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Title: The war against Japan: Pictorial record
Author: United States. Army
Language: English
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_UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II_
Pictorial Record
Second Edition
THE WAR AGAINST JAPAN
[Illustration]
CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY
UNITED STATES ARMY
WASHINGTON, D.C., 2006
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hunter, Kenneth E.
The war against Japan.--2d ed.
p. cm.--(United States Army in World War II. Pictorial record)
“The text was written and the photographs compiled by
Capt. Kenneth E. Hunter and Miss Margaret E. Tackley” Foreword.
Includes index.
1. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Japan--Pictorial works.
2. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Ocean--Pictorial works.
3. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area--Pictorial works.
I. Tackley, Margaret E. II. Center of Military History. III.
Title. IV. Series.
D767.H85 2006
940.53’52 dc22
2006014728
First Printed 1952--CMH Pub 12-1
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office
Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800;
DC area (202) 512-1800
Fax: (202) 512-2250 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402-0001
ISBN 0-16-076546-3
Foreword
To the Second Edition
This collection of 500-plus pictures dramatically enhances the written
record of World War II in the Pacific Theater. The images freeze in
place the soldiers, the weapons, the operations, the geography, and the
tenor of the moment. Maj. Gen. Orlando Ward’s foreword to the first
edition (_see next page_) describes this visual dimension as essential
to fully understanding military history. _The War Against Japan_ was
one of the first volumes in the United States Army in World War II
series, and it has stood the test of time. The book has also served as
a useful resource for anyone seeking to illustrate this stage of the
war.
Although this second edition keeps all the original photographs,
captions, and short narrative historical introductions in each section,
the Center of Military History has taken several steps to improve
the appearance, currency, and utility of the book. New prints of all
existing photographs ensure their clarity, replacing the old printing
negatives with greatly improved examples. The Center staff also removed
outdated references and developed an appendix that provides more
detailed information on sources and photograph cataloging numbers. I
hope this information will further assist those involved in research or
seeking to obtain their own prints.
In visually documenting the World War II experience, this volume has
proven to be an invaluable collection. By publishing this upgraded
edition, the Center hopes to revive and expand the book’s effectiveness
in promoting an awareness of the determination, courage, and sacrifices
of the American soldier in World War II.
Washington, D.C. JEFFREY J. CLARKE
15 May 2006 Chief of Military History
Foreword
During World War II the photographers of the United States armed forces
created on film a pictorial record of immeasurable value. Thousands
of pictures are preserved in the photographic libraries of the armed
services but are little seen by the public.
In the narrative volumes of UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II, now
being prepared by the Office of the Chief of Military History of the
United States Army, it is possible to include only a limited number of
pictures. Therefore, a subseries of pictorial volumes, of which this
is the last, has been planned to supplement the other volumes of the
series. The photographs have been especially selected to show important
terrain features, types of equipment and weapons, living and weather
conditions, military operations, and matters of human interest. These
volumes will preserve and make accessible for future reference some
of the best pictures of World War II. An appreciation not only of the
terrain upon which actions were fought, but also of its influence on
the capabilities and limitations of weapons in the hands of both our
troops and those of the enemy, can be gained through a careful study of
the pictures herein presented. These factors are essential to a clear
understanding of military history.
The text was written and the photographs compiled by Capt. Kenneth E.
Hunter and Miss Margaret E. Tackley; the volume was edited by Miss Mary
Ann Bacon. The book deals with the Pacific Theater of Operations and is
divided into six sections: (1) The Allied Defensive; (2) The Strategic
Defensive and Tactical Offensive; (3) The Offensive--1944; (4) The
Final Phase; (5) The China-Burma-India Theater; and (6) The Collapse of
Japan and the End of the War in the Pacific. Each section is arranged
in chronological order. All dates used are local dates, and it should
be remembered that all dates west of the International Date Line are
one day ahead of those east of the line. For example, 7 December 1941
at Pearl Harbor is the same day as 8 December 1941 in the Philippines.
The written text has been kept to a minimum. Each section is preceded
by a brief introduction recounting the major events which are set down
in detail in the individual narrative volumes of UNITED STATES ARMY IN
WORLD WAR II. The appendixes give information as to the abbreviations
used and the sources of the photographs.
Washington, D.C. ORLANDO WARD
3 January 1952 Maj. Gen., USA
Chief of Military History
United States Army in World War II
_Advisory Committee_
(As of May 2006)
Jon T. Sumida
University of Maryland
Brig. Gen. Patrick Finnegan
U.S. Military Academy
Lt. Gen. Anthony R. Jones
U.S. Army Training and
Doctrine Command
Adrian R. Lewis
University of North Texas
Brian M. Linn
Texas A&M University
Howard Lowell
National Archives and Records Administration
Col. Craig Madden
U.S. Army War College
Joyce E. Morrow
Administrative Assistant to the
Secretary of the Army
Ronald H. Spector
The George Washington University
Brig. Gen. Volney Warner
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
_U.S. Army Center of Military History_
Jeffrey J. Clark, Chief of Military History
Chief, Histories Division Richard W. Stewart
Editor in Chief Keith R. Tidman
Contents
_Section_ _Page_
I. THE ALLIED DEFENSIVE 2
II. THE STRATEGIC DEFENSIVE AND
TACTICAL OFFENSIVE 76
III. THE OFFENSIVE--1944 213
IV. THE FINAL PHASE 328
V. THE CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER 412
VI. THE COLLAPSE OF JAPAN AND THE END OF
THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC 443
APPENDIX A: LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 463
APPENDIX B: LIST OF PICTORIAL SOURCES 464
INDEX 475
.. to Those Who Served
THE ALLIED DEFENSIVE
SECTION I
The Allied Defensive[1]
Before 7 December 1941, while war was actively being waged in Europe
and the Far East, the United States, still a neutral, was expanding
its manufacturing facilities to meet the demands for additional war
materials, both for the growing U.S. forces and those of the Allies.
On 7 December the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor in an attempt to so
cripple U.S. naval power that future Japanese conquest and occupation
in the Pacific would meet with little or no opposition. This attack
dealt a serious blow to Navy and Army Air Forces units stationed in
the Hawaiian Islands. On the same day two Japanese destroyers attacked
the island of Midway, but were beaten off by the defending troops. On
8 December Wake was assaulted. The attacks on Wake were continued for
two weeks and the small U.S. garrison was forced to surrender on 23
December. Another weak garrison on the island of Guam, unable to resist
the enemy attacks, fell on 10 December.
[1] See Louis Morton, _The Fall of the Philippines_, Washington, D.C.,
1953, in the series U.S. ARMY IN WORLD WAR II.
Early on the morning of 8 December the U.S. forces in the Philippines
were notified that a state of war existed and a full war alert was
ordered. On the same day the first Japanese aerial attack on the
Philippines took place. This was followed by others and on 10 December
enemy landings were made on Luzon. Expecting an early victory, the
Japanese sent a large force, but it was not until 6 May 1942 that the
Japanese were able to conquer the American and Filipino defenders who
fought a delaying action down the Bataan Peninsula and made a final
stand on the island of Corregidor. All military resistance ended in
the rest of the Philippine Islands by 17 May except for small bands
of guerrillas who continued to fight the enemy until 1945 when the
U.S. forces landed in the Philippines. In March 1942 the commander
of the United States Army Forces in the Far East was ordered to move
to Australia by the President of the United States. Troops from
the United States began arriving in Australia in December 1941 for
the build-up in preparation for the defense of Allied bases and the
recapture of enemy-held islands and bases in the Pacific.
While some Japanese forces were carrying out the attacks in the
Pacific, others were overrunning Malaya, North Borneo, and Thailand.
After eighteen days of fighting Hong Kong was captured on 25 December
1941. Thailand, unable to resist the Japanese, agreed to co-operate
with them. Early in 1942 the Japanese took Borneo and by 15 February
the British garrison in Malaya capitulated. In the Netherlands East
Indies the U.S. Navy inflicted damage on an enemy convoy in the Battle
of Makassar Strait, the first important surface action of the war for
the U.S. Navy. On 9 March 1942 formal surrender by the Dutch ended all
resistance in the Netherlands East Indies. By these conquests in Asia
and the Pacific, the Japanese gained valuable territory rich in natural
resources and were ready to expand in other directions.
During the first six months of 1942 the U.S. Navy fought the Japanese
Navy in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway, and
raided the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. Army Air Forces medium bombers
took off from a carrier at sea and bombed Tokyo in April 1942 in a
surprise attack. As part of the Midway operations in June, planes of
the Japanese Navy bombed U.S. installations in Alaska and enemy troops
landed in the Aleutian Islands on Attu and Kiska.
The Allied defensive phase of the war in the Pacific ended on 6 August
1942, with the Allies ready to strike the enemy-held islands in the
South Pacific.
HAWAII
[Illustration]
HAWAII
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN DURING A FIELD INSPECTION in the Hawaiian
Islands, January 1941. From 1935 on the U.S. garrison in the Hawaiian
Islands was larger than any other American overseas outpost. However,
by 1940 there was a shortage of modern equipment and trained personnel,
and not until February 1941 did troop reinforcements and up-to-date
equipment begin to arrive in Hawaii. The United States was not
prepared for war and the men and equipment did not meet the necessary
requirements.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: COAST ARTILLERY BATTERY training in Hawaii. Man at left
is placing a round in the manual fuze setter of a 3-inch antiaircraft
gun M1917M2. A plan for the defense of the Hawaiian Islands had been
set up and joint maneuvers (land, air, and naval forces) were held
periodically to test the various security measures.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: 4.2-INCH CHEMICAL MORTAR CREW in action during maneuvers
(top); 75-mm. gun M1917A1 in a camouflaged position (bottom). As in
all U.S. military commands, the Hawaiian Department was faced with the
problem of training the largely inexperienced forces available at the
time.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: BROWNING ANTIAIRCRAFT MACHINE GUN on a runway at Wheeler
Field, Oahu, in the Hawaiian Islands. Early in December 1941 all the
U.S. troops, including antiaircraft batteries, were returned to their
stations from field maneuvers to await the signal for riot duty.
Trouble was expected, and while Japanese diplomats in Washington talked
peace, their Pearl Harbor Striking Force was moving eastward toward
Hawaii. During this movement the fleet maintained radio silence and was
not detected as it approached the islands. (.50-caliber antiaircraft
machine gun, water-cooled, flexible.)]
HAWAII
[Illustration: FLYING FORTRESSES, Boeing B 17C heavy bombers, burning
at Hickam Field, Oahu, on 7 December 1941 (top); wreckage at the
Naval Air Station at Pearl Harbor, after the enemy attack, 7 December
(bottom). At 0730 on 7 December the first waves of Japanese aircraft
struck the U.S. defenses. Although a few U.S. fighter planes managed to
get into the air and destroyed some of the Japanese planes, the attack
wrought severe damage. After neutralizing the airfields the Japanese
struck at the U.S. Navy warships in the harbor.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: THE DESTROYER USS _SHAW_ EXPLODING during the attack
on Pearl Harbor, 7 December. The first attack on the U.S. warships
anchored in the harbor was delivered at 0758. By 0945 all the Japanese
aircraft had left Oahu and returned to their carriers. The U.S. Pacific
Fleet suffered a major disaster during the attack which lasted one
hour and fifty minutes. Sunk or damaged during the attack were the
destroyers _Shaw_, _Cassin_, and _Dowries_; the mine layer _Oglala_;
the target ship _Utah_; and a large floating drydock. Also hit were the
light cruisers _Helena_, _Honolulu_, and _Raleigh_; the seaplane tender
_Curtis_; and the repair ship _Vestal_.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: U.S. BATTLESHIPS HIT AT PEARL HARBOR. Left to right:
_West Virginia_, _Tennessee_, and _Arizona_ (top); the _West Virginia_
aflame (bottom).]
HAWAII
[Illustration: DAMAGED WARSHIPS. The U.S. destroyers _Dowries_, left,
and _Cassin_, right, and the battleship _Pennsylvania_, in background,
shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Of the eight battleships hit,
the _Arizona_ was a total loss; the _Oklahoma_ was never repaired; the
_California_, _Nevada_, _West Virginia_, _Pennsylvania_, _Maryland_,
and _Tennessee_ were repaired and returned to service. The slight
depth of Pearl Harbor made possible the raising and refitting of these
ships.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: DESTROYED CURTIS P 40 FIGHTER PLANE at Bellows Field
(top); wrecked planes at Wheeler Field after the 7 December attack
(bottom). Of the Army’s 123 first-line planes in Hawaii, 63 survived
the attack; of the Navy’s 148 serviceable combat aircraft, 36 remained.
Only one small airfield on the north shore near Haleiwa was overlooked
during the raid.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: JAPANESE MIDGET SUBMARINE which ran aground on the beach
outside Pearl Harbor, 7 December. Early on the morning of 7 December at
least one Japanese submarine was reconnoitering inside Pearl Harbor,
having slipped past the antisubmarine net. After making a complete
circuit of Ford Island the submarine left the harbor and later ran
aground on the beach where it was captured intact.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: DESTROYED HANGAR AT HICKAM FIELD, 7 December. During
the attack the Army lost 226 killed and 396 wounded; the Navy,
including the Marine Corps, lost 3,077 killed and 876 wounded. The
Japanese attack was entirely successful in accomplishing its mission,
and the U.S. forces were completely surprised both strategically and
tactically.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: SOLDIERS LEAVING PIER to board trucks for Schofield
Barracks, Honolulu. As a result of the disaster at Pearl Harbor,
the Hawaiian command was reorganized. There was little enemy
activity in the Central Pacific after the 7 December attack. The
Japanese had seized Wake and Guam and were concentrating on their
southern campaigns. As the build-up of men and equipment progressed,
reinforcements began to pour into Hawaii for training and shipment to
Pacific stations.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: CONSTRUCTION WORK AT WHEELER FIELD, 11 December 1941.
After the Japanese raid many destroyed or damaged buildings were
rebuilt.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: ARMY TROOPS IN LCP(L)’S, during an amphibious training
exercise, leave Oahu for a beach landing. After the entry of the United
States into World War II training was intensified, and specialized
training in amphibious landings was given the troops arriving in the
Hawaiian Islands since most of the islands to be taken later would have
to be assaulted over open beaches. In February 1943 the Amphibious
Training Area, Waianae, Oahu, was activated for training units in
amphibious landings. LCP(L)’s had no bow ramp for disembarking troops.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: DEPLOYING FOR ADVANCE INLAND after landing on the
beach. During the war more than 250,000 men were given instruction in
amphibious assault operations.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: U.S. LIGHT TANK M2A2 during maneuvers on Oahu, 1942.
This light tank with twin turrets, one containing a .50-caliber machine
gun and the other a .30-caliber machine gun, was first manufactured in
1935. In December 1942, when it was declared obsolete, there were 234
left in the Army. The M2A2 light tank is a good example of the type of
equipment available shortly after the entry of the United States into
World War II.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: LIGHT TANK M3 being refueled during jungle maneuvers.
This tank, which replaced earlier light tank models, had as its
principal weapon a 37-mm. gun.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: A BATTERY OF 105-MM. HOWITZERS M2A1 firing during
maneuvers (top); ordnance men repairing small arms (bottom). Two men
are holding .45-caliber automatic pistols M1911; in the vice on the
table is a .30-caliber Browning automatic rifle M1918A2; on the table
are two .30-caliber rifles M1.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: MEN CLEANING A 3-INCH ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN M3 (top); members
of a machine gun crew operating a Browning machine gun HB .50-caliber,
flexible (bottom).]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: PHILIPPINE ISLANDS]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: MORTAR SQUAD ASSEMBLING AN 81-MM. MORTAR M1 during
training in the Philippine Islands in 1941 (top). New recruits are
given instruction in use of the Browning .30-caliber machine gun
M1917A1 (bottom). In 1936 a program for national defense was initiated
in the Philippine Islands. A military mission of U.S. officers was
charged with the organization and training of Filipino regular troops.
In July 1941 the Philippine Army was ordered into the service of the
Army of the United States and U.S. troops were sent to the islands from
the United States.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: FILIPINO TROOPS training with a 37-mm. antitank gun M3.
As a result of the war warning to all overseas garrisons on 27 November
1941, the U.S. forces in the Philippines went on a full war alert.
Over a period of years the Japanese had collected a valuable store of
information about the Philippines and planned to occupy the Philippine
Islands, eliminating all U.S. troops there.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: LOADING A BAMBOO RAFT before crossing a river during
maneuvers (top), troops and mules preparing to swim a river (bottom).
By December 1941 U.S. ground forces in the Philippines numbered about
110,000, of which a little over 10,000 were U.S. personnel. The
remainder were Philippine scouts, constabulary, and Philippine Army
troops. As in the Hawaiian garrison, the hastily mobilized army lacked
training and modern equipment.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: ENGINEER TROOPS stand ready to place sections of a
ponton bridge in position during a river-crossing maneuver in the
Philippines, 1941.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: TROOPS CROSSING the newly constructed ponton bridge.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: CAVITE NAVY YARD, Luzon, during a Japanese aerial
attack. Early on the morning of 8 December 1941 the Japanese struck
the Philippine Islands. By the end of the first day the U.S. Army Air
Forces had lost half of its bombers and a third of its fighter planes
based there. During the morning of 10 December practically the entire
Navy yard at Cavite was destroyed by enemy bombers. The first Japanese
landings on Luzon also took place on 10 December. On 14 December
the remaining fourteen U.S. Army bombers were flown to Port Darwin,
Australia, and the ships that were undamaged after the attack were
moved south.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: RESIDENTS OF CAVITE evacuating the city after the
Japanese bombing raid of 10 December. After the destruction of the
Navy yards at Cavite, the remaining 11 naval patrol bombers were flown
to the Netherlands East Indies. The ground forces were left with
little or no air support. The Japanese, having control of the air over
the Philippines, began to mass their troops for the capture of the
islands.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: MEDIUM BOMBERS, B 18’S (top) and pursuit planes, P 36’s
(bottom) of the U.S. Far East Army Air Force attack infantry troops
during 1941 maneuvers in the Philippines. When the Japanese attacked
the Philippine Islands the United States had some 300 aircraft in the
Far East Air Force, but of these only 125 were suitable for combat. The
300 planes represented over 10 percent of the total U.S. air strength
at this time. The pilots and crews were well trained and lacked only
combat experience.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: JAPANESE ADVANCING during the drive on Manila. The
medium tank is a Type 94 (1934), with a 57-mm. gun with a free traverse
of 20 degrees right and left. It had a speed of 18 to 20 miles an hour,
was manned by a crew of 4, weighed 15 tons, and was powered by a diesel
engine.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: CAMOUFLAGED 155-MM. GUN M1918 (GPF) parked on the
Gerona-Tarlac road, December 1941. The Japanese forces moved down
Luzon forcing the defending U.S. troops to withdraw to the south. On
30 December a large-scale attack was launched and the U.S. troops
were driven back ten miles to Gapan. After another enemy attack they
fell back twenty miles farther. A secondary enemy attack at Tarlac
failed to achieve important gains. The northern U.S. force protected
the withdrawal of the southern force by a delaying action. All troops
were beginning to converge in the vicinity of Manila and the Bataan
Peninsula.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: AERIAL VIEW OF CORREGIDOR ISLAND off the tip of Bataan.
On 25 December, Headquarters, United States Army Forces in the Far
East, was established on Corregidor. Manila was declared an open city
on the following day and the remains of the naval base at Cavite were
blown up to prevent its supplies from falling into enemy hands.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: TANK OBSTACLES AND BARBED WIRE strung to delay the enemy
advance on Bataan (top); members of an antitank company in position
on Bataan (bottom). As the Japanese advanced, the defending forces
withdrew toward the Bataan Peninsula. The rugged terrain, protected
flanks, and restricted maneuvering room on Bataan limited the enemy’s
ability to employ large numbers of troops. Preparations for the defense
of the peninsula were intensified and the stocks of supplies were
increased.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: JAPANESE PRISONERS, captured on Bataan, being led
blindfolded to headquarters for questioning. On 1 January 1942 the
Japanese entered Manila and the U.S. troops withdrew toward Bataan.
Army supplies were either moved to Bataan and Corregidor or destroyed.
The remaining forces on Bataan, including some 15,000 U.S. troops,
totaled about 80,000 men. The food, housing, and sanitation problems
were greatly increased by the presence of over 20,000 civilian
refugees. All troops were placed on half-rations.]
MARSHALL ISLANDS AND WAKE
[Illustration: WOTJE ATOLL IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS during the attack
by a naval task force, February 1942 (top); Wake during an attack by a
Douglas torpedo bomber (TBD) from the aircraft carrier USS _Enterprise_
(bottom). On 1 February the Pacific Fleet of the U.S. Navy began a
series of offensive raids against the most prominent Japanese bases
in the Central Pacific area. The first of the attacks was carried out
against Kwajalein, Taroa, Wotje, and other atolls in the Marshall
Islands, as well as Makin in the Gilbert Islands. On 24 February a task
force made a successful air and naval bombardment against Wake.]
MARCUS ISLAND AND WAKE
[Illustration: PT (MOTOR TORPEDO) BOAT NEAR MARCUS ISLAND, which was
attacked 4 March 1942 (top); U.S. cruiser firing at Wake, 24 February
1942 (bottom). The aircraft carrier _Enterprise_, two cruisers, and
seven destroyers comprised the task force attacking the island of Wake.
The _Enterprise_ and two cruisers were the main ships used during the
Marcus Island attack, 1,200 miles from Japan. Losses to the U.S. forces
during these attacks were light and the effectiveness of the use of
fast, powerful, carrier task forces was demonstrated.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: JAPANESE SOLDIERS FIRING A MACHINE GUN Type 92 (1932)
7.7-mm. heavy machine gun, gas-operated and air-cooled. This was the
standard Japanese heavy machine gun (top). Japanese firing a 75-mm. gun
Type 41 (1908), normally found in an infantry regimental cannon company
(bottom). Called a mountain (infantry) gun, it was replaced by a later
model. Light and easily handled, it was very steady in action. When
used as a regimental cannon company weapon it was issued on the basis
of four per regiment.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: GUN CREW WITH A 3-INCH ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN M2. The U.S.
troops moving southward down Bataan in front of the enemy forces
continued their delaying action as long as possible. The Bataan
Peninsula, 32 miles long and 20 miles across at the widest portion, is
covered with dense woods and thick jungle growth. Through the center
runs a range of mountains. The limited area and difficult terrain made
the fighting more severe and added to the problems of the advancing
Japanese. However, the situation became steadily worse for the
defending troops and on 9 April 1942 the forces were surrendered to the
Japanese.]
TOKYO RAID
[Illustration: B-25’S ON THE FLIGHT DECK of the aircraft carrier USS
_Hornet_ before taking off to bomb Tokyo on 18 April 1942 (top); B-25
taking off from the flight deck of the _Hornet_ (bottom). In a small
combined operation in the western Pacific by the U.S. Navy and the Army
Air Forces, sixteen planes took off from the carrier _Hornet_, 668
nautical miles from Tokyo, to bomb the city for the first time during
the war. The Japanese were completely surprised because, even though
they had received a radio warning, they were expecting Navy planes
which would have to be launched from a carrier closer to Tokyo, and
therefore would not reach the city on 18 April.]
TOKYO RAID
[Illustration: CREW IN CHINA after raiding Tokyo. About noon on 18
April the medium bombers from the _Hornet_ reached Tokyo and nearby
cities. After dropping their bombs they flew on to China where they
ran out of fuel before reaching their designated landing fields. The
crews of only two of the planes fell into Japanese hands. The others
lived in the mountains for about ten days after assembling and were
later returned to the United States. The news of the raid raised morale
in the United States and while the damage inflicted was not great, it
proved to the Japanese that they needed additional bases to the east to
protect the home islands of Japan.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: JAPANESE TROOPS ON BATAAN during the spring of 1942.
The Japanese commander insisted upon unconditional surrender of
all the troops in the Philippines and was furious when he learned
that only the U.S. forces on Bataan Peninsula had surrendered. The
forces on Corregidor held their fire until the captured Bataan troops
were removed from the area. (This picture was reproduced from an
illustration which appeared in a captured Japanese publication.)]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: U.S. PRISONERS ON BATAAN sorting equipment while
Japanese guards look on. Following this, the Americans and Filipinos
started on the Death March to Camp O’Donnell in central Luzon. Over
50,000 prisoners were held at this camp. A few U.S. troops escaped
capture and carried on as guerrillas.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: SOLDIERS IN MALINTA TUNNEL on Corregidor, April 1942.
With food, water, and supplies practically exhausted and no adequate
facilities for caring for the wounded, and with Japanese forces landing
on Corregidor, the situation for the U.S. troops was all but hopeless.
The commander offered to surrender the island forts on Corregidor to
the Japanese. When this was refused and with the remaining troops in
danger of being wiped out, all the U.S. forces in the Philippines were
surrendered to the enemy on 6 May 1942. Couriers were sent to the
various island commanders and by 17 May all organized resistance in the
Philippines had ceased.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: COASTAL DEFENSE GUN on Corregidor (top); 12-inch
mortars on Corregidor (bottom). Corregidor’s armament comprised eight
12-inch guns, twelve 12-inch mortars, two 10-inch guns, five 6-inch
guns, twenty 155-mm. guns, and assorted guns of lesser caliber,
including antiaircraft guns. The fixed gun emplacements were in open
concrete pits and exposed to aerial attack and artillery shelling. The
Japanese kept up strong concentrations of fire against the defenses on
Corregidor until most of the defending guns were knocked out.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: CAPTURED AMERICAN AND FILIPINO TROOPS after the
surrender on Corregidor. The 11,500 surviving troops on Corregidor
became prisoners of war and on 28 May 1942 were evacuated to a prison
stockade in Manila. The fall of Corregidor on 6 May marked the end of
the first phase of enemy operations. The Japanese had bases controlling
routes to India, Australia, and many islands in the Central and South
Pacific and were preparing for their next assaults against the Allies.
(This picture is reproduced from an illustration which appeared in a
captured Japanese publication.)]
CHINA
[Illustration: JAPANESE TROOPS posed in the streets of Shanghai. The
Japanese had been fighting in China since the early 1930’s. During
late 1941 and early 1942 Hong Kong and Singapore fell to the enemy
along with Malaya, North Borneo, and Thailand. Control over the latter
gave Japan rich supplies of rubber, oil, and minerals--resources badly
needed by the Japanese to carry on the offensive against the Allies.]
AUSTRALIA
[Illustration: U.S. TROOPS ARRIVING IN AUSTRALIA. In March the
headquarters of the Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific was
established at Melbourne. The Netherlands East Indies had fallen to the
enemy and it was necessary to build up a force in the Southwest Pacific
area to combat the Japanese threat to Australia. With the Japanese
blocking the sea lanes of the Central Pacific, a new line of supply to
the Far East was established by way of the Fiji Islands, New Caledonia,
and Australia.]
AUSTRALIA
[Illustration: COAST ARTILLERY TROOPS entraining at Melbourne, March
1942. The Japanese air attack on Darwin in February proved that the
north coast of Australia was too open to attack by enemy planes and
thereafter the Allies concentrated their forces along the eastern coast
from Melbourne to Townsville.]
CORAL SEA
[Illustration: AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS _LEXINGTON_ burning after the
Battle of the Coral Sea. The Japanese planned to strengthen their
bases in the Southwest Pacific and to sever the line of communications
between the United States and Australia. One enemy task force, sent
to take Tulagi in the southern Solomons, was attacked at sea and
lost a number of ships, but nevertheless landed troops and captured
Tulagi. Another task force intended for Port Moresby did not reach
its objective because of an attack by U.S. naval forces. This battle,
called the Battle of the Coral Sea, was fought on 7-8 May 1942 and was
the first carrier against carrier battle in history.]
CORAL SEA
[Illustration: SURVIVORS OF THE USS _LEXINGTON_ after the Battle of the
Coral Sea. The _Lexington_ was so badly damaged that she had to be sunk
by torpedoes from U.S. destroyers. Both the U.S. and Japanese Navies
inflicted damage on surface ships and both lost aircraft in the battle.
The opposing forces withdrew at about the same time and the action can
be considered a draw. Following this battle the enemy no longer tried
to send troops to Port Moresby by sea, an advantage to the Allies who
began to develop the area of northeastern Australia and New Guinea.
Instead, the Japanese sent troops overland to drive on Port Moresby and
by 28 July 1942 had captured Kokoda, key to the mountain pass through
the Owen Stanley Range.]
AUSTRALIA
[Illustration: SOLDIERS PRACTICE LOADING into small boats during
training in Australia. Cargo nets on a transport could be used with a
great degree of efficiency as they could accommodate far more troops at
one time than ladders.]
AUSTRALIA
[Illustration: 3-INCH ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN M3 being decontaminated by
members of a coast artillery battery after the gun had been subjected
to mustard gas during training in chemical warfare (top). After firing,
artillerymen open the breech of their 155-mm. howitzer M1918 mounted on
an M1918A3 carriage (bottom).]
MIDWAY
[Illustration: BURNING JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER during a bombing
attack at the Battle of Midway, 3-6 June 1942. The Japanese Grand
Fleet, comprised of 4 aircraft carriers, 11 battleships, 14 cruisers,
58 destroyers, and all the requisite auxiliaries, left Japan to engage
the U.S. Fleet in a major battle, if possible, and at the same time
to occupy Midway Island. The U.S. Fleet, warned of the impending
attack, divided its ships into two carrier task forces consisting in
all of 3 aircraft carriers, 8 cruisers, and 14 destroyers. Twenty-five
submarines covered all the approaches and heavy and medium bombers were
flown to Midway to supplement the air power on the island.]
MIDWAY
[Illustration: THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS _YORKTOWN_ during the attack
(top) and burning (bottom). At the Battle of Midway the _Yorktown_
was badly damaged and while being towed was torpedoed and sunk by an
enemy submarine. After losing all four of its aircraft carriers and 250
planes, the Japanese fleet abandoned the assault and retired from the
scene. During the battle the main body of the fleet had come no closer
than 500 miles to Midway. As in the Battle of the Coral Sea, surface
vessels made no contact during the engagement. The Battle of Midway,
one of the decisive battles in the Pacific, stopped Japanese expansion
to the east, and Midway remained in U.S. hands. The U.S. losses were
one aircraft carrier, one destroyer, and 150 planes. From this time on
the balance of power in the Pacific shifted steadily in favor of the
Allies.]
ALASKA
[Illustration: DUTCH HARBOR, ALASKA, with buildings burning after
the Japanese bombing of June 1942. On 3 and 4 June the Japanese
attacked the Army installations there. Of the two bombings, the first
resulted in little damage, but the second considerably damaged ground
installations. On 4 June the Japanese landed a battalion on Attu,
and on the 6th troops landed on Kiska. Since most of the available
U.S. ships, planes, and trained troops were needed in other areas, no
immediate action was begun to recapture Attu and Kiska. Both the United
States and Japan learned that, because of the extremely bad weather
conditions, this area was one of the most unsuitable in the world for
combat operations and the Aleutians were not used as an important base
for operations.]
AUSTRALIA
[Illustration: MILITARY MOTOR CONVOY IN AUSTRALIA. Great distances
had to be traveled in Australia by rail and motor convoys, many miles
of which were through barren or waste land such as shown in these
photographs.]
AUSTRALIA
[Illustration: AN ARMY NURSE giving an enlisted man an inoculation.
Troops arriving in Australia were prepared for transshipment to the
enemy-held islands during the latter part of 1942. Since the number of
troops in the Southwest Pacific was limited during the early stages,
future operations were based on the movement of air force units from
island to island to gain air superiority, provide cover for the
advancing ground forces, and isolate enemy positions. As the ground
forces moved to a new position, airfields were to be established for
the next jump. Some of the first enemy positions to be taken were near
Port Moresby and in the Solomons.]
AUSTRALIA
[Illustration: COMPLETELY EQUIPPED TROOPS GOING UP A GANGPLANK at
Melbourne to go on the way to their new station in the forward area.
After receiving additional training in Australia, troops were sent out
to carry the offensive to Japanese-held bases.]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: TROOPS EN ROUTE TO NEW CALEDONIA; in foreground is a
37-mm. antitank gun M3 (top). Men cleaning their weapons aboard a
transport (bottom). Some troops arrived in New Caledonia directly from
the United States while others went by way of Australia.]
NEW CALENDONIA
[Illustration: ARMY TROOPS ARRIVING AT NOUMÉA, New Caledonia, in March
1942 aboard a transport (top); troops arriving at the dock after
leaving the transport (bottom).]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: TROOPS WEARING GAS MASKS cross a stream under a
protective cover of smoke during maneuvers (top); infantrymen and jeeps
(¼-ton 4×4 truck) crossing a stream during training on New Caledonia,
summer 1942.]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: PACK MULE TRAIN of a cavalry unit during training.]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: ADVANCE COMMAND POST of an infantry division stationed
on New Caledonia, 1942.]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: TYPICAL TERRAIN OF NEW CALEDONIA; the rugged terrain
and dense woods and growth made maneuvering in the Pacific islands
extremely difficult (top). Small infantry bivouac area, showing the
native-type huts occupied by some of the U.S. troops stationed on the
island (bottom).]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A NATIVE-TYPE HUT occupied by U.S. troops
stationed on New Caledonia (top); headquarters building of an infantry
division, New Caledonia (bottom). Huts of this type were used as troop
quarters and as office buildings since the material for construction
was easily accessible and the huts were also an effective camouflage
measure against enemy aerial observation.]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: AMPHIBIAN TRUCK, 2½-ton 6×6, nicknamed “the Duck,”
standardized in October 1942, proved to be an extremely valuable
piece of equipment. It could operate on land or water and was often
used to bring supplies ashore where there were no ports or harbors
available for larger craft. Supplies loaded from ships onto the Ducks
could unload at the supply dumps, saving the extra handling involved
when lighters or similar craft were used. This vehicle could carry
approximately 25 men and their equipment or a 5,000-pound payload.]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: NATIVE NEW CALEDONIANS unloading mail for troops
stationed on the island. Throughout the Pacific natives were used
whenever possible for construction work on airfields, to transport
supplies and equipment, and in all other types of work calling for
unskilled labor.]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: U.S. AND NEW ZEALAND SOLDIERS comparing weapons. The
Australians and New Zealanders took part in a number of the operations
in the Southwest Pacific Area.]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: SOLDIER STANDING IN A CAMOUFLAGED FOXHOLE during an
infantry training problem in jungle warfare (top). An Australian sniper
in a camouflaged position during training (bottom). Every effort was
made to teach all troops all methods of jungle warfare so that they
could better combat the enemy who was well trained in jungle fighting
and living.]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: MEN OF AN ORDNANCE UNIT ASSEMBLING VEHICLES which had
arrived crated in sections. By October 1942 twenty-five men were
completing six vehicles a day on this assembly line.]
NEW CALEDONIA
[Illustration: ENLISTED MAN CATCHES UP ON LOST SLEEP after spending all
night packing and moving with his regiment to the port of embarkation
in preparation for a move from New Caledonia to another South Pacific
island. The hilt of the saber which shows on the right side of the pack
is that of an Australian cavalry saber issued in lieu of a machete.]
THE STRATEGIC DEFENSIVE
AND
TACTICAL OFFENSIVE
SECTION II
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
SECTION III
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
SECTION IV
The Final Phase[4]
The last three months of 1944 marked the almost complete destruction
of Japanese air power in the Philippines and the defeat of the enemy
ground forces on Leyte. In January 1945 men and equipment began to
arrive in the Pacific in ever increasing numbers. Sixth and Eighth
Armies were fighting the Japanese in the Philippines, while the Tenth
was being organized to be used later on Okinawa. The Navy and Air
Forces were also expanding in number of men, ships, and planes.
[4] See Roy E. Appleman, James M. Burns, Russell A. Gugeler, and John
Stevens, _Okinawa: The Last Battle_. Washington D.C. 1948, in the
series _U.S. ARMY IN WORLD WAR II._
The next step in the reconquest of the Philippines was the battle for
Luzon. Mindoro was seized before the invasion of Luzon was launched so
that an Allied air base could be established to provide air support for
the ground operations on Luzon. On 9 January 1945 U.S. troops landed on
the beaches of Lingayen Gulf on the western side of Luzon. The landings
were virtually unopposed and assault troops advanced rapidly inland
until they came to rugged terrain and well-prepared Japanese defense.
While part of the forces were left to hold a line facing north, the
bulk of the troops turned south toward Manila, which was captured.
Bataan Peninsula was cleared of enemy troops and Corregidor was seized.
While the U.S. attack carried on to clear the southern portion of the
island, another advance through the difficult mountainous terrain in
the north got under way. This was the climax to the fighting on Luzon.
While the battle for Luzon was in progress, other U.S. troops were
clearing the enemy pockets on Leyte and Samar and capturing the islands
in the southern Philippines with a speed and thoroughness which showed
the high degree of coordination developed by the ground, sea, and air
forces.
By the time the fighting stopped on Luzon, U.S. troops were being
redeployed from Europe to the Pacific, and in July the first contingent
of service troops from the ETO arrived in Manila. In August the U.S.
First Army established its command post on Luzon.
On 19 February 1945 Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands was assaulted by
marines who, by 16 March, overcame the stubborn enemy resistance and
secured the island for an advance air base from which the U.S. Air
Forces could support the invasion of Japan. On 1 April the invasion of
Okinawa in the Ryukyus began. This island, assaulted by Marine and Army
troops, was the last in the island-hopping warfare--in fact the last of
the battles before the fall of Japan itself. As on Iwo, the enemy had
prepared elaborate defenses and fought fanatically in the unsuccessful
attempt to prevent the U.S. forces from seizing the island. Because of
its closeness to Japan, the enemy was able to attack Okinawa by air
from its home bases and air superiority had not been gained by the
Allies before the amphibious assault began. This period of fighting
was marked by Japanese suicide attacks against Allied naval ships and
the Navy sustained heavy losses, losses greater than in any other
campaign during the war. On 21 June the island was declared secure and
the next few days were spent mopping up enemy pockets. The fall of
Okinawa and Iwo gave the Allies the air bases from which the almost
daily aerial attacks on the principal industrial cities of Japan were
to be launched, as well as emergency landing fields for crippled B-29’s
returning to their more distant island bases from attacks on Japan.
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: PBY CATALINA AMPHIBIAN FLYING BOATS over the U.S.
invasion fleet in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. The Luzon Campaign began on 9
January 1945 when U.S. forces landed in the Lingayen-San Fabian area.
(Consolidated Vultee.)]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: MEN AND SUPPLIES COME ASHORE in the Lingayen Gulf San
Fabian area. After a heavy bombardment of the landing beaches, the
first assault troops landed on Luzon, meeting little opposition. By
nightfall the invading army had gained an initial lodgment, suffering
but few casualties.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: SUPPLIES ON THE BEACH ON LINGAYEN GULF. By the end of
the first day the beachhead was seventeen miles long and four miles
deep. Large numbers of men and great quantities of supplies were
ashore.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: U.S. INFANTRYMEN CROSSING A DAMAGED BRIDGE as they
advance inland from the beach. The advancing U.S. troops found the
bridges destroyed. Some had been destroyed in 1942 during the Japanese
conquest of the Philippines.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: FIRST-WAVE TROOPS, armed with M1 rifles, wade waist
deep through a stream en route to San Fabian, 9 January 1945. The
U.S. forces encountered undefended rice fields, small ponds, marshes,
and streams beyond the beaches. Amphibian tractors were used to ferry
troops across the deeper of these water obstacles.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: SUPPLY CONVOY CROSSING THE AGNO RIVER over a
newly completed ponton bridge near Villasis, 22 January (top).
Two-and-a-half-ton amphibian trucks unload supplies at Dagupan, on the
Agno River a short distance from Lingayen Gulf. From Dagupan they were
loaded onto trains and sent inland to the advancing troops (bottom).]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: FILIPINOS IN A RICE FIELD watching an artillery cub
plane prepare to take off near Angio, about a mile and a half inland
from the beach, 12 January (top). Filipinos working with U.S. engineer
troops assembling steel matting on an airstrip at Lingayen, 14 January
(bottom). On 17 January the Lingayen airstrip was completed and the
Far Eastern Air Forces assumed responsibility for the air support of
ground operations. By this time the Japanese had stopped sending air
reinforcement to the Philippines and during the Luzon Campaign air
superiority was in the hands of the U.S. forces.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: U.S. CASUALTY RECEIVING PLASMA at the front lines near
Damortis. The Japanese were well emplaced in the mountain areas beyond
the beaches and the U.S. artillery and armor were greatly limited in
their effectiveness by the rugged terrain. The enemy put up his first
strong opposition along the Rosario-Pozorrubio-Binalonan line, where he
had built pillboxes and dugouts of every description with artillery and
automatic weapons well hidden and camouflaged. This fighting was not
a part of the drive on Manila. The enemy casualties during the latter
part of January 1945 were much greater than those suffered by the U.S.
forces.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: JAPANESE MEDIUM TANK, Type 97 (1937) improved version
with 47-mm. antitank gun, knocked out near San Manuel (top); U.S.
medium tank, M4A3 passing a burning enemy tank, 17 January (bottom).
During the last few days of January the U.S. forces near the San
Manuel-San Quintin and Munoz Baloc areas met strong armored opposition
and severe fighting ensued. By the end of the month both objectives,
the cities of San Quintin and Munoz, were reached. Forty-five enemy
tanks were destroyed in the San Manuel fighting. Most of the enemy
tanks encountered were dug in and used as pillboxes and were not used
in actual armored maneuver.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: U.S. SOLDIER FIRING A FLAME THROWER at a Japanese
position. The only way many of the enemy positions could be knocked out
was to assault them with flame throwers.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: ARTILLERYMEN AT AN OBSERVATION POST east of Damortis,
February 1945; the officer in right foreground is using a telescope BC
M1915A1 (top). 105-mm. howitzers M2A1 firing at the city of Bamban, 26
January 1945 (bottom). While one U.S. corps drove south toward Manila
another corps swung north and northeast from Lingayen Gulf, beginning
a four-month up-hill campaign against the Yamashita Line. This was a
name given by U.S. forces to the defense sector across the mountains of
central Luzon.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: 105-MM. HOWITZERS M2A1 firing from the grounds of Santo
Tomas University during the attack on Manila, 5 February. While some
U.S. forces continued the drive northeast from Lingayen, the remainder
of the troops began to advance on Manila. On the night of 31 January-1
February the attack on Manila began in full force.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: MANILA DURING AN ARTILLERY ATTACK. Rafts and amphibian
tractors were used to ferry the attacking U.S. troops across the
numerous streams because the enemy had destroyed all the bridges. When
the enemy did not evacuate Manila, U.S. artillery was employed. It had
previously been hoped that it would not be necessary to shell the city.
Blocked off by white line in top picture is Intramuros. River at left
in top picture and the foreground of bottom picture is the Pasig. The
tall tower at right in bottom picture is part of the city hall, later
occupied by GHQ.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN ON THE ALERT in a street of Manila man
their .30-caliber Browning machine gun M1919A4. On 7 February 1945 the
envelopment of Manila began and by 11 February the Japanese within the
city were completely surrounded. Cavite was seized on 13 February.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: U.S. TROOPS MOVING INTO MANILA, 12 February. The
attacking forces were assigned the mission of clearing Manila, where
the fighting continued from house to house and street to street.
Despite the many enemy strong points throughout the city, the U.S.
attackers progressed steadily and by 22 February the Japanese were
forced back into the small area of the walled city, Intramuros.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: 240-MM. HOWITZER M1 firing on Intramuros, where the
walls were sixteen feet high, forty feet thick at the base, tapering
to twenty feet at the top. During the night of 22-23 February all
available artillery was moved into position and at 0730 on 23 February
the assault on Intramuros began. Once the walls were breached and the
attacking troops had entered, savage fighting ensued. On 25 February
the entire area of the walled city was in U.S. hands.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN PICK THEIR WAY ALONG A STREET of Intramuros
as a bulldozer clears away the rubble. On 4 March 1945 the last
building was cleared of the enemy and Manila was completely in U.S.
hands. In background is the downtown business section of Manila, on the
far side of the Pasig River.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: MEDIUM TANK M4A1, modified, firing on an enemy position
in the hills east of Manila, 10 March. After the fall of Manila the
U.S. forces reorganized and moved east to a line extending from
Antipolo to Mount Oro. For two days artillery and aircraft attacked
enemy positions and then ground forces attacked the hill masses
approaching Antipolo. After the fall of that city on 12 March, the
advance continued eastward over a series of mountain ridges which
ascended to Sierra Madre. While this attack progressed, another drive
to clear southern Luzon began.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: FOOD AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES BEING DROPPED to the Allied
internees at Bilibid Prison Farm near Muntinglupa, Luzon, after
they were rescued from the Japanese prison camp at Los Banos. After
the capture of Fort McKinley on 19 February, troops of the airborne
division turned east to Laguna de Bay and then southward. It was given
the dual mission of rescuing some 2,000 civilian internees at Los Banos
and destroying the enemy that had been bypassed during the advance on
Manila. Assisted by a parachute company that was dropped near the camp,
a special task force liberated the internees, and then continued to mop
up enemy troops.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: BOMB STRIKE ON A MOUNTAIN west of Bamban. Progress was
slow over the difficult terrain of the Zambales Mountains where the
Japanese had constructed pillboxes and trenches and had fortified
caves. The U.S. attack was made frontally, aided by daily air strikes,
and the enemy strong points were eliminated one by one. By 14 February
the Americans had secured the high ground commanding Fort Stotsenburg
and Clark Field.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: U.S. PARATROOPERS LANDING ON CORREGIDOR during the
invasion of the island (top); “Topside,” Corregidor (bottom). While the
U.S. advance down the Bataan Peninsula was progressing, Corregidor was
being assaulted. On 16 February 1945 a battalion of a regimental combat
team landed on the south shore of the island. A regimental combat team
was flown north from Mindoro and landed two hours before the amphibious
assault troops.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: CORREGIDOR. Paratroopers landing on the island; note
that some landed on the side of the cliff rather than on Topside,
accounting for many casualties (top). C-47 dropping supplies to the
troops which have landed (bottom). By afternoon on 16 February the
ground and airborne troops had joined forces, and before dawn of the
next day they had split the island in two.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: CREW OF A 75-MM. PACK HOWITZER M1A1 being subjected
to small arms fire on Corregidor, 17 February. At first the enemy
offered only spotty resistance but soon rallied and offered a stubborn
defense.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: PARATROOPER, armed with a U.S. carbine M1A3 with a
folding pantograph stock, fires a bazooka at an enemy pillbox on Greary
Point, Corregidor, 19 February.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: SOLDIERS LOOKING AT MALINTA HILL, Corregidor. On 27
February 1945, Corregidor was once again in U.S. hands, although
individual Japanese soldiers were still found hiding on the island.
U.S. losses were 209 killed, 725 wounded, and 19 missing. Enemy losses
were 4,497 killed and 19 prisoners.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: CHENEY BATTERY, Corregidor, showing destruction of the
installation (top). East end of Malinta Tunnel, where the defending
U.S. troops held out during the enemy attack in 1942 (bottom). Much of
the destruction of the Corregidor installations shown in these pictures
was from enemy artillery shellings in 1942.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: BATTLE CASUALTY being placed aboard a Catalina flying
boat for evacuation to Nichols Field near Manila. The PBY patrol
bomber was extensively used in the Pacific for rescue work and usually
patrolled large areas of the ocean over which the long-range bombers
flew. These planes could land and take off from the ocean and were
equipped to handle casualties.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: INFANTRYMEN firing a .30-caliber water-cooled machine
gun M1917A1 at the enemy in the hills of Luzon. An all-out offensive to
destroy the enemy in northern Luzon began in late February. Extremely
rugged terrain combined with enemy resistance made the advance over
the hills slow and costly. The majority of the attacking U.S. troops
attempted to gain an entry to Cagayan Valley through Balete Pass.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: 105-MM. HOWITZER MOTOR CARRIAGE M7 and infantrymen.
By 15 March 1945 the enemy was being pushed back and the U.S. forces
in northern Luzon were advancing columns up the roads to Bauang and
Baguio. The stubborn Japanese defense and the difficult terrain slowed
U.S. advances for weeks.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: VIEWS OF THE HARBOR AT MANILA showing the congested
docking area and amount of shipping. Clearing Manila Harbor and
restoring its dock facilities progressed rapidly and supply problems
were soon helped by the full use of the excellent port, which was well
located for supplying troops in the Philippines. By 15 March a total
of 10,000 tons per day was passing through the port. By the middle of
April almost two hundred sunken ships had been raised from the bottom
of the bay. Top picture shows Pier 7, one of the largest in the Far
East.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: BOMB CRATERS ON THE RUNWAY AT LIPA AIRFIELD in Batangas
Province. In southern Luzon advancing U.S. units met at Lipa and
continued the final mopping up of enemy resistance in the southern
portion of the island.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: SUPPLIES, EQUIPMENT, AND TROOPS coming ashore at Legaspi
in southeastern Luzon. Small landing craft in top picture are LCM’s;
in background is an LST. On 1 April troops landed at Legaspi and soon
overran southeastern Luzon.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: GUN TURRETS AT FORT DRUM being blasted in a low-level
aerial attack. The last enemy resistance in the Zambales Mountains
was broken up, Bataan Peninsula was cleared of enemy troops, and
the remaining enemy-held islands in Manila Bay were taken. On the
island of El Fraile, on which Fort Drum (a concrete fort shaped like
a battleship) was located, troops landed on the top of the fort and
pumped a mixture of oil and gasoline into the ventilators. When
ignited, the resulting explosions and fires destroyed the garrison.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: TROOPS ADVANCING ON A ROAD EAST OF MANILA while overhead
a P-38 drops two bombs on Japanese positions. Bitter fighting took
place over the almost inaccessible ridges and peaks of the Sierra Madre
Mountains.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: REPUBLIC P-47’s AND LOCKHEED P-38’s (top and bottom
respectively) drop napalm fire bombs on enemy positions in the
mountains east of Manila. As each bomb hit the target or ground
it would explode and burn everything over an oval-shaped area of
approximately 70 by 150 feet. The bombs were effective in eliminating
the enemy troops in their well-dug-in positions.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: 105-MM. HOWITZER MOTOR CARRIAGE M7 in the hills east of
Manila.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: 8-INCH HOWITZER M1 firing on enemy positions in Ipo
Dam area, May 1945 (top); Filipino guerrillas fighting against the
enemy in Batangas Province with the U.S. troops (bottom). Some of the
guerrillas had been fighting against the Japanese since the fall of
the Philippines in 1942. Weapon in foreground (bottom) is the standard
Japanese gas-operated, air-cooled, heavy machine gun (Type 92 (1932)
7.7-mm. Hv MG). The feed is a 30-round strip and may be seen in place,
rate of fire 450 rounds per minute.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: DIFFICULT TERRAIN. Infantrymen pushing along a muddy,
primitive road (top); a patrol moving through heavy undergrowth
(bottom).]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: U.S. TROOPS moving through mountainous terrain on their
way to Santa Fé, Luzon.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: LIGHT TANK M5 providing cover from Japanese fire for a
wounded infantryman on the road to Baguio (top). Armor and infantry on
a hillside overlooking Baguio; in the foreground is a 105-mm. howitzer
motor carriage M7, while down the slope of the hill is a 76-mm. gun
motor carriage M18 (bottom). Vehicles, like the foot soldiers, found
the going hard over the rough terrain.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: VEHICLES FORDING A RIVER in northern Luzon while
engineer troops work on the road; in foreground is a 105-mm. howitzer
motor carriage M7. Note destroyed enemy vehicles along road and in
stream (top). A bulldozer and a medium tank help another medium tank
which has struck a road mine (bottom).]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: MEDIUM TANK M4A1 on a hill overlooking Baguio (top);
soldiers looking at the ruins of the western section of Baguio
(bottom). Baguio was subjected to extensive bombardment by aircraft
and heavy artillery and the enemy’s defenses around the former summer
capital were reduced. Infantry troops led by tanks that had great
difficulty maneuvering through the mountains entered Baguio on 27 April
with practically no opposition.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: 155-MM. HOWITZER M1 in Balete Pass shelling enemy
artillery positions, 19 April. During March one division moved forward
ten miles after constructing more than 130 miles of roads and trails.
The same problems of terrain were faced in this advance and it was not
until 13 May that the pass was seized.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: P-38’S DROPPING FIRE BOMBS north of Balete Pass.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: INFANTRYMAN ROUTING ENEMY SOLDIERS hiding in a culvert
near Aritao on the highway north of Balete Pass. U.S. forces broke
through the Japanese defenses at Aritao and seized Bayombong to the
north toward the Cagayan Valley on 7 June 1945. After this, the drive
northward was rapid and met with little opposition.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN in northern Luzon. The Malaya River
flows through the valley in the vicinity of Cervantes, Ilocos Sur
Province.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: PARATROOPERS LANDING NEAR APARRI. The Northern Luzon
Guerrilla Force had cleared the northwestern coast of Luzon and by
early June 1945 controlled practically all the territory north of
Bontoc and west of the Cagayan Valley. On 21 June U.S. troops and
guerrillas seized Aparri, and on 23 June a reinforced parachute
battalion was dropped near the town. The paratroopers moved southward
meeting U.S. troops moving northward.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: A PHOSPHORUS HAND GRENADE EXPLODING on an enemy
position. The drive into the Cagayan Valley ended the last offensive on
Luzon in June 1945. Enemy pockets of resistance were cleared out and
by 15 August, when hostilities officially ended, the U.S. forces had
reported 40,565 casualties including 7,933 killed. The Japanese lost
over 192,000 killed and approximately 9,700 captured.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: 60-MM. MORTAR CREW FIRING at enemy positions on
Mindanao. While the fighting was still in progress on Luzon, other U.S.
troops were engaged on other islands in the Philippine Archipelago.
Mopping up was still in progress on Leyte and Samar; landings were
made on Mindanao, Palawan, Marinduque, Panay, Cebu, Bohol, Negros,
Masbate, Jolo, and Basilan; and other troops were being prepared for
the invasion of Okinawa.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: SHELL CASES BEING OPENED in preparation for an 81-mm.
mortar attack in the hills of Mindanao (top); light armored car M8
moving along a river bank on Mindanao (bottom). During July most of
the remaining enemy troops on Mindanao were driven into the hills and
hemmed in, after which they were relentlessly attacked by aircraft.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: TROOPS WADING ASHORE during the invasion of Cebu island
(top) and on the beach after landing (bottom). During March landings
were made on Panay, Cebu, and Negros.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: FILIPINO RESIDENTS OF CEBU CITY welcome infantry and
armored troops.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: TROOPS DISEMBARKING FROM AN LVT(4) on Mactan Island in
the southern Philippines, April 1945.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: CAPTURED JAPANESE SOLDIER being brought in on northern
Cebu, May 1945 (top). Japanese prisoners at Cebu City boarding a ship
that will take them to a prisoner of war enclosure (bottom). Of the
more than 350,000 enemy troops in the entire Philippine Archipelago
only an estimated 50,000 were left when Japan capitulated. Of the
original number relatively few were taken prisoner.]
PHILIPPINES
[Illustration: AN ENLISTED MAN of an airborne division buying bananas
from native Filipinos as he waits to take off from Lipa airfield for
Okinawa in September 1945. In background is a Waco glider CG-4A.]
NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES
[Illustration: DOUGLAS A-20 flies away after hitting an oil storage
tank on an island in the Netherlands East Indies. While U.S. forces
were liberating the Philippines, Australian troops were fighting
against isolated enemy positions in New Guinea, New Britain, and
Bougainville, and at the same time were preparing for an attack on
Borneo. On 1 May Australian forces landed on Tarakan Island off the
northeast coast of Borneo. On 10 June Australians landed at Brunei Bay,
Borneo, and by the middle of July there was little enemy activity.
The best harbors were seized and the rich oil fields were again under
Allied control. The remaining Japanese troops withdrew into the jungles
of the interior.]
IWO JIMA
[Illustration: IWO JIMA]
IWO JIMA
[Illustration: MEN AND EQUIPMENT ON BOARD AN LST waiting to move in on
D Day, Iwo Jima. Even before the invasion of the Philippines it had
been decided to seize Iwo Jima in order to obtain airfields to support
the ultimate invasion of Japan. Iwo Jima was the only island in the
Volcano and Bonin groups suitable for an air installation of any size.
Beginning in August 1944 the island was bombed by Allied aircraft so
as to neutralize the enemy airfields and installations located there.
On 19 February 1945 two Marine divisions landed on Iwo under cover of
supporting fire from naval ships. Jima means island.]
IWO JIMA
[Illustration: UNLOADING ON THE BEACH ON IWO JIMA. Initially during the
landing on Iwo Jima all went according to plans. The water was calm,
no underwater obstacles were found, and the heavy preinvasion shelling
had destroyed some of the mine fields. One hour after the first waves
of marines were ashore the enemy opened fire with automatic weapons,
mortars, and artillery. Later in the day heavy seas hurled landing
craft on to the beach, which added greatly to the difficulty of getting
men and supplies ashore.]
IWO JIMA
[Illustration: STEEL MATTING BEING LAID on the beach at Iwo Jima to
facilitate the unloading of heavy equipment over the sand. Both on
the beaches and inland the loose volcanic soil made the movement of
vehicles extremely difficult. Trucks bogged down and supplies soon
piled high on the beach.]
IWO JIMA
[Illustration: 75-MM. GUN MOTOR CARRIAGES M3 FIRING at enemy positions
on Iwo Jima (top). 4.5-inch automatic rocket launchers T45 mounted on
two ¾-ton trucks, firing; this gravity-feed automatic launcher was
developed as a Navy standard item for firing the 4.5-inch Navy barrage
rocket (bottom).]
IWO JIMA
[Illustration: A DUMMY JAPANESE TANK carved in the soft volcanic ash.
This tank had previously drawn fire from the attacking U.S. troops.]
IWO JIMA
[Illustration: MARINES FIRING ON ENEMY SOLDIERS hidden in a cave.
Two marines wait at the base of a rock while nearer the top one
fires an automatic rifle and two others fire a rocket launcher and a
.45-caliber submachine gun. The enemy had set up an elaborate system of
defenses. The island was honeycombed with caves and connecting tunnels,
camouflaged pillboxes and gun positions. Most of the caves had at least
thirty-five feet of overhead cover and had not been damaged during the
preinvasion bombing and shelling.]
IWO JIMA
[Illustration: FLAME THROWERS burning out enemy troops in a hidden
cave while a rifleman waits behind the cover of a rock. One by one the
marines knocked out the enemy pillboxes and sealed the caves, gradually
breaking down the defense system.]
IWO JIMA
[Illustration: THREE JAPANESE COMING OUT OF THEIR CAVE to surrender
(top); five captured enemy soldiers (bottom). On 16 March it was
officially announced that all organized enemy resistance had come to
an end, although mopping up continued for many days in the Kitano
Point area. The exact number of casualties to the enemy is not known
as many were lost in their caves and tunnels, but by 21 March over
21,000 dead had been counted, while only 212 prisoners were taken. Out
of approximately 20,000 casualties the Marines lost over 4,000 killed,
while Navy casualties amounted to over 1,000. Iwo Jima was probably
the most strongly fortified island selected as an objective during the
war.]
IWO JIMA
[Illustration: B-29 CRASH LANDS on the airstrip on Iwo Jima and burns
after returning from an attack on Tokyo. On 17 March 1945 sixteen
Superfortresses returning from a strike against Japan made emergency
landings on Iwo, and by the middle of June more than 850 of the large
bombers had landed there. By the end of the war over 2,400 B-29’s had
made emergency landings on the island.]
OKINAWA
[Illustration: OKINAWA ISLAND GROUP]
JAPAN
[Illustration: THE CARRIER USS _FRANKLIN_ BURNING after being seriously
damaged during a Japanese attack. The middle of March 1945 marked the
beginning of the Okinawa campaign. On 14 March a fast carrier force
departed from Ulithi for an attack on Kyushu, while air force bombers
struck at Formosa and Honshu. On 18 March planes from the carrier force
successfully attacked airfields on Kyushu. The following day the planes
again took off, this time to strike enemy warships at Kure and Kobe.
During these bombardments Japanese planes attacked the carrier force
ships and damaged six of the carriers, one of them considerably and
another, the _Franklin_, seriously. The carrier force then moved toward
Okinawa, arriving in the area on 23 March, and warships and planes
bombarded the island.]
KEISE ISLANDS
[Illustration: GUN CREW SETTING UP A 155-MM. GUN M1A1 on one of the
Keise Islands (top); Japanese suicide boat captured on Aka Island
(bottom). On 26 March ground troops began the task of seizing the
Kerama group of islands. By 29 March all organized resistance had
collapsed and the following day the islands were declared secure.
Over 350 Japanese suicide boats were captured and destroyed by U.S.
troops in the Kerama Islands. On 31 March the Keise Islands were seized
without opposition and by evening two battalions of 155-mm. guns had
been put ashore to support the main landings on Okinawa.]
OKINAWA
[Illustration: AERIAL VIEW OF SHIPS during the landings on Okinawa
(top); troops landing on the beach from LCT (6)’s (bottom). After a
preliminary bombardment of the beaches, the heaviest to support a
landing in the Pacific, the first assault troops landed on the Hagushi
beaches against no opposition. Within the first hour over 16,000 men
and some 250 amphibian tanks had landed. The airstrips at Yontanzam and
Katena were seized shortly after 1200 against little resistance. As
a result of the first day’s operations a beachhead approximately ten
miles long and three miles deep was in U.S. hands. Both Army and Marine
Corps troops made good progress during the next few days.]
OKINAWA
[Illustration: PILOTED SHORT-RANGE FLYING BOMBS found on Okinawa. On 6
April the Kamakase Corps began a thirty-six hour mass suicide attack,
one of the most destructive air battles of the war. Over 350 suicide
planes accompanied by as many orthodox bombers and fighters sank or
damaged some 30 U.S. ships. The second great mass suicide attack began
on 12 April when the new Baka bomb was used for the first time. This
piloted short-range flying bomb, with a ton of explosive in its war
head, was carried to the target slung beneath a twin-engined medium
bomber. When released in a rocket-assisted dive it attained a speed of
400 to 500 miles per hour but was not very accurate.]
OKINAWA
[Illustration: MEDIUM TANK M4A1 AND INFANTRYMEN blasting their way
through a minefield (top); hillside on Okinawa honeycombed with caves
and dugouts (bottom). The high ground held by the Japanese on southern
Okinawa was ideal for defense. The limestone hills were honeycombed
with caves and dugouts which were well manned and difficult to assault.
When the attacking U.S. troops had moved away from the beaches the
enemy offered strong resistance.]
OKINAWA
[Illustration: ARMY NURSES ON OKINAWA washing in helmets (top); medics
at work in a hospital tent (bottom). During early April the U.S. troops
were able to make only limited gains against a well-entrenched enemy.
Heavy casualties were suffered.]
OKINAWA
[Illustration: FLAME-THROWING MEDIUM TANK firing at the entrance of a
cave on southern Okinawa (top); Japanese prisoner being searched at the
entrance of a cave after he has surrendered (bottom).]
OKINAWA
[Illustration: TRUCKS MOVING THROUGH THE MUD (top); trucks bogged down
to the vehicle frames in mud (bottom). U.S. progress on Okinawa was
slow but advances were made until the middle of May when torrential
rains seriously interfered with the movement of supplies and equipment
to the front. The road system on southern Okinawa eventually broke down
and supplies had to be delivered to the front by hand or air. Armored
units were almost completely immobilized.]
OKINAWA
[Illustration: AN ENLISTED MAN WASHING in a water-filled foxhole
following the heavy rains (top); drying clothes and digging a new
foxhole (bottom). The fighting continued on Okinawa until 21 June when
the island was declared secure.]
OKINAWA
[Illustration: B-24 TAKING OFF FROM THE AIRSTRIP AT YONTANZAN for a
mission over Japan (top); Douglas C-54 Skymaster arriving at Yontanzan
airstrip on a flight from Guam (bottom). The construction of airstrips
on Okinawa and the nearby islands was carried out concurrently with
the operations, and attacks on the Japanese home islands were soon
started.]
OKINAWA
[Illustration: PRISONERS WAITING ON A DOCK AT OKINAWA to be transported
to Hawaii. In addition to the loss of a great base on the doorstep
of Japan, the enemy lost 107,500 dead and 7,400 prisoners. U.S. Army
casualties numbered 39,430, including 7,374 killed.]
OKINAWA
[Illustration: THE FIRST BIG U.S. SHIP TO ENTER NAHA HARBOR, Okinawa
after the fighting ended. During the three-month conflict the U.S. Navy
lost a total of 386 warships, transports, and other ships. 763 aircraft
were lost in comparison with approximately 4,000 Japanese aircraft. The
losses to the enemy were very serious, and the Allies were in position
to threaten the islands of Japan.]
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA
SECTION V
China-Burma-India[5]
China’s last important supply link with the Allies, the Burma Road, was
closed when the Japanese occupied northern Burma in May 1942. Despite
her isolation, China resisted the Japanese and remained an active ally.
The importance of giving China sufficient support to keep her in the
war led to the Allied plan to re-establish surface communications with
China and to increase supply by air over the Hump.
[5] See Charles F. Romanus and Riley Sunderland, _Stilwell’s Mission to
China_, Washington, D.C., 1953; and Romanus and Sunderland, _Stilwell’s
Command Problems_, Washington, D.C., 1956, in the series _U.S. ARMY IN
WORLD WAR II._
In August 1942 a training center was established at Ramgarh, India, for
training the poorly equipped Chinese troops; concurrently, training
centers were also established in China. In December 1942 the Allies
began the construction of a new road leading from Ledo, India, across
northern Burma to an intersection with the Burma Road near the China
border. Subsequently this was supplemented by a pipeline for aviation
and fuel oil from Calcutta, India, to Kunming, China. Pending the
reopening of ground communications with China, the only route of supply
available was the air transport system over the spur of the Himalayas
from the Assam valley, India, to Kunming, a distance of approximately
500 air miles.
Fighting in Burma was relatively light in 1943; however, Allied
aircraft pounded enemy airfields, communications, and rear
installations. Rangoon, important center of the enemy supply system,
was bombed repeatedly with damaging results.
In China during 1943, air attacks constituted the only offensive
operations by the Allies. U.S. planes carried out attacks against enemy
bases in Burma, Thailand, Indo-China, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Formosa.
Shipping along the China coast was attacked with little loss to the
enemy. In 1944 B-29’s based in China attacked targets in Manchuria, on
Formosa, and in Japan.
During this time the Japanese had increased their China-based air
strength but were deploying their best planes and pilots to meet the
threat in the Southwest Pacific.
The Allied counteroffensive in north Burma, which started early in
1944, continued to the end of the year with great intensity. Landings
in the Philippines and U.S. naval operations in the China Sea
threatened the Japanese supply line to Burma and by the end of January
1945, large groups of enemy forces were retreating from north Burma.
As a result of the Allied advance in Burma in 1944, the entire route
of the new Ledo Road was cleared except for a small stretch near its
junction with the Burma Road. On 4 February the first Allied convoy
traveled over the Ledo Road, which was renamed the Stilwell Highway.
In the latter stages of the Burma Campaign, American troops together
with Chinese troops were flown to China. Serious Japanese offensives in
China during the summer of 1944 and early 1945 were terminated in the
spring of 1945 and the enemy began to withdraw from south and central
China.
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA
[Illustration: CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER]
INDIA
[Illustration: U.S. TROOPS ABOARD A TRANSPORT waiting to go ashore at
a port in India. At the end of 1942 only about 17,000 American troops
were in the China-Burma-India theater, consisting almost entirely of
Air Forces and Services of Supply personnel.]
INDIA
[Illustration: AMERICAN PERSONNEL, just arrived in India, load into
trucks bound for their new station (top); unloading American supplies
(bottom). With the closing of the Burma road, China became isolated
in 1942. The coastline, railroads, and vital areas of China were
controlled by the Japanese and were occasionally harassed by raids of
Chinese guerrilla forces.]
INDIA
[Illustration: CHINESE TROOPS TRAINING AT RAMGARH, INDIA. Chinese
troops learning to handle a .30-caliber M1917A1 Browning machine gun
(top left) and a 75-mm. pack howitzer M1A1 (top right); on a road march
(bottom). From October 1942 to the end of the year some 21,000 Chinese
soldiers were flown to the Ramgarh training center.]
INDIA
[Illustration: TRANSPORTING U.S. SUPPLIES IN INDIA, 1942. An American
air force based in China was dependent upon the Hump air route, which
was at the end of a 10,000-mile line of supply from the United States,
for the much needed gasoline, bombs, and other munitions. In order for
one American bomber in China to execute a mission against the enemy, a
transport plane had to make an average of four separate flights over
the Hump, the most hazardous mountain terrain in the world.]
INDIA
[Illustration: SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS of a spur of the Himalayas between
the Salween and Mekong Rivers. Some of these peaks reach over 20,000
feet high. The air route over the system, called the Hump, was about
500 air miles, from the Assam valley in northeast India over the
Himalayas to Kunming in western China. Cargo transported over the Hump
increased from about 10,000 tons a month during the summer of 1943 to
approximately 46,000 tons a month by January 1945.]
CHINA
[Illustration: KOWLOON DOCKS UNDER AIR ATTACK BY U.S. PLANES, a portion
of Hong Kong in foreground. A Japanese Zero can be seen just to the
left of the smoke from a hit on the Kowloon docks and railroad yards.
In Burma during 1942 most of the action following the Japanese conquest
of the country consisted of limited air attacks and patrol clashes
along the Burma--India border. At the end of 1943 there was no evidence
of a weakened Japanese grip on the railroads, big cities, and ports in
China.]
INDIA
[Illustration: U.S. AIRCRAFT USED IN CHINA DURING 1942-43. North
American Mitchell medium bomber B-25 (top); Curtiss single-seat fighter
P-40 (bottom). In July 1942 U.S. air strength in China consisted of
about 40 aircraft against some 200 enemy planes.]
BURMA
[Illustration: AMERICAN AND CHINESE TROOPS moving forward over
difficult terrain into northern Burma, 1944. Pack animals used in
transporting supplies (top); men stop to make repairs on a bridge
which was damaged by the pack train (bottom). During the early part of
1943, Allied forces in northern Burma conducted experimental offensive
operations to harass and cut enemy lines of communications, and
defensive operations to cover the construction of the Ledo Road. By the
end of 1943, the Japanese had increased their strength in Burma to six
divisions, preparing to resume offensive operations against India.]
INDIA
[Illustration: 40-MM. ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN M1 with its crew in India, April
1944 (top); 81-mm. mortar M1 firing on enemy supply and communications
lines (bottom). In February 1944 the Chinese troops advancing down the
Hukawng Valley were joined by a specially trained American infantry
combat team. In May 1944 the Allied forces had fought their way into
the airfield at Myitkyina, the key to northern Burma.]
BURMA
[Illustration: CHINESE SOLDIER ON GUARD near a bridge over the Salween
River has rigged up a shady spot for himself by tying an umbrella to
his rifle. The Burma Road reaches its lowest point, some 2,000 feet
above sea level, at this bridge site.]
BURMA
[Illustration: CROSSING THE SALWEEN RIVER, July 1944. The temporary
suspension bridge was built to replace the permanent bridge here which
was blown up in 1942 by the Chinese as a defense measure against the
Japanese advance. While Allied forces advanced on Myitkyina, Chinese
troops crossed the Salween River from the east. The two forces met
at Teng-chung in September 1944, establishing the first thin hold in
northern Burma.]
BURMA
[Illustration: SUPPLY DROP IN BURMA, spring of 1944. Men can be seen
waiting to recover supplies dropped by parachute; note small stockpile
in center foreground. From October 1943 to August 1944 food, equipment,
and ammunition was supplied largely or entirely to the some 100,000
troops involved in the fighting by air--either air-landed, or by
parachute or free drop.]
BURMA
[Illustration: DOUGLAS C-47 TRANSPORT taking off in a cloud of dust
from an airstrip near Man Wing, Burma. Air supply operations were
maintained by both British and American troop carrier squadrons,
flying night and day from bases in the Brahmaputra Valley to points
of rendezvous with Allied ground troops in Burma. Air supply made the
Burma campaign possible.]
BURMA
[Illustration: U.S. SERVICES OF SUPPLY TRUCK CONVOY starting across a
temporary ponton bridge just after its completion in 1944. Built across
the treacherous Irrawaddy River, this bridge was approximately 1,200
feet long and served as a link in the Ledo Road for the combat troops
and supply vehicles. When the torrential rains ceased a permanent
structure was built to handle the tremendous loads of the convoys going
to China.]
BURMA
[Illustration: PIPELINES showing the manifold valve installation on the
pipeline near Myitkyina, Burma, September 1944. Engineers were to build
two 4-inch pipelines for motor fuel and aviation gasoline starting in
Assam, paralleling the Ledo Road, and extending through to Kunming,
China. By October 1944 one of the lines reached Myitkyina, a distance
of about 268 miles; 202 miles were completed on the other line by this
date. Another 6-inch pipeline for gasoline was built in India from
Calcutta to Assam.]
BURMA
[Illustration: TANKS driven by American-trained Chinese soldiers making
a sharp horseshoe turn on the road to Bhamo, December 1944. Tank in
foreground is a light tank M3A3; in the background are M4A4 medium
tanks. The Burma--India Campaign continued with intensity during the
monsoon season of 1944. By December the projected route of the supply
road to Bhamo had been cleared.]
BURMA
[Illustration: SURVEYING PARTY planning for a portion of the Ledo Road
across abandoned rice paddies (top); hundreds of Chinese laborers pull
a roller to smooth a runway for an airstrip (bottom). B--29 attacks
on targets in Manchuria, Formosa, and Japan, beginning in 1944,
necessitated the building of several new airfields in China and India.]
BURMA
[Illustration: CASUALTY BEING LOWERED BY ROPES AND PULLEY from a
liaison plane that crashed into a tree in Burma; portion of plane can
be seen in upper left. When it crashed, the plane was being used to
evacuate three casualties from the fighting area.]
BURMA
[Illustration: RECOVERING SUPPLIES dropped by parachute. During 1943
and 1944 the flow of U.S. arms and materiel through Calcutta, India,
and up the valley had become great enough to support the tasks of
building the Ledo Road and of destroying the Japanese forces in its
path and increasing steadily the capacity of the Hump air route.]
INDIA
[Illustration: ASSEMBLY OF FIRST TRUCK CONVOY IN LEDO, Assam, to travel
the Ledo-Burma Road, a route stretching over approximately 1,000 miles
through Myitkyina, Burma, to Kunming, China. Note railroad to left of
the road. The vehicles are loaded with supplies and ammunition; some
are pulling antitank guns and filed artillery pieces.]
BURMA
[Illustration: FIRST CONVOY OVER THE LEDO ROAD, renamed the Stilwell
Highway; cargo truck (top) is a 2½-ton 6x6. In December 1942, engineers
started to construct the Ledo Road starting from Ledo, Assam, across
northern Burma to an intersection with the Burma Road near the China
border. They moved ahead as fast as the combat troops, often working
under enemy fire. On 28 January 1945, the first convoy crossed the
Burma-China frontier.]
CHINA
[Illustration: SECTION OF BURMA ROAD just east of Yun-nan-i, China.
Many hairpin turns were necessary to wind a road around the treacherous
mountain terrain. Note the many terraced rice paddies on the mountain
sides and the distance from the road of the two Chinese villages, left
center. Over most difficult terrain and under intolerable weather
conditions, Allied forces defeated the Japanese in Burma in late spring
of 1945.]
BURMA
[Illustration: JAPANESE WARSHIP UNDER ATTACK by North American medium
bomber B-25 near Amoy, China, 6 April 1945; some enemy survivors can be
seen in the water as others cling to the side of the wreckage (bottom).
In the spring of 1945 the Japanese began to withdraw from south and
central China.]
THE COLLAPSE OF JAPAN AND THE END OF THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC
SECTION VI
The Collapse of Japan and the End of the War in the Pacific
The capture of Iwo Jima gave the Allies bases for fighter planes which
were to escort the Superfortresses, based in the Marianas, when they
attacked Japan. With Okinawa in U.S. hands other bombers could join
the B-29’s in the raids. The first Superfortresses flying from the
Marianas struck Tokyo in November 1944. The number of planes used in
the attacks increased with each raid until, in July 1945, over 40,000
tons of bombs were dropped on Japan. During July most of the industrial
areas of Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka had been destroyed.
The Air Forces then turned its attention to secondary targets and to
mining operations planned to blockade Japan so that her warships would
be unable to leave the harbors and her ships carrying supplies would be
unable to enter Japanese waters.
In July the U.S. Third Fleet was sent into Japanese waters to assist in
preventing the Japanese fleet from leaving its bases and to shell enemy
installations along the coast. Aircraft from naval carriers joined in
the attack and the combined efforts of the Allied air power reduced
Japan’s air force to scattered remnants.
The Allies issued the Potsdam Proclamation on 26 July 1945 calling upon
the Japanese to surrender unconditionally. Japan refused the terms and
the Allies began a new series of attacks. On 6 August the first atomic
bomb to be used against an enemy was dropped on Hiroshima; on 8 August,
the Russians declared war on Japan; and on 9 August a second atomic
bomb was released, this time over the city of Nagasaki. These blows
were closely followed by a series of Allied aerial attacks and on 15
August Japan accepted the Potsdam terms, ending the war in the Pacific.
On 2 September 1945 the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers
accepted the formal Japanese surrender aboard the battleship USS
_Missouri_ in a twenty-minute ceremony.
JAPAN
[Illustration]
JAPAN
[Illustration: JAPANESE SHIPPING in a northern Honshu harbor during a
U.S. carrier-based aircraft attack (top); enemy cruisers anchored in
the Japanese naval base at Kure Harbor, Honshu, being bombed by U.S.
naval carrier planes (bottom). On 10 July 1945 carrier-based planes
struck the Tokyo area, concentrating on airfields. This was the first
of a series of attacks by aircraft and surface warships of the U.S. and
British fleets. In late July attacks were carried out against enemy
warships anchored in the harbors of Honshu.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: THE U.S. THIRD FLEET off the coast of Japan. While the
air strikes were going on, the surface warships were steaming up and
down the east coast of Honshu shelling enemy installations. During
these attacks by aircraft and surface vessels, steel-producing centers,
transportation facilities, and military installations were struck;
hundreds of enemy aircraft were destroyed or crippled; and most of the
ships of the Japanese Imperial Fleet were either sunk or damaged.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: A SHANTYTOWN which sprang up in a section of Yokohama
after B-29’s destroyed the original buildings (top); destruction of
buildings by incendiary bombs in Osaka, Japan’s second largest city
(bottom). The bombing of Japan’s key industrial cities was stepped up
from less than two thousand tons of bombs dropped during December 1944
to over forty thousand tons dropped in July 1945. More and more bombers
were sent against Japan with less fighter opposition until, by the end
of July, the targets were announced in advance of the raids. This did
much to undermine the civilian morale and the people began to realize
that the end of the war was close at hand.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: THE BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA with the first atomic bomb
to be used against an enemy, 6 August 1945. With the refusal of the
enemy to accept the unconditional surrender terms of the Potsdam
Proclamation, it was decided to release a single atomic bomb from a
Superfortress. The city chosen for the attack was Hiroshima, where
important Japanese military installations were located.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: HIROSHIMA was approximately 60 percent destroyed by
the bomb. Ground zero (the point on the ground directly below the
air burst of the bomb) was approximately 5,000 feet away from the
hospital building in the center of the photograph, in the direction of
the arrow. (This picture was taken a year after the atomic bomb was
dropped.)]
JAPAN
[Illustration: U.S. PERSONNEL STATIONED ON GUAM discussing the news
of the first atomic bomb dropped on Japan. Before the Japanese had
recovered from the first atomic bomb, another blow was delivered. On
8 August the Russians declared war on Japan and on the following day
crossed the borders into Manchuria.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: ATOMIC BOMBING OF NAGASAKI, 9 August 1945. This was the
second atomic bomb to be dropped on a Japanese city.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: A PORTION OF NAGASAKI after the atomic bomb was dropped.
Nagasaki was a large industrial center and an important port on the
west coast of Kyushu. About 45 percent of the city was destroyed by the
bomb. The rectangular area in the lower left portion of the photograph
is the remains of the Fuchi School. Along both sides of the river are
buildings of the Mitsubishi factories which manufactured arms, steel,
turbines, etc. The tall smoke stack in the right portion of photograph
is that of the Kyushu electric plant. The school was approximately
3,700 feet from ground zero while the electric plant was approximately
6,700 feet away.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: DAMAGE AT NAGASAKI, showing large areas where most
of the buildings were leveled. Buildings constructed of reinforced
concrete suffered less than other types. The circular structure, at
lower center, is the Ohashi Gas Works, approximately 3,200 feet north
of ground zero. The concrete building at left center is the Yamazato
School, approximately 2,300 feet north of ground zero.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: MOUNT FUJIYAMA. After the two atomic bombings and
repeated blows by the Navy and Air Forces, the enemy capitulated on 15
August 1945.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: ABOARD THE BATTLESHIP USS _MISSOURI_ just before the
Japanese surrender ceremony, Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945. This formally
ended the three years and eight months of war in the Pacific and marked
the defeat of the Axis Powers.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: U.S. B-29’s flying over the USS _Missouri_ during the
surrender ceremony.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: U.S. AND JAPANESE PHOTOGRAPHERS taking pictures of U.S.
troops landing at Tateyama, Japan (top); vehicles landing at Wakayama
Beach, Honshu (bottom). Following the defeat of Japan, Allied troops
landed on the Japanese islands to begin their occupational duties. The
invasion of Japan had been planned but the surrender of the enemy made
assault landings unnecessary. However, many troops and much of the
equipment landed over the beaches.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: A JAPANESE WATCHING U.S. TROOPS LANDING on the beach at
Wakayama.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: MILITARY POLICEMEN STAND GUARD as Japanese soldiers
carry rifles, light machine guns, and side arms from trucks into
a building used as a collecting point (top); U.S. soldiers in a
light Japanese tank at a collecting point (bottom). Tanks shown are
tankettes, Type 92, 1932, which weighed three tons, carried a crew
of two men, and had a 16.5-mm. machine gun as principal weapon. The
tankettes developed a speed of 25 miles per hour and were used in
reconnaissance and cavalry roles.]
JAPAN
[Illustration: SCUTTLED JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER in Tokyo Bay (top);
submarines tied up at Maizuru Naval Base (bottom). The submarine
nearest the dock is a German U-boat which had been given to the
Japanese for training purposes.]
HAWAII
[Illustration: V-J DAY PARADE IN HONOLULU. The total of U.S. Army
casualties in the global war was nearly 950,000, including almost
330,000 killed in battle. Of the total, the war against Japan accounted
for approximately 175,000 casualties including about 52,000 killed. In
the South and Southwest Pacific Areas 72 combat landing operations were
carried out in less than three years.]
Appendix A
List of Abbreviations
BAR Browning automatic rifle
GHQ general headquarters
HB heavy barrel
LCI landing craft, infantry
LCI (L) landing craft, infantry (large)
LCM landing craft, mechanized
LCM (3) landing craft, mechanized (Mark III)
LCP (L) landing craft, personnel (large)
LCP (R) landing craft, personnel (ramp)
LCR landing craft, rubber
LCT (6) landing craft, tank (Mark VI)
LCV landing craft, vehicle
LCVP landing craft, vehicle and personnel
LST landing ship, tank
LVT landing vehicle, tracked
LVT (1) landing vehicle, tracked, unarmored (Mark I)
(“Alligator”)
LVT (4) landing vehicle, tracked, unarmored (Mark IV)
LVT (A) (1) landing vehicle, tracked (armored) (Mark I)
(“Water Buffalo,” turret type)
LVT (A) (2) landing vehicle, tracked (armored) (Mark II)
(“Water Buffalo,” canopy type)
LVT (A) (4) landing vehicle, tracked (armored) (Mark IV)
PT patrol vessel, motor torpedo boat
SCR Signal Corps radio
Appendix B
List of Pictorial Sources
The following list gives the origin of all photographs that appear in
this book. The photographs were selected from those in the files of the
Army Signal Corps (111-SC or MC), the Air Force (342-FH or 18AO), the
Navy (80-G), the Marine Corps (127-N), the Coast Guard (26-G), YANK
Magazine (YANK), and individual collections as noted.
----------------------------------------
_Page_ _Source_ _Number_
----------------------------------------
4 MC 215
5 SC 120588
6 SC 117032
7 (Top) SC 117037
7 (Bottom) SC 122190
8 SC 127004
9 (Top) SC 127002
9 (Bottom) USN 19948
10 USN 16871
11 (Top) USN 32424
11 (Bottom) USN 19947
12 USN 19943
13 (Top) SC 127000
13 (Bottom) SC 134872
14 SC 127050
15 SC 176598
16 SC 136966
17 SC 128344
18 SC 136024
19 SC 136018
20 (Top) SC 137367
20 (Bottom) SC 137268
21 SC 182415
22 (Top) SC 147131
22 (Bottom) SC 142137
23 (Top) SC 137253
23 (Bottom) SC 136227
24 MC 5
25 (Top) SC 118927
25 (Bottom) SC 118925
26 (Top) SC 118917
26 (Bottom) SC 126694
27 (Top) SC 126705
27 (Bottom) SC 126742
28 SC 126703
29 SC 126711
30 SC 130991
31 SC 130990
32 (Top) SC 126728
32 (Bottom) SC 126730
33 SC 282334
34 SC 131323
35 USAF 54853 AC
36 (Top) SC 131312
36 (Bottom) SC 131304
37 SC 131471
38 (Top) USN 6744
38 (Bottom) USN 63345-848-B
39 (Top) USN 17023
39 (Bottom) USN 11662
40 (Top) SC 136339
40 (Bottom) SC 136340
41 SC 131349
42 (Top) USN 324199
42 (Bottom) USN 41196
43 USAF C-25758
44 SC 334265
45 SC 282340
46 SC 249636
47 (Top) SC 229704
47 (Bottom) SC 335469
48 SC 334296
49 SC 140332
50 (Top) SC 132940
50 (Bottom) SC 132942
51 SC 151125
52 USN 7401
53 USN 7392
54 SC 166677
55 (Top) SC 164198
55 (Bottom) SC 166712
56 USAF 3725
57 (Top) USN 414423
57 (Bottom) USN 312018
58 USN 215475
59 (Top) SC 163666
59 (Bottom) SC 163613
60 (Top) SC 170985
61 SC 151129
62 (Top) SC 151183
62 (Bottom) SC 151182
63 (Top) SC 151148
63 (Bottom) SC 151140
64 (Top) SC 162873
64 (Bottom) SC 163276
65 (Top) SC 163361
65 (Bottom) SC 163356
66 SC 165013
67 (Top) SC 163263
67 (Bottom) SC 163253
68 (Top) SC 162823
68 (Bottom) SC 163307
69 (Top) SC 172399
69 (Center) SC 180891
69 (Bottom) SC 172398
70 SC 133563
71 SC 163077
72 (Top) SC 163287
72 (Bottom) SC 326269
73 (Top) SC 181536
73 (Bottom) SC 181535
74 SC 162837
79 Unknown
80-81 Unknown
82-83 USAF 18AO-229R17
84 USN 11034
85 (Top) USN 12646
86 USMC 59636
87 USMC 1775
88 USMC 13444
89 USN 34887
90 (Top) USN 40298
90 (Bottom) USN 33368
91 (Top) USMC 13295
91 (Bottom) USN 14615
92 (Top) SC 164894
92 (Bottom) SC 164902
93 (Top) SC 165177
93 (Bottom) SC 165171
94 USN 67247
95 USN 35903
96 (Top) USN 163952
96 (Bottom) SC 163875
97 SC 163787
98 (Top) SC 163986
98 (Bottom) SC 163989
99 SC 164056
100 (Top) SC 163976
100 (Bottom) SC 163960
101 (Top) SC 163972
101 (Bottom) SC 163884
102 SC 164045
103 (Top) SC 163878
103 (Bottom) SC 163842
104 (Top) USMC 81274
104 (Bottom) USN 51882
105 USAF 205076 S
106 USAF 18AO-230R9
107 USAF 18AO-230R17
108 SC 245495
109 SC 185866
110 SC 184078
111 SC 185875
112 SC 181676
113 SC 186151
114 SC 191093
115 USN 295237
116 USN 54648
117 SC 184437
118 (Top) SC 182104
118 (Bottom) SC 184070
119 (Top) USN 186472
119 (Bottom) SC 186471
120 SC 182101
121 SC 184442
122 (Top) USAF 52908 AC
122 (Bottom) USAF 58813 AC
123 USCG 3120
124 USCG 3170
125 USN 202502
126 (Top) SC 186564
126 (Bottom) SC 184362
127 SC 255944
128 SC 186309
129 SC 186859
130 (Top) SC 187873 S
130 (Bottom) SC 186568
131 (Top) SC 186979
131 (Bottom) SC 186566
132 (Top) SC 186595
132 (Bottom) SC 183238 S
133 (Top) SC 184363
133 (Bottom) SC 241023
134 (Top) SC 187870 S
134 (Bottom) SC 184773 S
135 (Top) SC 341721
135 (Bottom) USAF 67341
136 (Top) SC 190893
136 (Bottom) SC 188913
137 (Top) SC 187246
137 (Bottom) SC 184441
138 SC 341722
139 SC 189558
140 (Top) SC 190050
140 (Bottom) SC 325321
141 SC 190051
142 SC 190888
143 SC 189100 S
144 Unknown
145 (Top) SC 163202
145 (Bottom) SC 170650
146 SC 162418
147 SC 169642
148 SC 230756
149 SC 167795
150 SC 164359
151 SC 162494
152 SC 166026
153 SC 166804
154 SC 162501
155 SC 166662
156 (Top) SC 162500
156 (Bottom) SC 164347
157 SC 168195
158 SC 172793
159 SC 173351
160 SC 163240
161 SC 168999
162 (Top) SC 169947
162 (Bottom) SC 168945
163 SC 173813
164 USAF 24825 AC
165 (Top) USAF 23672 AC
165 (Bottom) USAF 27488 AC
166-167 USAF 25418
168 SC 186216
169 SC 186006
170 USAF 233R4
171 SC 25899 AC
172 (Top) SC 187966 S
172 (Bottom) SC 187961 S
173 USCG 3059
174 (Top) SC 184411
174 (Bottom) SC 184419
175 SC 184414
176 USMC 68988
177 USCG 3046
178 Unknown
179 SC 177608
180 SC 174121
181 SC 171813
182 (Top) SC 174111
182 (Bottom) SC 174114
183 SC 174151
184 SC 179445
185 (Top) SC 174109
185 (Bottom) SC 174202
186 (Top) SC 174501
186 (Bottom) SC 177717
187 SC 177706
188 (Top) SC 174504
188 (Bottom) SC 171798
189 (Top) SC 177631
189 (Bottom) SC 177652
190 SC 170367 S
191 SC 245190
192 USN W-AA7-42784
193 (Top) SC 182886
193 (Bottom) SC 186547
194 SC 187013 S
195 Unknown
196 USN 43464
197 (Top) SC 183595
197 (Bottom) SC 183571
198 SC 183537
199 (Top) SC 183542
199 (Bottom) SC 183538
200 (Top) SC 183547
200 (Bottom) SC 183543
201 USCG 3197
202 (Top) SC 183639
202 (Bottom) SC 183636
203 (Top) SC 183529
203 (Bottom) SC 183556
204 (Top) USAF 62938
204 (Bottom) SC 183550
205 USMC 63457
206 USMC 63926
207 USMC 63458
208 USMC 63814
209 USAF 63206
210 USMC 63573
218 Unknown
219 Unknown
220 (Top) SC 301944
220 (Bottom) SC 302014
221 SC 301959
222 (Top) SC 301985
222 (Bottom) SC 301954
223 (Top) SC 301936
223 (Bottom) SC 301970
224 SC 301932
225 SC 301922
226 SC 187437
227 SC 185591
228 SC 185589
229 SC 185588
230 SC 186639
231 SC 185595
232 SC 186642
233 (Top) SC 187442
233 (Bottom) SC 212770
234 (Top) SC 185593
234 (Bottom) SC 212615
235 SC 212607
236 USAF 57029
237 (Top) USAF 58931 AC
237 (Bottom) USAF 60225
238-239 USCG 2466
240 (Top) SC 212619
240 (Bottom) SC 212740
241 (Top) SC 345987
241 (Bottom) SC 211305
242 USN 238363
243 USN 238024
244 (Top) SC 341527
244 (Bottom) SC 212591
245 (Top) SC 319109
245 (Bottom) SC 213139
246 SC 345988
247 USMC 87135
248 SC 324468
249 USMC 85222
250 SC 335533
251 USAF 55505
252 (Top) SC 318816
252 (Bottom) SC 122478
253 (Top) SC 318809
253 (Bottom) SC 318813
254 (Top) SC 210232
254 (Bottom) USCG 2659
255 SC 272338
256 SC 347413
257 (Top) SC 211195
257 (Bottom) SC 211196
258 (Top) USMC 239431
258 (Bottom) SC 347412
259 (Top) SC 347414
259 (Bottom) USMC 92083
260 USAF 54125
261 USMC 95256
262 SC 282145
263 SC 282136
264 USN 283751
265 SC 212876
266 YANK
267 YANK
268 USAF 3A38005
269 USN 294131
270 (Top) USAF 3A38600
270 (Bottom) USAF 55510
271 (Top) YANK Captured Japanese photo
271 (Bottom) YANK Captured Japanese photo
272 (Top) SC 184495
272 (Bottom) SC 184494
273 SC 186800
274 (Top) SC 271479
274 (Bottom) SC 287704
275 SC 271481
276 SC 189112 S
277 (Top) USAF 18AO-236R22
277 (Bottom) USAF 18AO-236R17
278 (Top) SC 271559
278 (Bottom) SC 271560
279 SC 188907
280 (Top) SC 191965
280 (Bottom) SC 258149
281 USMC 75194
282 SC 264452
283 SC 255799
284 (Top) SC 258120
284 (Bottom) SC 258122
285 (Top) SC 287452
285 (Bottom) SC 190022
286-287 USAF 18AO-234R29
288 (Top) SC 190770
288 (Bottom) SC 190023
289 (Top) SC 258033
289 (Bottom) SC 258032
290 (Top) SC 190554
290 (Bottom) SC 258170
291 SC 190763
292 SC 272062
293 SC 191355
294 SC 238989
295 (Top) SC 239021
295 (Bottom) SC 257829
296 SC 238991
297 SC 272260
298 (Top) SC 272258
298 (Bottom) SC 272261
299 USAF 53212 AC
300 SC 272280
301 SC 328594
302 SC 267176
303 SC 267878
304 (Top) USAF A-53686
304 (Bottom) USAF C-53686
305 USN 282604
306 USAF 54084
307 USAF 57803 AC
308 CMH
309 SC 261074
310 SC 196081 S
311 SC 196457
312 USCG 3541
313 SC 198318
314 SC 348141
315 SC 195586 S
316 SC Unknown
317 SC 261947
318 USAF A-56859
319 USAF B-56859
320 SC 260179
321 SC 287147
322 SC 308024
323 SC 196606
324 USAF 64408
325 USAF 58984
330 CMH
331 SC 198654 S
332 SC 265255
333 SC 200587 S
334 SC 200010
335 SC 200017
336 (Top) SC 201638
336 (Bottom) SC 268778
337 (Top) SC 200628
337 (Bottom) SC 199999
338 SC 265272
339 (Top) SC 203013
339 (Bottom) SC 200644
340 SC 200767
341 (Top) SC 322742
341 (Bottom) SC 200760
342 SC 203004
343 (Top) SC 202147
343 (Bottom) SC 202145
344 SC 202560
345 SC 200729 S
346 SC 202420 S
347 SC 203048
348 SC 334068
349 (Top) SC 203073
349 (Bottom) SC 203074
350 SC 202172
351 (Top) SC 202999
351 (Bottom) SC 202592
352 (Top) SC 200787 S
352 (Bottom) SC 201366
353 SC 263672
354 SC 201373
355 SC 271152
356 (Top) SC 335470
356 (Bottom) SC 216825
357 SC 208720
358 SC 264076
359 SC 206277
360 (Top) SC 212567
360 (Bottom) SC 229843
361 USAF 70851
362 (Top) SC 208664
362 (Bottom) SC 210434
363 USAF 59013
364 SC 264187
365 (Top) USAF 58295
365 (Bottom) USAF 58268
366 SC 334072
367 (Top) SC 265863
367 (Bottom) SC 264186
368 (Top) SC 271396
368 (Bottom) SC 270897
369 SC 271001
370 (Top) SC 263036
370 (Bottom) SC 337930
371 (Top) SC 209765
371 (Bottom) SC 205921
372 (Top) SC 263039
372 (Bottom) SC 208670
373 SC 205918
374 SC 274869
375 SC 209387
376-377 SC 252389
378 SC 209439
379 SC 274871
380 SC 207988
381 (Top) SC 264204
381 (Bottom) SC 265177
382 (Top) SC 204238
382 (Bottom) SC 204236
383 SC 264155
384 SC 266175
385 (Top) SC 208702
385 (Bottom) SC 212124
386 SC 322626
387 USAF 54122 AC
388 Unknown
389 SC 207407
390 (Top) USMC 109604
390 (Bottom) SC 207398
391 (Top) SC 207396
391 (Bottom) SC 207401
392 (Top) USMC 109611
392 (Bottom) USMC 111100
393 SC 208998
394 SC 207788
395 SC 207787
396 (Top) SC 204800
396 (Bottom) SC 205113 S
397 SC 230293
398
399 (Top) USN 273880
399 (Bottom) USN 273884
400 (Top) SC 206497
400 (Bottom) SC 207487
401 (Top) SC 207486
401 (Bottom) SC 207481
402 (Top) SC 248856
402 (Bottom) SC 248904
403 (Top) SC 204284
403 (Bottom) SC 183743
404 (Top) SC 207959
404 (Bottom) SC 207917
405 (Top) SC 210416
405 (Bottom) SC 210415
406 (Top) SC 208607
406 (Bottom) SC 208608
407 (Top) SC 208599
407 (Bottom) SC 208598
408 (Top) USAF 61214 AC
408 (Bottom) USAF 63879 AC
409 SC 210967
410 SC 204192
414-415 CMH
416 SC 145495
417 (Top) SC 145509
417 (Bottom) SC 147440
418 (Top Left) SC 146779
418 (Top Right) SC 146771
418 (Bottom) SC 148206
419 SC 147442
420-421 USAF 18AO-187R13
422 USAF A-54567
423 (Top) USAF A-27445
423 (Bottom) USAF 74547
424 (Top) SC 193213
424 (Bottom) SC 276903
425 (Top) SC 263436
425 (Bottom) SC 200944
426 SC 193765 S
427 SC 193045
428 YANK
429 USAF 71707
430 SC 197352 S
431 SC 196382 S
432 SC 198735
433 (Top) SC 198917-S
433 (Bottom) USAF B-25132
434 SC 198806 S
435 SC 203107
436 SC 199064 S
437 (Top) YANK
437 (Bottom) YANK
438-439 USAF Unknown
440 (Top) USAF 57314
440 (Middle) USAF 58114
440 (Bottom) USAF 57314
444 Unknown
445 (Top) USN 490108
445 (Bottom) USN 490147
446 USN 490363
447 (Top) SC 211312
447 (Bottom) USAF 58994 AC
448 USAF 58209 AC
449 USAF 69647 AC
450 SC 329433
451 USAF 69680 AC
452 USAF A-58587 AC
453 USAF 58582 AC
454-455 USN 490487
456 SC 210628 S
457 SC 211875
458 (Top) SC 212116
458 (Bottom) SC 216907
459 SC 213317
460 (Top) SC 212118
460 (Bottom) SC 214297
461 (Top) SC 211765
461 (Bottom) SC 216451
462 SC 212189
UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II
The following volumes have been published:
The War Department
_Chief of Staff: Prewar Plans and Preparations_
_Washington Command Post: The Operations Division_
_Strategic Planning for Coalition Warfare: 1941-1942_
_Strategic Planning for Coalition Warfare: 1943-1944_
_Global Logistics and Strategy: 1940-1943_
_Global Logistics and Strategy: 1943-1945_
_The Army and Economic Mobilization_
_The Army and Industrial Manpower_
The Army Ground Forces
_The Organization of Ground Combat Troops_
_The Procurement and Training of Ground Combat Troops_
The Army Service Forces
_The Organization and Role of the Army Service Forces_
The Western Hemisphere
_The Framework of Hemisphere Defense_
_Guarding the United States and Its Outposts_
The War in the Pacific
_The Fall of the Philippines_
_Guadalcanal: The First Offensive_
_Victory in Papua_
_CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul_
_Seizure of the Gilberts and Marshalls_
_Campaign in the Marianas_
_The Approach to the Philippines_
_Leyte: The Return to the Philippines_
_Triumph in the Philippines_
_Okinawa: The Last Battle_
_Strategy and Command: The First Two Years_
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations
_Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West_
_Sicily and the Surrender of Italy_
_Salerno to Cassino_
_Cassino to the Alps_
The European Theater of Operations
_Cross-Channel Attack_
_Breakout and Pursuit_
_The Lorraine Campaign_
_The Siegfried Line Campaign_
_The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge_
_The Last Offensive_
_The Supreme Command_
_Logistical Support of the Armies, Volume I_
_Logistical Support of the Armies, Volume II_
The Middle East Theater
_The Persian Corridor and Aid to Russia_
The China-Burma-India Theater
_Stilwell’s Mission to China_
_Stilwell’s Command Problems_
_Time Runs Out in CBI_
The Technical Services
_The Chemical Warfare Service: Organizing for War_
_The Chemical Warfare Service: From Laboratory to Field_
_The Chemical Warfare Service: Chemicals in Combat_
_The Corps of Engineers: Troops and Equipment_
_The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Japan_
_The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany_
_The Corps of Engineers: Military Construction in the United States_
_The Medical Department: Hospitalization and Evacuation;
Zone of Interior_
_The Medical Department: Medical Service in the Mediterranean and
Minor Theaters_
_The Medical Department: Medical Service in the European Theater of
Operations_
_The Medical Department: Medical Service in the War Against Japan_
_The Ordnance Department: Planning Munitions for War_
_The Ordnance Department: Procurement and Supply_
_The Ordnance Department: On Beachhead and Battlefront_
_The Quartermaster Corps: Organization, Supply, and Services,
Volume I_
_The Quartermaster Corps: Organization, Supply, and Services,
Volume II_
_The Quartermaster Corps: Operations in the War Against Japan_
_The Quartermaster Corps: Operations in the War Against Germany_
_The Signal Corps: The Emergency_
_The Signal Corps: The Test_
_The Signal Corps: The Outcome_
_The Transportation Corps: Responsibilities, Organization,
and Operations_
_The Transportation Corps: Movements, Training, and Supply_
_The Transportation Corps: Operations Overseas_
Special Studies
_Chronology: 1941-1945_
_Military Relations Between the United States and Canada: 1939-1945_
_Rearming the French_
_Three Battles: Arnaville, Altuzzo, and Schmidt_
_The Women’s Army Corps_
_Civil Affairs: Soldiers Become Governors_
_Buying Aircraft: Materiel Procurement for the Army Air Forces_
_The Employment of Negro Troops_
_Manhattan: The U.S. Army and the Atomic Bomb_
Pictorial Record
_The War Against Germany and Italy: Mediterranean and Adjacent Areas_
_The War Against Germany: Europe and Adjacent Areas_
_The War Against Japan_
Index
Agno River, Luzon, 336
Air attacks
Allied, 38, 56, 89, 94, 122, 164, 165, 171, 196, 236, 237, 243, 306,
307, 318, 319, 350, 363, 365, 374, 387, 422, 440, 445
Japanese, 9, 10, 11, 15, 30, 57, 90, 91, 102, 132, 163, 173, 251
Air bases. _See_ Airfields.
Airdrop
Burma, 428, 435
Corregidor, 351, 352
Luzon, 349, 378
New Guinea, 166-67
Noemfoor Island, 299, 300
supplies, 133
Aircraft
bombers, heavy, 89, 92, 164, 236, 260, 268, 270, 284, 307, 324, 325,
397, 408, 457
bombers, light, 304, 387
bombers, medium, 32, 42, 122, 165, 209, 318, 423, 440
Catalina flying boats, 331, 357
cub plane, 337
dive bomber, SBD, 196
fighters, 13, 190, 284, 364, 365, 374, 423
gliders, 386
Japanese, 90, 171, 186, 201, 242, 252, 306, 422
observation seaplane, 264
pursuit planes, 32
torpedo bomber, 38, 122, 242
transport planes, 133, 145, 165, 166-67, 352, 408, 429
Aircraft carriers, 269
Japanese, 56, 461
USS _Enterprise_, 90
USS _Franklin_, 399
USS _Hornet_, 42, 90
USS _Lexington_, on fire, 52
USS _Wasp_, 88
USS _Yorktown_, on fire, 57
Airfields
Adak, 191
Amchitka, 190
Australia, 145
Bellows Field, Hawaii, 13
Betio Island, 209
Burma, 429
construction of, 133, 337, 433
Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, 80-81
Hickam Field, Hawaii, 9
Iwo Jima, 397
Los Negros Island, 277
Luzon, 337, 361
Netherlands East Indies, 306
New Georgia, 115
New Guinea, 165, 284
Noemfoor Island, 298, 299
Okinawa, 408
Russell Islands, 106
Saipan, 252
Wheeler Field, Hawaii, 8, 17
Airports. _See_ Airfields.
Alligator, 175, 193
Ambulance, converted jeep, 101
Ammunition
81-mm. mortar, 277
105-mm. howitzer, 127
antiaircraft gun, 162
chemical mortar, 119
machine gun, 23, 179
Ammunition dump, on fire, 265
Amphibian tractor, LVT, 130, 175, 177, 198, 244, 289, 311
Amphibious training, Hawaii, 18
Antiaircraft guns
3-inch, 6, 41, 55, 162
37-mm., 204
40-mm., 135, 162, 425
90-mm., damaged, 132
Japanese, 156, 188, 193
Antitank gun, 37-mm., 26, 62, 92, 93, 229, 232, 240, 257
Armored car, light, 381
Army band, Guadalcanal, 126
Artillery
gun, 37-mm., 154
guns, 155-mm., 34, 244, 278, 316, 400
howitzers, 8-inch., 317, 367
howitzers, 105-mm., 22, 129, 183, 188, 278, 341, 342
howitzers, 155-mm., 55, 120, 250, 291, 373
howitzers, 240-mm., 346
Japanese, 40, 188
mortars. _See_ Mortars.
observation plane, 272
pack howitzers, 75-mm., 87, 353, 418
Assembly line, for vehicles, 73
Atomic bombing
Hiroshima, 448
Nagasaki, 451
Baguio, Luzon, 372
Balikpapan, Borneo, 307
Barbed wire, 36, 105, 140, 221
Barrage balloons, 131
Bazooka 200, 248, 354, 394
Bellows Field, Hawaii, 13
Bilibid prison farm, Luzon, 349
Bivouac area
Guadalcanal, 98
New Caledonia, 67
Bloody Hill, Bougainville, 142
Bombardment. _See also_ Air attacks.
aerial, 38, 56, 84, 164, 236, 306, 307, 350, 364, 365
naval, 38, 39, 84, 231
Bombers
formation of, 268, 325
heavy, B-17, 9, 89, 92, 284
heavy, B-24, 164, 236, 260, 268, 307, 324, 408
heavy, B-29, 270, 325, 397, 457
light, A-20, 304, 387
medium, B-18, 32
medium, B-25, 42, 122, 165, 209, 318, 423, 440
torpedo, TBD, 38
torpedo, TBF, 122
torpedo, TBF-1, 242
Bomb craters, 170
Butaritari Island, 202
Corregidor, 352
Luzon, 361
New Guinea, 169
Bomb damage, 169
Angaur, 267
Henderson Field, 91
Japan, 447, 449, 452, 453
Luzon, 372
New Guinea, 170
Bombproof shelter, Japanese, 207
Bombs
500-pound, 236
1,000-pound, 196
parafrag, 306
Bougainville, 122
Bren-gun carriers, 152
Bridges
construction of, 96
footbridge, 147, 159, 294
ponton, 28, 29, 336, 430
repair of, 424
temporary suspension, 427
Bucket brigade, 91
Japanese, 271
Buffalo, 289, 311
Burma Road, China, 438-39
Cameras, 174, 241
Camouflage
antiaircraft gun, 55
antiaircraft gun emplacement, 162
foxhole, 72, 174
gun, 155-mm., 34
howitzer, 120, 250
Japanese aircraft, 306
Japanese troops, 40
SCR 300, 297
Camouflage suits, 123, 224
Cape Sansapor, New Guinea, 302, 303
Cargo carrier, M29, 323
Cargo nets, 54, 128
Casualties, 160, 241, 247, 338, 357, 434
Australian, 160
Japanese, 266, 345
Caves
Biak, 294, 295
Guam, 258
Iwo Jima, 395, 396
Okinawa, 403, 405
Saipan, 247
Cavite Navy yard, 30
Cheney Battery, Corregidor, 356
Civilians
Betio Island, 209
Guadalcanal, 93, 100
Japan, 271
Leyte, 312, 320
New Caledonia, 70
New Guinea, 155
Philippines, 31, 337, 383, 386
Collecting point for Japanese arms, 460
Command posts, 66, 297
Japanese, 208
Communications
field telephone, 99, 358
SCR 300, 297
wire stringing, 324
Construction
airfield, 133, 337, 433
bridge, 96
corduroy road, 157
Conveyor, 290
Convoy
motor, 59, 323, 336, 417, 430, 436
ship, 110, 310, 331, 389, 446
Coral reefs, 197
Corregidor Island, 35
Crews
antiaircraft gun, 41, 162, 204, 425
antitank gun, 93, 229
gun, 155-mm., 316
howitzer, 105-mm., 183
LVT, 199
machine gun, 23
mortar, 7, 86, 138, 380, 425
tank, 282
Tokyo Raid, 43
Cruiser, 39
Cub plane, 337
Dagupan City, Luzon, 336
Debarkation of troops, 50, 63, 113
Decontamination suits, 55
Destroyers, 10, 12, 116
Dive bombers
Japanese, 90, 242
SBD, 196
Division headquarters, New Caledonia, 68
Duck, 69
Dugouts, Japanese, 156, 233, 403
Dummy tank, Japanese, 393
Dumps, on fire
ammunition, 265
oil, 285
Dutch Harbor, Alaska, 58
Embarkation
prisoners of war, 385
troop, Australia, 61, 149
Emplacements
antiaircraft gun 132, 135, 162, 204
antitank gun, 93, 203
gun, Japanese, 188
howitzer, 317
machine gun, 134
mortar, 298
Enclosure, prisoner of war, 105, 349
Evacuation
of casualties, 101, 160, 184, 206, 254, 357
of civilians, 31
Explosions
Japanese warship, 319
light bomber, 304
mine, 403
phosphorus hand grenade, 379
Field telephone, 99
Fighter planes
P-38, 284, 364, 365, 374
P-40, 13, 190, 423
P-47, 365
Grumman Wildcat, 91
Fire fighters 11, 15, 91, 351
Japanese, 271
Fires
Alaska, 58
Angaur, 265
Bougainville, 132
Fort Drum, 363
Guadalcanal, 102
Kwajalein, 231, 233, 234
Leyte, 312
Luzon, 343, 365
Netherlands East Indies, 387
New Guinea, 163
Saipan, 249, 251
Tanambogo Island, 84
Tokyo, 271
Flak, 90
Flame thrower, 233, 247, 340
Florida Island, Solomon Islands, 82-83, 85
Flying boat, Catalina, 331, 357.
_See also_ Aircraft.
Flying bombs, Japanese, 402
Footbridges, 147, 159, 294.
_See also_ Bridges.
Fort Drum, El Fraile Island, 363
Foxholes
Angaur, 267
Attu, 185
camouflaged, 72
Guadalcanal, 98, 103
Peleliu Island, 261
water-filled, 407
Fuel dump, on fire, 132
Garapan, Saipan, 249
Gas drums, 126
Gas dump, 189
Gas masks
American, 64
Japanese, 49
Gavutu Harbour, 82-83
Gavutu Island Solomon Islands, 84
Gizo Island, Solomon Islands, 89
Glider, Waco, CG-4A, 386
Green Island, 281
Guerrillas, Filipino, 367
Gun emplacements
Corregidor, 47
Japanese, 188, 193, 253
Saipan, 245
Gun fire
155-mm., 278, 316
antiaircraft, 112
Japanese, 261
Japanese, naval, 279
naval, 116
Gun motor carriages
3-inch, 235
75-mm., 392
76-mm., 370
Guns, _See also_ Artillery; Antiaircraft guns.
37-mm., 154
75-mm., 7
155-mm., 34, 244, 278, 316, 400
Japanese, 75-mm., 40
Hand grenades, 263
Harbors
Adak, 191
Gavutu, 82-83
Japan, 445
Kiska, 193
Luzon, 360
New Caledonia, 63, 70, 108
New Guinea, 170
Okinawa, 410
Helmets, 6, 23, 98, 404
Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, 80-81
Hickam Field, Hawaii, 9
Himalaya mountains, 420-21
Hiroshima, Japan, 448, 449
Hollandia area, New Guinea, 286-87
Holtz Bay, Attu, 186
Hong Kong, 422
Hospital, field
Attu, 185
Bougainville, 137
Okinawa, 404
Howitzer motor carriages
75-mm., 245
105-mm., 246, 359, 366, 370, 371
Howitzers
8-inch, 317, 367
105-mm., 22, 129, 183, 188, 278, 341, 342
155-mm., 55, 120, 250, 291, 373
240-mm., 346
pack, 75-mm., 87
Hyane Harbour, Admiralties, 277
Identification tags, 134
Infantry column, 147, 168, 201, 255, 280
Infantrymen, 5, 16, 74, 114, 119, 130, 134, 143, 158, 186, 199, 230,
234, 240, 275, 285, 288, 293, 314, 334
Chinese, 418, 426
Filipino, 25, 26
on board ship, 62, 276
Inspection of troops, Los Negros Island, 309
Interrogator, 283
Intramuros, Luzon, 347
Invasion beaches
Bougainville, 123, 124
Butaritari Island, 197
Cebu Island, 382
Guam, 254
Iwo Jima, 390
Kiska, 192
Leyte, 311, 312
Luzon, 333, 362
New Guinea, 272, 280, 290, 302
Okinawa, 401
Invasion preparations, for Attu, 179
Irrawaddy River, Burma, 430
Jautefa Bay, 286-87
Jeeps, 64, 97, 177, 203, 240
communications, 256
used as ambulance, 101
waterproofed, 227
Jungle training, Hawaii, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225
Kamiri airfield, Noemfoor Island, 298, 299
Kowloon docks, Hong Kong, China, 422
Lae, New Guinea, 170
Lake Sentani, New Guinea, 286-87, 289
Landing craft
LCI, 113, 305
LCM, 181, 238-39, 254, 311, 362
LCP, 18, 92
LCR, 128
LCT, 109, 118, 192, 401
LCV, 126, 184
LCVP, 124, 184, 238-39
LST, 125, 131, 135, 272, 273, 281, 290, 362, 389
LVT, 175, 177, 193, 198, 244, 289, 311, 384
Japanese, 104
Landing operations
Angaur, 264
Attu, 180, 181
Bougainville, 123, 135
Butaritari Island, 197, 198
Cebu Island, 382
Florida Island, 85
Green Island, 281
Guadalcanal, 92, 127
Guam, 254
Honshu, 459
Japan, 458
Kiska, 192
Kwajalein, 226
Leyte, 311
Los Negros Island, 310
Luzon, 332, 362
Morotai Island, 305
New Britain, 176, 177
New Guinea, 272, 280, 302
Okinawa, 401
Saipan, 238-39
Vella Lavella, 117
Ledo Road, 436, 437
Linesman, 324
Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, 331
Lipa airfield, Luzon, 361
Litter bearers, 160
Living conditions, Okinawa, 407
Living quarters
Guam, 450
New Caledonia, 68
Rendova Island, 111
Loading operations
Australia, 149
Guadalcanal, 126
infantrymen, 145
Log beach barricade, Betio Island, 205
Long Tom, 316.
_See also_ Artillery.
Los Negros Island, 277
Lunga River, Guadalcanal, 80-81
Machine gun
.30-caliber, 25, 134, 230, 234, 344, 358
.50-caliber, 8, 23, 172, 245
Japanese, 40, 253, 367
Mail call, Bougainville, 136
Malaya River, Luzon, 376-77
Malinta Hill, Corregidor, 355
Malinta Tunnel Corregidor, 46, 356
Maneuvers. _See_ Training.
Manila, Luzon, 343, 344, 347
Manila Harbor, Luzon, 360
Maps
Admiralty Islands, 218
Aleutian Islands, 178
Caroline Islands, 218
China-Burma-India Theater, 414-15
Gilbert Islands, 195
Iwo Jima, 388
Japan, 444
Leyte, 308
Mariana Islands, 218
Marshall Islands, 218
New Britain, 144
New Guinea, 144, 218
Oahu, 4
Okinawa, 398
Palau Islands, 218
Papua, 144
Philippines, 24, 330
Solomon Islands, 79
Massacre Bay, Attu, 189
Matanikau River, Guadalcanal, 96, 100
Medical aid men, 137, 203
Medical operations. _See also_ Evacuation.
Attu, 185
Betio Island, 206
Bougainville, 137
Burma, 434
Guadalcanal, 101
Guam, 254
Luzon, 338
Okinawa, 404
Message center, Bougainville, 136
Mess kits, 134
Momote airfield, Los Negros Island, 277
Mortars
12-inch, 47
60-mm., 138, 151, 298, 321, 380
81-mm., 25, 86, 225, 425
chemical, 4.2-inch, 7, 119
Motor carriages
gun, 75-mm., 392
gun, 76-mm., 370
howitzer, 75-mm., 245
howitzer, 105-mm., 246, 359, 366, 370, 371
Motor torpedo boat, 39
Mount Fujiyama, Japan, 454-55
Mud
Bougainville, 130
Burma, 424
Guadalcanal, 96
Guam, 256
Luzon, 368
New Guinea, 274
Okinawa, 406
Munda airfield, New Georgia, 115
Munda Point, New Georgia, 115
Nadzab, New Guinea, 166-67
Nagasaki, Japan, 451, 452, 453
Naha Harbor, Okinawa, 410
Naval gun, Japanese, 270
Nouméa, New Caledonia, 108
Observation plane, artillery, 272
Observation post
Guam, 259
Luzon, 341
Observation seaplane, 264
Obstacles, tank, 36
Oil dump, 189
Japanese, on fire, 285
Ordnance depot, 73
Ordnance repair shop, 22
Ormoc Bay, Leyte, 318, 319
Osaka, Japan, 447
Pack animals, 27, 65, 322, 424
Pack howitzer, 75-mm., 87, 353, 418
Parachute bombs, 171
Parachutes, 111, 166-67, 171, 299, 349, 351, 354, 378, 435
Parafrag bomb, 306
Pasig River, Luzon, 343
Pearl Harbor attack, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15
Personnel carrier, half-track, 140
Phosphorus hand grenade, explosion of, 379
Photographers, 174, 458
Pipelines, Burma, 431
Pistol, .45-caliber automatic, 22
Plasma, 338
Pontoon causeway, 244
Priest, 246
Prisoners of war
Allied, 45, 48
Japanese, 37, 105, 161, 283, 385, 396, 405, 409
Pursuit plane, P-36, 30
Puruata Island, 132
Rabaul, New Britain, 171
Rafts
bamboo, 27
cork, 172
rubber, LCR, 128
Railroad station, Australia, 51
Railroads
Angaur, 266
India, 417, 436
Luzon, 345
Saipan, 240, 241
Ramgarh Training Center, India, 418
Renard Field, Russell Islands, 106
Renard Sound, Russell Islands, 107
Rendova Island, 118
Rescue operations, 53, 95
Rest area, Attu, 187
Rifles
.30-caliber Browning automatic, 22, 315
.30-caliber M1, 22, 114, 121, 156
.30-caliber M1903, 114
Japanese, 460
River crossings
Bougainville, 139
Burma, 427, 430
Luzon, 334, 335, 336, 371
New Caledonia, 64
New Guinea, 146, 159, 168, 274, 275
Rivers
Burma, 427, 430
Guadalcanal 80-81, 96, 100
Luzon, 336, 343, 376-77
New Guinea, 146, 274, 275
Roads
Australia, 59
Bougainville, 130, 141
Burma, 424, 432, 437
Butaritari Island, 203
China, 438-39
corduroy, 157
Guadalcanal, 96, 97, 101, 103
Guam, 256
India, 419, 436
Leyte, 323
Luzon, 336, 364, 371, 376-77
New Guinea, 170, 274, 282, 292
Okinawa, 406
Saipan, 246
Rocket launchers
2.36-inch, 200, 248, 354, 394
automatic, 4.5-inch, 392
Saber, Australian, 74
Salamaua, New Guinea, 164, 169
Salvage, aircraft parts, 284
Salween River, Burma, 427
Samboga Creek, New Guinea, 146
Sand bags, 93, 137, 138, 162, 193
Seaplane, observation, 264
Seeadler Harbour, Los Negros Island, 310
Small Arms
.30-caliber Browning automatic rifles, 22, 199, 315
.30-caliber machine guns, 134, 230, 344, 358
.30-caliber rifles, M1, 22, 114, 121, 156
.30-caliber rifles, M1903, 114
.45-caliber automatic pistol, 22
.45-caliber Thompson submachine gun, 224
.50-caliber machine gun, 23, 172
carbine M1A3, 354
Japanese, 460
rocket launcher, 200, 248, 354, 394
Smoke screen, 64, 166-67, 378
Staging area, Los Negros Island, 309
Steel matting, 337, 391
Stilwell Highway, 437
Street fighting
Luzon, 344
Saipan, 249
Shanghai, 49
Submachine gun, .45-caliber, 224, 394
Submarines
German U-boat, 461
Japanese, 14, 104, 461
Suicide boat, Japanese, 400
Sunlight Field, Russell Islands, 106
Supply dump, Guadalcanal, 103
Supply operations
Arundel, 119
Attu, 182
Burma, 428, 435
Corregidor, 352
Guadalcanal, 93, 100
Guam, 256
India, 417, 419
Leyte, 320, 322
Luzon 333, 336, 349, 360
New Caledonia, 69, 108
New Guinea, 150, 274, 290, 292
Russell Islands, 109
Surgery room, underground 137
Surrender ceremony, 456, 457
Survivors
Japanese warship, 440
of SS _President Coolidge_, 95
of USS _Lexington_, 53
Tanambogo Island, Solomon Islands, 84
Tank destroyer, 230, 235
Tanks
Japanese, 33, 202, 208, 253, 339, 393, 460
Light, 20, 21, 141, 153, 202, 370, 432
medium, 143, 203, 231, 266, 282, 285, 293, 314, 339, 348, 371, 372,
403, 432
medium, flame-throwing, 405
medium, on fire, 259
medium, waterproofed, 226
Telescopes, 259, 341
Terrain
Attu, 180, 182, 186
Australia, 59
Burma, 424, 427, 429
China, 438-39
Corregidor, 351, 352, 355
Florida Island, 82-83
Guadalcanal, 94, 96, 97, 100
Guam, 255
India, 436
Kiska, 192
Los Negros Island, 277
Luzon, 341, 350, 361, 365, 368, 369, 376-77
New Caledonia, 67
New Guinea, 147, 148, 150, 157, 165, 166-67, 169, 273, 286-87, 288,
303
Russell Islands, 107
Saipan, 240
Tokyo, 271
Tokyo Bay, 454-55, 461
“Tokyo Local,” 270
Tractors. _See_ Vehicles.
Trails. _See_ Roads.
Training
amphibious, 18
Australia, 54, 55
Hawaii, 5, 6, 7, 19, 22, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225
India, 418
New Caledonia, 64, 65
Philippines, 25, 26, 27, 28, 32
Transport planes
C-47, 133, 145, 165, 166-67, 352, 429
C-54, 408
Transport ships, 63, 416
George Taylor, 149
Japanese, 94, 104
President Jackson, 128
Troops. _See also_ Infantrymen.
Australian, 161, 168
Chinese, 418, 427
Japanese, 33, 40, 44, 49
New Zealand, 71, 117
Truk, 237
Tundra, 182. _See also_ Mud.
Ulithi Anchorage, 269
Unloading operations
Attu, 189
Bougainville, 131
India, 417
Iwo Jima, 390, 391
Leyte, 311
Luzon, 333
New Caledonia, 70, 108
USS _Arizona_, 11
USS _Cassin_, 12
USS _Dowries_, 12
USS _Enterprise_, 90
USS _Franklin_, 399
USS _Hornet_, 90
USS _Lexington_, 52
USS _Missouri_, 456, 457
USS _Pennsylvania_, 12
USS _Shaw_, 10
USS _Tennessee_, 11
USS _Wasp_, on fire, 88
USS _West Virginia_, 11
USS _Yorktown_, 57
V-J-Day parade, Honolulu, 462
Vehicles
amphibian tractor, LVT, 130
amphibian truck, 69, 336
assembly of, 73
Bren-gun carriers, 152
bulldozer, 347, 371
cargo carrier, M29, 323
jeeps. _See_ Jeeps.
light armored car, 381
personnel carrier, half-track, 140
tanks. _See_ Tanks.
tractor, 7-ton, 189
tractor, 18-ton, 244
tractor, crawler type, 274
tractor, medium M5, 256
trucks, 290, 406, 417
trucks, ¾-ton, 392
trucks, 2½-ton, 191, 437
trucks, 4-ton, 131, 135
Wake, 38, 196
Walkie-talkie, SCR 300, 297
War trophies, 204
Warships, Japanese, 237, 243, 318, 319, 440, 445
Waterproofed vehicles, 226, 227
Water cans, 313
Water supply point, Leyte, 313
Water tanks, 130
collapsible, 313
Wheeler Field, 8, 17
Women, Army nurses, 50, 60, 404
Wotje Atoll, Marshall Islands, 38
_Yank_ magazine, 296
Yap Island, 260
Yokohama, Japan, 447
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The war against Japan: Pictorial record" ***
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