| Publication |
2012.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
In a little known episode of history, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) seized Christmas
Island unopposed on 31 March 1942. Pre-landing air and naval bombardments led the tiny
garrison to surrender, but also damaged key facilities, frustrating Japanese efforts to quickly
remove the valuable phosphate ore. When Japanese engineers determined the island was not
suitable for the construction of an airfield, the occupying force was left solely reliant upon
sea lanes of communication, vulnerable to submarine interdiction. A late-1943 submarine
attack led to the IJN's complete withdrawal from its Christmas Island outpost.
|