Pacific

1943–1944: The Central Pacific offensive

November 1943 – November 1944 · 6 battles

Alongside MacArthur’s slow advance through New Guinea and the Solomons, the United States opened a second road to Japan – across the central Pacific. Admiral Nimitz’s fleet, with its fast carriers and Marine and Army landing forces, leapt from archipelago to archipelago: the Gilbert Islands (Tarawa and Makin, November 1943), the Marshall Islands (Kwajalein and Eniwetok, early 1944), the Marianas (Saipan, Guam and Tinian, summer 1944) and Palau. The bloody assault on Tarawa taught the Americans new amphibious tactics, and the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 destroyed Japan’s carrier aviation. The capture of the Marianas gave American B-29 bombers bases from which they could strike the Japanese home islands.

20–23 November 1943Key battleBattle of TarawaOn 20–23 November 1943 the 2nd Marine Division took Betio on Tarawa Atoll at a cost of about 1,000 dead; of some 4,700 defenders, 146 were captured.
31 January – 23 February 1944Fighting for the Marshall IslandsBetween 31 January and 23 February 1944 the Americans took Majuro, Kwajalein and Eniwetok. Thanks to the lessons of Tarawa, the cost was far lower.
15 June – 9 July 1944Key battleBattle of Saipan15 June – 9 July 1944. The US took Saipan in the Marianas; nearly all the garrison and thousands of civilians died, and B-29s won bases within reach of Japan.
19–20 June 1944Key battleBattle of the Philippine Sea19–20 June 1944. Spruance's and Mitscher's carriers shattered the air groups of Ozawa's Mobile Fleet, and submarines sank Taihō and Shōkaku.
21 July – 10 August 1944Key battleBattle of Guam (1944)21 July – 10 August 1944. The Americans retook Guam, lost in December 1941. Nearly 18,000 Japanese died, and the island became a huge fleet and B-29 base.
15 September – 27 November 1944Key battleBattle of Peleliu15 Sept – 27 Nov 1944: US Marines and the 81st Infantry Division took Peleliu. Nakagawa's cave defence cost thousands of lives; its purpose is disputed.