From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Makin Raid
Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II
U.S. Marines arrive at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on August 26, 1942 on board the U.S. submarine Nautilus following their raid on Makin Island on August 17-18, 1942.
Date August 17 – August 18, 1942 Location Butaritari (Makin Island) in the Pacific Ocean Result U.S. tactical victory
Combatants
United States	Empire of Japan
Commanders
Chester Nimitz, Evans Carlson	Koso Abe, Kanemitsu
Strength
211	83-160
Casualties
21 killed, 9 captured (executed later)	83-160 killed 2 aircraft destroyed 2 small ships sunk[1]

Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign
Makin Raid – Tarawa – Makin – Kwajalein – Truk – Eniwetok

The Makin Raid occurred on August 17-18, 1942 and was an armed raid by United States (U.S.) Marines on Japanese military forces on Makin Island (now known as Butaritari Island) in the Pacific Ocean. The purpose of the raid was to to destroy Japanese installations, take prisoners, gain intelligence on the Gilbert Islands area, and divert Japanese attention and reinforcements from the Allied landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi. In the raid, the U.S. Marines landed from two submarines, wiped-out the Japanese defenders on the island, and were evacuated from the island by the same two submarines. Nine U.S. Marines were left behind during the evacuation and subsequently captured and executed by Japanese forces at Kwajalein.^[2]

Although the Marine Raiders succeeded in killing the entire Japanese garrison on the island, the raid failed to meet its other objectives. No Japanese prisoners were taken and no meaningful intelligence was collected. Also, significant Japanese forces weren't diverted from the Solomon Islands area. In fact, due to the vulnerabilities to their garrisons in the Gilbert Islands highlighted by the raid, Japanese forces strengthened their fortifications and defensive preparations on the islands in the central Pacific and this may have caused heavier losses for U.S. forces during the battles of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns.

Contents 1 References 1.1 Printed sources 1.2 Web 1.3 Notes

• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1949 (reissue 2001)). Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions, May 1942-August 1942, vol. 4 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Champaign, Illinois, USA: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-06995-6. 
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1961). Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, June 1942-April 1944, vol. 7 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ASIN B0007FBB8I. 
• Smith, George W. (2003). Carlson's Raid: The Daring Marine Assault on Makin. Berkley Trade. ISBN 978-0-425-19019-7. - Neutral review of this book: [1]
• Wiles, W. Emerson "Tripp" (2007). Forgotten Raiders of '42: The Fate of the Marines Left Behind on Makin. Potomac Books. ISBN 978-1-59797-055-6. 
• Young, Howard. "Carlson's Raiders on Makin, 17-18 August 1942", Marine Corps Gazette 87(8): August 31, 2003.

• Crowl, Philip A.; Edmund G. Love (1955). Seizure of the Gilberts and Marshalls (English). United States Army in World War II - The War in the Pacific p. 60-66. Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army. Retrieved on January 23, 2007.- Briefly describes the Makin Raid and its impact on future U.S. operations in the Gilbert Islands.
• Hoffman, Jon T. (1995). Makin (brochure). FROM MAKIN TO BOUGAINVILLE: Marine Raiders in the Pacific War. Marine Corps Historical Center. Retrieved on November 21, 2006.
• Whitman, Edward C.. SUBMARINE COMMANDOS: "Carlson's Raiders" at Makin Atoll. Undersea Warfare. United States Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, Submarine Warfare Division. Retrieved on November 21, 2006.