Island Hopping
“Island Hopping” is the phrase given to the strategy employed by the United States to gain military bases and secure the many small islands in the Pacific. The attack was lead by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of the Allied forces in the South west Pacific, and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-chief of the Pacific fleet. The US troops targeted the islands that were not as strongly defended by the Japanese. They took control of those islands, and quickly constructed landing strips and small military bases. Then they proceeded to attack other islands from the bases they had established. Slowly the US army moved closer to Japan, taking control of many of the surrounding islands.
Why Were the United States Island hopping? what was the main purpose of this strategy?
MacArthur met with Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, and the two devised a plan. On April 26th, 1942, they laid out the plan; a two-pronged offensive codenamed “Cartwheel”. They aimed to corner Japanese troops on Rabaul Island, with MacArthur’s troops advancing along the northern coast of New Guinea, and Halsey’s troops driving north from Guadalcanal, and taking control of the Solomon Islands.