Battle of Kwajalein

Battle of Kwajalein
Part of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign of the Pacific Theater (World War II)

Soldiers of the U.S. 7th Infantry Division attack a Japanese blockhouse on Kwajalein.
Date31 January – 3 February 1944
Location8°43′N 167°44′E / 8.717°N 167.733°E / 8.717; 167.733
Result American victory
Belligerents
 United States  Japan
Commanders and leaders
U.S. Navy:
Richmond K. Turner
U.S. Marine Corps:
Holland M. Smith
Harry Schmidt
Thomas E. Watson
U.S. Army:
Charles H. Corlett
Monzo Akiyama 
Masami Kobayashi
Yamada Michiyuki 
Yoshimi Nishida 
Units involved

V Amphibious Corps:

Kwajalein Garrison:

  • 1st Amphibious Brigade
  • 2nd Mobile Battalion
  • 22nd Air Flotilla
Strength
46,670[1]: 27–28  Kwajalein:
about 5,000
Roi-Namur:
about 3,000[1]: 31 
Casualties and losses
Kwajalein:
142 killed
845 wounded
2 missing
Roi-Namur:
206 killed
617 wounded
181 missing[1]: 88 
Kwajalein:
4,300 killed
166 captured
Roi-Namur:
3,500 killed
87 captured[1]: 88 
Battle of Kwajalein is located in Marshall Islands
Battle of Kwajalein
Location within Marshall Islands
Battle of Kwajalein is located in Pacific Ocean
Battle of Kwajalein
Battle of Kwajalein (Pacific Ocean)

The Battle of Kwajalein was fought as part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It took place 31 January – 3 February 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the Battle of Tarawa, the United States launched a successful twin assault on the main islands of Kwajalein in the south and Roi-Namur in the north. The Japanese defenders put up stiff resistance, although outnumbered and under-prepared. The determined defense of Roi-Namur left only 51 survivors of an original garrison of 3,500.

For the US, the battle represented both the next step in its island-hopping march to Japan and a significant morale victory because it was the first time the Americans had penetrated the "outer ring" of the Japanese Pacific sphere. For the Japanese, the battle represented the failure of the beach-line defense. Japanese defenses became prepared in depth, and the Battles of Peleliu, Guam, and the Marianas proved far more costly to the US.

  1. ^ a b c d Rottman, G., 2004, The Marshall Islands 1944: "Operation Flintlock, the capture of Kwajalein and Eniwetok", Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-84176-851-0