Original subtitles

NARRATOR: In 1943 America launches a bold new strategy...

... that promises victory...

... but delivers the unexpected.

CPL. ROUSH: There was no battle before, no battle since,

like Tarawa.

NARRATOR: Ferocious conflicts will shape the course of the war

sparking new innovations

and breaking new barriers.

With color combat footage...

... and rare film from behind-the-lines...

hear the voices... and feel the fight.

COL. DONOVAN: It looked like you're headed for hell.

Because you were.

♫ Theme Music Playing ♫

Brought to you by Sailor420 !!! Hope you enjoy the film !!!

♫ ♫

NARRATOR: November 1943.

A full-scale invasion force cuts through the open sea.

One hundred ships. 35,000 men.

They're the tip of the spear in America's

first large-scale amphibious assault of the Pacific War.

Confidence rides high.

The size of the fleet dwarfs the target --

Tarawa, a whisper-thin atoll

with an airfield tucked in the corner.

This island is half the size of New York's Central Park.

The commanding officers lay out their prize.

The airbase is one of Japan's most important,

and the Americans must secure it to advance in the Pacific.

All have been trained... but few have been tested.

Marine combat cameraman Norm Hatch is among them.

He's carrying three cameras and 5,000 feet of film.

He's confident about the battle.

SGT. HATCH: We packed shovels along with us, but we figured

we didn't have to dig any foxholes, only Jap graves.

NARRATOR: Hatch films the long days leading up to the invasion.

Marines assemble ammunition...

... test-fire weapons into the sea.

(gunfire)

Exercise relieves the tension.

On the eve of the invasion,

Father Frank Kelly helps calm the nerves.

He's a familiar face to those who fought on Guadalcanal.

But for the rest, it's their first taste of war.

It will be an unforgettable baptism.

♫ ♫

Before dawn, the Marines pour into the landing craft.

As daylight breaks, the ships open fire above their heads

to soften defenses.

They pound the tiny island for four solid hours.

Johnnie Singleton recalls the destruction:

JOHNNIE: We thought that after all our bombarding and attacking

there would be nothing left on the island.

NARRATOR: Then, Navy planes take over.

In all, Americans rip into Tarawa

with over four million tons of steel.

PTE. PASE: The Navy promised that they would have

all the Japs killed by the time we got there.

So we really weren't all that worried.

NARRATOR: The plan is to land the Marines

on the island's northern beaches

and move towards the key target -- the airstrip at the center.

Sheltered in the landing craft, the men are confident.

They're using amphibious tractors called Amtraks

for the first time.

Americans hope they can plow through the Japanese defenses.

As troops approach, the Navy ships silence their guns.

The island looks lifeless.

(radio static)

Suddenly, incoming fire grazes the invaders.

Marines feel relatively safe huddled in their boats.

But the pounding intensifies.

(cannon fire)

Then, unexpectedly, the boats grind to a halt.

SGT. BROWN: They anticipated the tide was going to be in.

It didn't turn out that way.

The boats ran into a reef about 500 yards out.

SGT. HATCH: The Japs began to get in our range

and the range of the Amtraks.

SGT. ARTHUR: The water was a real low.

We were just sitting out there being slaughtered.

NARRATOR: Naval planners misjudged the tide.

They expect five feet of water over the reef --

but there's only three.

The Amtraks are stranded.

(artillery fire)

Machine-gun fire intensifies and mortars rain down.

The men are sitting ducks.

They have one choice: abandon ship --

or be blown out of the water.

Norm Hatch is watching the invasion

unravel right in front of him.

SGT. HATCH: Everybody had to go over

with 80 pounds of gear and drop in the water.

The Marines are forced to wade 700 yards

under Japanese mortar and machine-gun fire.

They are being mowed down in rows.

PTE. PASE: We could see the machine gun bullets

hitting the water like raindrops.

We'd see a man disappear.

Then, another man would disappear.

NARRATOR: Hatch carries his hand-cranked 35mm camera

and wades in right beside machine gunners.

They fight their way onto the crowded beach.

Men are pinned down in waves.

SGT. PERRY: We ran into a hornet's nest.

CPL. ROUSH: It was brutal... up front and personal.

Eyeball to eyeball.

NARRATOR: Some units have already lost half of their men.

What began as a smooth operation is quickly going awry.

Japanese footage reveals the unnerving truth.

Tarawa is a heavily defended killing field,

with 5,000 soldiers ready to fight.

Hundreds of pillboxes, gun nests, minefields, and bunkers

dot the island -- all surrounded by a huge seawall

made of coral and coconut logs.

The Marines that have finally made it onto the beach

are now trapped against the massive wall.

The Amtraks were supposed to help the Marines

breach these defenses.

But many remain stuck on the reef hundreds of yards offshore.

Those that make the beach are often too shot up to work.

The few that do work are unable to clear the wall.

PTE. HARRISON: We were using old alligator tractors,

the first ones built.

They were like a big tin can...

My tractor reared up on the sea wall, and most men fell out.

(cannon fire)

NARRATOR: The Navy opens fire again,

hoping to cover the incoming troops.

But things are going from bad to worse.

Marines can no longer coordinate attacks.

PHM. OBERMILLER: A lot of things went wrong.

The radios got salt water in them,

so we didn't have communications.

♫ ♫

NARRATOR: Just a few hours into the invasion,

hundreds of bodies cover the beach.

Tanks can't even get around them.

Americans thought they were prepared for Tarawa.

How did it come to this?

Before Tarawa, the Allies had begun

to roll back the Japanese in the Pacific.

In June and July 1943

Americans invade the remote Aleutian Islands near Alaska.

In a few short weeks they reclaim these barren cold lands

from Japan and regain control of the North Pacific.

In the far flung islands of the Southwest Pacific,

General MacArthur is inching forward,

targeting strongholds through New Guinea,

New Britain,

and the Solomons.

From here, MacArthur envisions a path

to liberate the Philippines

and eventually invade Japan itself.

But Admiral Nimitz proposes another route to Japan --

far bolder and demanding an entirely new form of warfare:

island-hopping.

Northeast of MacArthur's theater --

starting with Tarawa in the Gilberts --

tiny islands become stepping stones to leap-frog

through the open waters of the Central Pacific -- to Japan.

Led by Nimitz, the troops set off for Tarawa,

confident they have enough men and machines

to easily overrun the tiny atoll.

But what should have been a cakewalk

is turning into the bloodiest American landing

of the Pacific War.

(artillery fire)

NARRATOR: While troops on Tarawa experience hell on earth,

a smaller unit is sent to invade

the neighboring island of Makin.

Lucky for them it's a different world.

The Americans outnumber the defenders two to one,

and the Japanese have few heavy weapons.

They quickly secure a large chunk of the island,

meeting occasional pockets of resistance.

But back on Tarawa it's a different story.

For those who have survived this far, luck may be running out.

They can't move.

They are pinned down by enemy fire,

and the reinforcements are having trouble

making it to the landing zones.

During the night the Japanese have swum out

to wrecked amphibians and set up machine guns.

Now Americans turn their guns back out to sea

to pick off their own hijacked landing craft.

On the beach, the Japanese continue to hurl

massive firepower from dug-in defenses.

CPL. ROUSH: The Japanese were mostly underground all the time.

Then you'd go by, and they'd come out and fire at you

as you were passing by.

You can't imagine it...

It was unrealistic.

NARRATOR: So far 1,500 Americans are dead, missing or wounded.

CPL. ROUSH: The medics were overwhelmed.

There were so many guys that were in such bad shape

that many of them were marked dead and they were still alive.

NARRATOR: Fresh Marine reinforcements

finally begin to arrive.

They have a tiny toe-hold on the island

and command pockets of the northern beaches.

As the day winds on they link up scattered Marine units,

take the airfield in the center of the island,

and try to push across Tarawa.

♫ ♫

The Marines call in Sherman tanks to help,

the first to see action in the Pacific.

But visibility from inside is poor.

The relatively light 37mm guns

are powerless against the strong Japanese fortifications.

And tank radios have different frequencies

than infantry radios.

The Shermans are worthless.

Of the 14 used in the battle, only two survive.

By the end of D+1,

Marines have split the island's defenses in half.

They've crossed the airstrip

and occupy abandoned defensive works on the south side.

CPL. ROUSH: We just charged right across the island,

shooting anything,

trying to blow up every bunker that we went by.

NARRATOR: But capturing Tarawa will take a lot more

than just running over it.

SGT. HATCH: This wasn't going to be any 24-hour operation.

There were plenty of Japs on the island,

and they had decided to die there.

♫ ♫

NARRATOR: The Marines still face an awesome task:

They must advance east across the island,

removing each pillbox and foxhole along the way.

It's a dirty and dangerous job.

Marines use hand grenades and fire to blast out the enemy.

CAPT. KERR: They would use flamethrowers and shoot them

in through the openings into the bunker.

The flames really didn't burn people up.

Guys would either suffocate or run out

because you had sucked up all the oxygen.

(artillery fire)

NARRATOR: The battles are ferocious and intense.

♫ ♫

Rarely do Americans see their enemy.

But Norm Hatch captures one epic moment.

SGT. HATCH: I heard one of the Marines yell,

"Here come the Japs," so I just swiveled my body...

That's the only time to the best of my knowledge in the

Pacific War that the enemy is in the same frame as us.

NARRATOR: As D+2 grinds on,

the Marines mop up remaining Japanese positions, one by one.

The island looks blown to bits.

It's like advancing through a wasteland.

Snipers are everywhere.

They tie themselves in the trees

and take potshots at the Americans.

(sounds of combat)

The battle for Tarawa is now a war of extermination.

The men on land are not the only victims.

A Japanese submarine scores a direct hit

on the USS Liscome Bay .

She sinks in 23 minutes, and loses 687 of her men.

Truman Gill sees the tragedy

from the USS Mississippi .

CPL. GILL: I jumped up and saw an aircraft carrier

that had been hit by a big torpedo...

all the ammunition exploded.

The men were instantly killed...

NARRATOR: This strike will count as more than 30%

of the total loss of American life during the Battle.

(artillery fire)

A few hours later Allied ships and planes

unload another massive barrage onto the island.

It appears to pay off.

Only a few pockets of resistance remain.

But those pockets are fierce.

Here, Marines use a flamethrower

against a stubborn enemy stronghold.

Norm Hatch keeps his camera rolling.

(artillery fire)

SGT. HATCH: There wasn't any end. You just walked away.

There wasn't anybody left to fight.

NARRATOR: After three days of fighting,

Americans finally declare the island secure.

♫ ♫

The Japanese have fought to the last man.

Of their 5,000 soldiers, only 17 survive.

Americans take few prisoners; most are Korean laborers.

To guard against concealed weapons,

they cut away their clothes.

Japan once boasted it would take a million men a hundred years

to take Tarawa.

America proved otherwise. But at a shocking cost.

♫ ♫

NARRATOR: President Roosevelt grants permission

to release images of the battle to the public.

FILM NARRATOR: Each hour is getting close.

For three days before we moved in,

over 4 million pounds of explosives

have been dropped down on the island.

It didn't seem possible

that anyone could live through that bombardment.

NARRATOR: The film shows Americans

the true ravages of the war -- uncensored.

FILM NARRATOR: These are Marine dead.

♫ ♫

NARRATOR: The nation is shocked.

A tropical island has become a putrid graveyard.

Thousands of bodies lie decaying in the scorching heat.

It takes three days of hard fighting,

over 1,000 dead and 2,000 wounded,

to capture an island of less than three square miles.

FILM NARRATOR: This is the price we have to pay

for a war we didn't want.

And before it's over there'll be more dead

on other battlefields.

NARRATOR: The film wins an Oscar.

Tarawa leaves the public shaken, and the military under fire.

The newly secured airfields prove highly valuable,

but the cost was too great.

Island hopping has failed its first big test.

For war planners, it's back to the drawing board.

They redesign the plan, from top to bottom.

(artillery fire)

Troops train under live fire,

learn how to use upgraded weapons,

and experiment with new landing craft.

The failures of Tarawa also spark a new concept --

Underwater Demolition Teams,

a precursor to the U.S. Navy SEALS.

180 men join the first training program.

They practice underwater reconnaissance and demolition

to clear the path for future assaults.

Other ideas push America to think big.

The new Essex-class carrier joins the force.

It is faster, larger,

and carries almost 100 fighter planes --

enough to support a distant island invasion.

Equipped with better radar,

it can detect enemy planes farther away --

giving it more confidence in the wide open seas.

SN. JONES: Finally it could go deeper in enemy territory

than any other carrier had been

since the Japanese had struck Pearl Harbor.

NARRATOR: Another type of carrier --

the Independence class --

also enters the scene.

(artillery fire)

It's actually a converted cruiser --

smaller, but faster than the Essex.

They operate in groups to concentrate firepower.

Nimitz and the Allies are hoping these new flat-tops

will be the key to island-hopping's success.

Both the Essex and Independence carriers

will launch a new airplane -- The F6F Hellcat.

They are specially modified to deal with their prime adversary

-- the Japanese Zero.

It's 30 miles per hour faster,

with better armor and more firepower.

But improvements don't stop here.

After their testy start at Tarawa,

Americans completely overhaul the Amtraks.

Sporting a new design, they're faster.

More protected.

And deadlier.

Some have howitzer rockets to blast Japanese fortifications.

They'll be stronger, but harder to drive.

SGT. GRAY: They started putting armor plating on our tractors.

They would just cut a little slot for you to look out.

You couldn't see much, only straight ahead of you.

NARRATOR: Sherman tanks -- another Tarawa flop --

also get an overhaul.

They have better radios, and a telephone on the outside

so infantry can talk to the crew inside.

They have more armor, and bigger guns.

And some have a totally new weapon.

Fire.

Americans wonder if flamethrowers

can destroy what traditional firepower could not.

(artillery fire)

With this new machinery,

the US hopes to finally flex its muscle over the Pacific.

But it's all in the hands of boys.

Guys barely out of high school

train for a life they never expected.

Doug Aitken recalls the rough waters off California.

ENS. AITKEN: We went for a few weeks up and down the coast --

for training.

I think it was better known as,

"Get rid of your seasickness, guys."

I was sick as a dog wondering

why in the world did I ever join the Navy.

NARRATOR: Each landing team learns the ropes,

net climbing and disembarking.

They receive a week of amphibious training

and rehearse with simulated naval gunfire and air support.

PTE. BAYE: We did some training with Amtraks...

That was a scary thing.

Here you are going off the end of an LST ramp

and the nose diving down into the water,

you're wondering how much water can we take on

before we'd start sinking...

♫ ♫

NARRATOR: The troops practice hand to hand combat,

jungle attacks, and fire their weapons --

all with live ammunition.

SGT. MUMME: You'd be surprised the people in there

that got hurt in basic training.

They didn't give a damn.

"Hell, we're at war. Shape up."

That's how they put us in shape.

NARRATOR: After a final briefing, they load up

for a 2,000-mile trip across the Pacific.

For most, it's the farthest they've ever been from home --

on the way to their first war.

ST. BRUNTON: The commander inherited a bunch of

green, untested, untried, untrained people like me

into operating his ship.

I was just a kid when I went in.

I had never been anyplace, hadn't done anything.

SGT. PERRY: It was easy for us country boys

because we were used to hard work.

But some of the city boys,

you would hear them crying in their bunks.

NARRATOR: It's a 10-day voyage.

Soldiers pass the time getting briefed on their targets...

getting to know each other...

and preparing for a time-tested ritual of naval bonding --

hazing.

When a ship crosses the equator,

new troops endure the Neptune Ceremony.

This transforms a new recruit into a trusty sailor.

In Navy slang, a Polliwog becomes a Shellback.

♫ ♫

Naval officer John Herchak -- dressed as a chaplain --

is on board the USS Knox

and films the folly with his own camera.

There is often a beauty contest,

and each department must present

at least one contestant in swimsuit drag.

Presiding over the ceremony is King Neptune,

ruler of the high seas.

MM. EARP: They shave you, they make you go up to King Neptune,

and he's got this great big dong and you have to go kiss it.

... They cut your hair and paint it yellow.

SN. RIPPER: Damn, the things those guys did to us.

It was unbelievable.

We were black and blue,

and I was sure glad when that day was over with.

NARRATOR: For now it's all fun and games,

despite the painful hazing.

But as they steam directly into war,

real pain is just beyond the horizon.

NEWSREEL: In the shadow of the pyramids near Cairo, Egypt,

in the heart of the Muslim world,

the leaders of China, Great Britain and the United States

meet face to face for the first time.

NARRATOR: At the Cairo Conference in November of 1943,

the three heads of state

agree to the overall plan for the defeat of Japan.

America will maintain

a two-pronged approach across the Pacific.

MacArthur will advance from New Guinea,

isolating Japanese strongholds in the South.

Nimitz will keep island-hopping up the Central Pacific.

After the capture of Tarawa in the Gilberts,

the next step is the low-lying Marshall Islands.

The first stop -- Kwajalein.

America steams west with new tools, and a new strategy.

The key commanders who fought on Tarawa

have absorbed their lessons well.

They now know amphibious warfare requires more of everything:

more shelling, more landing craft, and more air support.

In late November, airplanes launched from Tarawa

begin to zero in on the Marshalls.

(aircraft and artillery sounds)

American bombers drop more than 111 tons of explosives.

Here, a fighter locks onto a prime target --

a Japanese airfield.

The onslaught continues for two months, knocking

virtually every Japanese plane out of commission.

But Japanese film reveals the hidden truth --

28,000 ground troops await the Americans --

23,000 more than Tarawa.

♫ ♫

Long and crescent-shaped,

Kwajalein is the largest coral atoll in the world.

The targets are the main island of Kwajalein

at the southern tip

and the island of Roi-Namur the next day.

Since they're 40 miles apart,

the assault requires two separate campaigns.

The plan -- hit Kwajalein on Day 1.

Then attack Roi-Namur the next day.

As they approach Kwajalein on February 1st,

the enemy is nowhere in sight, and the bomb damage is surreal.

CMD. KIMMINS: I have never seen such a shambles in my life.

The beach was a mass of highly colored fish

that had been thrown up there by nearby explosions.

NARRATOR: One soldier confesses,

"The entire island looked as if it had been picked up

20,000 feet and then dropped."

As Americans sneak up to Kwajalein,

there is barely a whimper of crossfire.

The Japanese are defending the ocean side,

believing the reef side is too shallow for landing craft.

But the new Amtraks make it possible.

The Japanese are caught defending the wrong beach.

The landings go off with the precision of a drill.

They clear the island in four days.

On Roi-Namur, Japanese are also overwhelmed.

Of 3,500 defenders, only 51 survive.

The islands are secured in a day.

America sweeps aside the embarrassment of Tarawa

with a glowing victory.

Heavy machinery will pave America's new stepping stone

in the Pacific.

The men celebrate their triumph.

A dip in the surf helps clean off the Kwajalein dirt.

Admiral Nimitz himself comes to inspect the island in person

and congratulate the troops on their success.

But they might be even more impressed by who comes next.

Now that the island is secure,

America deems it safe for nurses.

Women in the Pacific

aren't allowed anywhere near combat areas.

Little more than a year ago,

77 nurses were taken prisoner in the Philippines.

So on Kwajalein, nurses are under a tight watch --

fenced-in quarters, strict curfews, and armed escorts.

MARGARET: Conditions were very primitive.

There were 24 nurses and millions of mosquitoes

all living in one tent.

KATHRYN: We worked seven to seven,

and we rotated for night duty.

We didn't get a day off.

NARRATOR: They work hard...

and make the most of whatever downtime they have

in their temporary tropical home.

♫ ♫

So far 60,000 nurses serve far and wide

on America's war fronts.

But women are doing more than nursing.

Every service branch is making room for new roles.

Some jobs are familiar, but others are brand new.

♫ ♫

By now, close to half a million women are working in factories.

They're building bombs, weapons, and aircraft.

The Willow Run Ford factory outside Detroit

saw few women before the war.

Now thousands of them are building the B-24 bomber.

They pick up where the men left off

and stay on pace to build one bomber an hour.

They operate cranes, assemble parts and install wiring.

Women prove they can build airplanes from scratch.

But who will deliver them to the army?

When a shortage of pilots hits the Army air force in 1943...

the WASPS are born. Women Air Force Service Pilots.

Led by top aviator Jackie Cochran,

WASPS are trained at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas,

making it the first coed military flying field

in US history.

LORRAINE: We went through the same training as the men did,

ground school in the morning.

And flying in the afternoon, primary, basic, advanced...

night flying and instrument flying.

NARRATOR: But wartime films reveal

they can't quite escape the old stereotypes.

FILM NARRATOR: Though each girl is a pilot when she comes,

she must adjust herself to a new technique,

and hairdos are sacrificed.

Time out for the daily sunbaths, storing up energy

against the grueling training of minds and bodies,

while the tremendous responsibilities that lie ahead.

Six American beauties.

Twelve, for there's a pilot and copilot in each.

NARRATOR: The news spreads fast and the rumors start flying.

During the first week at Sweetwater,

more than 100 male pilots

make unnecessary forced landings

just to have a look at the young women.

Soon the place is barred from all outsiders

and becomes known as "Cochran's convent."

Nearly 1,100 women earn their wings --

the first women to fly American military aircraft.

They take test flights,

ferry planes from factories to air bases,

and fly simulated strafing missions.

Women log more than 60 million miles

flying every type of airplane.

Many will end up in the skies over the Pacific.

BETTY: I flew 43 different types of aircraft.

There were a lot of men who didn't think

women could fly military planes, but we showed them.

♫ ♫

NARRATOR: World War II is everybody's war.

But only a few have the power to decide

where the war will go next.

For Admiral Nimitz,

it's been a steep learning curve.

Tarawa was a debacle, but the lessons applied at Kwajalein

were a stunning success.

Now Nimitz wants to press on

with his island-hopping campaign.

But General MacArthur still isn't convinced.

GEN. MACARTHUR: Island hopping with extravagant losses

and slow progress is not my idea

of how to end the war as soon and as cheaply as possible.

NARRATOR: Instead MacArthur wants to keep

the pressure on in the South Pacific.

Dubbed "Operation Cartwheel," his plan

is to gain footing on the New Guinea coast...

move up the ladder of the Solomons to Bougainville...

and isolate Rabaul,

the strongest Japanese base in the area.

Japanese footage reveals Rabaul's awesome defenses.

♫ ♫

Known as the "Pearl Harbor of the South Pacific,"

it houses five airfields, hundreds of anti-aircraft guns,

and more than 100,000 troops.

Here the Japanese have built a mighty fortress,

and they won't back down easily.

But American planes buzz overhead, undeterred.

The Japanese brace themselves.

By the winter of 1943, MacArthur has his sights set on

the large island of Bougainville in the northern Solomons.

From there he can easily strike Rabaul

and silence Japan's air power in the region.

A force of 14,000

sets out to attack Bougainville on November 1st.

The Japanese call in their heavy cruisers and destroyers

from Rabaul.

The US Navy is shorthanded.

Many ships are tied up

with island-hopping in the Central Pacific.

In a desperate move, they put the new generation

of Essex and Independence carriers to the test.

Bombers join the mission.

They eliminate their targets one by one,

damaging ships and two-thirds of the Japanese planes.

America's first big attack from a carrier

succeeds in crippling Japan's air power.

Bougainville finally falls into Allied hands.

But Americans won't stop until they neutralize Rabaul.

The raids and the strafing missions continue.

Many of these are staged from a handful of small airbases

carved out of the mountainous New Guinea jungle.

This one belongs to the 345th Bombardment group,

otherwise known as the Air Apaches.

These are Captain John Hanna's home movies

which have never been broadcast before.

He captures camp life --

time-killing rituals like chess and horseshoes.

It's how many of them relax before a mission.

And a big one is coming.

The 345th aims for Kavieng,

a key link in the Japanese supply chain

that runs all the way out to Rabaul.

Americans will aim squarely for the supply dumps

in a risky low-level attack.

There were once plans to invade Kavieng,

but MacArthur is saving his ground forces

for an eventual invasion of the Philippines.

The Allies will try to neutralize it

with air power alone.

Captain Hanna films the action himself.

Bullets fly from nose guns with telltale sparks.

Bursts of anti-aircraft fire litter the sky above the harbor.

They aim for Japanese planes, fuel, and cargo ships.

Flying in formation through the smoke is chaotic.

One plane almost drops its bombs on another one below it.

On the way out, they spot a listing Japanese freighter

and try to finish it off.

In this daring raid, Americans cripple

a linchpin of the Japanese supply chain.

These low-lying raids

succeed in putting a stranglehold on Rabaul.

The Japanese supply chain is eventually severed,

and 100,000 Japanese troops on Rabaul are stuck,

left to wither on the vine.

General MacArthur is finally moving closer to his target --

the Philippines.

He continues his advance along the coast of New Guinea.

Meanwhile, the island-hopping campaign

continues in the Central Pacific.

After his victory at Kwajalein, Nimitz

eyes the harbor and airstrip on the atoll of Eniwetok.

But it's protected -- by Truk,

one of Japan's strongest remaining bases in the pacific.

With four airstrips and 400 planes,

Truk could make the Eniwetok invasion a nightmare.

Two days before landing on Eniwetok,

300 fighter planes launch off the Essex carriers.

♫ ♫

Tracers flying, they take dead aim on Truk's airfields.

Thirty separate strikes deliver unrelenting pressure.

Each one is more powerful

than the Japanese strike at Pearl Harbor.

Americans take out 250 planes and forty naval ships.

♫ ♫

Truk is silenced.

Never again will Japan use it as a major operating base.

The skies are cleared for an assault on Eniwetok.

♫ ♫

More than 10,000 men approach the target.

For two days American ships blast the island

while the invasion force waits --

and hopes the enemy is buckling.

On the beach, resistance is light.

There are only a few thousand defenders on the island.

But it won't be a picnic.

(gunfire)

Japan also took lessons from Tarawa.

Here they built pillboxes just as strong,

but now they're connected underground.

(gunfire)

Troops caught in these spiderweb networks

are shot at from all sides

as the Japanese rapidly shift from one foxhole to another.

Progress is slow.

It takes four days for the Americans to clean up Eniwetok.

♫ ♫

262 soldiers lie dead -- while Japan loses more than 2,000.

It's another victory for Nimitz.

The Marshall Islands are finally in Allied hands.

The Japanese are stung, but not stagnant. They will respond.

With the capture of the Marshalls

10 weeks ahead of schedule,

Americans ratchet up their entire effort in the Pacific.

They build more naval bases, more fortifications,

and more airfields.

They make bold plans to move more quickly.

Americans proved that a frontal invasion

from the water onto a fortified beachhead is possible.

Amphibious assaults are now coming of age.

Island hopping will soon become synonymous

with the Pacific War.

But the next step is far bigger, a lot farther,

and will be a test unlike any other.