The Beach at Tarawa

WW II - Japan

Naval War

bigpigeon.us webpage WW II - Japan > North & Central Pacific, updated by RAC 18 Aug '19

In June 1942, the Japanese attack at Midway Island in the Central Pacific was coupled with a diversionary attack 2,000 miles to the north in the Aleutian Islands. 

American success at the Battle of Midway stopped Japanese advances in the Pacific Ocean. However, several factors such as the shortage of aircraft carriers argued against quick follow-up US landings in the Central Pacific, where the large distance between island chains made it difficult to provide land-based air support for amphibious actions. For the next seventeen months, the Pacific War focussed on a rather small area in the South and Southwest Pacific. 

I used 1943 in the page header because after June no major actions happened in 1942 in either the north or central Pacific. Here is an outline of major central pacific operations:

• In November 1943, the Central Pacific Campaign began with the landing at Tarawa atoll in the Gilbert Islands.
• Invasion of selected isands in the Marshall Islands followed in January-February 1944.
• In June 1944, the Mariana Islands Campaign began.
• Finally, September-November 1944 witnessed the tragic Battle of Peleliu in the Palau Islands.

In a year, US forces in the Central Pacific advanced nearly 3,000 miles from Tarawa to Peleliu.

Links to the WW II - North and Central Pacific subordinate webpages
==> This is a work in progress - some webpages are incomplete.

• The Northern Pacific
• Tarawa and the Marshall Islands
• The Mariana Islands
• ​Towards the Philippines
  
•  The Pacific Communications Zone

Below are two maps of the Central Pacific. I haven't yet decided which map to use.

Within the Central Pacific are four island chains that figure into World War II history. Looking at the right part of the accompanying map, one can imagine these islands form sort of a tilted rectangle:

• The Mariana Islands - the upper left corner.
• The Marshall Islands - the upper right corner.
• The Gilbert Islands - the lower right corner.
• The Caroline Islands - the lower left corner.

In the middle of the rectangle, the main Japanese base was at Truk in the Caroline Islands. Although Truk was attacked by air and sea, the Caroline Islands did not witness land combat.

The timeline below summarizes major Central Pacific amphibious operations, including invasion month and number of US dead):
 Gilbert Islands (lower right on the map):

• Nov '43 - Tarawa Atoll (~1000 Marine and 700 Navy deaths)
• Nov '43 - Makin Atoll (66 dead)

Marshall Islands (north of the Gilberts):

• Jan '44 -  Kwajalein & Roi-Namur (~431 dead)
• Feb '44- Eniwetok (~390 dead)

Mariana Islands (northwest of the Marshalls):

• Jun '44 - Saipan (3,426 dead)
• Jul '44 - Guam (1,783 dead)
• Jul '44 Tinian (326 dead)

Palau Islands (southwest of the Marianas):

• Sep '44 - Peleliu (2,336 dead)
• Sep '44 - Anguar (260 dead)

WW II - The Central Pacific

Central Pacific June 1944

Sources - WW II - The North and Central Pacific webpage

• The The Beach at Tarawa header photo is courtesy of the National WW II Museum in New Orleans, LA.
• The WW II - The Central Pacific map was found at https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Strategy/Strategy-22.html.