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Naval History and Heritage Command

National Museum of the U.S. Navy

Invasion of the Marshall Islands:  January 31-February 23, 1944

Following the Gilbert Islands Campaign, the Marshall Islands Campaign consisted of two separate invasions of the Kwajalein and Eniwetok Atoll Groups.  Beginning on January 31, 1944 with the landings at Kwajalein, the campaign was declared secure at Eniwetok on February 22.  The landing forces met with light, but determined resistance, on both atolls.  The forces captured flight bases on the atolls which were crucial to the Mariana Islands Campaign.  

Image:  USMC 73904-C: Kwajalein Operation, January-February 1944.  Scene ashore, probably on Namur Island, just after conquest by U.S. Marines, February 10, 1944.  Official U.S. Marine Photograph, now in the collection of the National Archives.