The Offensive----1944[3]
The battle of production and supply, designed to build a foundation
to support unprecedented Allied air and naval power, was won during
1942 and 1943, while Japanese air and naval power greatly diminished.
Hawaii, the most important naval base in the Pacific, had become a
training center and staging area for U.S. troops as well as one of the
many important supply bases. In 1944, the strategic offensive against
Japan began.
[3] See Philip R. Crowl and Edmund G. Love, _Seizure in the Gilberts
and Marshalls_; and Philip R. Crowl _Campaign in the Marianas_; Robert
Ross Smith; _The Approach to the Philippines_; and M. Hamlin Cannon,
_Leyte: The Return to the Philippines_, in the series _U.S. ARMY IN
WORLD WAR II._
Following the invasion of the Gilberts in late 1943, U.S. forces
prepared for an assault in the western Marshalls, the principal
objective being Kwajalein and Eniwetok Atolls. According to plans for
the assault on the western Marshalls, a Marine division was to seize
the northern half of the Kwajalein Atoll, principally the islands of
Roi and Namur; Army ground forces units were to capture the southern
half of the atoll, including the island of Kwajalein, and to occupy
Majuro Island, one of the finest naval anchorages west of Pearl Harbor.
Supporting naval and air bombardment and artillery fire (the artillery
had been ferried ashore on the small nearby islands) were brought to
bear on the selected landing beaches of Kwajalein and Roi Islands of
Kwajalein Atoll. Unopposed landings were made on both islands on 1
February 1944, with slight resistance developing after advance was
made inland. Six days after the main landings, all the islands of
the Kwajalein Atoll were in U.S. hands and Majuro had been occupied.
On 17 February landings were made on the islands of Eniwetok Atoll;
resistance was wiped out five days later. A two-day strike against
Truk, 16 and 17 February, was executed by a large carrier task force to
screen the assault of the Eniwetok Atoll and to test strength of the
Japanese base there.
Although the strong enemy island bases in the eastern Marshalls
were bypassed, the air forces maintained continual attacks on them
throughout the year. Conquest of the western Marshalls provided air
bases and a new forward fleet base in the Pacific.
The Mariana Islands, the next objective in the Central Pacific, differ
from the coral atolls of the Marshalls and Gilberts. The individual
islands are much larger and the distinguishing terrain features are
precipitous coast lines, high hills, and deep ravines. Plans were made,
ships and supplies collected, and the troops given special training for
the invasion; meanwhile Japanese air and ground reinforcements poured
into the Central Pacific.
An intense air offensive against enemy installations in the Marianas
began on 11 June 1944 and a naval bombardment of Saipan began on the
13th, two days before the landings on the 15th. Opposition was heavy
at first, but by the 25th U.S. troops, supported by tanks, heavy
artillery, renewed naval gunfire, and aerial bombardment, drove the
enemy from the high ground on the central part of the island. Again
advances were slow and difficult with heavy troop losses. On 9 July the
mission was completed, except for mopping-up operations which continued
for nearly two months.
On the morning of 24 July an attack was made on Tinian, supported by
artillery on Saipan. Enemy resistance, slight for first two days,
increased when high ground was reached in the central part of the
island. The entire island was overrun by 1 August.
Meanwhile, Guam had been invaded on 21 July by U.S. forces in two
separate landings. This invasion was preceded by a thirteen-day
aerial and naval softening-up process. The two beachheads were joined
after three days of fighting. The troops, greatly hampered by heavy
undergrowth, concentrated on the high ground in the northern part of
the island and, except for resistance from small groups of scattered
Japanese, were in command of the island by 10 August.
A force of nearly 800 ships from the Guadalcanal area sailed for the
Palau Islands, the next hop in the Central Pacific. Marines landed on
Peleliu Island on 15 September while Army units landed on Angaur on
the 17th. These were the two southernmost islands of the Palau group.
Opposition on Angaur was relatively light. Much stiffer resistance was
met on Peleliu, which contained the site of the major Japanese airfield
on the islands. The troops succeeded, by 12 October, in pushing the
enemy into a small area in the central hills of Peleliu, but many more
weeks were spent destroying the remaining opposition.
During the fighting in the southern Palaus, Ulithi Atoll in the western
Carolines was taken to secure a naval anchorage in the western Pacific.
Air attack against bypassed islands was maintained. Meanwhile, huge air
bases were being developed in the Marianas for use by B-29 bombers. On
24 November B-29’s operating from Saipan made the first of a series of
attacks on Tokyo.
Concurrent with the operations in the Marshalls, Marianas, Palaus, and
Carolines, forces of the Southwest Pacific Area moved swiftly along the
northern coast of New Guinea, jumped to Vogelkop Peninsula, and then
to Morotai and on into the Philippines. The first amphibious advance
of 1944 in this area was made on 2 January at Saidor, to capture the
airport there. The next major advance was begun early on the morning of
29 February when a landing was effected on Los Negros in the Admiralty
Islands. The Japanese sent reinforcements from Manus Island, separated
from Los Negros by only 100 yards of water. Except for isolated groups
of enemy troops, Los Negros was cleared on the 23d and Momote airfield,
on the east coast, was ready for operation. Manus Island was invaded on
15 March, after the seizure of a few smaller islands, and an airfield
there was captured the next day. At the end of April most of the enemy
had been cleared from the Admiralties.
In New Britain the beachheads established in 1943 were expanded. On 6
March another landing took place on Willaumez Peninsula on the north
coast. This operation, together with the establishment of airfields
in the Admiralties and the occupation of Green and Emirau Islands,
completed the encirclement and neutralization of Rabaul, the once
powerful Japanese base. On 26 November U.S. units left New Britain, the
enemy being contained on the Gazelle Peninsula by the Australians.
In New Guinea, after the Saidor operation, the enemy organized his
defenses in the coastal area between Wewak and Madang. Surprise
landings by U.S. troops were made at Aitape and Hollandia, both west
of Wewak, on 22 April. Within five days the airfields at Hollandia and
Aitape were in Allied possession. In July 1944 the Japanese Army, which
had moved up the coast from Wewak, attacked the Allied perimeter at
Aitape. Within a month the Japanese had been thrown back toward Wewak.
At the end of the year Australian troops, which had begun relieving
U.S. forces at Aitape in October, started a drive on Wewak from the
west. While the enemy was bottled up in this area, the Allies continued
to leap-frog up the New Guinea coast.
On 17 May forces debarked at Arare, 125 miles northwest of Hollandia,
and established a strong beachhead. Wakdé Island, just offshore, was
assaulted the next day and was secured by the 19th.
Other units assaulted the island of Biak on 27 May to seize additional
air base sites. Here considerable resistance was met and the island
with its airfields was not secured until August. Noemfoor Island, where
three airfields were located, was invaded on 2 July by troops which
landed at points where reefs made invasion hazardous. The Noemfoor
airstrips were captured by night of the 6th. The last landing on New
Guinea was an unopposed one made on 30 July in the Cape Sansapor area,
on the northwestern coast of the Vogelkop Peninsula. The Japanese in
New Guinea had been eliminated from the war.
Another air base site on the southern tip of Morotai Island, northwest
of the Vogelkop Peninsula, was seized on 15 September at slight cost.
The invasion of Morotai, lying between New Guinea and the Philippines,
was the last major operation undertaken by Southwest Pacific forces
before the attack on the Philippines in October.
Prior to the invasion of the Philippines a seven-day air attack,
beginning on 10 October, was undertaken against enemy bases on the
Ryukyu Islands, Formosa, and Luzon. On 17 October, Suluan, Homonhon,
and Dinagat Islands, guarding Leyte Gulf where the main invasion was to
be made, were captured.
Despite all this activity, strategic surprise proved complete when, on
20 October 1944, the assault forces landed on Leyte. Heavy opposition
was encountered on only one of the many beaches. Throughout the
entire campaign, opposition at times was fierce although it came from
relatively small units or from separate defense positions. Between 23
and 26 October the naval battle for Leyte Gulf took place. The enemy
made every effort to hold Leyte; reinforcements were rushed in by
every means available to them and during November an all-out struggle
for Leyte developed. Bad weather conditions in November seriously
interfered with the supply of U.S. forces and with air operations.
On 7 December U.S. troops landed on the west coast of Leyte at Ormoc
to place new strength at the rear of Japanese forces holding out in
northwestern Leyte and to prevent the Japanese from landing any more
reinforcements in the Ormoc area. By 26 December Leyte was declared
secured but mopping up against strong resistance continued for several
months.
PACIFIC ISLANDS
[Illustration]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: NEW GUINEA OPERATIONS]
HAWAII
[Illustration: SOLDIERS DEMONSTRATE METHODS OF JUDO (top); training in
the technique of uphill attack (bottom). In the early fighting against
the Japanese, the tropical battlegrounds of the South and Southwest
Pacific imposed severe difficulties on the U.S. forces. Operations were
hampered by a jungle-wise enemy whose tactics and weapons were well
adapted to the terrain. In October 1942 U.S. commanders were directed
to begin a program of training which would include specialized training
in close-in fighting, judo, firing from trees and other elevated
positions, map reading, and use of the compass for movement through
dense undergrowth.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: INFANTRYMAN CLIMBING OVER A BARBED WIRE FENCE during
training at the Unit Jungle Training Center which was opened in
September 1943 in Hawaii. The physical conditioning of troops was
accomplished by cross-country marches over difficult terrain, mountain
climbing, and vigorous exercises which simulated conditions of actual
combat. Obstacle courses were constructed to further harden the troops.
The mission of this center was to prepare troops for combat against the
Japanese in difficult terrain, by day or night, under all conditions.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: TRAINEE JUMPING THROUGH BURNING OIL (top); hip-shooting
with .30-caliber machine guns during jungle training (bottom).
Emphasis was placed on specialized training in patrolling, ambushing,
hip-shooting, stream-crossing expedients, and jungle living. Training
was also given in the assault of fortified areas, hand-to-hand combat,
and the use of demolitions. As the varied problems of assaulting the
Pacific islands arose, the training was changed to suit the particular
requirements.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: CLASS INSTRUCTION IN STREET AND HOUSE-TO-HOUSE FIGHTING
(top); Medical Corps men move a soldier off a field under machine gun
fire during training at the Jungle Training Center (bottom). The course
in first aid and sanitation emphasized those aspects of the subject
which pertained to combat conditions in the Pacific. Training in jungle
living covered all phases of survival in the jungle terrain, on the
open seas, and on Pacific atolls.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: SOLDIER WEARING A CAMOUFLAGE SUIT fires a .45-caliber
Thompson submachine gun M1928A1 during street-fighting course at the
Jungle Training Center. The magnitude of the training given was vast.
In the Hawaiian area alone, more than 250,000 men were trained for
combat by these schools; additional men trained in the South Pacific
and on Saipan brought the total to well over 300,000.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: AN 81-MM. MORTAR M1 set up in a position in the jungle
during training. The value of the training received was demonstrated in
every area of the Pacific. As the U.S. forces went into the Solomons,
New Guinea, the Gilberts, the Marianas, the Ryukus, the Philippines,
and other Pacific islands held by the Japanese, their victories were
made less costly by the intensive training they had received at the
various jungle training centers. Ten Army divisions and non-divisional
Army units, as well as some Air Forces, Marine, and Navy personnel,
were trained at these centers.]
MARSHALL ISLANDS
[Illustration: MEDIUM TANKS M4A1 WITH 75-MM. GUNS, going ashore on
Kwajalein. The stacks, at the rear of the tanks, were used to extend
the vented openings; unvented openings were sealed with tape and
sealing compound to render the hulls watertight. Waterproofed vehicles
could be operated satisfactorily in water deeper than otherwise
possible, permitting them to wade in from landing craft halted at
greater distances from shore.]
MARSHALL ISLANDS
[Illustration: WATERPROOFED JEEP heading from ship to shore during
the Kwajalein battle. Jeeps were prepared for fording by sealing the
individual components and extending air and exhaust vents above the
water level. Artillery that was ferried ashore on the smaller islands
registered its fire on the selected landing beaches of Kwajalein and
Roi, shifting fire inland two minutes before the leading assault waves
hit the beaches.]
MARSHALL ISLANDS
[Illustration: WRECKAGE OF A JAPANESE POWER INSTALLATION found on one
of the islands in the Kwajalein Atoll on 31 January 1944. As a result
of the air, naval, and artillery bombardment, the islands were greatly
damaged. With exception of rubble left by concrete structures, there
were no buildings standing; all those which had been made of any
material other than concrete were completely demolished.]
MARSHALL ISLANDS
[Illustration: FIRING A 37-MM. ANTITANK GUN M3A1 at an enemy pillbox,
31 January. The operations on Roi, Namur, and Kwajalein consisted
mostly of ferreting the enemy from his concrete pillboxes.]
MARSHALL ISLANDS
[Illustration: MACHINE GUNS AND AUTOMATIC RIFLES cover advancing
infantrymen as a tank and tank destroyer, in background, move forward.
The machine gun in foreground is a .30-caliber M1919A4. Tanks helped
cover the advance of the foot soldier and clear roadways for vehicles.]
MARSHALL ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN, supported by a medium tank M4A1, move
forward to wipe out the remaining enemy on the island. The fire raging
in the background is the result of pre-invasion bombing and shelling.]
MARSHALL ISLANDS
[Illustration: TROOPS MOVING A 37-MM. ANTITANK GUN over war-torn
Kwajalein, 1 February. Before the attacks in the Marshalls, the enemy
had a force of about 8,000 men on the islands to guard airfields.]
MARSHALL ISLANDS
[Illustration: ROUTING THE ENEMY FROM DEFENSIVE POSITIONS, Kwajalein
Atoll. Infantrymen poised to enter a well-camouflaged enemy dugout
(top). Using a flame thrower to burn out the enemy from his positions;
portion of rifle in right foreground is the .30-caliber M1 with fixed
bayonet (bottom). The concrete pillboxes built by the enemy on Roi,
Namur, and Kwajalein were, in general, effectively reduced by bazookas
and flame throwers.]
MARSHALL ISLANDS
[Illustration: .30-CALIBER BROWNING WATER-COOLED MACHINE GUN M1917A1
set up amid rubble on Kwajalein. Water-cooling the barrel of this gun
permitted sustained fire over comparatively long periods (top). Men
taking time out (bottom). The ground was occupied yard by yard with the
aid of air and naval fire and additional flank landings.]
MARSHALL ISLANDS
[Illustration: GUN MOTOR CARRIAGE M10, used to blast pillboxes on
Kwajalein. This weapon, called a tank destroyer, was mounted on the
medium tank chassis and had a 3-inch gun M17 in a semi-open turret,
and a .50-caliber machine gun at the rear of the turret for protection
against low-flying planes. Six days after the main landings had taken
place, Kwajalein was in U.S. hands.]
CAROLINE ISLANDS
[Illustration: CONSOLIDATED LIBERATOR HEAVY BOMBERS, B-24’s, raining
500-pound bombs on Truk in the Caroline Islands as part of a
two-day strike executed to screen the assault on Eniwetok Atoll in
the northwestern Marshalls. The strong enemy bases in the eastern
Marshalls, bypassed when the western Marshalls were invaded, were
continually harassed by air attack in 1944.]
CAROLINE ISLANDS
[Illustration: ENEMY SHIPS ON FIRE, the result of direct hits during
the 17-18 February air raid on Truk. During the two-day strike, 270
enemy aircraft and 32 of his ships were destroyed.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: INVASION TROOPS AND SUPPLIES ready for the run in to
Saipan, 15 June 1944. Craft in left foreground are LCVP; an LCM(3)
can be seen just behind them. The capture of the Marianas would sever
the principal enemy north-south axis of sea communications through
the Central Pacific, would become the initial step in the isolation
and neutralization of the large enemy base at Truk, and would furnish
staging areas and air bases for future offensives.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN DISPERSE FOR BETTER PROTECTION as they
approach the front lines (top). Jeep, pulling a 37-mm. antitank M3A1,
passes a group of men who are advancing toward a small Japanese
settlement (bottom). Prior to the invasion on 15 June, a two-day naval
bombardment was directed at Saipan. During the first four days of the
attack on the island, Japanese artillery and mortar fire exacted a
heavy toll from the invaders.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: TROOPS RESTING beside the narrow gauge Japanese railroad
on Saipan (top); wounded cameraman with a speed graphic camera SC PH
104 (bottom). The strong resistance and heavy casualty rate made it
necessary to commit reinforcements on D plus 1. By midday of the 19th
troops had captured the airfield and driven to the east coast of the
island.]
PHILIPPINE SEA
[Illustration: JAPANESE DIVE BOMBER PLUNGING TOWARD THE SEA, downed
by antiaircraft fire from a Navy carrier during the Battle of the
Philippine Sea, which started on 19 June. Aircraft in the foreground
are Grumman Avengers (TBF-1 torpedo bombers). A Japanese naval force
approaching the Marianas caused U.S. ships at Saipan, except for those
unloading the most necessary supplies, to withdraw to the east. Troops
ashore were left without naval gunfire, air support, or sufficient
supplies.]
PHILIPPINE SEA
[Illustration: JAPANESE FLEET UNDER ATTACK by aircraft from carriers
operating west of the Marianas. In the late afternoon of 20 June the
enemy fleet was discovered at extreme range and shortly before sunset
U.S. carrier planes took off. In this attack the Japanese lost one
carrier and two tankers; four carriers, one battleship, one cruiser,
and one tanker were severely damaged. The Battle of the Philippine Sea
broke the enemy effort to reinforce the Marianas.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: TRACTOR TOWING A 155-MM. GUN OVER A PONTON CAUSEWAY
reaching from an LST to shore on Saipan. The tractor is a high-speed
18-ton M4 model; the 155-mm. gun M1A1 is mounted on an M1 carriage
(top). A landing vehicle, tracked, provides a shady spot for a game of
cards during a lull in the fighting; this armored amphibian LVT (A) (4)
was the same as the LVT (A) (1) except for an M8 75-mm. howitzer turret
which replaced the 37-mm. gun (bottom). On Saipan tanks and heavy
artillery added the weight of their guns to renewed naval gunfire and
aerial bombardment after the Battle of the Philippine Sea.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: A .50-CALIBER MULTIPLE MACHINE GUN EMPLACEMENT (top); a
75-mm. howitzer motor carriage M8 (bottom). The enemy had been driven
out of the high ground in the central part of the island by the 25th.
After that, moderate daily advances were made over steep hills and
through deep ravines in the north.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN ADVANCING ALONG A ROAD ON SAIPAN to blast
an enemy pillbox beyond the next ridge. The 105-mm. howitzer motor
carriage M7 in the left background was called the “Priest.” This
vehicle was based on a medium tank M3 chassis. During the night of 6-7
July the enemy made a massed counterattack which gained some ground and
inflicted heavy losses on U.S. troops. The lost ground was recovered by
the end of the 7th and the advance was renewed the next day.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: MARINE USING A FLAME THROWER TO ROUT THE ENEMY from a
cave turns his face from the intense heat. The two men in the center
foreground are watching to intercept any of the enemy who might try
to escape. Note casualty on ground to the right of the two men. On 9
July organized resistance ceased but thousands of the enemy remained
scattered throughout the island in small groups.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: 2.36-INCH ROCKET LAUNCHER M9 being fired into a cave
on Saipan, 28 July. These launchers, called bazookas, were usually
equipped with a flash deflector to protect the operator from unburned
powder as the rocket left the tube. The bazooka was employed against
tanks, armored vehicles, pillboxes, and other enemy emplacements.
Operations to rid the island of the enemy continued for nearly two
months after organized fighting had ceased.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: STREET FIGHTING IN GARAPAN, SAIPAN. Enemy buildings and
installations were set afire by supporting artillery barrage before
troops entered the town to engage the enemy. About 2,100 Japanese out
of the original garrison of 29,000 on Saipan were taken prisoner.
American casualties were approximately 3,100 killed, 300 missing, and
13,100 wounded.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: 155-MM. HOWITZER M1 ON CARRIAGE M1, on Tinian in the
Marianas, 28 July 1944. The assault on Tinian was made on the morning
of 24 July. By evening of the 27th the two divisions ashore had control
of half the island. Enemy resistance, light at first, increased as the
high ground in central part of the island was reached. On 1 August the
remaining part of the island was overrun.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: RESULTS OF A JAPANESE NOON RAID ON SAIPAN, November
1944 (note foamite on wing in foreground). Fire fighters attempted to
quell the blaze of burning aircraft caught on the ground by the enemy.
Before the fighting ended on Saipan, U.S. aircraft were operating from
the captured airfield. Along with carrier-based planes, they supported
ground troops landing on Tinian and Guam.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: JAPANESE AIRCRAFT FOUND ON SAIPAN. A single-engined
fighter plane (top) and the wreckage of bombers (bottom). Japanese
aircraft markings usually consisted of a large red disc on the top
and bottom of the outer section of each wing and on each side of the
fuselage. The side marking was omitted on their Army aircraft but
retained on Navy aircraft. Occasionally the red disc was surrounded by
a narrow white line.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: CAPTURED ENEMY EQUIPMENT ON SAIPAN. Type 93, 13.2-mm.
machine gun mounted on a naval-type pedestal, dual-purpose single
mount, which could be used emplaced on a dual-purpose position or
emplaced solely for antiaircraft fire or only for ground fire (top). A
Type 97 medium tank mounting a 47-mm. tank gun and weighing 15 tons;
its manually operated turret could be traversed 360 degrees (bottom).]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: MEN WADING ASHORE AT GUAM keep together and follow the
shallowest area around the reef; amphibian vehicle on right is bringing
in supplies and equipment (top). A beachhead casualty being evacuated
in an LCM (3) (bottom). Guam was attacked on 21 July, three days before
the landings on Tinian. A thirteen-day air and naval softening-up
barrage was directed at Guam before the invasion.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN ON HIGH GROUND ABOVE AGAT BEACH keep their
bayonets fixed for expected contact with the enemy. Vegetation is
typical of much of the high ground in central Guam. Two separate
landings were made by Marines and Army ground troops about 7½ miles
apart on either side of Orote Peninsula on the western side of Guam.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: MEDIUM TRACTOR M5 dragging sleds of ammunition to the
front as a jeep equipped to lay wire waits on the side of the road.
Tropical rains and constant traffic produced a sea of mud on the roads
to the dumps. It often took a tractor such as this three hours to make
a round trip from the beach to the supply dump, a distance in some
cases of only 600 yards. The two beachheads were joined after three
days of fighting. Orote Peninsula with its harbor and airstrip was
gained when the cut-off enemy in this area was wiped out.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: CLOSING IN ON AN ENEMY POSITION. Explosives being used
to destroy a dugout (top); note 37-mm. antitank gun M3A1 (bottom).
On 30 July American units made an attack toward the north end of the
island.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: ENEMY BEING ROUTED FROM ONE OF MANY CAVES ON GUAM;
before dynamite charges were set in his pillboxes, dugouts, and caves,
he was given a chance to surrender (top). Men washing behind the
defensive line after a long hard trek (bottom). The advance to the
north end of the island was considerably hampered by jungle terrain.
The enemy put up a stubborn defense on the high ground in the north and
organized resistance did not cease until 10 August.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: OBSERVERS USING AN OBSERVATION TELESCOPE M49 watch for
signs of the enemy from the high ground (top). Two burning medium tanks
M4A1 hit by enemy antitank guns near Yigo (bottom). As on Saipan,
wiping out scattered enemy forces continued long after the main battle
was over.]
MARIANA ISLANDS
[Illustration: B-24’S APPROACHING FOR AN ATTACK on Yap Island, 20
August 1944. Aircraft operating from fields on Saipan had supported
landings on Tinian and Guam and struck at enemy installations in the
northern Marianas, and the Bonin, Volcano, Palau, Ulithi, Yap, and
Ngulu islands. The next hop of the American ground forces was to the
Palau Islands.]
PALAU ISLANDS
[Illustration: MARINES PINNED DOWN BY ENEMY FIRE on Peleliu Island in
the Palaus. An American force from Guadalcanal assaulted Peleliu on 15
September and Anguar on 17 September, the two southernmost islands in
the Palau group. Peleliu was the site of the major Japanese airfield in
the group of islands and Angaur was important as a suitable location
for the construction of a large-size bomber base.]
PALAU ISLANDS
[Illustration: MEN STRUGGLE UP A STEEP SLOPE ON PELELIU. The assault
of this island was met with considerable opposition. On D day the
enemy, supported by tanks, launched a counterattack against the landing
forces. This attack was repulsed and the next day the airfield was
captured.]
PALAU ISLANDS
[Illustration: BATTLE-WEARY MARINE grins at cameraman during the hard
fight on Peleliu. Note hand grenades within easy reach on shirt. After
the airfield was seized, attack was made to the north against heavily
fortified enemy positions in the hills. Progress over the rough terrain
was very slow. The enemy was forced into a small area in the central
part of the island by 9 October and it took many more weeks to ferret
him out.]
PALAU ISLANDS
[Illustration: THE VOUGHT KINGFISHER two-seat observation seaplane
OS2U-3 flies over firing ships and landing craft which carried invading
forces to the shores of Angaur. The final loading of men used in the
operations at Angaur and Peleliu was made in the Solomons.]
PALAU ISLANDS
[Illustration: RAGING FIRE OF AN AMERICAN AMMUNITION DUMP after a
direct hit by an enemy mortar. Compared with the battle on Peleliu,
opposition was considered fairly light on Angaur. No landings were
planned on Babelthuap Island, the largest and most strongly garrisoned
island in the Palau group.]
PALAU ISLANDS
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN ON ANGAUR PASS AN ENEMY CASUALTY lying
across the narrow gauge railroad of the island. Tanks are medium
M4A4’s. Remaining groups of the enemy were holed up in the northwest
part of the island. Angaur was declared secure on 20 September, though
some fighting continued.]
PALAU ISLANDS
[Illustration: WAR DAMAGE FOUND ON ANGAUR near the town of Saipan. In
the Palau operation, U.S. casualties amounted to approximately 1,900
killed, over 8,000 wounded, and about 135 missing. Enemy casualties for
this operation were about 13,600 killed and 400 captured.]
PALAU ISLANDS
[Illustration: FORMATION OF LIBERATORS OVER ANGAUR ISLAND. A B-24
heavy bomber group operating from Angaur received training in raids
against the northern Palaus and the Carolines. During the latter part
of 1944 enemy bases were constantly bombed from newly acquired American
airfields.]
ULITHI
[Illustration: NAVY AIRCRAFT CARRIERS IN ULITHI ANCHORAGE. While
fighting continued in the Palaus, an unopposed landing was made in the
Ulithi Atoll, 23 September 1944. Steps were taken at once to develop
the anchorage at Ulithi, the best available shelter in the western
Carolines for large surface craft.]
MARIANA ISLAND
[Illustration: BOEING B-29 SUPERFORTRESS, the “Tokyo Local,” taking off
from Saipan to bomb Tokyo (top) and coming in for a landing after the
raid (bottom). Superfortresses made the first of a series of attacks on
Tokyo on 24 November 1944, operating from Saipan.]
TOKYO
[Illustration: FIRES which resulted from the first raid on Tokyo by
Superfortresses: note native dress of the women in the bucket-brigade
line (top). Extinguishing the fires of a blazing building; note
antiquated fire equipment (bottom). These photographs are copies of the
originals taken from Japanese files.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: LST’S UNLOADING troops and an artillery observation
plane directly on shore during the amphibious landing at Saidor
on the north coast of New Guinea, 2 January 1944 (top and bottom,
respectively). This constituted the first advance of 1944 in the
Southwest Pacific Area. Action in the Southwest and Central Areas was
concurrent in 1944.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: AERIAL VIEW OF SHORE LINE NEAR SAIDOR; ships along the
coast are LST’s. A regimental combat team landing here had the airstrip
at Saidor in use on 7 January.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: EQUIPMENT BEING FERRIED ACROSS A RIVER near Saidor
(top). Crawler-type tractor with diesel engine plowing along a muddy
road near Saidor; these tractors were mainly used to tow artillery and
equipment over rough terrain (bottom). Tropical rains in this area
greatly impeded the moving of supplies.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: HEAVILY LOADED TROOPS CROSSING A RIVER in the Saidor
area. In February reconnaissance planes reported that the Admiralty
Islands were occupied by only a few small enemy units which were
guarding the airfields there.]
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS
[Illustration: INVADING FORCES LOUNGE ON THE DECK OF A SHIP taking them
to Los Negros in the Admiralty Islands. These men landed on the east
shore of the island near Momote airfield on morning of 29 February
1944.]
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS
[Illustration: MOMOTE AIRFIELD, looking northwest on Los Negros Island,
Hyane Harbour on left (top); another view of the field, looking
northeast (bottom). Following an unopposed landing, the enemy guards at
the airfield were overcome, leaving the field in U.S. hands. During the
night of 29 February-1 March an enemy counterattack was repulsed.]
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS
[Illustration: 155-MM. GUN M1918M1 AND 105-MM. HOWITZER M2A1 (top and
bottom, respectively) firing on Japanese positions on Manus Island
from Los Negros, 23 March. Japanese reinforcements from Manus Island,
separated from Los Negros by about 100 yards of water, were thrown into
battle. By the 23d Los Negros, except for isolated enemy units, was
captured and the airfield was ready for operation.]
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS
[Illustration: CAPTURED JAPANESE NAVAL GUN BEING FIRED by an American
soldier in the Admiralties. On 15 March, after the seizure of a few
smaller islands in the Admiralties, troops landed on Manus. By the end
of April most of the enemy in the Admiralties was overcome.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: PART OF A TASK FORCE HITTING THE BEACH at Aitape,
22 April (top). Reinforcements moving inland to their bivouac area
(bottom). This landing was one of three made that day on the northern
coast of New Guinea. Earlier, the U.S. Navy pounded enemy bases in the
western Carolines and western New Guinea to prevent the Japanese from
launching attacks against these landing forces.]
GREEN ISLAND
[Illustration: ALLIED FORCES LANDING ON GREEN ISLAND from LST’s.
While the fighting continued in New Guinea, the Allies occupied Green
and Emirau Islands, completing the encirclement of the once powerful
Japanese base at Rabaul.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: MEDIUM TANKS AND THEIR CREWS pause in their drive toward
the airstrip during the first day ashore. Tank in the foreground is
temporarily out of use. The landing at Aitape was designed to engage
the enemy in the area and provide air support for the troops at
Hollandia.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: CAPTURED ENEMY SOLDIER BEING QUESTIONED at Aitape. The
operation there gave the Allies another airstrip.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: REMAINS OF A LIGHTNING FIGHTER PLANE P-38 which crashed
during a landing (top), and a Flying Fortress B-17 which crashed when
its right wheel gave way on an airstrip at Aitape (bottom). Since spare
parts to maintain aircraft were difficult to obtain, maintenance men
would strip crashed and crippled planes of usable parts almost before
the engines cooled.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: ENEMY OIL DUMP ABLAZE from preinvasion naval fire as
troops (top) and tanks (bottom) make their way inland from one of
the invasion bases at Hollandia. 22 April. Forces invaded Hollandia,
landing at Tanahmerah Bay and 25 miles to the east at Humbolt
Bay. Simultaneous landings were made at Aitape, 90 miles east of
Hollandia.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: HOLLANDIA AREA, NEW GUINEA, looking west from Humbolt
Bay across Jautefa Bay to Lake Sentani, center background. The lake is
approximately eight air miles inland; the three airfields were about
fifteen air miles inland, north of the lake.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: TROOPS MOVING INLAND on 22 April found the way through
the swampy areas near Hollandia difficult (top). The men exercised much
caution as they penetrated the jungle toward the Hollandia airstrips
(bottom). The landings were virtually unopposed since the enemy had
taken to the hills.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: LAKE SENTANI NEAR HOLLANDIA. Men in a “Buffalo,”
LVT(A)(2), are firing a machine gun at enemy riflemen hidden in the
bushes (top); troops wade through knee-deep water, 27 April (bottom).
Despite the dense jungle and lack of overland communications,
satisfactory progress was made. The three airfields at Hollandia were
taken within five days of the landings.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: SUPPLY OPERATIONS ON A BEACH NEAR HOLLANDIA. Trucks
lined up along the water’s edge have just been unloaded from the LST
in the background (top); a conveyor being used to help unload supplies
(bottom). As soon as the airstrips were in full operation and the port
facilities at Hollandia developed, U.S. forces were ready for further
attacks at points along the northwestern coast of New Guinea.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: 155-MM. HOWITZER M1918 firing on Japanese positions.
Only slight opposition was encountered when a regimental combat team
debarked on 17 May at Arare just east of a major enemy supply and
staging point at Sarmi.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: MAIN ROAD AT ARARE being used to transport supplies, 24
May. On 18 May, with artillery support from the mainland, nearby Wakdé
Island was assaulted. The next day the large airfield there was taken
at a cost of about a hundred U.S. casualties.]
BIAK ISLAND
[Illustration: TROOPS ON BIAK ISLAND. While the positions on Wakdé and
in the Arare area were being consolidated, other units assaulted Biak,
about 200 miles to the west, on 27 May. Only slight opposition was met
during the first day ashore; on the second day the advance inland was
stopped by heavy enemy fire. On 29 May the enemy counterattacked and a
bitter battle ensued.]
BIAK ISLAND
[Illustration: ADVANCING INLAND ON BIAK; note cave beneath footbridge.
Biak was assaulted to broaden the front for air deployment.]
BIAK ISLAND
[Illustration: CAVES ON BIAK, which constituted the major Japanese
strong points, were north of the airfield. The enemy, entrenched in
other caves commanding the coastal road to the airstrips, launched
attacks on U.S. troops, thus retarding the advances.]
BIAK ISLAND
[Illustration: INFANTRYMAN READING AN ISSUE OF YANK MAGAZINE, just a
few feet away from an enemy casualty. The Japanese attempt to reinforce
his units on Biak was repulsed by U.S. air and naval forces and by 20
June the ground forces had captured the three airfields on the island.]
NOEMFOOR ISLAND
[Illustration: COMMAND POST SET UP ON D DAY, 2 JULY, near Kamiri
airstrip on Noemfoor Island. Note camouflaged walkie-talkie, SCR
300. The troops went ashore at points where reefs and other natural
obstacles made the landings hazardous.]
NOEMFOOR ISLAND
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN CROSS THE KAMIRI AIRSTRIP, keeping low to
avoid enemy fire (top); 60-mm. mortar emplacement near the airstrip, 2
July (bottom). Prior to the landings on Noemfoor, Japanese airfields
near by were effectively neutralized by aerial bombardment.]
NOEMFOOR ISLAND
[Illustration: AIRDROP AT KAMIRI STRIP. The invasion forces on Noemfoor
were reinforced by a parachute infantry regiment which dropped directly
onto the airstrip.]
NOEMFOOR ISLAND
[Illustration: A PARATROOPER HANGING SUSPENDED FROM A TREE in which his
parachute was caught during the drop at Noemfoor. All three airfields
here were captured by the night of 6 July.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: WATER SPLASH FROM A DEPTH CHARGE dropped off the coast
near Cape Sansapor, 30 July 1944. An amphibious force carried out a
landing near Cape Sansapor on the Vogelkop Peninsula in western New
Guinea on the same day.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN MOVING ALONG THE BEACH at Cape Sansapor on
31 July; portion of LST in right background. The landings here were
unopposed and the construction of new airfields began at once. By this
move a large number of the enemy were bypassed and forced to begin an
immediate withdrawal to the southwest coast.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: CAPE SANSAPOR; note jetty projecting out from shore.
The landing here was the last made by U.S. forces on the shores of New
Guinea.]
NEW GUINEA
[Illustration: END OF AN A-20. The Douglas light bomber, caught by
Japanese flak off the coast of New Guinea near Karas Island, goes out
of control (top) and explodes (bottom).]
MOROTAI ISLAND
[Illustration: LCTS UNLOADING ASSAULT FORCES offshore at Morotai,
northwest of Vogelkop Peninsula. The southern tip of Morotai Island
was selected as the site for one of the last air bases needed before
invading the Philippines. D Day for this operation was 15 September,
the same day that the invasion of Peleliu in the Palau group took
place. On 30 September several airfields were made operational on the
island.]
NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES
[Illustration: CAMOUFLAGED JAPANESE PLANE, just before it went up in
flames from the approaching parafrag bombs, during a low-level bombing
and strafing attack on an airdrome in the Netherlands East Indies.]
NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES
[Illustration: RAID ON JAPANESE OIL-PRODUCING FACILITIES IN BALIKPAPAN,
Borneo, October 1944. Aircraft, returning to their base, are B-24’s.
While preparations were being made for the invasion of the Philippines,
U.S. Air Forces early in October neutralized enemy air strength on
Mindanao, attacked Japanese shipping throughout the Netherlands East
Indies, and conducted heavy raids on the oil-producing facilities in
Borneo.]
LEYTE
[Illustration]
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS
[Illustration: FINAL INSPECTION OF TROOPS at one of the staging areas
on Los Negros, an island of the Admiralty group, before they board
ships for the invasion of Leyte in the Philippines. The two Army corps
which were to be used for the invasion were to rendezvous at sea about
450 miles east of Leyte and then proceed to make simultaneous landings
on the east coast of that island.]
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS
[Illustration: LOADING OF MEN AND SUPPLIES AT SEEADLER HARBOUR, Los
Negros. The entire expedition comprised more than 650 ships of all
categories. Before invading Leyte, three sentinel islands guarding
Leyte Gulf, Suluan, Homonhon, and Dinagat, were taken on 17 and 18
October, after which Navy mine sweepers cleared a channel for the
approaching armada.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: UNLOADING AT A BEACH ON LEYTE, 21 October 1944. Beyond
the two barges are several LCM (3)’s. An LVT (A)(2), the armored
Buffalo, can be seen on the beach. On 20 October landings were made
on three beaches: one in the Palo area; another between San Jose and
Dulag; and the third about fifty-five miles to the south to control
Panaon Strait which was between Leyte and the near by island of
Panaon.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: PORTION OF A LANDING BEACH ON LEYTE where Philippine
civilians left their hiding places to see the American forces. Fires
smoldering in the background were caused by preinvasion aerial
and naval bombardment. On one of the beaches heavy opposition was
encountered. Enemy mortar and artillery fire sank several landing craft
and U.S. forces had to fight their way across the beach.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: WATER SUPPLY POINT set up near a beach on Leyte, 21
October; note the collapsible water tank. By the end of the 21st,
Tacloban, San Jose, Dulag, and two airfields were captured. Heavy
fighting continued at Palo.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN AND A MEDIUM TANK MOVING FORWARD on Leyte.
At the time of the invasion, the Japanese had only one division
stationed on Leyte. Their vital supplies at Tacloban were lost to them
on the 21st and they appeared to have no organized plan of defense,
offering resistance only at widely scattered points.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: MEN CAUTIOUSLY MOVING IN on an enemy machine gun
position, 24 October. The infantryman on the right is armed with a
.30-caliber Browning automatic rifle M1918A2. The fight for Palo ended
on 24 October when a suicidal enemy counterattack that penetrated the
center of town was repulsed.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: FIRING A 155-MM. GUN M1A1 on an advancing Japanese
column. While U.S. ground troops advanced on Leyte, the battle for
Leyte Gulf took place, 23-26 October. The enemy, using a force
comprising more than half his naval strength, suffered a crippling
blow.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: 8-INCH HOWITZERS M1 EMPLACED ON LEYTE. By 5 November
American forces reached the vicinity of Limon at the northern end of
the valley road leading to Ormoc, the principal Japanese installation
of the island. Bitter fighting continued and was made more difficult by
typhoons which inaugurated the rainy season.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: B-25 APPROACHING A JAPANESE WARSHIP in Ormoc Bay. U.S.
planes, operating from fields on Morotai, raided enemy ships in Ormoc
Bay on 2 November in an attempt to keep the Japanese from landing
reinforcements.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: DIRECT HIT ON A JAPANESE WARSHIP by a B-25 in Ormoc Bay.
Two transports and six escorting ships were sunk in the 2 November
raid; however, by 3 November the Japanese had landed some 22,000 fresh
troops at Ormoc Bay to reinforce the 16,000 original troops on Leyte.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: PHILIPPINE CIVILIANS carrying supplies to the front
for U.S. troops. Heavy rains and deep mud harassed the supply lines
and forward units were dependent on hand-carry or improvised means of
transporting supplies.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: 60-MM. MORTAR used to fire on enemy pillboxes. The
Japanese, battling fiercely, delayed but could not stop the U.S. drive
in the Ormoc valley. By the end of November troops were closing in on
Limon and were threatening Ormoc from the south.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: TROOPS USING JAPANESE HORSES AND MULE to transport their
supplies. On 1 December seven divisions were ashore and five airfields
were in operation. On 7 December a division landed south of Ormoc and
by 10 December Ormoc was captured together with great quantities of
enemy supplies and equipment. Some enemy survivors fled to the hills.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: AMERICAN MOTOR CONVOY moving through the streets of a
town on Leyte; vehicle in foreground is a cargo carrier M29. Valencia
was taken on 18 December, Libungao on 20 December. After troops moved
down from the mountains to take Cananga on 21 December, the enemy
retreated westward. The Leyte Campaign was considered closed on 26
December but mopping-up activities continued for several months.]
GUAM
[Illustration: LINESMAN STRINGING COMMUNICATIONS WIRE ON GUAM stops to
watch Liberators taking off from the airfield there. During the last
part of 1944 the number of B-29’s based in the Marianas was rapidly
increased for participation in strategic bombing attacks on Japanese
industrial centers. Large-scale raids on the industry of Japan were
soon to be launched.]
GUAM
[Illustration: B-29’S LEAVING THEIR BASE ON GUAM for a strategic
bombing mission on Japanese industry. As 1944 drew to a close, although
the Allies had gained a foothold in the Philippines, the enemy
continued to fight with the same fanatical zeal and tenacity of purpose
as he did in the early days of the war. While his air, naval and ground
forces had been considerably reduced, he still had strong forces at his
disposal for defense.]
THE FINAL PHASE