Raids on Makin, Mili and Wotje Islands and Kwajalein Harbor

This silent U.S. Naval footage, likely filmed in 1942-1943 during WWII, captures intense Pacific Theater operations against Japanese-held atolls. Shot in black-and-white, the reel compiles aerial raids and ground combat on Makin, Mili, Wotje Islands, and Kwajalein Harbor, key stepping stones in the island-hopping campaign. The film opens with grainy shots from carrier-based planes—possibly TBF Avengers or SBD Dauntlesses—diving toward Makin, bombs plummeting onto palm-fringed shores and bunkers, smoke rising from unseen targets. Mili and Wotje follow, with strafing runs igniting fuel dumps and anti-aircraft fire streaking skyward. Kwajalein Harbor’s segment features naval bombardment—battleships’ big guns blazing—then cuts to Marines storming beaches, rifles flashing in silent chaos amid shattered coral and pillboxes. Without sound, the raw visuals—planes banking, explosions blooming, troops advancing—carry a stark, unfiltered weight, offering a frontline glimpse of the brutal push to reclaim the Marshalls and Gilberts from Japanese control.