
delayed until the Lae operation was well underway. During the period
from 30 June to 16 September, a total of about 10,000 Japanese had been
overcome in the Lae-Salamaua area. About 4,100 and 2,200 were reported
killed in the vicinity of Salamaua and Lae, respectively. The remainder
made their way north as best they could.]
New Guinea
[Illustration: DOCKS AND INSTALLATION AT LAE, traffic moving along
the road on left. This photograph was taken on 1 September 1944.
After Finschhafen was captured by the Allies, U.S. troops halted to
consolidate their gains. Offensive operations in New Guinea during the
remainder of 1943 consisted of a slow advance toward Madang to maintain
pressure on the enemy.]
NEW BRITAIN
[Illustration: PARACHUTE BOMBS dropping from low-flying American
planes during a raid over Rabaul. Parachute bombs were used to prevent
self-destruction of the attacking low-flying bombers by the blasts
of their own bombs. It was claimed that more than 200 enemy aircraft
were destroyed or damaged on this raid, in addition to other materiel,
ships, and installations.]
NEW BRITAIN
[Illustration: ABOARD A TROOPSHIP, 14 December 1943, en route to invade
New Britain on Arawe. Infantryman relaxes on a cork life raft (top)
while two men check and reassemble a flexible, water-cooled .50-caliber
Browning machine gun M2 (bottom). While Army and Navy bombers pounded
Rabaul, landings were made on Arawe peninsula on the southern coast of
New Britain, 15 December 1943.]
NEW BRITAIN
[Illustration: U.S. COASTGUARD GUNNERS fighting against a determined
Japanese aerial attack during the invasion at Cape Gloucester, New
Britain. Bomb splashes can be seen in water, resulting from the enemy’s
attempt to hit the LST in foreground. This was the only effective
resistance offered by the Japanese at Cape Gloucester. The invasion
of New Britain was the climax of the drive up the Solomon-New Guinea
ladder; at the eastern end of this island was Rabaul, chief enemy base
in the Southwest Pacific.]
NEW BRITAIN
[Illustration: PHOTOGRAPHER FILMING ACTIVITY ON ARAWE, using a 35-mm.
Eyemo movie camera, while the beachhead was being made secure three
days after the landings on Arawe (top). Infantryman watching aircraft
from his camouflaged foxhole (bottom). Five days after the landings the
Americans had cleared the enemy from Arawe peninsula.]
NEW BRITAIN
[Illustration: ALLIGATOR, mounting a .50-caliber gun on the left and a
.30-caliber water-cooled machine gun on the right, coming down a slope
to a beach on Arawe for more supplies for the men on the front lines.
Armored amphibian tractors proved to be valuable assault vehicles.
They could be floated beyond the range of shore batteries, deployed in
normal landing boat formations, and driven over the fringing reefs and
up the beaches. One of the immediate missions of the forces landing on
Arawe was to establish a PT boat base.]
NEW BRITAIN
[Illustration: MARINES WADING THROUGH A THREE-FOOT SURF to reach
shore at Cape Gloucester. Note that they carry their rifles high. On
26 December 1943 marines landed on the western end of New Britain at
points east and west of Cape Gloucester. Their immediate objective,
the airdrome on the cape, was a desirable link in the chain of bases
necessary to permit the air forces to pave the way for further
advances.]
NEW BRITAIN
[Illustration: MARINES LOADED WITH EQUIPMENT go ashore to assemble
for the move forward after disembarking from an LST. Craft in the
background is an LVT; in the foreground a jeep is being pushed through
the surf. Many of the men carry litters for the expected casualties.
Troops succeeded in driving the Japanese out of the cape in four days.
The lodgments on New Britain severed one of the main enemy supply lines
between Rabaul and eastern New Guinea, and as the year drew to a close,
Rabaul was rapidly being isolated.]
[Illustration: THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS 1942-1943]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: MEN ABOARD AN LST, 6 May 1943, clean their rifles and
prepare machine gun ammunition for the impending attack on Attu in
the Aleutian chain which stretches southwest from Alaska. The attack
scheduled for 7 May was delayed until the 11th because of unfavorable
weather conditions. The attack on Attu was planned in the hope that
Kiska would be made untenable, compelling the enemy to evacuate his
forces there.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: LANDING BEACH in Holtz Bay area, Attu, as seen from atop
the ridge separating Holtz Bay and Chichagof Bay. In the foreground
can be seen a crashed Japanese Zero airplane. To the right, men and
equipment are unloading from landing craft. It was soon found that the
steep jagged crags, knifelike ridges, and boggy tundra greatly impeded
the troops and made impracticable any extensive use of mechanized
equipment.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: TRACTOR LEAVING LCM(3); note transport and several
landing craft on horizon. A heavy fog on D Day caused several
postponements of H Hour. The first troops finally moved ashore at 1620
on 11 May.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: SUPPLIES BEING LOADED INTO TRAILERS to be taken to a
supply dump back of the beach, 12 May or D Day plus 1. The cloud of
smoke in the background is from an enemy shell; the men in the area can
be seen running to take cover (top). Men pause in the battle of the
tundra to identify approaching aircraft (bottom). Landings were made by
forces at both Massacre Bay and Holtz Bay.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: 105-MM. HOWITZER M2A1 in position inland from the Holtz
Bay beachhead. The gun crews worked in haste to set up their artillery
pieces as contact was expected with the enemy at any moment.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: CASUALTY BEING HOISTED FROM AN LCV into a transport. A
cradle was lowered into the landing craft, the patient and stretcher
were placed in it, then hoisted aboard ship. Landing craft in
background is an LCVP. The more serious casualties were evacuated from
Attu in the early stages of the battle.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: FIELD HOSPITAL which was set up and operating on the
12th. Two of the tents were used for surgery, the other two for wards.
Foxholes were dug in the side of the hill for protection at night
(top). Casualties suffering from exposure were housed in improvised
shelters because of overcrowded wards (bottom). There were as many
casualties resulting from exposure as from Japanese bullets.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: HOLDING POSITIONS IN THE PASS leading to Holtz Bay on 19
May; in right foreground is a strong point overlooking the area, in the
background the enemy had gun positions above the fog line (top). Ponton
of the wrecked Japanese airplane found at Holtz Bay; the wooden wheel
was probably to be used by the enemy to obtain a water supply from a
nearby creek (bottom). The enemy put up a bitter fight which was to
last for eighteen days.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: REST AREA ON ATTU. After returning from the front lines
on 20 May, the men busied themselves by doing some much needed laundry
and cleaning their weapons. The men needed heavy winter clothing to
help protect them from the bitter cold and damp weather.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: DUAL-PURPOSE GUN near the beach, left by the Japanese
when they departed in haste. The entrance to the right of the gun leads
to an underground barracks which connected to the next gun emplacement
in the battery (top). American 105-mm. howitzer M2A1 placed on wicker
mats to help keep the gun from sinking into the tundra (bottom). Had
the enemy used the guns which were found intact at the time of the
invasion, the landing forces would have been greatly impeded.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: HEAVY BARGE, loaded with a crane and other heavy
machinery, in the Massacre Bay area on 31 May 1943, having been towed
to shore by tugs. In order to get the crane off, it was necessary to
make a sand ramp leading from the shore to the deck of the barge.
Tractor at right is a 7-ton, high-speed tractor M2 (top). An oil and
gas dump; at the left can be seen a motor pool (bottom). The battle for
Attu ended on 30 May but mopping-up operations continued for several
days.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: FIRST FIGHTER STRIP ESTABLISHED ON AMCHITKA, located
about seventy miles from Japanese-held Kiska. The P-40, on taxiway
ready to take off, was used before twin-engined fighter planes were
obtained. Often two 500-pound bombs were put on each of these planes,
which were used as dive bombers.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: THE AIRPORT AND HARBOR OF ADAK ISLAND operating in full
swing, August 1943. Truck in right foreground is 2½-ton 6×6. Bombers
used advanced airfields, set up in August 1942 on Adak and Amchitka
Islands, to attack Attu and Kiska, two islands of the Aleutian chain
which the enemy had occupied in June 1942 in an effort to limit
American air and sea operations in the North Pacific. During the first
half of 1943, 1,500 tons of bombs were dropped on enemy positions in
the Aleutians.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: LCT(5)’S AND INITIAL LANDING TROOPS on a stretch of
beach along the northwest coast of Kiska. Men can be seen moving along
the hillside like ants. At this time it was not known when the enemy
would strike since prior to landing no ground reconnaissance had been
attempted for fear of informing the enemy of the invasion.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE NORTHERN PART OF KISKA HARBOR, LVT(1)’s in
foreground were known as Alligators (top). Captured Japanese machine
cannon 25-mm. twin mount type 96 in position to guard the harbor
(bottom). U.S. naval forces had encountered heavy fire from enemy shore
batteries and planes had met with antiaircraft fire through 13 August
1943. When troops landed on Kiska on 15 and 16 August, prepared for a
battle more difficult than that at Attu, the island had been evacuated
by the enemy.]
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
[Illustration: SOLDIER DRYING HIS SOCKS. Occupation troops on Kiska
provided themselves with whatever comforts they could devise. With the
occupation of Kiska, U.S. troops had reclaimed all of the Aleutians.
The islands then became air bases for bombing the northern approaches
to Tokyo.]
[Illustration: GILBERT ISLANDS]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: DOUGLAS DAUNTLESS DIVE BOMBER (SBD) ready to drop its
1,000-pound bomb on Japanese-held island of Wake, 6 October 1943.
During the planning for the seizure of the Gilberts, concurrent with
action on Bougainville and in New Guinea, air attacks were made on
Marcus and Wake, and the Tarawa Atoll, to soften Japanese installations
and keep the enemy guessing as to where the next full-scale attack
would be delivered.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: TROOPS ABOARD A TRANSPORT headed for Butaritari Island
in the Makin Atoll; landing craft which have been lowered into the
water to take troops inland can be seen in the background (top).
Having just landed on one of the beaches, 20 November, the men crouch
low awaiting instructions to advance inland; light tank is in the
background (bottom). The Japanese, in September 1942, had occupied the
Gilbert Islands. This group of islands included Makin Atoll and Tarawa
Atoll. During the next year the enemy built garrisons on Butaritari
Island and on Betio Island in the Tarawa Atoll. Only small enemy forces
were placed on other islands in the Gilberts.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: A PATROL ON THE BEACHHEAD. Patrols came ashore in LVT’s
before the main body of infantry and tanks. As the amphibians came over
the coral reefs, no barbed wire, mines, or other military obstacles
impeded them.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRYMAN with a Browning automatic rifle (BAR)
guarding a trail (top); part of the crew ready to fire machine guns
of an Alligator (bottom). Some of the men scrambled over the sides
of the amphibians to seek cover from enemy riflemen. The tactics for
knocking out the fortified emplacements on the island were as follows:
The BARman with his assistant would cover the main entrance of an
emplacement encountered, and two other men with grenades would make
ready on both flanks. They would throw grenades into the pit and then
without stopping, run to the other side and blast the entrance with
more grenades. Once the grenades exploded, the BARman and assistant
would follow up.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: MEN SEARCHING FOR SNIPERS as they move inland from the
beachhead on D Day, 20 November (top). Rifleman armed with a bazooka
crouches behind a log near the front lines (bottom). The rocket
launcher 2.36-inch M1A1, known as the bazooka, was tried against enemy
defense emplacements but met with little success.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN MOVING FORWARD, 22 November, the day they
took the east tank barrier on the island. Flanking machine gun and
rifle fire from the enemy in the battered Japanese sea plane (upper
right) harassed American troops on the 21st. This fire was silenced by
the 75-mm. guns of medium tanks. Coordination between the infantry and
tanks was good on the second day.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: AMERICAN LIGHT TANKS M3A1 on Butaritari Island on D Day.
Tank in foreground had bogged down in a water-filled bomb crater (top).
The remains of a Japanese light tank which did not get into battle
(bottom). During the morning of the first day American tanks could
not make much headway against the combined obstacles of debris, shell
holes, and marsh, but by afternoon they were able to render assistance
to the infantry. The enemy had only two tanks on the island but they
were not used since when they were found wooden plugs were still in the
barrels of their guns.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: MEDIUM TANKS M3, mounting a 75-mm. gun in the sponson
and a 37-mm. gun in the turret, on Butaritari; medical crew waiting
beside their jeep for tanks to pass (top). One of the antitank gun pits
that ringed the outer defenses of one of the tank traps established by
the enemy (bottom). Air observation prior to the operation had revealed
most of the defensive construction and led to correct inference of much
that lay concealed such as these antitank emplacements.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: GUN CREW OF A 37-MM. ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN M1A2 at their
station on the island, watching for enemy aircraft. This weapon was
fully automatic, air-cooled, and could be employed against both
aircraft and tanks (top). War trophies consisting of chickens and ducks
captured on the island, were cherished in anticipation of Thanksgiving
Day when they could be used to supplement the K ration (bottom). On 22
November it was announced that organized resistance had ended and on
the next day forces on Makin were occupied with mopping-up activities.
At this time enemy air activity was expected to increase.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: MARINES LEAVING A LOG BEACH BARRICADE, face fire-swept
open ground on Betio Island in their advance toward the immediate
objective, the Japanese airport. Landings were made under enemy fire on
Betio Island in the Tarawa Atoll on 20 November, concurrent with the
invasion of Butaritari Island, Makin Atoll. Tarawa, one of the coral
atolls which comprise the Gilbert Islands, is roughly triangular in
shape; about 18 miles long on east side, 12 miles long on south side,
and 12½ miles long on northwest side. The Japanese had concentrated
their strength on Betio Island.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: CASUALTIES BEING EVACUATED IN A RUBBER BOAT. Floated
out to the reef, the wounded were then transferred to landing craft
and removed further out to transports. The larger enemy force on Betio
Island made the operation there very difficult for Allied troops and
much more costly than the simultaneous operation on Butaritari Island
in the Makin Atoll. By late afternoon of D Day supplies for the forces
were getting ashore and reinforcements were on their way.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: ASSAULTING THE TOP OF A JAPANESE BOMBPROOF SHELTER.
Once ashore, the marines were pinned down by withering enemy fire that
came from carefully prepared emplacements in almost every direction of
advance.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: CAPTURED JAPANESE COMMAND POST with enemy tank in
foreground. Shells and bombs had little effect on this reinforced
concrete structure. Most of the command posts, ammunition dumps, and
communications centers found here were made of reinforced concrete
and were virtually bombproof. Powerful hand-to-hand infantry assault
tactics were necessary to dislodge the enemy.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: ARMORERS place a .50-caliber aircraft Browning machine
gun M2A1 in the nose of a North American B-25 at the airfield on Betio
Island as interested natives look on. This gun was considered one of
the most reliable weapons of the war.]
GILBERT ISLANDS
[Illustration: UNITED STATES COLORS FLYING OVER BETIO, 24 November
1943. The island was declared secure on 23 November; the remaining
enemy forces were wiped out by the 28th. Betio, with the only airfield
in Tarawa Atoll, together with captured Butaritari in Makin Atoll and
other lesser islands, gave the Allies control of the entire Gilbert
Islands archipelago. From these new bases an attack against the
Marshall Islands was launched in 1944.]
THE OFFENSIVE----1944