US Marine Corps - The Black Vault

272 Amphibians Came To Conquer
You may rest assured that every possible resource under my control will be
used to the maximum against the enemy at all times and under any circumstances.
101
The project which Rear Admiral Turner submitted to Admiral Nimitz and
then to Admiral King was titled a “Limited Amphibious Offensive in South
and Southwest Pacific.” 102It called for:
a. The occupation of Ndeni Island, the largest and most western of
the Santa Cruz Islands. (Ndeni lies about 250 miles north of
Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides and 300 miles east of Guadal-
canal in the lower Solomon Islands.)
b. (1). The capture of tiny Tulagi and nearby Florida Island in the
lower Solomons, some 560 miles northwest from Espiritu
Sante,
(2). the occupation of an airfield (or airfield site) on the north
coast of the 90-mile long and 25-mile wide island of Guadal-
canal, and
(3). the establishment of an aircraft warning service on outlying
islands in the lower Solomons (San Cristobal, Malaita, Santa
Isabel, New Georgia, and Choiseul).
c. The occupation of Funafati in the Ellice Islands, 800 miles east of
Ndeni2 as an advanced base for temporary occupation of patrol
planes. (Funafati was an atoll, 7 miles long and 150 yards wide.)
d. The reinforcement of the Espiritu Santo Army garrisons currently
500 strong and the construction of a landplane base there. Espiritu
Santo was the northernmost and largest island in the New Hebrides.
(It was 75 miles long and 45 miles wide and lay about 400 miles
north of Noumea, New Caledonia. )
On New Caledonia was a strong army garrison numbering 22,000. New
Caledonia was then the