Operation Flintlock, Marshall Islands 1944 | Securing the Airfield | Easy Red 2 скачать в хорошем качестве

Operation Flintlock, Marshall Islands 1944 | Securing the Airfield | Easy Red 2

Securing the Airfield 1/31/44 Securing the airfield on Kwajalein Island was one of the most strategically important objectives of Operation Flintlock, as it would give U.S. forces a forward base for fighters, bombers, and reconnaissance aircraft advancing across the Central Pacific. After breaking through the initial defensive belts and pushing inland from the western beaches, units of the 7th Infantry Division advanced toward the airstrip, which lay in the central portion of the island. Although pre-invasion bombardment had cratered the runways and damaged many structures, Japanese troops had dug into nearby revetments, trenches, and makeshift bunkers, turning the shattered landscape into a defensive zone that had to be cleared one position at a time. The assault combined infantry, tanks, and engineers working in careful coordination. American Shermans swept across open ground to suppress machine-gun fire while rifle squads advanced behind them to clear out surviving defenders. Flamethrower teams and demolitions crews were essential in rooting out holdouts in ruined hangars, command huts, and scattered pillboxes along the field’s perimeter. By the end of February 1, organized resistance around the airfield had collapsed, allowing engineers to begin rapid repairs. Within days, U.S. aircraft were operating from the captured runways. Securing the airfield not only marked a decisive milestone in the battle for Kwajalein but also transformed the atoll into a major American base, enabling deeper strikes toward the Marianas and the heart of the Japanese defensive perimeter.