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#Much has been written about the Marine Corps in various Central Pacific actions. There were some desperate actions in which both officers and enlisted Marines performed what appears to have been superhuman feats. The first of these confrontations with the Japanese occurred at Wake Island.
The initial Japanese invasion force consisted of three cruisers, six destroyers, and four transports with 450 special navy troops, commanded by Radm Sadamichi Kajioka.
Four hundred and forty nine Marines, under Major James Devereux held the formidable task of protecting the island. The most important weapons Devereux had was three 5-inch gun batteries.
At daybreak on 11 Dec 1941 Kajioka's force was about four miles off Wake Island following a northerly course when it turned for a run parallel to the south shore of the island and shelled the installation for 45 minutes. Major Devereux's plan was to draw the Japanese fleet in closer to be in range for his 5-inch gun batteries. "Don't fire until you can see the whites of their eyes" Major Devereux was quoted as saying moments before the cruiser Yubari was hit by two direct hits near the waterline by battery A at Peacock Point at a range of 5500 yds. The damage forced the cruiser to retire. At about the same time the destroyer Hayate closed to within 4000 yards. It was caught broadside by a salvo from the two guns of battery L and blew up.
Major Paul Pitman, commander of air detachment VMF-211, sent his four remaining F4F wildcat fighters after the retreating task force. They scored hits on the two light cruisers, Tenyru and Tatsuta. The most devastating blow was delivered by Captain Elrod, whose 100-pound bomb landed on extra depth charges being carried by the destroyer Kisaragi. The entire crew was lost when the destroyer blew up. Kajioka lost two destroyers and 700 Japanese were killed by gunfire or drowned.
The second landing attempt on 23 Dec brought heavy cruisers, more destroyers, and most importantly, two carriers. Also the task force carried 2000 special landing force troops-the Japanese Marines. An hour after the landing CDR Cunningham sent a message "Enemy on island. Issue in doubt.
Because of this message from Cunningham, Admiral William S. Pye, who was temporarily in command of the Pacific Fleet, ordered Fletcher to return to Midway to the dismay of his Officers who wanted to attempt to save the Marines on Wake. Admiral Pye was never assigned a major command after his decision.
Although Japanese forces were eventually able to secure the island it wasn't without heavy losses. Japanese lost more than 800 dead in the two landings on Wake. The japs also lost 21 aircraft and four warships were sunk. American losses mounted to 49 Marines, 3 sailors, and 30 civilians killed in action. Four hundred and seventy officers and enlisted men surrendered on 23 Dec 1941.
Wake Island was recaptured by US forces on 4 Sept 1945. Japanese Commander on Wake, RADM Shigematsu Sakaibara, was hanged as a war criminal when it was learned that on 7 October 1943 he ordered 100 civilian prisoners lined up on a beach on Wake and machine gunned.
* When the Japanese strike force departed Hitokappu Bay in the Kuril Islands north of Japan on Nov 26, the US Navy received secret information that the Jap fleet was out to sea. According to Navy Secretary Frank Knox, all indications were that the strike force was heading south toward Malaya and the Dutch East Indies. However, London received information from British recon that the Japanese fleet was possibly sailing east, but did not inform Washington.
After Pearl Harbor a retaliatory attack on Japan was conceived in desperation. President Franklin Roosevelt felt an airstrike against Japan was the best way to bolster American morale.
The only realistic option was to attack Japan with Navy carrier-based planes, except that their striking range was too short to return to their carriers. No carrier would chance getting closer than 200 miles as they would be at risk of being attacked by land-based Japanese bombers.
On January 10 1942 a plan was devised to attack Tokyo using modified B-25's loaded onto carriers by crane. After taking off the shortened deck of the carrier proceeding to their target, and after dropping their bombs, they were to attempt to fly to China and land. Fifteen planes crashed, and one landed in Siberia. Eight pilots were captured by the Japanese.
On April 18th the 16 B-25 bombers under the command Of Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle took off from the USS Hornet at a distance of 770 miles(about 220 miles further away than expected due to bad weather) flying low to avoid Japanese radar and struck Tokyo at 12:15pm. Although the attack caused minimal damage, the Japanese were shocked and angered that they failed to defend the homeland of the Emperor.
To retaliate for the raid on their sacred capitol, the outraged Japanese military leaders ordered troops to scour the areas in China where the B-25's crash landed. Any villages found to have aided the Americans were pillaged and torched. An estimated 250,000 Chinese died during these raids.
All eight American flyers were sentenced to death. Three were tortured to death. One died of starvation. Four were commuted to life sentences and were liberated from Chinese prisons in August, 1945.
Even though the planes couldn't land successfully in China and damage to Tokyo was minimal, the mission was a success and a morale booster for all Americans.
Through the efforts of US code breakers, Code name "Magic", Admiral Chester Nimitz was able to decipher Japanese Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto's plans to invade Port Moresby, New Guinea. The ensuing Battle of the Coral Sea in early May, 1942, although not a decisive victory by the US Navy, forced the Japanese assault force to turn back.
Yamamoto also had his eyes set on Midway Island 1100 miles northwest of Pearl Harbor. Nimitz using his most valuable asset, the code breakers learned of the Japanese plans and secretly sent three carriers into battle on June 4th. The Japanese, expecting the American carriers to still be at Pearl Harbor, were caught off guard. Yamamoto failed to ensure that the American carriers were indeed still at Pearl Harbor. Yamamoto also lost three carriers at the Battle of the Coral Sea which were intended to join the Midway Task Force. The result of the carrier vs. carrier battle was a lopsided victory for the US Navy as they sunk all four fleet carriers while losing the USS Yorktown. The Japanese also lost two Cruisers and 3500 men in the battle.
The Midway victory turned the tide of naval confrontations in favor of the US Navy, and allowed US naval forces to begin offensive operations in the Pacific.
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USS Yorktown Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto Admiral Chester Nimitz B25 Hornet General James Doolittle USS Wasp Pearl Harbor Marines Taking care of their own U.S. Marines Memorial in Washington D.C. Marines wading ashore on Tarawa Marines Attacking forward Marines hitting the beach "Enlist in the Marines" poster "Marines want you" poster "Marines are ready" poster
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