The Marshalls Campaign The first step in the Central Pacific islands campaigns - the conquest of Tarawa in the Gilberts - having been successfully concluded, it was time to turn to the second phase, the Marshall Islands to the north. The first major objective in the Marshalls Campaign was Kwajalein, the largest atoll in the world. The southernmost island in the atoll, Kwajalein Island, was assaulted by the Army's 7th Division February 1st, 1944. Some 45 miles to the north at the top of the atoll, the 23rd and 24th Marines (regiments) of the Fourth Division were assigned the Siamese-twin islands of Roi and Namur, respectively. Roi fell in six and a half hours. Namur was a different story due to die-hard enemy soldiers and a catastrophic misfortune. A concrete structure thought to be an enemy blockhouse turned out to be an ordnance bunker filled with munitions and torpedo warheads. When a satchel charge was thrown into the bunker, the resulting explosion killed more than 20 Marines and injured a hundred others. "Great God almighty," a Navy pilot radioed from overhead. "The whole damn island has blown up." One man who survived was blown off the island into the lagoon. As on Tarawa, very few enemy soldiers surrendered. Some 3,500 Japanese died on Roi-Namur, victims of either the bombardment or the assault. 313 Marines fell, with another 502 wounded. Kwajalein Island in the south was secured on Feb. 5th, at a cost of 173 American soldiers killed and about 5,000 of the enemy. The photos below are all from Kwajalein Atoll. The first photo shows the explosion on Namur as seen from Roi. The second is a flamethrower attack. Third, infantry pass a fallen comrade. Last, Japanese torpedo plane hit by a shell from Yorktown. JT
Great pictures Jacobtowne. This fighting in the Pacific for small pieces of real estate was some of the most horrific of WW2. The attached photo shows the entire Kwajalein atoll with these little islands separated by submerged land mass.The actual land area of the total Kwajalein land mass (all the islands) is only 16 Sqkms. View attachment 2912 (Just to correct a misnomer in the piece you posted) While Kwajalein 846 Sqkm is sometimes called the largest atoll in the world, it could read "in the Pacific" and even that is not correct as Rangiroa in the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia is 1016 Sqkm. The largest is Huvadhoo atoll in the Maldives chain in the Indian Ocean which is over 2800 sqkm. There are larger ones however the land mass is mostly submerged.
