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00:00In 1943, America launches a bold new strategy that promises victory, but delivers the unexpected.
00:13There was no battle before, no battle since, like terrible.
00:19Ferocious conflicts will shape the course of the war, sparking new innovations and breaking new barriers.
00:30With color combat footage and rare film from behind the lines, hear the voices and feel the fight.
00:40It looked like you're headed for hell, because you were.
01:04November 1943, a full-scale invasion force cuts through the open sea.
01:13100 ships, 35,000 men.
01:19They're the tip of the spear in America's first large-scale amphibious assault of the Pacific War.
01:29Confidence rides high.
01:33The size of the fleet dwarfs the target.
01:37Terawa, a whisper-thin atoll with an airfield tucked in the corner.
01:42This island is half the size of New York's Central Park.
01:48The commanding officers lay out their prize.
01:52The airbase is one of Japan's most important, and the Americans must secure it to advance in the Pacific.
02:02All have been trained, but few have been tested.
02:11Marine combat cameraman Norm Hatch is among them.
02:15He's carrying three cameras and 5,000 feet of film.
02:22He's confident about the battle.
02:24We packed shovels along with us, but we figured we didn't have to dig any foxholes.
02:29Only Jap graves.
02:33Hatch films the long days leading up to the invasion.
02:37Marines assemble ammunition.
02:40Test-fire weapons into the sea.
02:49Exercise relieves the tension.
02:57On the eve of the invasion, Father Frank Kelly helps calm the nerves.
03:04He's a familiar face to those who fought on Guadalcanal.
03:08But for the rest, it's their first taste of war.
03:13It will be an unforgettable baptism.
03:25Before dawn, the Marines pour into the landing craft.
03:31As daylight breaks, the ships open fire above their heads to soften defenses.
03:41They pound the tiny island for four solid hours.
03:48Johnny Singleton recalls the destruction.
03:51We thought after all our planes bombarding and attacking, there would be nothing left on the island.
03:58Then, Navy planes take over.
04:04In all, Americans rip into Tarawa with over four million tons of steel.
04:15The Navy promised that they would have all the Japs killed by the time we got there.
04:21So, we really weren't all that worried.
04:27The plan is to land the Marines on the island's northern beaches and move towards the key target, the airstrip
04:34at the center.
04:38Sheltered in the landing craft, the men are confident.
04:41They're using amphibious tractors called Amtraks for the first time.
04:47Americans hope they can plow through the Japanese defenses.
04:51As troops approach, the Navy ships silence their guns.
04:56The island looks lifeless.
05:08Suddenly, incoming fire grazes the invaders.
05:14Marines feel relatively safe huddled in their boats.
05:20But the pounding intensifies.
05:29Then, unexpectedly, the boats grind to a halt.
05:34They anticipated the tide was going to be in.
05:37It didn't turn out that way.
05:39The boats ran into a reef about 500 yards out.
05:43The Japs began to get in our range, the range of the Amtraks.
05:49The water was real low.
05:51We were just sitting out there being slaughtered.
05:56Naval planners misjudged the tide.
06:00They expect five feet of water over the reef, but there's only three.
06:11The Amtraks are stranded.
06:19Machine gun fire intensifies and mortars rain down.
06:23The men are sitting ducks.
06:25They have one choice.
06:27Abandon ship or be blown out of the water.
06:30Norm Hatch is watching the invasion unravel right in front of him.
06:34Everybody had to go over with 80 pounds of gear and drop in the water.
06:41The Marines are forced to wait 700 yards under Japanese mortar and machine gun fire.
06:48They are being mowed down in rows.
06:53We could see the machine gun bullets hit in the water like raindrops.
06:57We'd see a man disappear.
07:00Then another man would disappear.
07:03Hatch carries his hand-cranked 35-millimeter camera and wades in right beside machine gunners.
07:10They fight their way onto the crowded beach.
07:15Men are pinned down in waves.
07:18We ran into a hornet's nest.
07:20It was brutal.
07:22Up front and personal.
07:24Eyeball to eyeball.
07:27Some units have already lost half of their men.
07:34What began as a smooth operation is quickly going awry.
07:41Japanese footage reveals the unnerving truth.
07:46Tarawa is a heavily defended killing field.
07:49With 5,000 soldiers ready to fight.
07:53Hundreds of pillboxes, gun nests, minefields, and bunkers dot the island.
08:00All surrounded by a huge seawall made of coral and coconut logs.
08:08The Marines that have finally made it onto the beach are now trapped against the massive wall.
08:17The Amtrak's were supposed to help the Marines breach these defenses.
08:23But many remain stuck on the reef hundreds of yards off shore.
08:31Those that make the beach are often too shot up to work.
08:36The few that do work are unable to clear the wall.
08:40We were using old alligator tractors.
08:43The first ones built, they were like a big tin can.
08:46My tractor reared up on the seawall and most men fell out.
08:54The Navy opens fire again, hoping to cover the incoming troops.
09:02But things are going from bad to worse.
09:06Marines can no longer coordinate attacks.
09:22Just a few hours into the invasion, hundreds of bodies cover the beach.
09:28Tanks can't even get around them.
09:32Americans thought they were prepared for Tarawa.
09:36How did it come to this?
09:43Before Tarawa, the Allies had begun to roll back the Japanese in the Pacific.
09:49In June and July 1943, Americans invade the remote Aleutian Islands near Alaska.
09:57In a few short weeks, they reclaimed these barren cold lands from Japan.
10:01And regained control of the North Pacific.
10:06In the far-flung islands of the Southwest Pacific, General MacArthur is inching forward, targeting strongholds through New Guinea, New
10:15Britain, and the Solomons.
10:17From here, MacArthur envisions a path to liberate the Philippines, and eventually invade Japan itself.
10:27But Admiral Nimitz proposes another route to Japan, far bolder and demanding an entirely new form of warfare, island hopping.
10:40Northeast of MacArthur's theater, starting with Tarawa in the Gilberts, tiny islands become stepping stones to leapfrog through the open
10:50waters of the Central Pacific to Japan.
10:57Lead by Nimitz, the troops set off for Tarawa, confident they have enough men and machines to easily overrun the
11:05tiny atoll.
11:09But what should have been a cakewalk is turning into the bloodiest American landing of the Pacific War.
11:26While troops on Tarawa experience hell on Earth, a smaller unit is sent to invade the neighboring island of Macon.
11:34Lucky for them, it's a different world.
11:38The Americans outnumber the defenders two to one, and the Japanese have few heavy weapons.
11:46They quickly secure a large chunk of the island, meeting occasional pockets of resistance.
11:57But back on Tarawa, it's a different story.
12:04For those who have survived this far, luck may be running out.
12:11They can't move.
12:14They are pinned down by enemy fire, and the reinforcements are having trouble making it to the landing zones.
12:23During the night, the Japanese have swum out to wrecked amphibians and set up machine guns.
12:31Now, Americans turn their guns back out to sea to pick off their own hijacked landing craft.
12:44On the beach, the Japanese continue to hurl massive firepower from dug-in defenses.
12:53The Japanese were mostly underground all the time, then you'd go by, and they'd come out and fire at you
12:58as you were passing by.
13:00You can't imagine it. It was unrealistic.
13:06So far, 1,500 Americans are dead, missing, or wounded.
13:12The medics were overwhelmed.
13:13There were so many guys that were in such bad shape that many of them were marked dead, and they
13:18were still alive.
13:22Fresh marine reinforcements finally begin to arrive.
13:31They have a tiny toehold on the island, and command pockets of the northern beaches.
13:38As the day winds on, they link up scattered marine units, take the airfield in the center of the island,
13:44and try to push across Tarawa.
13:53The Marines call in Sherman tanks to help.
13:57The first to see action in the Pacific.
14:00But visibility from inside is poor.
14:03The relatively light 37-millimeter guns are powerless against the strong Japanese fortifications.
14:11And tank radios have different frequencies than infantry radios.
14:17The Shermans are worthless.
14:19Of the 14 used in the battle, only two survive.
14:25By the end of D-plus-1, Marines have split the island's defenses in half.
14:31They've crossed the airstrip, and occupy abandoned defensive works on the south side.
14:37We just charged right across the island, shooting anything, trying to blow up every bunker that we went by.
14:44But capturing Tarawa will take a lot more than just running over it.
14:50This wasn't going to be any 24-hour operation.
14:55There were plenty of Japs on the island, and they had decided to die there.
15:06The Marines still face an awesome task.
15:10They must advance east across the island, removing each pillbox and foxhole along the way.
15:17It's a dirty and dangerous job.
15:25The Marines used hand grenades and fire to blast out the enemy.
15:30They would use flamethrowers and shoot them in through the openings into the bunker.
15:35The flames really didn't burn people up.
15:38Guys would either suffocate or run out because you had sucked up all the oxygen.
15:47The battles are ferocious and intense.
15:57Rarely do Americans see their enemy, but Norm Hatch captures one epic moment.
16:05I heard one of the Marines yell, here come the Japs, so I just swiveled my body.
16:17That's the only time, to the best of my knowledge, in the Pacific War that the enemy is in the
16:22same frame as us.
16:27As D-plus-2 grinds on, the Marines mop up remaining Japanese positions one by one.
16:35The island looks blown to bits.
16:38It's like advancing through a wasteland.
16:43Snipers are everywhere.
16:45They tie themselves in the trees and take potshots at the Americans.
17:00The battle for Tarawa is now a war of extermination.
17:05The men on land are not the only victims.
17:09A Japanese submarine scores a direct hit on the USS Liskum Bay.
17:17She sinks in 23 minutes and loses 687 of her men.
17:29Truman Gill seized the tragedy from the USS Mississippi.
17:34I jumped up and saw an aircraft carrier that had been hit by a big torpedo.
17:39All the ammunition exploded.
17:41The men were instantly killed.
17:47This strike will count as more than 30% of the total loss of American life during the battle.
17:57A few hours later, Allied ships and planes unload another massive barrage onto the island.
18:13It appears to pay off.
18:15Only a few pockets of resistance remain.
18:20But those pockets are fierce.
18:24Here, Marines use a flamethrower against a stubborn enemy stronghold.
18:33Norm Hatch keeps his camera rolling.
18:36Norm Hatch keeps his camera rolling.
18:49There wasn't any end.
18:51You just walked away.
18:53There wasn't anybody left to fight.
19:01After three days of fighting, Americans finally declare the island secure.
19:16The Japanese have fought to the last man.
19:19Of their 5,000 soldiers, only 17 survive.
19:26Americans take few prisoners.
19:29Most are Korean laborers.
19:32To guard against concealed weapons, they cut away their clothes.
19:39Japan once boasted it would take a million men a hundred years to take Terawa.
19:46America proved otherwise.
19:49But at a shocking cost.
20:02President Roosevelt grants permission to release images of the battle to the public.
20:09HR is getting close.
20:11For three days before we moved in, over 4 million pounds of explosives had been dropped on the island.
20:17It didn't seem possible that anyone could live through that bombardment.
20:23The film shows Americans the true ravages of the war.
20:28Uncensored.
20:31These are marine dead.
20:42The nation is shot.
20:50The tropical island has become a putrid graveyard.
20:57Thousands of bodies lie decaying in the scorching heat.
21:02It takes three days of hard fighting, over 1,000 dead, and 2,000 wounded, to capture an island of
21:10less than three square miles.
21:15This is the price we have to pay you for a war we didn't want.
21:18And before it's over, there'll be more dead on other battlefields.
21:25The film wins an Oscar.
21:32Terawa leaves the public shaken, and the military under fire.
21:40The newly secured airfields prove highly valuable, but the cost was too great.
21:46Island hopping has failed its first big test.
21:50For war planners, it's back to the drawing board.
22:02They've redesigned the plan from top to bottom.
22:11Troops train under live fire.
22:14Learn how to use upgraded weapons.
22:18And experiment with new landing craft.
22:25The failures of Terawa also spark a new concept.
22:30Underwater demolition teams.
22:32A precursor to the U.S. Navy SEALs.
22:36180 men join the first training program.
22:41They practice underwater reconnaissance and demolition to clear the path for future assaults.
22:51Other ideas push America to think big.
22:55The new Essex-class carrier joins the force.
22:59It is faster, larger, and carries almost 100 fighter planes.
23:04Enough to support a distant island invasion.
23:14Equipped with better radar, it can detect enemy planes farther away,
23:19giving it more confidence in the wide, open seas.
23:24Finally, it could go deeper in enemy territory than any other carrier had been
23:28since the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor.
23:32Another type of carrier, the Independence-class, also enters the scene.
23:42It's actually a converted cruiser.
23:45Smaller, but faster than the Essex.
23:49They operate in groups to concentrate firepower.
23:54Nimitz and the Allies are hoping these new flat tops will be the key to island hopping's success.
24:01Both the Essex and Independence carriers will launch a new airplane.
24:06The F-6F Hellcat.
24:10They are specially modified to deal with their prime adversary, the Japanese Zero.
24:18It's 30 miles per hour faster, with better armor and more firepower.
24:23power but improvements don't stop here after their testy start at tarawa americans completely
24:33overhaul the amtraks sporting a new design they're faster more protected and deadlier
24:42some have howitzer rockets to blast japanese fortifications
24:48they'll be stronger but harder to drive they started putting armor plating on our tractors
24:56they would just cut a little slot for you to look out you couldn't see much only straight ahead of
25:01you
25:05sherman tanks another tarawa flop also get an overhaul
25:12they have better radios and a telephone on the outside so infantry can talk to the crew inside
25:20they have more armor and bigger guns
25:25and some have a totally new weapon fire americans wonder if flamethrowers can destroy what traditional
25:36firepower could not
25:45the u.s hopes to finally flex its muscle over the pacific
25:53but it's all in the hands of boys
25:58guys barely out of high school trained for a life they never expected
26:05doug aitken recalls the rough waters off california we went for a few weeks up and down the coast for
26:13training i think it was better known as get rid of your seasickness guys i was sick as a dog
26:19wondering
26:20why in the world did i ever join the navy each landing team learns the ropes net climbing
26:30and disembarking and disembarking
26:33they receive a week of amphibious training and rehearse with simulated naval gunfire and air support
26:42we did some training with amtrak's that was a scary thing here you are going off the end of an
26:48lst ramp and the nose diving down into the water
26:52you're wondering how much water can we take on before we start sinking
27:01the troops practice hand-to-hand combat
27:04jungle attacks and fire their weapons all with live ammunition
27:09you'd be surprised the people in there that got hurt in basic training they didn't give a damn
27:16hell we're at war shape up that's how they put us in shape after a final briefing
27:22they load up for a 2 000 mile trip across the pacific
27:31for most it's the farthest they've ever been from home on the way to their first war
27:39the commander inherited a bunch of green untested untried untrained people like me
27:45into operating a ship i was just a kid when i went in i had never been any place hadn't
27:50done anything
27:54it was easy for us country boys because we were used to hard work
27:58some of the city boys you'd hear them crying in their bunks
28:04it's a 10-day voyage
28:11soldiers pass the time getting briefed on their targets
28:15getting to know each other and preparing for a time-tested ritual of naval bonding
28:22hazing
28:24when a ship crosses the equator new troops endure the neptune ceremony
28:31this transforms a new recruit into a trusty sailor in navy slang a poliwag becomes a shellback
28:46naval officer john herchak dressed as a chaplain
28:49is on board the uss knox and films the folly with his own camera
28:57there is often a beauty contest and each department must present at least one contestant
29:03and swimsuit drag
29:07presiding over the ceremony is king neptune ruler of the high seas
29:13they shave you they make you go up to king neptune and he's got this great big
29:19dog and you have to kiss it they cut your hair and paint it yellow
29:25damn the things those guys did to us it was unbelievable we were black and blue and
29:30i was sure glad when that day was over for now it's all fun and games despite the painful
29:41hazing
29:43but as they steam directly into war real pain is just beyond the horizon
29:53in the shadow of the pyramids near cairo egypt in the heart of the muslim world
29:58the leaders of china great britain and the united states meet face to face for the first time
30:03at the cairo conference in november of 1943 the three heads of state agreed to the overall plan for the
30:11defeat of japan
30:16america will maintain a two-pronged approach across the pacific
30:23macarthur will advance from new guinea
30:26new guinea
30:27isolating japanese strongholds in the south
30:31nimitz will keep island hopping up the central pacific
30:38after the capture of tarawa and the gilberts the next step is the low-lying marshall islands
30:45the first stop kwajalein
30:53america steams west with new tools and a new strategy the key commanders who fought on tarawa
31:01have absorbed their lessons well they now know amphibious warfare requires more of everything
31:11more shelling more landing craft and more air support
31:19in late november airplanes launched from tarawa begin to zero in on the marshals
31:34american bombers drop more than 111 tons of explosives
31:42here a fighter locks onto a prime target a japanese airfield
31:55the onslaught continues for two months knocking virtually every japanese plane out of commission
32:10america but japanese film reveals the hidden truth
32:1428 000 ground troops await the americans 23 000 more than tarawa
32:25long and crescent shaped kwajalein is the largest coral atoll in the world
32:32the targets are the main island of kwajalein at the southern tip
32:36and the island of roy namur the next day
32:42since they're 40 miles apart the assault requires two separate campaigns
32:48the plan hit kwajalein on day one then attack roy namur the next day
32:59as they approach kwajalein on february 1st the enemy is nowhere in sight
33:06the bomb damage is surreal
33:10i have never seen such a shambles in my life the beach was a mass of highly colored fish that
33:17had been
33:17thrown up there by nearby explosions
33:22one soldier confesses the entire island looked as if it had been picked up 20 000 feet and then dropped
33:34as americans sneak up to kwajalein there's barely a whimper of crossfire
33:40the japanese are defending the ocean side believing the reef side is too shallow for landing craft
33:47but the new amtrak's make it possible the japanese are caught defending the wrong beach
33:56the landings go off with the precision of a drill clear the island in four days
34:06on roy namur japanese are also overwhelmed of 3 500 defenders only 51 survive
34:17the islands are secured in a day
34:24america sweeps aside the embarrassment of tarawa with a glowing victory heavy machinery will pave america's
34:32new stepping stone in the pacific
34:37the men celebrate their triumph
34:44a dip in the surf helps clean off the kwajalein dirt
34:51admiral nimitz himself comes to inspect the island in person
34:55and congratulate the troops on their success
35:02but they might be even more impressed by who comes next
35:12now that the island is secure america deems it safe for nurses
35:19women in the pacific aren't allowed anywhere near combat areas
35:24little more than a year ago 77 nurses were taken prisoner in the philippines
35:34so on kwajalein nurses are under a tight watch
35:38fenced in quarters strict curfews and armed escorts
35:43conditions were very primitive there were 24 nurses and millions of mosquitoes all living in one tent
35:51we worked seven to seven and we rotated for night duty we didn't get a day off
36:01they work hard and make the most of whatever downtime they have in their temporary tropical home
36:15so far 60 000 nurses serve far and wide on america's war fronts
36:23but women are doing more than nursing every service branch is making room for new roles
36:32some jobs are familiar
36:36but others are brand new
36:46by now close to half a million women are working in factories
36:52they're building bombs weapons and aircraft
36:59the willow run ford factory outside detroit saw few women before the war
37:05now thousands of them are building the b-24 bomber
37:10they pick up where the men left off and stay on pace to build one bomber an hour
37:19they operate cranes assemble parts and install wiring
37:29women prove they can build airplanes from scratch
37:34but who will deliver them to the army
37:42when a shortage of pilots hits the army air force in 1943 the wasps are born
37:51women air force service pilots
37:56led by top aviator jackie cochran wasps are trained at avenger field in sweetwater texas
38:03making it the first co-ed military flying field in u.s history we went through the same training as
38:10the men did ground school in the morning and flying in the afternoon primary basic advanced
38:16night flying and instrument flying
38:21but wartime films reveal they can't quite escape the old stereotypes
38:26though each girl is a pilot when she comes she must adjust herself to a new technique
38:31and hairdos are sacrificed time out for the daily sun bath storing up energy against the grueling
38:38training of minds and bodies for the tremendous responsibilities that lie ahead
38:44six american beauties 12 while there's a pilot and co-pilot in each
38:50the news spreads fast and the rumors start flying during the first week at sweetwater more than 100
38:57male pilots make unnecessary forced landings just to have a look at the young women
39:03soon the place is barred from all outsiders and becomes known as cochran's convent
39:10nearly 1100 women earned their wings the first women to fly american military aircraft
39:19they take test flights ferry planes from factories to air bases and fly simulated strafing missions
39:30women log more than 60 million miles flying every type of airplane
39:36many will end up in the skies over the pacific
39:42i flew 43 different types of aircraft there were a lot of men who didn't think women could fly military
39:49planes but we showed them
39:57the world war ii is everybody's war
40:01but only a few have the power to decide where the war will go next
40:11for admiral nimitz it's been a steep learning curve
40:16tara what was a debacle but the lessons applied at quadulent were a stunning success
40:22now nimitz wants to press on with his island hopping campaign but general macarthur still isn't convinced
40:30island hopping for the extravagant losses and slow progress is not my idea of how to end the war as
40:38soon and as cheaply as possible instead macarthur wants to keep the pressure on in the south pacific
40:46dubbed operation cartwheel his plan is to gain footing on the new guinea coast
40:52move up the ladder of the solomons to bougainville
40:56and isolate rabal the strongest japanese base in the area
41:07japanese footage reveals rabal's awesome defenses
41:16known as the pearl harbor of the south pacific it houses five airfields
41:22hundreds of anti-aircraft guns and more than 100 000 troops
41:29here the japanese have built a mighty fortress and they won't back down easily
41:38but american planes buzz overhead undeterred
41:44the japanese brace themselves
41:52by the winter of 1943 macarthur has his sights set on the large island of bougainville in the northern
41:59solomons from there he can easily strike rabal and silence japan's air power in the region
42:11a force of 14 000 sets out to attack bougainville on november 1st
42:17the japanese call in their heavy cruisers and destroyers from rabal
42:23the u.s navy is short-handed many ships are tied up with island hopping in the central pacific
42:34in a desperate move they put the new generation of essex and independence carriers to the test
42:46the new generation of the new generation of the new generation of americans
42:47bombers join the mission they eliminate their targets one by one
42:57damaging ships and two-thirds of the japanese planes
43:04america's first big attack from a carrier succeeds in crippling japan's air power
43:12so
43:13bougainville finally falls into allied hands
43:18but americans won't stop until they neutralize rabal
43:26the raids and the strafing missions continue
43:34many of these are staged from a handful of small air bases carved out of the mountainous new guinea jungle
43:43this one belongs to the 345th bombardment group otherwise known as the air apaches
43:52these are captain john hannah's home movies which have never been broadcast before
44:01he captures camp life time killing rituals like chess and horseshoes
44:07it's how many of them relax before a mission and a big one is coming
44:16the 345th aims for caviang a key link in the japanese supply chain that runs all the way out to
44:23rabal
44:30americans will aim squarely for the supply dumps in a risky low-level attack
44:41there were once plans to invade caviang but macarthur is saving his ground forces for an eventual
44:47invasion of the philippines
44:55the allies will try to neutralize it with air power alone
45:02captain hannah films the action himself
45:10bullets fly from nose guns with telltale sparks
45:16bursts of anti-aircraft fire litter the sky above the harbor
45:21they aim for japanese planes fuel and cargo ships
45:31flying in formation through the smoke is chaotic
45:38one plane almost drops its bombs on another one below it
45:47on the way out they spot a listing japanese freighter and try to finish it off
45:56in this daring raid americans cripple a linchpin of the japanese supply chain
46:07these low-lying raids succeed in putting a stranglehold on rabal
46:13the japanese supply chain is eventually severed and 100 000 japanese troops on rabal are stuck
46:20left to wither on the vine
46:25general macarthur is finally moving closer to his target the philippines
46:31he continues his advance along the coast of new guinea
46:35meanwhile the island hopping campaign continues in the central pacific
46:41after his victory at quadrilet nimitz eyes the harbor and airstrip on the atoll of anuituk
46:49but it's protected by true one of japan's strongest remaining bases in the pacific
46:58with four airstrip with four airstrips and 400 planes truque could make the anuituk invasion a nightmare
47:07two days before landing on anuituk 300 fighter planes launch off the essex carriers
47:20tracers
47:21tracers fly they take dead aim on troops airfields
47:2630 separate strikes deliver unrelenting pressure
47:36each one is more powerful than the japanese strike at pearl harbor
47:45americans take out 250 planes and 40 naval ships
48:00truque is silenced never again will japan use it as a major operating base
48:12the skies are cleared for an assault on anuituk
48:26more than 10 000 men approach the target
48:32for two days american ships blast the island while the invasion force waits and hopes the enemy is buckling
48:44on the beach resistance is light
48:51there are only a few thousand defenders on the island but it won't be a picnic
49:03japan also took lessons from terawa
49:07here they built pillboxes just as strong but now they're connected underground
49:19troops caught in these spiderweb networks are shot at from all sides
49:24as the japanese rapidly shift from one foxhole to another
49:34progress progress is slow
49:37it takes four days for the americans to clean up anuituk
49:48262 soldiers lay dead while japan loses more than two thousand
49:54it's another victory for nimitz the marshall islands are finally in allied hands
50:02the japanese are stung but not stagnant they will respond
50:08with the capture of the marshals 10 weeks ahead of schedule americans ratchet up their entire effort
50:14in the pacific they build more naval bases more fortifications and more airfields
50:22they make bold plans to move more quickly americans proved that a frontal invasion from the water
50:30onto a fortified beachhead is possible
50:36amphibious assaults are now coming of age
50:42island hopping will soon become synonymous with the pacific war
50:49but the next step is far bigger a lot farther and will be a test unlike any other
50:58island
50:59island
50:59um
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