Evening star., 1944-02-21
Quick Engebi Victory
Aided by Devastating
Bombardment Of Isle
By RICHARD w. sOHNSTON.

NACuAnD w. SOHNSTON,
EeSpresentins Pre- the Combined American Press
ABOARD A UNITED STATES
EXPEDITIONARY FORCE FLAG
SHIP OFF ENIWETOK ATOLL IN
THE MARSHALL ISLANDS, Feb
IL Delayed United States Ma
rlnes attacking under cover of a
devastating naval and aerial bonn
parchment, today conquered Engebi
Island, site of the key japanese air
strip on Eniwetok Atoll, in exactly
six hours and five minutes.
1t was the quickest victory of the
Pacific war over a defended Jap
bastion.
The Jap defenders were wiped out
completely, while Marine losses were
light.
The assault on Engebi followed
the occupation yesterday of 10 small
f1anking islands without the loss of
a single life.
Attack Goes UnchalIenged.
.Battalions of the 22d Marines
under Col. John T. Walker, regi-
mental commander, swarmed onto
Engebi in the wake of battering
by naval rifles and dive-bombers
which poured more than 1000 tons
of explosives into the tiny triangular
island.
Indicative of our supremacy on
the sea and in the air is the fact
that our attack against this west
ernmost Marshall Island base, 300
miles beyond Kwajalein, was un-
challenged from the sea or by air.
went ashore with Brig Gen.
Thomas E. Watson of Washington,
commanding both the marine and
Army forces, to watch the marines
sweep across a scene of desolation
which only month ago was an
island city and the Japs most i'm
portant mid-Pacific staging area, as
well as powerful air base.
From beach to beach Engebi was
a scene of almost incredible de-
struction, not only equarng but sur
passing what was dealt to Kwaja-
lein. Not a single building was left
standing by our bombardment. Even
the skeleton structures had been
hammered down into chaotic wreck
age.
Jap Weapons Knocked Out.
Vast shell holes, uprooted defenses
and burning fuel dumps inter-
spersed the waste areas which were
strewn knee deep with shredded
palm fronds.
Engebi looked as though it had
been run over by some giant lawn
mower.
Our tremendous preliminary bonn
bardment, which rose in fury from
am. to the zero hour of the at
tack, killed many Japs and knocked
out almost all their weapons, par
ticularly those defending the
beaches.
Battleships fired against main OBJ
jectives from destroyer range, while
dive bombers dived almost to tree
top heights to lay their bombs on
specific Japanese targets.
Marine scouts under Capt. James
Jones of Joplin, Mo, the same scouts
who captured Apamama in the Gill
berts, captured 10 islands surround
ing Engebi earlier, thus preventing
a japanese escape when the full
hellfire of battleships, cruisers, de-
stroyers and carrier aircraft was
loosed against them.
Battleships Concentrate on Engebi.
While the battleships concentrated
on Engebi, cruisers and destroyers
and more dive bombers blasted our
quarry all over the Eniwetok Atoll
and did not draw the slightest
answering fire. Hellcat fighters
ranged around the atoll in flying
circus, straflng and destroying
heached landing boats and eliminat-
ing the possibility the Japanese
might shift forces from island to
island.
When the transports reached pre-
scribed areas the battleships moved
in almost to the reef
The signal bridge of this flagship
vibrated from the conclusion of the
big guns rapid-fire salvoes. Puffs of
black and greenish smoke went sky
ward from the island, flecked with
flying palm fronds.
Destroyers and cruisers meanwhile
were blasting the flanking islands
which are strung in two directions
from Engebi like pancakes on
griddle-a very hot griddle.