During the Battle of Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific War, the Japanese soldiers were annihilated by the overwhelming military might of the U.S. Army and their bodies were scattered on the beaches of Kwajalein Island. The American soldiers smiled in relief as they looked around at the dead bodies of the Japanese soldiers. The number of Japanese troops was only about 8,000, while the number of American troops reached about 41,000.
In order to occupy Kwajalein Atoll, the American forces put time on the target and public opinion. The Japanese tanks were light and poorly armored, with no protection for their crews. By the time the Kwajalein Atoll fell to the Americans, the Japanese had lost about 8,122 men. The southern island of Kwajalein, which had an airfield airstrip, and the northern islands of Loy and Namur were the first islands in the Marshall Islands to be recaptured. The main objective of the battle was to take over the airstrips on most of the islands. The airstrips were modified for bombers and used as a springboard for the Tokyo Air Raids.
In the Pacific War, on January 31, 1944, American forces conducted an amphibious assault on Kwajalein Atoll in the heart of the Marshall Islands, which on February 1, 1944, became the target of the most intensive bombardment of Japanese forces in nearly two months prior to the Battle of Kwajalein Atoll. Some 36,000 shells struck Kwajalein Atoll from naval vessels and ground guns from nearby islets. American B-24 bombers bombed the island from the air and it collapsed. Of the approximately 8,782 Japanese soldiers deployed on Kwajalein Atoll (including forced conscripts from Korea), approximately 7,870 Japanese soldiers were killed. With a mortality rate of about 90%, only 917 survived the bloody annihilation of the Japanese forces at the tiny Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands of the Central Pacific Ocean between November 21 and November 23, 1943, with spectacular casualties. The ensuing Pacific war was a harbinger of the final annihilation of Japanese soldiers.
Many Marshallese fled the island in canoes just before the battle, but about 200 were killed during the fighting. Marshallese who took refuge in the trenches were killed when a grenade destroyed their shelter.On February 6, 1944, Kwajalein Atoll, along with the rest of the Marshall Islands, was designated a United Nations Trust Territory under the United States military.
