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52-542: As the American island hopping campaign got closer to Japan, the Japanese military began to employ suicide operations more extensively. As Allied losses mounted, a system for countering incoming suicide aircraft was developed. Thach, serving on Admiral Halsey 's and Admiral McCain 's staff as air operations officer, developed a plan that called for the constant presence of the blue-painted Hellcats and Corsairs over

104-669: A century later (between 1788 and 1799), would come to call the Gilbert Islands and the Marshall Islands (Spaniards today call the Caroline islands Islas de las Hermanas , Hombres Pintados , and Los Jardines ). A Spanish royal decree, issued on 19 October 1707, authorized Spanish missionaries to make several expeditions to the Caroline Islands. However, in 1731, one such missionary, Juan Antonio Cantova,

156-613: A common understanding that a stone has a new owner. The Micronesian navigator Mau Piailug (1932–2010) was originally from the Carolinian island of Satawal . He learned the traditional navigation techniques of the Weriyeng school, which had been preserved after other traditional techniques had been forgotten (due partly to the remoteness of the Carolinian Islands). In the 1970s, Mau shared his knowledge with members of

208-569: A plan for war against Japan which updated War Plan Orange by incorporating modern military technology (submarines, aircraft, etc.) and which again included an island-hopping strategy. Shortly afterward, a British reporter on naval affairs, Hector Charles Bywater , publicized the prospect of a Japanese-American war in his books Seapower in the Pacific (1921) and The Great Pacific War (1925), which detailed an island-hopping strategy. The books were read not only by Americans but by senior officers of

260-725: A variety of languages, including: the Micronesian languages of Pohnpeian , Chuukese , Carolinian , and Kosraean ; the Western Malayo-Polynesian languages of Palauan and Chamorro ; and the unclassified language Yapese (possibly one of the Admiralty Islands languages ). There are also a significant number of inhabitants who belong to non-indigenous ethnic groups and speak other languages, including Filipinos and Japanese . The lingua franca used for trade and commerce among islanders who do not speak

312-530: Is mostly domestic as most facilities cannot handle large aircraft. Caroline Islands Air is a chartered and the only domestic airline. Palau and Yap are the only places outside the Philippines where Callicarpa micrantha is native. Campnosperma brevipetiolatum was first named and classified by the German botanist Georg Volkens while carrying out research on Yap. He described the species in 1901 in

364-467: Is not my idea of how to end the war as soon and as cheaply as possible. New conditions require for solution and new weapons require for maximum application new and imaginative methods. Wars are never won in the past. Leapfrogging would allow the United States forces to reach Japan quickly and not expend the time, manpower, and supplies to capture every Japanese-held island on the way. It would give

416-460: The Americas . His suggestion was ignored at first, but, in 1885, a Spanish government representative called Butron signed an agreement with the tribal chiefs of Koror and Artingal establishing Spanish sovereignty over the Caroline Islands. At that point, Spain attempted to impose customs duties on commercial exchanges in the region. However, Spain's previous abandonment of the islands had allowed

468-529: The Imperial Japanese Navy , who used "island-hopping" in their successful southeast Asia offensives in 1941 and 1942 . This strategy was possible in part because the Allies used submarine and air attacks to blockade and isolate Japanese bases, weakening their garrisons and reducing the Japanese ability to resupply and reinforce them. Thus troops on islands which had been bypassed, such as

520-609: The Moluccas (by way of Celebes ). They ended up reaching several of the Caroline islands and staying there for several months, until 20 January 1526. Soon after, on 22 August 1526, the Spanish explorers Toribio Alonso de Salazar and Diego de Saavedra arrived in the area and recorded sighting the Island of San Bartolomé ( Taongui ). About 8 months later, on 1 January 1528, the explorer Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón claimed possession of

572-632: The Polynesian Voyaging Society . This led to a revival of the practices of traditional Polynesian navigation techniques, and provided anthropologists with a greater understanding of the history of the Polynesian and Micronesian peoples . In 1985, a study was published that examined the origin of the sidereal compass used in the Caroline Islands. Different islands in the Carolines have passed down different legends about

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624-701: The South Pacific Area but subordinate to MacArthur in Operation Cartwheel, in perfecting leapfrogging. MacArthur explained his and Halsey's strategy: My strategic conception for the Pacific Theater, which I outlined after the Papuan Campaign and have since consistently advocated, contemplates massive strokes against only main strategic objectives, utilizing surprise and air-ground striking power supported and assisted by

676-717: The Spanish East Indies and were governed from Manila in the Philippines . The Carolines are scattered across a distance of approximately 3,540 kilometres (1,910 nmi), from the westernmost island, Tobi , in Palau, to the easternmost island, Kosrae , a state of the FSM . The group consists of about 500 small coral islands , east of the Philippines , in the Pacific Ocean. The distance from Yap (one of

728-652: The Treaty of Versailles gave Japan a mandate over former German colonies in the western Pacific—specifically, the Mariana , Marshall , and the Caroline Islands. If these islands were fortified, Japan could in principle deny the U.S. access to its interests in the western Pacific. Therefore, in 1921, Major Earl Hancock Ellis of the U.S. Marine Corps drafted "Plan 712, Advanced Base Operations in Micronesia,"

780-538: The Western Caroline islands (Yap and Palau [and from 1907 Saipan]) In the Eastern Caroline islands ( Ponape , and including the Marshall Islands from 1911) Two Jesuits , Juan Antonio Cantova (also known as John Anthony Cantova) and Victor Walter, attempted missionary work there in 1731; the former was soon murdered and the latter obliged to flee. Two other Jesuits were killed later. In 1767,

832-588: The "Big Blue Blanket") over Luzon airfields by Halsey 's Task Force Thirty-Eight secured Mindoro." This military aviation article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Leapfrogging (strategy) Leapfrogging , also known as island hopping , was an amphibious military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against the Empire of Japan during World War II . The key idea

884-620: The Allies expected. As the 20th century dawned, the U.S. had several interests in the western Pacific to defend; namely, access to the Chinese market and its colonies – the Philippines and Guam – which the U.S. had gained as a result of the 1898 Spanish–American War . After Japan's victories in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War , the U.S. began to regard Japan as a potential threat to its interests in

936-455: The Allies the advantage of surprise and keep the Japanese off balance. The bypassed Japanese forces were expected to be ineffective and "wither on the vine" and starve within a few months, but this did not occur. They cultivated gardens using seeds and equipment imported by aircraft and submarines and worked with local labor, and remained strong and well-organized. They remained capable of offensive action, and mounted major counterattacks against

988-614: The American forces in the Battle of Driniumor River and the Bougainville counterattack . Containing these Japanese forces tied up six American divisions, threatening to make the American Army the one that became strategically ineffective. They did not pursue defeated Japanese forces and engaged in little patrolling beyond their defensive perimeters, allowing the defeated Japanese to regroup and reform. It also left local people at

1040-601: The Capuchin Father Callistus as its director. The station was able to identify that the East-Asiatic typhoons were originating in the Carolines. The station still makes weather observations twice a day, and sends advance notice of severe weather to Manila. During the period of German control, Germany issued postage stamps for the islands. Transportation within the islands is either by boat or air (if in close proximity of an airfield). Air travel

1092-474: The Carolines ) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean , to the north of New Guinea . Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the central and eastern parts of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end. Historically, this area was also called Nuevas Filipinas or New Philippines , because they were part of

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1144-671: The Jesuits were suppressed in the Spanish dominions, and for the next 120 years there was no trace of a missionary in the islands. After the 1886 dispute between Germany and Spain over possession of the Carolines was settled by Pope Leo XIII in favour of Spain, the king of Spain directed Spanish Capuchins to go to the islands. The royal order was issued on 15 March 1886, and the Propaganda Fide officially established that mission on 15 May 1886, dividing it into two sections, named

1196-471: The Pelew Islands, 200 miles to the south, and must have been brought by native vessels or on rafts; later they were transferred on European vessels. The stones, which are rather tokens than money, do not circulate, but are piled up round about the chief's treasure-house, and appear to be regarded as public property. Some may not have been seen for some years, but the transfer of wealth is facilitated by

1248-654: The Saudeleur dynasty ended when another foreigner, called Isokelekel , invaded the islands, overthrew the Saudeleurs, and instituted the more decentralized nahnmwarki (tribal chief) system (which was maintained even during the later Colonial period, and still exists today). The first contact that European explorers had with the Caroline islands was in 1525, when a summer storm carried the Portuguese navigators Diogo da Rocha and Gomes de Sequeira eastward from

1300-632: The Ulithi Islands on behalf of the king of Spain . He named them the Islands of the Kings ( Spanish : Islas de los Reyes ; French : Îles des Rois ) after his patron and the Three Wise Men honored in the approaching Catholic feast of Epiphany . Spanish explorers visited the archipelago again in 1542 (Matelotes Islands), 1543, and 1545. In 1565, the islands were briefly visited by

1352-705: The West Caroline's and the East Carolines. Until that time, the islands had belonged ecclesiastically to the Vicariate Apostolic of Micronesia . The Spanish Capuchins caused a catechism and prayer book to be printed in the Ponape language, and Father Anthony of Valentia wrote a small grammar and dictionary of the Yap language in 1890. In 1899, after the Spanish priests had laid the foundations of

1404-439: The article 'Die Vegetation der Karolinen, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der von Yap' in the periodical Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie (Leipzig). Crinum bakeri is endemic to the Caroline and Marshall Islands, and was first described by Karl Moritz Schumann in 1887. Psychotria hombroniana is endemic to the Caroline and Mariana Islands, with five subspecies being found on

1456-477: The establishment of German and British missions on the islands, and Germany and the United Kingdom disputed Spain's right to collect customs revenue . The European powers called on Pope Leo XIII to arbitrate this dispute. He decided that Spain would have these rights on the islands west of the 164th meridian east , and Germany would have these rights on the Marshall Islands . (He also assigned Germany

1508-461: The first governor-general of the Philippines , Miguel Lopez de Legazpi (in office from 1565 to 1572). Europeans did not visit the island again until 1686, when Francisco de Lezcano arrived in Yap. He called the islands Las Carolinas , in honor of Charles II of Spain . This name was later extended to include the Palau Islands and the archipelagos that British explorers, visiting them

1560-429: The fleet at all hours. He recommended larger combat air patrols (CAP) stationed farther away from the carriers, a line of picket destroyers and destroyer escorts placed 50 or more miles from the main body of the fleet to provide earlier radar intercepts, and improved coordination between the fighter director officers on board the carriers. Thach also called for dawn-to-dusk fighter sweeps over Japanese airfields, and

1612-425: The fleet. This is the very opposite of what is termed "island hopping" which is the gradual pushing back of the enemy by direct frontal pressure with the consequent heavy casualties which will certainly be involved. Key points must of course be taken but a wise choice of such will obviate the need for storming the mass of islands now in enemy possession. "Island hopping" with extravagant losses and slow progress ...

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1664-502: The indigenous people adhere to the traditional belief in a supreme being called "Yalafar" and an evil spirit called "Can." For the most part, however, they do not engage in traditional religious rites. The inhabitants of Yap are noted for possessing an unusual currency. Besides the ordinary shell money , there is a sort of stone coinage, consisting of huge calcite or limestone discs or wheels from 6 inches to 12 feet in diameter, and weighing up to nearly 5 tons. These are all quarried in

1716-428: The islands). According to Pohnpeian legend: the Saudeleur rulers originally came from beyond the islands; they were the first to bring government to Pohnpei; they imposed absolute, centralized rule on the islanders, which became increasingly oppressive over the centuries; and their arbitrary and onerous demands, along with their offenses against Pohnpeian deities, sowed resentment among Pohnpeians . Legend has it that

1768-535: The larger Caroline islands) to Manila is 1,200 mi (1,900 km). Most of the islands are made up of low, flat coral atolls , but there are some that rise high above sea level. Some of the individual islands which make up the Carolines include - Yap , Truk (Chuuk), Pohnpei , Kosrae , Palau , Takatik , Satawal , Kapingamarangi , Nukuoro , Fairchuk , Namonuito , Hall Island , Nomoi Islands , Weno , Rumung , Maap , Kanifay , Ngulu , Nett , Pingelap , and Lelu . The indigenous inhabitants speak

1820-565: The latter years of that war, during the Japanese withdrawal to the Japanese home islands, the Allies effectively neutralized Truk in Operation Hailstone . After the war, the islands (together with the Marshall Islands) became trust territories of the United States . The Federated States of Micronesia gained independence in 1986, followed by Palau in 1994. District officers (from 1889, styled Bezirksamtleute ): In

1872-594: The major base at Rabaul , were useless to the Japanese war effort and left to "wither on the vine". General Douglas MacArthur greatly supported this strategy in his effort to regain the Philippines from Japanese occupation . This strategy began to be implemented in late 1943 in Operation Cartwheel . While MacArthur claimed to have invented the strategy, it initially came out of the Navy. While this strategy pre-dated World War II by many decades, MacArthur

1924-555: The mercy of the Japanese. When MacArthur returned to the Philippines , he abandoned leapfrogging in favor of a policy of the complete destruction of the Japanese forces, mainly based on a political imperative of liberating the Filipinos. Australian forces relieved the American garrisons in late 1944 and conducted offensives against the Japanese on Bougainville and at Aitape . Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or

1976-663: The mission's fortunes suffered. In response, the Propaganda Fide decided on 7 November 1904 to replace the Spanish Capuchins with German missionaries, and on 18 December 1905 to erect a single Apostolic prefecture in place of the two separate missions. The Very Reverend Father Venantius of Prechtal , Germany, was appointed first prefect Apostolic at that time. In 1906, 24 missionaries (12 Fathers and 12 Brothers) were working in thirteen stations, and several Sisters of St. Francis left Luxembourg to take charge of

2028-404: The mission, the islands passed by purchase into the hands of Germany. Spain had contributed more than $ 5000 a year towards the mission, but Germany contributed no support. Spain had compelled the indigenous people to send their children to school; Germany allowed people to choose to send their children or not. As a result, many people stopped attending church and sending their children to school, and

2080-742: The origins and early histories of their peoples. For example, on Pohnpei , the islanders describe their history before colonial times as divided into three eras: the Mwehin Kawa or Mwehin Aramas (era of building or peopling, before 1100); the Mwehin Sau Deleur (era of the reigns of the Saudeleur , from 1100 to around 1628); and the Mwehin Nahnmwarki (era of the tribal chiefs, from around 1628 to 1885, when Spain colonized

2132-680: The right to establish a coal mine in the area. Germany governed the archipelago as the Karolinen , and administratively associated it with German New Guinea . The islands were a popular resort for whaling ships in the 19th century. The first such vessel known to have visited was the London whaler Britannia , which called at Ngatik in December 1793. Such vessels—from Britain, the United States, Australia and elsewhere—came for water, wood, and food and, sometimes, for men willing to serve as crewmen on

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2184-659: The right to maintain a naval station in one of the Caroline Islands, but Germany never exercised that right.) After the Spanish–American War of 1898, Spain sold the Carolines and the Northern Marianas to the German Empire in the German–Spanish Treaty (1899) for 25 million pesetas (the equivalent of 17 million goldmarks or nearly one million pounds sterling ), while reserving to itself

2236-448: The same language is English. The indigenous people of these islands live mainly on horticultural products, fish, many different varieties of bananas, and taro (either the "swamp" or the "purple" variety). On some islands, housing is still built using local materials such as coconut-palm thatch. As a result of missionary work over the centuries, Christianity is the religion most commonly practiced in this region of Micronesia . Many of

2288-476: The squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Matsumura Tatsuo (1868–1932); while the Eastern Carolines were controlled by Vice-Admiral Yamaya Tanin (1866–1940). In 1920, after World War I, Japan received a League of Nations mandate to control the Caroline and Marshall Islands. During World War II , Japan operated a large base at Truk Lagoon which it used for expansion into the southeastern Pacific. In

2340-542: The ten primary schools, in which a total of 262 children were enrolled. The missionaries boasted 90 adult converts that year, and reported that there were 1900 Catholics, a few Protestants, and 11,600 inhabitants who had not converted to Christianity. On 1 July 1905, the United States sent a Jesuit from the Manila Observatory to the island of Yap to erect a meteorological station there, and appointed

2392-554: The use of delayed action fuses on bombs dropped on runways to make repairs more difficult, The system left the picket ships extremely vulnerable to kamikaze attacks, but it gave more protection to aircraft carriers and troopships . The system had an immediate effect. During its use in the Liberation of the Philippines , "Despite an unopposed dry landing, 'suicide boats' and two hundred kamikazes made Mindoro 's D-plus days as costly as Anzio 's. Only saturation flights (called

2444-454: The vessels. These ships stimulated commerce and were significant vectors for change (both good and ill). The islands most commonly visited were Kosrae , Mokil , Ngatik , Pingelap and Pohnpei . Japan invaded and occupied the islands in 1914 during World War I , as part of their campaign to take and occupy German colonial possessions . They installed two naval squadrons as part of this occupation. The Western Carolines were controlled by

2496-581: The western Pacific. This antagonism was intensified by Japan's objections to an attempt to annex Hawaii to the U.S. and by Japan's objections to discrimination against Japanese immigrants both in Hawaii and California. As a result, as early as 1897 the U.S. Navy began to draft war plans against Japan, which were eventually codenamed "War Plan Orange". The war plan of 1911, which was drafted under Rear Admiral Raymond P. Rodgers , included an island-hopping strategy for approaching Japan. After World War I ,

2548-490: Was different from what he called island hopping, which was the style favored by the Central Pacific Area commanded by Admiral Chester Nimitz that favored direct assaults on heavily defended beaches and islands leading to massive casualties for such small parcels of land like at Tarawa , Peleliu , Saipan , Guam , Iwo Jima , and Okinawa . MacArthur worked together with Admiral William Halsey , commander of

2600-401: Was killed. As a result, Spain ceased relations with the Caroline Islands. When they resumed relations in 1787, their emphasis was on trade and commerce. In 1852, a Spanish colonel named Coello suggested to the Spanish government that effective Spanish occupation of the Caroline Islands would help the Spanish engage in trade and commerce with the Philippines , Australia , New Guinea , and

2652-566: Was the first Allied theater commander to practice this during the Allied offensive in the Pacific Theater . MacArthur's Operation Cartwheel , Operation Reckless and Operation Persecution were the first successful Allied practices of leapfrogging in terms of landing on lightly guarded beaches and very low casualties but cutting off Japanese troops hundreds of miles away from their supply routes. MacArthur said his version of leapfrogging

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2704-475: Was to bypass heavily fortified enemy islands instead of trying to capture every island in sequence en route to a final target. The reasoning was that those islands could simply be cut off from their supply chains (leading to their eventual capitulation) rather than needing to be overwhelmed by superior force, thus speeding up progress and reducing losses of troops and materiel . The strategy did not prove very successful, as many Japanese garrisons survived longer than

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