Eniwetok Atoll

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | 700+ words | Copyright

Eniwetok Atoll. Five US Army and Marine battalions landed on this Pacific atoll, part of the Marshall Islands, on 17 February 1944 after the main US objectives in the Marshalls had been seized. The three main islands, Engebi, Parry, and Eniwetok, were defended by about 3,500 Japanese. They were attacked in quick succession, while aircraft of Spruance's US Fifth Fleet raided Truk to prevent any Japanese retaliation from the air. All resistance ceased six days later.

The capture of Eniwetok ended any hope Japan had of reinforcing Wake Island or the bypassed atolls in the Marshalls. It also brought US aircraft within range of the Caroline Islands, and gave the US Navy a vast anchorage and an ideal staging base for further amphibious operations in the Pacific war.

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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Eniwetok Atoll." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Eniwetok Atoll." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-EniwetokAtoll.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Eniwetok Atoll." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-EniwetokAtoll.html

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