20 November 1943
U.S. Forces Land in the Gilbert Islands
As Allied forces under the command of Douglas MacArthur pushed slowly through the Solomon Islands and New Guinea, a new offensive—codenamed Operation Galvanic, and commanded by Admiral Chester Nimitz—aimed a blow directly at the Gilbert Islands. The Japanese had taken only two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and since they considered the islands an essential part of their defensive perimeter, they fortified them heavily against enemy attack. The invasion fleet sailed from Hawaii on November 10, and landings took place on the islands of Makin and Tarawa ten days later. Realizing that they had no hope of reinforcement, resupply, or rescue, Japanese forces on those islands fought to the death, and succeeded in inflicting heavily casualties on the invaders in the process. After three days of vicious fighting, both Makin and Tarawa were secured, but at high cost—U.S. losses were 218 on Makin and 3,500 on Tarawa, while the Japanese suffered 555 casualties on Makin and 5,000 on Tarawa.

Histories:
Central Pacific Operations, 1943-1944
Central Pacific
The Gilberts and Marshalls

Campaign Map:
Allied Invasion of Gilberts, 1943

Personal Accounts:
Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II: Interview with William Gutter
Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II: Interview with Alden F. Jacobs

Photograph:
Marines storm Tarawa