"Two Birds with One Hailstone" Topic

"In the autumn of 1943, following spectacular victories earlier in the war, Japan was on the defensive. It had suffered heavy aircraft and ship losses in the South Pacific, where the Allies were advancing up the Solomon Islands chain and along the coast of New Guinea. And now another Allied offensive was brewing in the Central Pacific. What the Japanese needed was time to rebuild their forces and prepare a comeback.

Recognizing that it could not defend everywhere, Japan established a National Defense Zone. Territories within that area, considered essential and to be held at all costs, included the Combined Fleet base at Truk Atoll, known as the "Gibraltar of the Pacific." Outside the zone were eastern New Guinea, the northern Solomons, and the Bismarck Archipelago, including the Japanese bastion of Rabaul. The Japanese might relinquish these areas, but only after prolonged resistance to buy time. Rebuilding their forces and defenses was to be completed by the spring of 1944, followed by renewal of the offensive during the summer.

The futility of that plan was demonstrated within months when Truk and Rabaul were reduced at one stroke, rendered incapable of blocking the Allied advance to the heart of Japan…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Interesting article, Armand.

Grelber

A votre service mon ami!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Good article.

Glad you like it too my friend! (smile)

Maybe this is good too….

"Truk in the Caroline Islands had been the main base for Combined Fleet since the pre-WW2 days and had since been the home-away-from-home for the Combined Fleet vessels operating in the South and Central Pacific. For the first two years of the conflict, Truk was considered an unassailable bastion. However, by early 1944 the American carrier forces in the Pacific had grown so monumentally in strength that attacks that would have been unthinkable a mere six months earlier became possible. In early Feb 1944, Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher's Task Force 58 was so powerful and had such a good recent history that he thought he could arrange an attack on Truk, which was code named Operation Hailstone. The presence of Japanese land-based aircraft on the island did not deter his wish to conduct this raid. Strategically, an attack on Truk by the Americans was also important, as the Japanese garrison might interfere with American operations in the Marshall Islands…"

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Amicalement
Armand