Wotje Atoll - History

History

Wotje Atoll was claimed by the Empire of Germany along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884, and the Germans established a trading outpost. After World War I, the island came under the South Pacific Mandate of the Empire of Japan. The Japanese established a school on the island, which served the atolls of the Ratak Chain, but otherwise left administration in the hands of local authorities.

However, from the end of the 1930s, Wotje was developed as into a major seaplane base, and also had an airfield with two runways for land-based aircraft, and several hundred support buildings. During World War II the atoll was garrisoned by the Japanese. The coasts were heavily fortified with coastal artillery and anti-aircraft batteries. The only bombing of Hawaii after Pearl Harbor was executed by seaplanes from Wotje. The Japanese garrison at Wotje at its peak numbered 2,959 men from the Imperial Japanese Navy, 424 men from the Imperial Japanese Army and some 750 civilian workers, many of whom were conscripted ethnic Koreans. From mid-1943 the island came under attack by United States Navy carrier-based aircraft, and was frequently shelled by warships. The attacks increased in frequency and severity after the fall of Majuro and Kwajalein to American forces, and all supply lines to Wotje were cut. By the surrender of Japan, only 1244 men of the garrison remained alive.

Following the end of World War II, Wotje came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986. Many WWII artifacts remain on the main island of Wotje, Wotje. A large concrete airstrip, bunkers, big guns and more make this island attractive to war history enthusiasts.