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 (Task Force 50):
6 fleet carriers, 5 light carriers, 6 fast battleships, 3 heavy cruisers, 3 anti-aircraft light cruisers, 21 destroyers
TF 52 – Northern Attack Force (Makin) (Task Force 52):
3 escort carriers, 4 old battleships, 4 heavy cruisers, 15 destroyers, 1 minesweeper, 5 transports, 4 landing ships
Main article: Battle of Makin
TF 53 – Southern Attack Force (Tarawa) (Task Force 53):
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