A Sailor's History of the U.S. Navy (49 page)

26. Marshall Islands operation (26 November 1943–2 March 1944).
Forces of the Fifth Fleet captured first Kwajalein, then the Eniwetok atoll, as U.S. forces under Admiral Chester Nimitz moved westward across the central Pacific at the same time that forces under Army General Douglas MacArthur moved through the southwest Pacific toward Japan.

27. Asiatic-Pacific raids (1944).
While major U.S. forces advanced across the central Pacific, taking Japanese strongholds at key points and bypassing others to “wither on the vine,” naval forces continued to strike at
various targets (such as Truk, Yap, Ulithi, and others) to keep the Japanese off balance and to prepare the way for the advancing amphibious forces.

28. Kurile Islands operation (1 February 1944–11 August 1945).
As U.S. forces converged on Japan, American naval unit forces struck at an ever-growing list of targets—Matsuwa, Suribachi Bay, the Okhotsk Sea, for example—among the islands in and around Japanese home waters.

29. Hollandia operation (21 April–1 June 1944).
In a successful flanking movement, U.S. forces landed near the border of Dutch New Guinea, bypassing a large Japanese army and catching it in a pincer between American and Australian forces. Hollandia became a major naval and air base used in the ongoing New Guinea campaign.

30. Western New Guinea operations (21 April 1944–9 January 1945).
In the southwest Pacific, naval operations continued to support the advance along the coast of New Guinea, second largest island in the world, with operations at Toem, Wakde, Sarni, Biak, Noemfoor, and Sansapor.

31. Marianas operation (10 June–27 August 1944).
U.S. forces effectively neutralized Japanese bases in the Bonins and Marianas, capturing and occupying Saipan and Guam. The Japanese responded by sending their main battle fleet, which resulted in the one-sided Battle of the Philippine Sea. So many Japanese aircraft were shot down that the battle became known as “The Marianas Turkey Shoot.”

32. Tinian capture and occupation (24 July–1 August 1944).
Described as the best-executed amphibious operation of the war, U.S. forces captured and occupied Tinian in the Marianas.

33. Western Caroline Islands operation (31 August–14 October 1944).
U.S. forces captured and occupied the southern Palau Islands and struck targets at Yap, the Bonins, and the Philippines.

34. Leyte operation (10 October–16 December 1944).
Combined forces of the Third and Seventh Fleets landed at Leyte Island in the Philippines. The Japanese responded with a large and elaborate operation, resulting in a series of battles (Surigao Strait, Samar, Engaño, and others) that ended in the virtual destruction of the Japanese battle fleet. In an act of desperation, the Japanese introduced the suicide bomber (kamikaze), hitting four U.S. carriers and sinking one.

35. Luzon operation (12 December 1944–1 April 1945).
In the ongoing campaign to reoccupy the Philippines, American forces landed at Mindoro and Lingayen Gulf while conducting various supporting operations against targets in Formosa, the China coast, and the Nansei Shoto in Japan.

36. Manila Bay–Bicol operations (29 January–16 April 1945).
Essential to the retaking of the Philippines was the seizure of Manila, the capital
city. Naval forces participated in multiple ways, including minesweeping and landing troops at Corregidor, Subic Bay, and other locations.

37. Iwo Jima operation (15 February–16 March 1945).
In a very hard-fought battle involving three days of the heaviest naval bombardment of the war and a siege that would last more than two months, U.S. forces captured the island of Iwo Jima, making Japan vulnerable to land-based air attack by B-29 bombers.

38. Consolidation of the southern Philippines (28 February–20 July 1945).
Operations such as those in Palawan, Visayan, Mindanao, among others, completed the reconquest of the Philippines.

39. Okinawa Gunto operation (17 March–30 June 1945).
The U.S. assault on Okinawa, though ultimately successful, was met by tenacious resistance on land and a massed air attack—largely by kamikazes—that sank and damaged many U.S. vessels, making it one of the costliest operations of the war. The kamikaze (in some ways, a forerunner of the guided missile) proved to be the most effective antiship weapon of the war.

40. Borneo operations (27 April–20 July 1945).
Operations were conducted at Tarakan Island, Brunei Bay, and Balikpapan.

41. Third Fleet operations against Japan (10 July–15 August 1945).
American carrier aircraft and surface vessels struck many targets in the homeland of Japan itself.

42. Escort, antisubmarine, armed guard, and special operations.
Naval Group China, Task Group 30.4, Task Group 12.2, and special salvage teams contributed to the victory at sea in the Pacific.

43. Submarine war patrols (Pacific) (7 December 1941–2 September 1945).
One of the major contributing factors to victory in the Pacific was the war-long submarine campaign that devastated the Japanese economy and slowly strangled the Japanese navy and merchant marine.

The Battle of the Atlantic was a life-and-death struggle against the German submarine offensive to choke off the sea passage between the United States and Europe. Had the U-boats succeeded in halting the waterborne movement of men and materials, Nazi Germany might well have emerged victorious.

The United States and Great Britain instituted a highly effective convoy control and routing system. The ever-versatile destroyer was joined by mass-produced destroyer escorts, a new ship type designed specifically for convoy duty. Naval aircraft flying from the nineteen small escort carriers in Hunter-Killer groups added long-range offensive operations to the convoys' protective coverage, and Naval Armed Guard crews on merchant ships discouraged attack by surfaced U-boats.

Convoys laboring through rough waters of the North Atlantic were stalked by submarine “wolf packs,” and those making the extremely hazardous run to northern Russian ports were subjected to attack from German land-based aircraft and surface ships as well. As courageous seamen continued to bring through the troop-carrying and supply-filled ships, the U-boat campaign was defeated.

Landings in Morocco, Sicily, Italy, and Normandy were instrumental in wresting control of continental Europe from the Nazis and Fascists. Essential to these operations were naval bombardment, the clearing of obstacles, and minesweeping. At Normandy, naval vessels provided covering fire for establishing and securing the beachheads in France while shells from the battleships USS
Texas,
USS
Nevada,
and USS
Arkansas
destroyed targets far inland to block the movement of German reinforcements. With the beachhead secured, LSTs and a variety of amphibious types assured an uninterrupted flow of logistic support.

Two months after Normandy came the perfectly executed landings in southern France, the last major amphibious action in the European war. Marseille was seized, and through this excellent Mediterranean port, troops were funneled for the final push on Germany.

After the crossing of the Rhine with the help of naval landing craft, the Third Reich collapsed and surrender came 7 May 1945. The Allied victory in Europe had hinged on preventing enemy submarines from cutting the sea-lanes, on the amphibious capability to project powerful armies onto enemy-held territory, and on the ability to sustain them by sea once ashore.

Stars

One silver and four bronze stars represent nine operations and campaigns in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East during World War II.

 

1. North African occupation (8 November 1942–9 July 1943).
Not yet ready to assault Nazi-controlled Europe, U.S. and British forces opened a front in North Africa by landing troops on the French-controlled coast. French resistance resulted in a naval battle off Casablanca in which several French ships were destroyed.

2. Sicilian occupation (9 July–17 August 1943).
In a huge amphibious landing, British and American forces landed along a beachfront more than one hundred miles long, ultimately leading to the conquest of the island that was defended by large Italian and German armies.

3. Salerno landings (9–21 September 1943).
With the assistance of excellent naval gunfire support, Allied forces were able to hold the beachhead at Salerno on “the ankle of the Italian boot.”

4. West coast of Italy operations (1944).
Landings at Anzio and other sites along the west coast of Italy contributed to the ultimate conquest of Fascist Italy.

5. Invasion of Normandy (6–25 June 1944).
Dubbed “Operation Over-lord” and popularly known as “D-Day,” Allied forces returned to the European continent in a gigantic amphibious operation across the English Channel. Naval forces played key roles in transport and gunfire support.

6. Northeast Greenland operation (10 July–17 November 1944).
Naval operations in the northeast Greenland area contributed to the victory in the Battle of the Atlantic.

7. Invasion of southern France (15 August–25 September 1944).
Originally scheduled to coincide with the Normandy landings, the amphibious landing of three U.S. and two French divisions was delayed because of a shortage of landing craft. The landing (dubbed “Operation Dragoon”) secured Allied use of the port of Marseille to support the western advance on Nazi Germany.

8. Reinforcement of Malta (14 April–16 May 1942).
Malta's central position in the Mediterranean made it a key strategic island in the European war.

9. Escort, antisubmarine, armed guard, and special operations.
Many convoys kept the flow of troops and supplies moving across the Atlantic, without which the war in Europe could not have been won. Minesweeping and other operations were also vital to the war effort.