Gilbert Islands naval order of battle
On 20 November 1943, simultaneous landings were made by United States Marine Corps forces on Tarawa and United States Army forces on Makin, two coral atolls located in the Gilbert Islands chain in the South-Central Pacific.
Unlike at the Allied landings on Guadalcanal the previous fall, the Japanese chose to violently oppose the Marines on the beach at Betio, the principal island of the Tarawa Atoll. These extremely well-planned defenses, combined with unexpected tidal conditions, made the fight for Tarawa one of the most difficult for the Marine Corps of the entire Pacific Theater.
Makin was declared secure on 25 November, Tarawa on 27 November.
The naval forces assigned to capture the Gilberts formed the largest armada yet assembled by either side in the Pacific, considerably larger than the Allied force that mounted the invasion of Guadalcanal and dwarfing the Japanese force that attacked Pearl Harbor.
TF 50 – Carrier Force :
TF 52 – Northern Attack Force :
'''TF 53 – Southern Attack Force :'''
Command structure
Naval
The roles of Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas and Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, were both exercised by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz from his headquarters at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.Since the Gilberts and Marshalls lie in the Central Pacific, their capture was the responsibility of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, led by Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance from aboard his flagship, heavy cruiser.
The ships and troops of Operations Galvanic and Kourbash were under direct operational command of Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner aboard old battleship.
In case Admiral Mineichi Koga attempted to disrupt Fifth Fleet's operations, Spruance was to strip all combat ships not needed to cover the landings, join with the fast carrier forces and engage the Japanese. In the event, Koga's Combined Fleet never stirred from its anchorage at Truk Lagoon in the Carolines.
Ground troops
V Amphibious CorpsBoth Admiral Turner and General Holland Smith sailed with the Northern Attack Force even though it was obvious that Tarawa would be the scene of the main ground action. If the Japanese mounted a counterattack, it was most likely to come from the Marshalls since the closest Japanese bases to the Gilberts were located there. Nimitz and Spruance wanted the two highest-ranking officers to sail with the forces that would be the first to encounter any such enemy response. Unbeknownst to the Americans, the Japanese had stripped almost all their naval and air assets from the Marshalls in an attempt to resist the Allied effort in the Central Solomons. Thus, no counterattack materialized.
Forces afloat
Carrier Force (Task Force 50)
Rear Admiral Charles A. Pownall in fleet carrier ''Yorktown''Carrier Interceptor Group (Task Group 50.1)
Rear Admiral Pownall in ''Yorktown''Northern Carrier Group (Task Group 50.2)
Rear Admiral Arthur W. Radford in fleet carrier ''Enterprise''Southern Carrier Group (Task Group 50.3)
Rear Admiral Alfred E. Montgomery in fleet carrier ''Essex''Relief Carrier Group (Task Group 50.4)
Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman in fleet carrier ''Saratoga''Northern Attack Force (Makin) (Task Group 52)
Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner in old battleshipTransport Group (Task Group 52.1)
Captain D. W. LoomisEmbarking 165th Regimental Combat Team and 105th Battalion Landing Team
of the '''27th Infantry Division'''
Fire Support Group (Task Group 52.2)
Rear Admiral Robert M. Griffin in battleshipAir Support Group (Task Group 52.3)
Rear Admiral Henry M. Mullinnix in escort carrier ''Liscome Bay''Makin LST Group No. 1 (Task Group 54.4)
Commander '''A. M. Hurst'''TF 53 Southern Attack Force (Tarawa)
Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill in old battleshipTransport Group (Task Group 53.1)
Captain H. B. Knowles in attack transport MonroviaEmbarking 2nd Marine Division, reinforced