-The next Hopping made by MacArthur : the operation Reckless which brings the Americans to Hollandia, at 800km of their nearest base, is made on April 22. He surprises totally the Japaneses. He then conquer Aitape August 5th and Sansapor July 30th.
-The Britishs, with Somerville, attack Sabang in Sumatra on April 19th. With the carrier Illustrious, the two escort carriers Begum and Shah and the battleships Renown, Valiant and Queen Elizabeth, Somerville closes to 160km off the coast of Sabang before launching its airplanes that take off guard the enemy.
-After conquering the Gilberts, Nimitz moves on to the Marshall Island: he goes around the well defended islands and lands at Kwajalein February 7th without too much losses. At the same time he launches attacks with its carriers on Eniwetok and Truk in the Carolines Islands. The Americans take control of Eniwetok February 21 and still attack the other Carolines Islands to let the Japaneses think that this is their next target.
-Before going to the Marianas, the 5th fleet of Spruance went to Truk to make a pop-attack: 200 japaneses airplanes and 137 000 tons of ships are destroyed. Admiral Mitscher will come back in February to finish the base by using the new technology of RADAR to direct his planes in the night. By disabling Truk, Mitscher isolate completely Rabaul with its garrison of 50 000 soldiers.
-June 15th, Spruance 's fleet appear near Saipan, the largest island of the Marianas. The Americans have passed over the Carolines and attacked Saipan which falls July 13th. They are then at only 2000km of Japan and are thus able to launch bomber raids on Tokyo.
-The Japaneses have already prepared a plan to fight back for the fall of Saipan: the combined fleet of 9 carriers, 5 battleships, 41 cruisers and destroyers and 473 airplanes on the carriers with another hundred on the land; all advance to push back the Americans. But these last use their submarines and planes to sink 3 carriers and eliminate 411 japanese airplanes so that they have no aerial support. After that the Americans are free to take Guam and Tinian and so reconquer the Marianas.
-July 24th: the three most important Americans: Roosevelt, MacArthur and Nimitz meet at Hawaii to decide of the following actions. While Nimitz wants to go around the Philippines, MacArthur, and Roosevelt will agree, wants to clear the Philippines so that they don't left behind them 350 000 japaneses soldiers. So the two military leaders each progress towards Mindanao (island in the South Philippines) from their respective positions (Nimitz : Saipan and MacArthur : New-Guinea).
-September 15th while Nimitz is fighting in the Palaos Islands and MacArthur is fighting at Morotai, the last is ordered to join Nimitz to land at Leyte; in the center of Philippines.
-After November 24th the Americans will launch aerial raids on Tokyo from their airbases in the Marianas and in Chengdu in Center China.
-200 000 men carried in 700 american ships are closing on the Leyte Gulf on October 17th when the Japaneses counter-attack. They throw in their combined fleet, now reduced to 64 ships, and from three ways they converge on Leyte. From North 4 carriers are to be a bait to attract the 3rd fleet under the orders of Halsey. The two other groups, West and South, with in their midst 7 battleships, are to snake between the islands and attack the troop transports in the Leyte Gulf . October 23, Halsey finds the West (Center) group and he attack it with submarines and airplanes: one battleship sink and the rest of the group is forced to change its path. Then Halsey sees the 4 carriers-bait and he rush north to intercept them. The 25th, Halsey 's fleet sink the carriers near the coast of Engano Cape in the North-East of the Philippines: the bait has worked. The Americans also find the South group which is coming through the Surigao strait and so they send the covering battleships to the entry of the strait. In the night of 24-25 the Americans sink two enemy battleships but the Center group which had changed its path comes back by the San Bernadino strait and attack the now defenseless transports. While the Japaneses are meat grinding the transports they suddenly turn back and retreat: they have just seen american airplanes and they think that its the 3rd fleet coming back. In fact those planes were from small escort ships and the Japaneses have stressed for nothing and they lost the battle. The Americans thus finally land at Leyte on December 31.
Introduction Chronologie Biographie Liens Glossaire
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