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Battle of Eniwetok | |||||||
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Part of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign of the Pacific Theater (World War II) | |||||||
Landing craft heading for Eniwetok Island on 19 February 1944. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States | Japan | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Harry W. Hill John T. Walker Thomas E. Watson | Yoshimi Nishida † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
2 regiments |
3,500[1]: 32 9 light tanks 3 anti-tank guns 3 naval guns 4 mountain guns | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
313 killed 77 missing 879 wounded[1]: 88 |
3,380 killed 144 captured[1]: 88 1 naval gun destroyed | ||||||
The Battle of Eniwetok was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought from 17 to 23 February 1944 on Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The invasion of Eniwetok followed the American success in the Battle of Kwajalein to the southeast. Capture of Eniwetok would provide an airfield and harbor to support attacks on the Mariana Islands to the northwest. The operation was officially known as "Operation Catchpole" and was a three-phase operation involving the invasion of the three main islands in the Enewetak Atoll.