Reference Entry
LANDINGS ON KWAJALEIN ATOLL BEGIN
On January 31st, 1944, United States forces stormed ashore on the islands of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands during Operation Flintlock. Amphibious training in earlier campaigns had taught hard lessons, and planners now applied them against one of Japan’s most important central Pacific strongholds.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Landings on Kwajalein Atoll begin
On January 31st, 1944, United States forces stormed ashore on the islands of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands during Operation Flintlock. Amphibious training in earlier campaigns had taught hard lessons, and planners now applied them against one of Japan’s most important central Pacific strongholds. Soldiers of the Seventh Infantry Division and Marines of the Fourth Marine Division moved from transports into landing craft, then onto beaches defended by bunkers, trenches, and interlocking fields of fire. Naval gunfire and carrier aircraft had pounded the atoll beforehand, but many Japanese positions survived, forcing brutal close combat in coral sand and shattered palm groves. The rapid capture of Kwajalein broke open the outer Japanese defensive line and provided a forward base for air and sea operations deeper into the central Pacific. The atoll’s fall shortened supply routes, strengthened American logistics, and marked another step in the island-hopping path toward the Marianas and, ultimately, Japan itself.
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