
The island of Truk was 800 square miles of sheltered lagoons and strong 
defensive capabilities. (1) In 1944 the island became vulnerable to allied attacks.(2) All 
of the warships were subsequently moved away from the island leaving all the forces on 
the island without warship protection. Truk was still considered one of Japan’s greatest
naval bases. Vice Adm. Chuichi Hara was in command of the forces on the island.
At this point in the war the allied forces were just moping up the Japanese as they
proceeded to mainland Japan. There was no point in an amphibious assault on an island
that had no military significance. Especially when you could just bomb the island form 
afar. The allied forces were not out to crush every Japanese stronghold. They were
making the move towards Japan. It was not necessary to stop at every island and waste
lives. Truk was to be neutralized.
Carrier aircraft from task force 58 attacked Truk. And shot down everything that 
was thrown at them. And when they had nothing left to throw at them it was a duck
shoot. They pounded the island. 31 ships were sunk(3). 270 aircraft destroyed(4). The 
forces on the island were reduced to nothing in a few short months. Of the forces that
were left instead of fighting the allies they were fighting starvation and disease. 2,000 
died of starvation(5) 
<br><br><b>Bibliography</b><br><br>
Work Cited
Hagen, Jerome, War in the Pacific (Ohio: Book Masters, Inc. 1988) 270
Hagen, Jerome, War in the Pacific (Ohio: Book Masters, Inc. 1988) 270
Hagen, Jerome, War in the Pacific (Ohio: Book Masters, Inc. 1988) 270
Hagen, Jerome, War in the Pacific (Ohio: Book Masters, Inc. 1988) 270
Hagen, Jerome, War in the Pacific (Ohio: Book Masters, Inc. 1988) 271
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