What was the "leapfrog tactics" of the United States during World War II?

In summer, the frog in the pond will wait quietly on the lotus leaf until some prey flies by, and then it will jump up, choose the right lotus leaf and keep jumping to find the right food. In order to achieve the goal with the fastest speed and the most suitable route, the frog doesn't have to pass through every lotus leaf, but has a choice and gives up.

▲ The frog on the lotus leaf will choose the right route and jump forward at the fastest speed. Not every lotus leaf goes through.

On the Pacific battlefield during World War II, the large and small islands in the Pacific Ocean were occupied and fortified by Japan. The US Army has made a similar choice. Like frogs, they also made a choice and gave up the island of Japan like lotus leaves.

▲ The leapfrog tactics adopted by the US military in World War II jumped over the islands with strong defense and then isolated them.

They jumped over the islands with relatively strong defense, chose to start with the islands with relatively weak defense, and then used the abundant engineering ability and material supply of the US military to quickly establish forward airports and ports, and then blocked the skipped islands by sea and air. This not only avoids the loss of attack, but also greatly speeds up the attack, killing two birds with one stone.

What's the name of this island-jumping attack tactic? Frog jump tactics?

Frog leaping tactics are the product of the special geographical environment of the Pacific War.

The appearance of leapfrog tactics can not be separated from the special geographical environment of the Pacific War. In the early period of World War II, Japan occupied countless islands in the Pacific Ocean, and almost every island stationed troops to consolidate its defense line, trying to delay the operational efficiency of the United States with island chain defense and win time for Japan.

▲ In the Battle of Guadalcanal, the US landing troops suffered heavy losses, and the US military had to use its brains to plan the next attack plan.

After the bloody battle between Guadalcanal Island and the Japanese army, Americans deeply realized that if all the islands were conquered one by one according to the conventional routine, it would not only waste a lot of time, but also cause huge casualties of American soldiers and deal a great blow to American morale.

So in 1943, American Admiral halsey and Chief of Staff Browning put forward this famous leapfrog tactic, which was adopted by MacArthur. From the end of 1943, the U.S. military calculated its own frog leaping target and distance according to its own logistics capability and the bomber's operational radius, and directly jumped off some Japanese-occupied islands and began to jump off the islands.

▲ Tactical attack route of American leapfrog in World War II

Malaysia, trucks, rabaul, Singapore, and even Taiwan Province Province where Japanese troops 16w were stationed were all skipped by Americans. Even in some specific battles, some islands with strong Japanese defense capabilities will be skipped.

What the U.S. military needs to do is paralyze the air force on the islands, destroy the airport, and then impose a strict sea blockade on these islands. Although these elite Japanese soldiers have empty martial arts, they have nowhere to exert their strength. After a long time, their supplies were cut off, and they were cut off.

The successful implementation of leapfrog tactics can not be separated from the tight blockade of the powerful US navy and air force.

In short, the core of leapfrog tactics is two points: avoiding its sharp edge, avoiding its isolation, avoiding its well-defended islands, attacking its weak areas, and then turning the enemy's well-defended positions into islands.

▲ Use air superiority to destroy the Japanese air force on the island and block it from the air.

Then, if you want to turn the enemy's island into an island, you must rely on absolute air and sea control. Therefore, the island-jumping tactic was implemented only after the naval battle of midway in 1943.

▲ Use maritime power to block the sea surface and cut off the Japanese supply on the island.

After the Battle of Midway, the Japanese navy gradually went downhill, and the control of the Pacific was gradually transferred to the Americans. It is very difficult for the Japanese navy to support and transport the island. Millions of Japanese troops on the island are almost trapped animals, unable to support each other or retreat back to the mainland.

▲ Japanese troops in Miyakojima look at the ocean and sigh.

For example, in the battle of Okinawa, the Japanese and American troops fought bloody battles on the island, and even the ammunition was almost exhausted. However, the Japanese army with sufficient ammunition on Miyako Island, which is close at hand, was unable to help, because they could not cross the sea and could only watch the Japanese army in Okinawa fall.

In this way, the frog leaping tactics completely ended the traditional layer-by-layer defense strategy, and also greatly advanced the end of World War II. The frog leaping tactic is also a classic tactical mode created by the US military in World War II. Even after world war ii, the us military still used it many times. For example, MacArthur's Incheon landing is another disguised version.