The Marshalls: Increasing the Tempo

by
Lt. Col. Robert D. Heinl, Jr., USMC
Lt. Col. John A. Crown, USMC

 

Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps
1954

 


MARINES in an early wave jump from their LVT onto Namur's sandy beach.


MARINES OF THE 4TH DIVISION halt momentarily during mopping-up activities following the seizure of Namur Island, Kwajalien Atoll to witness the official flag raising over the smoking ruins of the Japanese defenses. Major General Harry Schmidt (in pith helmet) and his staff are standing to the right while in the background is the remains of a three-story concrete block-house knocked out by the terrific bombardment by land, sea, and air forces. In the foreground, the camouflaged shelter half shields the dug-in command post.

 

Contents

Chapter Page
1. "Anchored Aircraft Carriers" 1
    The Marshalls Operation 1
    Some Geography and History 1
    ORANGE and "Z" 3
    "Thus We Get On With The War" 5
2. Plans and Preparations 9
    Over-all Plan 9
    Who Will Command? 14
    Force and Corps Planning 15
    Preparing for Roi-Namur 20
    Preparing for Kwajalein 26
    Intelligence 28
    The Japanese 29
    Logistics 35
    Preliminary Operations 37
    Mounting Out 41
3. D-Day in the Marshalls 42
    IVAN and JACOB 42
    ALLEN, ALBERT and ABRAHAM 46
    CECIL and CARTER 53
    CARLOS and CARLSON 55
    Majuro, Bloodless Conquest 58
    After Nightfall 61
4. D-Plus 1, Roi 64
    LST's, LVT's and Wet TCS-TBX 64
    Landing on RED 3 69
    Landing on RED 2 71
    Roi is Secured 74
    Clean-up on Roi 79
5. Namur, D-Plus 1 and 2 81
    The 24th Gets Ashore 81
    GREEN 2 to O-1 85
    Landing Team 3 Reaches O-1 87
    Warheads in the Blockhouse 89
    North from SYCAMORE 91
    Namur Secured 95
6. Kwajalein 100
    The First Day 100
    The Second Day 103
    The Third Day 105
    The Fourth Day 106
7. Interval 108
    Completing the Job 108
    All Islands Secured 112
    Summation 114
8. Eniwetok 117
    The Objective 117
    The Japanese 118
    Planning for Eniwetok 121
    Preliminary Operations 125
    Loading Out 127
    CANNA, CAMELLIA and ZINNIA 127
    FRAGILE Is Shattered 130
    PRIVILEGE Is Taken 136
    Sideshow 143
    Breaking HEARTSTRINGS 143
    CATCHPOLE Concluded 150
9. Mopping Up the Marshalls 152
    FLINTLOCK JR. Begins 152
    Secure in the South 154
    Mejit, Ailuk and Likiep 156
    Finale in the North 157
    Last Stage 158
Appendices
I. Bibliography 161
II. Chronology 167
III. Casualties 169
IV. Task Organization 173
V. Command and Staff 175
  Index 180

Transcribed and formatted for HTML by Jerry Holden for the HyperWar Foundation