258 ChaPter^5
In the April 43 Battle of Bismarck Sea the U.S. for the first time used land-
based bombers to destroy the Japanese armada and kill 3000 sailors headed
toward New Guinea
Then, in June 1943, MacArthur and Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, com-
mander in the South Pacific, launched new operations in the Solomons and
New Guinea with the objective of Japanese bases at Bougainville and Rabaul,
with few American losses but far greater casualties for the enemy. By late
1943-early 1944, the area was safely in American hands. In the Central
Pacific, forces led by Admiral Chester Nimitz began a campaign in November
1943 to gain bases in the Gilbert Islands as a stepping-stone to the Marshall
Islands chain. At the center of the Gilberts lay an atoll named Tarawa that
would be the sight of one of the more tenacious battles of the Pacific war.
The U.S. opened with a massive bombardment that the Japanese withstood,
preventing Marine landing craft from reaching the beach. Due to Japanese
fire and the tides, and then 4 days of savage fighting, over 1600 marines died
and 2000 were wounded. But the Japanese suffered a worse fate, losing almost
4700 personnel, as many laborers as military troops, and having only 17 sur-FIGuRE 5-6 u.S. soldiers at the invasion of New Guinea, April 22, 1944