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Posted on 05/20/2004 12:00:18 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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With the Marshall Islands campaign of early 1944, the Marine 4th Division and the Army's 7th Infantry Division moved into Japanese territory for the first time in World War II. The islands, under Japanese control since World War I, offered U.S. forces bases for reconnaissance, combat staging and logistics. They were the next step in the Allied march to the Japanese home islands. 
D-Day in the Marshalls was set for Jan. 31, 1944. On that day, Marines in northern Kwajalein Atoll planned to seize five islands in the vicinity of Roi-Namur, while the 7th Infantry Division hoped to capture four islets near Kwajalein Island. The Majuro Attack Force also targeted four small islands for takeover. All were tactically necessary to the main objectives, scheduled for assault Feb. 1. Combined Navy, Marine and Army forces successfully accomplished all of these missions on D-Day. The islands of Roi and Namur, linked by a short causeway, are so close that they counted as a single target. Roi-Namur was the primary Japanese air base in the Marshalls.  Although many ships of the Northern Task Force were combat veterans, neither the troop transport drivers nor the 4th Marine Division, newly created in August 1943, had combat experience. Additionally, participants in the assault had not been able to rehearse as a unit. This combination of factors made for confusion in the launching of the assault.  "7th Infantry Goes Ashore, Kwajalein Atoll" (1944). Official U.S. Army Signal Corps Photograph, Graflex-Made. Donated by Joseph Garofalo - 121st Seabees, 4th Marine Division. Three days of naval bombardment and air strikes preceded the 4th Marine Division to Roi-Namur. On Feb. 1, ships responsible for fire support and bombardment moved in to extremely close range, maximizing their effectiveness, killing a significant number of defenders, and earning Conolly the nickname "Close-in," along with the gratitude of the troops, who were able to come into the beaches standing up. Navy ships and pilots dropped 6,000 tons of heavy explosives before the Marines set foot on Roi-Namur. Once on the beach, the troops assigned to Roi (the Marine 23rd Regimental Combat Team) advanced rapidly. The Japanese resisted strongly near the airfield's runways, but by late afternoon on Feb. 1 equipment was being landed to repair the airfield for American use. Roi was secured the same day.  Unexploded Jap bomb in crater. There were many of these duds on the island. Picture, George Smith. Capturing Namur, the job of the Marine 24th Regimental Combat Team, proved more difficult. Over half of the assigned transport craft could not be located when it was time to launch the assault. As a result, the timing of the assault waves was off, and units went in piecemeal. Next, the leading waves were halted by tracked landing vehicles that had stopped in the water, throwing everything behind them into confusion. These problems in the water caused a mixup on the beach. Fortunately, the enemy chose not to fight at the water's edge, so the Marines could regroup.  Light tank fires at Jap position on Kwajalein Island as the 7th Division moved in during recent brilliant campaign. Bitter fighting blasted the Japs. Once ashore, the Marines advanced rapidly; at nightfall, only the north shore of the island remained to be captured. The Marines established a defensive perimeter, which the Japanese attacked several times during the night. Fire discipline among the relatively untried troops was not good, and this, rather than the Japanese attacks, posed the greatest danger to the front line. In the morning, the Marines resumed their advance, and by early afternoon held Namur. In the seizure of the northern portion of Kwajalein Atoll, Marine 4th Division casualties were 313 killed and 502 wounded. They defeated an estimated 3,563 Japanese garrison forces, taking only about 90 prisoners. Kwajalein Island was the primary Japanese naval base in the Marshalls.  Two factors combined to make the Feb. 1 landing on Kwajalein among the most perfectly executed of the Pacific theater. First, the 7th Infantry Division trained superbly before it left Hawaii. Second, task force commander Turner was determined that Navy preliminary bombardment, primarily surface, would deliver a thorough pounding to the island's defenders. Turner and his heavy cruisers, battleships and destroyers delivered throughout the engagement, as did Army artillerymen. Four days of struggle were required to subdue the Japanese, but the Army veterans of Attu and Kiska succeeded. Just after 7 p.m. on the fourth day, Corlett, the Army commander, radioed Turner that the island was secure.  What is left of fuel storage tanks. Photo taken by George Smith. In the seizure of Kwajalein Island and surrounding islets, Army casualties included 173 killed and 793 wounded in overcoming an estimated 4,823 Japanese garrison troops. Of these, most were killed or committed suicide; approximately 174 were taken prisoner. The capture of Majuro, intended for use as an air and naval base, occurred without loss of American lives. Early intelligence reports proved erroneous; when Marines from the V Amphibious Corps Reconnaissance Company landed on Jan. 31, they found no Japanese on any of the islands slated for preliminary attack.  The night of Jan. 31, a Marine platoon landed on Majuro Island itself. All but one Japanese had escaped. The 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry Regiment did not land on Majuro until Feb. 1; then, with an influx of garrison troops, it began converting Majuro into a U.S. air and naval base. The speed with which Kwajalein Atoll fell allowed Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, to move up the timetable for the seizure of Eniwetok Atoll, code named Operation Catchpole.  Catchpole came under the overall command of Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill. The V Amphibious Corps reserve, made up of the 22nd Marine Regiment (reinforced) under Marine Colonel John T. Walker and the 106th Infantry Regiment(reinforced) under Army Colonel Russell G. Ayers, provided the ground forces. On Feb. 18, 1944, the Marines landed on Engebi Island, supported by naval gunfire and by shore-based artillery placed the day before on three adjacent islets. Engebi, which contained the atoll's airfield, was secured that day.  On Feb. 19, the 106th Infantry faced a tougher situation on Eniwetok Island, but after two days of fighting and help from the 22nd Marines' 3rd Battalion, Eniwetok, too, was taken. The 22nd Marines also seized Parry on Feb. 21, closing the action in the atoll. In Operation Catchpole, Marine casualties were 254 killed, 555 wounded; Army casualties were 94 killed and 311 wounded. About 3,400 Japanese died and 66 were taken prisoner.  U.S. forces bypassed four remaining Japanese bases in the Marshalls (Jaluit, Maleolap, Mille and Wotje), cutting them off from reinforcement. After the war, it was learned that of approximately 13,700 Japanese left at these bases, 7,440 died from bombing, disease or starvation. The capture of the Marshall Islands moved American reconnaissance and land-based strike aircraft within range of the both the Carolines and the Marianas, and opened new bases for the U.S. Navy. It caused the Japanese navy to evacuate Truk Island in the Carolines, which was the bastion of Japanese air and naval power in the Central Pacific.  Feels real good to capture the atoll after intense fighting. The rapid victories in the Marshalls gave added momentum to the Central Pacific drive. The low number of casualties--under 3,000 combined for Marines and Army--shows that the lessons that the Marine 2nd Division paid such a high price for at Tarawa were put to good use. Surface and air bombardment and naval gunnery improved in strength and accuracy. Tactics against heavily defended atolls had been changed and improved. The Marshalls assault forces had more and better transportation to the beach as well.
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Good Morning Mayor.
Morning Feather.
Feather's Foxhole Flag Flies Forever :-)
Hey Sam.
We could use that technique here, saltwater is murder on the concrete (actually the rebar is what corrodes) but our bridges on the coast are really bad.
W³adys³aw Eugeniusz Sikorski (20 May 1881 - 4 July 1943), Polish military and political leader, was born in Polish Galicia, then in the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He studied engineering at the Technical Institute in Lwów. On the outbreak of the First World War he joined the Polish independence movement in Cracow under Józef Pi³sudski, who had built an army to liberate Poland from Russian rule. This army initially fought as an ally of the Austrians.
In 1918 both the Russian and Austrian empires collapsed, and Poland became independent. In 1920 the Red Army of the new Soviet regime in Russia invaded Poland. Sikorski commanded the Polesie Group during the Kiev offensive in 1920. Later he commanded 3rd Army and 5th Army (Lower Vistula Front) during the Battle of Warsaw. His command over the latter stopped the Bolshevik advance on the northern front and gave Jozef Pilsudski the time he needed for his counter-offensive. After the battle Sikorski advanced with his troops towards Latvia and deep into Belarus. The Poles defeated the Soviets and the Soviet-Polish Treaty of Riga in 1921 gave Poland substantial areas of Belarus and Ukraine.
In 1921 Sikorski succeeded Pilsudski as Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army and in 1922 he became Prime Minister. During his year in office he obtained recognition of Poland's eastern frontiers from Britain, France and the United States.
In May 1926 Pilsudski established a semi-dictatorial regime, and Sikorski withdrew from politics and retired to Paris. Basing on his experiences in the Polish-Soviet War, Sikorski wrote Modern Warfare (1934 in French, 1943 in English), in which he advanced ideas similar to the German concept of blitzkrieg ("lightning war"). Together with Charles De Gaulle and Mikhail Tukhachevski he could be considered one of the pioneers of blitzkrieg.
As the international situation deteriorated, Sikorski returned to Poland in 1938, hoping to be of service, but was refused a military post when Poland was invaded by Germany in September 1939. He escaped to Paris, where he joined with Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz and Stanislaw Mikolajczyk in the Polish government-in-exile, in which he became Prime Minister.
Sikorski's government was recognised by the western Allies, and commanded substantial armed forces: the Polish Navy had escaped to Britain, and many thousands of Polish troops had escaped via Romania or across the Baltic. These forces took part in the Battle of Britain and fought in France and the Middle East. In 1940 Sikorski and his government moved to London, and began training a new Polish Army.
Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Sikorski went to Moscow and established diplomatic relations at a meeting with Stalin. Stalin agreed to invalidate the Soviet-German partition of Poland, and to release tens of thousands of Polish prisoners-of-war held in Soviet camps.
In April 1943, however, relations between the Soviet Union and the Polish government in exile broke down when the Germans revealed the discovery of the bodies of 4,000 Polish officers who had been murdered by the Soviets, buried at Katyn. Stalin claimed that the atrocity had been carried out by the Germans. When Sikorski refused to accept this, Stalin broke off diplomatic relations.
Sikorski was killed in an air crash over Gibraltar in July 1943. As he was the most prestigious leader of the Polish exiles, his death was a severe setback to the Polish cause, and was certainly highly convenient for Stalin. It was in some ways also convenient for the western Allies, who were finding the Polish issue a stumbling-block in their efforts to preserve good relations with Stalin.
This has given rise to persistent suggestions that Sikorski's death was not accidental. Many historians speculate that his death might have been effect of Soviet, British or even Polish conspiracy. This has never been proved, and the fact that the principal exponents of this theory have been the revisionist historians David Irving and Rolf Hochuth has not encouraged many western historians to take it seriously.
On the other hand by 2000 only a small part of the British Intelligence documents related to Sikorski's death had been unclassified and made available to Polish historians. The majority of the files will be classified for another "50 to 100 years."
Churchill's Tribute to Sikorski
"We learned yesterday that the cause of the United Nations had suffered a most grievous loss. (Hear, hear.) It is my duty to express the feelings of this House, and to pay my tribute to the memory of a great Polish patriot and staunch ally General Sikorski. (Sympathetic cheers.) His death in the air crash at Gibraltar was one of the heaviest strokes we have sustained.
"From the first dark days of the Polish catastrophe and the brutal triumph of the German war machine until the moment of his death on Sunday night he was the symbol and the embodiment of that spirit which has borne the Polish nation through centuries of sorrow and is unquenchable by agony. When the organized resistance of the Polish Army in Poland was beaten down, General Sikorski's first thought was to organize all Polish elements in France to carry on the struggle, and a Polish army of over 80,000 men presently took its station on the French fronts. This army fought with the utmost resolution in the disastrous battles of 1940. Part fought its way out in good order into Switzerland, and is today interned there. Part marched resolutely to the sea, and reached this island.
"Here General Sikorski had to begin his work again. He persevered, unwearied and undaunted. The powerful Polish forces which have now been accumulated and equipped in this country and in the Middle East, to the latter of whom his last visit was paid, now await with confidence and ardor the tasks which lie ahead. General Sikorski commanded the devoted loyalty of the Polish people now tortured and struggling in Poland itself. He personally directed that movement of resistance which has maintained a ceaseless warfare against German oppression in spite of sufferings as terrible as any nation has ever endured. (Hear, hear.) This resistance will grow in power until, at the approach of liberating armies, It will exterminate the German ravagers of the homeland.
"I was often brought into contact with General Sikorski in those years of war. I had a high regard for him, and admired his poise and calm dignity amid so many trials and baffling problems. He was a man of remarkable pre-eminence, both as a statesman and a soldier, His agreement with Marshal Stalin of July 30th, 1941, was an outstanding example of his political wisdom. Until the moment of his death he lived in the conviction needs of the common struggle and in the faith that a better Europe will arise in which a great and independent Poland will play an honorable part. (Cheers.) We British here and throughout the Commonwealth and Empire, who declared war on Germany because of Hitler's invasion of Poland and in fulfillment of our guarantee, feel deeply for our Polish allies in their new loss.
"We express our sympathy to them, we express our confidence in their immortal qualities, and we proclaim our resolve that General Sikorski's work as Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief shall not have been done in vain. (Cheers.) The House would, I am sure, wish also that its sympathy should be conveyed to Madame Sikorski, who dwells here in England, and whose husband and daughter have both been simultaneously killed on duty." - Winston Churchill in the House of Commons, 7 July 1943
What has always amazed me about all these islands and atolls is the number of men who fought and died for them. You could almost spit across some of them and yet some of the fiercest fighting of the war occurred over them.
Those are the guys! Many a hour spent in the bathtub with them.
The low number of casualties--under 3,000 combined for Marines and Army
Imagine what today NY Times would say.
I HAD THEM! Got free from a box of Cherrios(?).
Many Poles have held this belief and have been willing to fight and die for it. It's one of the reasons I hated to see Poland join the EU. Polish Freedom was so hard to get and maintain, it's a shame to see them hand some of it away.
US Troops abuse Japanese in Marshall Islands by killing most of them!!
My favorite was the one with the knife.
Which reminds me folks, if you're in the process of putting in a new computer, make sure you have all the firewalls in place. There was an article posted here the ohter day about a blogger having problems with the MS Blaster worm trying to get his new computer in place.
Sadly for us, the Japanese engineers took the secret to their graves.
Looks like our Marines were too effective.
Morning PE. Armor and Artillery in one pic!!
WOW, now that's a Flag-o-gram.
Thank You.
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