Kenneth E. Hunter

“ On 16 September the enemy advance in Papua was halted at a point less than 20 miles from Port Moresby where it was met by stiffened Australian resistance. American troops were rushed into Port Moresby by plane and boat, and a counter-attack was launched in the last days of September. The enemy fell back to Buna and, while the Australian forces laboriously made their way over the steep mountain trails, American troops were flown overland toward Jaure. During this campaign U.S. troops in New Guinea learned the bitter lessons of jungle warfare by actual experience. ”

“ The last three months of 1944 marked the almost complete destruction of Japanese air power in the Philippines and the defeat of the enemy ground forces on Leyte. In January 1945 men and equipment began to arrive in the Pacific in ever increasing numbers. Sixth and Eighth Armies were fighting the Japanese in the Philippines, while the Tenth was being organized to be used later on Okinawa. The Navy and Air Forces were also expanding in number of men, ships, and planes. ”

“ AN ARMY NURSE giving an enlisted man an inoculation. Troops arriving in Australia were prepared for transshipment to the enemy-held islands during the latter part of 1942. Since the number of troops in the Southwest Pacific was limited during the early stages, future operations were based on the movement of air force units from island to island to gain air superiority, provide cover for the advancing ground forces, and isolate enemy positions. ”

“ By the time the fighting stopped on Luzon, U.S. troops were being redeployed from Europe to the Pacific, and in July the first contingent of service troops from the ETO arrived in Manila. In August the U.S. First Army established its command post on Luzon.
On 19 February 1945 Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands was assaulted by marines who, by 16 March, overcame the stubborn enemy resistance and secured the island for an advance air base from which the U.S. Air Forces could support the invasion of Japan. On 1 April the invasion of Okinawa in the Ryukyus began. ”

“ The Japanese were well emplaced in the mountain areas beyond the beaches and the U.S. artillery and armor were greatly limited in their effectiveness by the rugged terrain. The enemy put up his first strong opposition along the Rosario-Pozorrubio-Binalonan line, where he had built pillboxes and dugouts of every description with artillery and automatic weapons well hidden and camouflaged. This fighting was not a part of the drive on Manila. The enemy casualties during the latter part of January 1945 were much greater than those suffered by the U.S. forces. ”

“ The capture of Iwo Jima gave the Allies bases for fighter planes which were to escort the Superfortresses, based in the Marianas, when they attacked Japan. With Okinawa in U.S. hands other bombers could join the B-29’s in the raids. The first Superfortresses flying from the Marianas struck Tokyo in November 1944. The number of planes used in the attacks increased with each raid until, in July 1945, over 40,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Japan. During July most of the industrial areas of Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka had been destroyed. ”

“ Fighting in Burma was relatively light in 1943; however, Allied aircraft pounded enemy airfields, communications, and rear installations. Rangoon, important center of the enemy supply system, was bombed repeatedly with damaging results.
In China during 1943, air attacks constituted the only offensive operations by the Allies. U.S. planes carried out attacks against enemy bases in Burma, Thailand, Indo-China, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Formosa. Shipping along the China coast was attacked with little loss to the enemy. ”

“ MARINES LEAVING A LOG BEACH BARRICADE, face fire-swept open ground on Betio Island in their advance toward the immediate objective, the Japanese airport. Landings were made under enemy fire on Betio Island in the Tarawa Atoll on 20 November, concurrent with the invasion of Butaritari Island, Makin Atoll. Tarawa, one of the coral atolls which comprise the Gilbert Islands, is roughly triangular in shape; about 18 miles long on east side, 12 miles long on south side, and 121⁄2 miles long on northwest side. The Japanese had concentrated their strength on Betio Island. ”

“ The invasion of Morotai, lying between New Guinea and the Philippines, was the last major operation undertaken by Southwest Pacific forces before the attack on the Philippines in October.
Prior to the invasion of the Philippines a seven-day air attack, beginning on 10 October, was undertaken against enemy bases on the Ryukyu Islands, Formosa, and Luzon. On 17 October, Suluan, Homonhon, and Dinagat Islands, guarding Leyte Gulf where the main invasion was to be made, were captured. ”

“ Since most of the available U.S. ships, planes, and trained troops were needed in other areas, no immediate action was begun to recapture Attu and Kiska. Both the United States and Japan learned that, because of the extremely bad weather conditions, this area was one of the most unsuitable in the world for combat operations and the Aleutians were not used as an important base for operations. ”

“ AMERICAN AND CHINESE TROOPS moving forward over difficult terrain into northern Burma, 1944. Pack animals used in transporting supplies (top) ; men stop to make repairs on a bridge which was damaged by the pack train (bottom) . During the early part of 1943, Allied forces in northern Burma conducted experimental offensive operations to harass and cut enemy lines of communications, and defensive operations to cover the construction of the Ledo Road. By the end of 1943, the Japanese had increased their strength in Burma to six divisions, preparing to resume offensive operations against India. ”

“ MARINES LOADED WITH EQUIPMENT go ashore to assemble for the move forward after disembarking from an LST. Craft in the background is an LVT; in the foreground a jeep is being pushed through the surf. Many of the men carry litters for the expected casualties. Troops succeeded in driving the Japanese out of the cape in four days. The lodgments on New Britain severed one of the main enemy supply lines between Rabaul and eastern New Guinea, and as the year drew to a close, Rabaul was rapidly being isolated. ”

“ This period of fighting was marked by Japanese suicide attacks against Allied naval ships and the Navy sustained heavy losses, losses greater than in any other campaign during the war. On 21 June the island was declared secure and the next few days were spent mopping up enemy pockets. The fall of Okinawa and Iwo gave the Allies the air bases from which the almost daily aerial attacks on the principal industrial cities of Japan were to be launched, as well as emergency landing fields for crippled B-29’s returning to their more distant island bases from attacks on Japan. ”

“ DAMAGE AT HENDERSON FIELD following the bombardment of 13 and 14 October 1942 by enemy bombers and field artillery which severely damaged the runways and destroyed more than fifty planes. Japanese bombing at first was amazingly accurate. Smoking ruins are all that remain of an airplane hangar after a direct hit (top) . Marines extinguish fire destroying a burning Grumman Wildcat fighter by the bucket brigade method (bottom) . The raid also destroyed most of the ready ammunition available at the time. ”

“ Medical Corps men move a soldier off a field under machine gun fire during training at the Jungle Training Center (bottom) . The course in first aid and sanitation emphasized those aspects of the subject which pertained to combat conditions in the Pacific. Training in jungle living covered all phases of survival in the jungle terrain, on the open seas, and on Pacific atolls. ”

“ WOTJE ATOLL IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS during the attack by a naval task force, February 1942 (top) ; Wake during an attack by a Douglas torpedo bomber (TBD) from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (bottom) . On 1 February the Pacific Fleet of the U.S. Navy began a series of offensive raids against the most prominent Japanese bases in the Central Pacific area. The first of the attacks was carried out against Kwajalein, Taroa, Wotje, and other atolls in the Marshall Islands, as well as Makin in the Gilbert Islands. ”

“ While the air strikes were going on, the surface warships were steaming up and down the east coast of Honshu shelling enemy installations. During these attacks by aircraft and surface vessels, steel-producing centers, transportation facilities, and military installations were struck; hundreds of enemy aircraft were destroyed or crippled; and most of the ships of the Japanese Imperial Fleet were either sunk or damaged. ”

“ From October 1942 to the end of the year some 21,000 Chinese soldiers were flown to the Ramgarh training center.
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INDIA
TRANSPORTING U.S. SUPPLIES IN INDIA, 1942. An American air force based in China was dependent upon the Hump air route, which was at the end of a 10,000-mile line of supply from the United States, for the much needed gasoline, bombs, and other munitions. In order for one American bomber in China to execute a mission against the enemy, a transport plane had to make an average of four separate flights over the Hump, the most hazardous mountain terrain in the world. ”

“ Plans were made, ships and supplies collected, and the troops given special training for the invasion; meanwhile Japanese air and ground reinforcements poured into the Central Pacific.
An intense air offensive against enemy installations in the Marianas began on 11 June 1944 and a naval bombardment of Saipan began on the 13th, two days before the landings on the 15th. Opposition was heavy at first, but by the 25th U.S. troops, supported by tanks, heavy artillery, renewed naval gunfire, and aerial bombardment, drove the enemy from the high ground on the central part of the island. ”

“ LANDING BEACH in Holtz Bay area, Attu, as seen from atop the ridge separating Holtz Bay and Chichagof Bay. In the foreground can be seen a crashed Japanese Zero airplane. To the right, men and equipment are unloading from landing craft. It was soon found that the steep jagged crags, knifelike ridges, and boggy tundra greatly impeded the troops and made impracticable any extensive use of mechanized equipment. ”

“ SOLDIERS LEAVING PIER to board trucks for Schofield Barracks, Honolulu. As a result of the disaster at Pearl Harbor, the Hawaiian command was reorganized. There was little enemy activity in the Central Pacific after the 7 December attack. The Japanese had seized Wake and Guam and were concentrating on their southern campaigns. As the build-up of men and equipment progressed, reinforcements began to pour into Hawaii for training and shipment to Pacific stations. ”

“ A JAPANESE WATCHING U.S. TROOPS LANDING on the beach at Wakayama.
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JAPAN
MILITARY POLICEMEN STAND GUARD as Japanese soldiers carry rifles, light machine guns, and side arms from trucks into a building used as a collecting point (top) ; U.S. soldiers in a light Japanese tank at a collecting point (bottom) . Tanks shown are tankettes, Type 92, 1932, which weighed three tons, carried a crew of two men, and had a 16.5-mm. machine gun as principal weapon. The tankettes developed a speed of 25 miles per hour and were used in reconnaissance and cavalry roles. ”