MARIANA ISLANDS
INVASION TROOPS AND SUPPLIES ready for the run in to Saipan, 15 June 1944. Craft in left foreground are LCVP; an LCM(3) can be seen just behind them. The capture of the Marianas would sever the principal enemy north-south axis of sea communications through the Central Pacific, would become the initial step in the isolation and neutralization of the large enemy base at Truk, and would furnish staging areas and air bases for future offensives.(click image to enlarge)
MARIANA ISLANDS
INFANTRYMEN DISPERSE FOR BETTER PROTECTION as they approach the front lines (top). Jeep, pulling a 37-mm. antitank M3A1, passes a group of men who are advancing toward a small Japanese settlement (bottom). Prior to the invasion on 15 June, a two-day naval bombardment was directed at Saipan. During the first four days of the attack on the island, Japanese artillery and mortar fire exacted a heavy toll from the invaders.
MARIANA ISLANDS
