Gilbert Islands

The Gilbert Islands are a chain of atolls some 2500 miles (4000 km) southwest of Hawaii and just north of the equator.  There are hundreds of islands in the chain, all small, with a total land area of just 166 square miles (430 km²). The chain is about 500 miles (800 km) long and is located about 300 miles southeast of the Marshalls and just northeast of the Ellice Islands.  They were discovered by Europeans between 1764 and 1824 and named after a Royal Navy officer who visited in 1788. Their population was quite small at about 28,000 persons, primarily Micronesian with less than 100 Europeans. However, the tiny land area meant the islands had the highest population density of any in the Pacific.

The islands were under British control in 1941, the islands having been proclaimed British protectorates in 1892 ostensibly to protect the natives from exploitation by traders. The natives had a high degree of self-rule and British law prohibited land purchases by non-native persons. British oversight was exercised through a resident commissioner at Ocean Island who also oversaw the Ellice, Phoenix, Fanning, and other small island groups in the area. Most of the natives had adopted Christianity by 1941.

There are 16 main atolls in the chain, none of which have elevations much greater than 12' (4 meters) and consist of coral bedrock overlaid by sand and some poor soil. These support some scrub and coconut palms. The island were relatively healthy for Westerners, with little incidence of malaria or other tropical diseases. The climate is uniformly warm and wet, with temperatures of 72 to 95F (22 to 35 C) and annual rainfall averaging 150" to 180" (380 to 460 cm), but there are drought conditions every five to seven years, and the islands were in drought at the time of the Allied invasion in November 1943.

Infrastructure was limited to a lagoon-side road on each atoll and a few piers for oceangoing vessels. There were no airfields in the group prior to the arrival of the Japanese.

Elements of 51 Guard Force occupied Makin on 8 December 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and began developing a seaplane base and radio station.  The nearby atolls were visited sporadically by Japanese detachments that rounded up Allied coast watchers and European civilians; the civilians were interned while the coast watchers were eventually murdered. Following the Makin raid, the Japanese reinforced their garrisons and began fortifying Tarawa, where they also built an airfield.

Operation GALVANIC. In November of 1943 the Allies recaptured Makin and Tarawa. In proportion to the size of the force involved, the recapture of Tarawa was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the United States, costing the lives of 1100 Marines. The Makin invasion was much less costly on land, but at sea the escort carrier Liscombe Bay was sunk with great loss of life, including that of Admiral Mullinnix.

The Japanese chose not to commit their fleet to the defense of the Gilberts, and, as a result, no fleet action resulted from the invasion. The land campaigns are described in detail in the articles on Makin and Tarawa.

Allied order of battle, Operation GALVANIC

References
Morison (1951)

Rottman (2002)

The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009-2010 by Kent G. Budge.  Index

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