GILBERT ISLANDS
GILBERT ISLANDS
GILBERT ISLANDS
DOUGLAS DAUNTLESS DIVE BOMBER (SBD) ready to drop its 1,000-pound bomb on Japanese-held island of Wake, 6 October 1943. During the planning for the seizure of the Gilberts, concurrent with action on Bougainville and in New Guinea, air attacks were made on Marcus and Wake, and the Tarawa Atoll, to soften Japanese installations and keep the enemy guessing as to where the next full-scale attack would be delivered.
GILBERT ISLANDS
TROOPS ABOARD A TRANSPORT headed for Butaritari Island in the Makin Atoll; landing craft which have been lowered into the water to take troops inland can be seen in the background (top). Having just landed on one of the beaches, 20 November, the men crouch low awaiting instructions to advance inland; light tank is in the background (bottom). The Japanese, in September 1942, had occupied the Gilbert Islands. This group of islands included Makin Atoll and Tarawa Atoll. During the next year the enemy built garrisons on Butaritari Island and on Betio Island in the Tarawa Atoll. Only small enemy forces were placed on other islands in the Gilberts.
