Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands 27 in preparation for operations against Japan itself. The USAAF bases in the Mariana Islands were within range of a number of Japanese air bases in the Pacific. These included Wake Island to the east, Truk and the Gilbert and Marshall Islands to the southeast, Woleai to the south and Yap to the southwest. To the north the Japanese had air bases in the Nampo Shoto chain of islands and Bonin Islands, which included three airstrips on Iwo Jima. Several of the minor islands in the Mariana chain also remained in Japanese hands, and there were airfields on Rota and
Battle of the Treasury Islands the operation, the New Zealand 8th Infantry Brigade Group, commanded by Brigadier Robert Row and part of the New Zealand 3rd Division, was assigned to the United States' III Amphibious Force, which assigned its Southern Force under Rear Admiral George H. Fort for the operation. Consisting of two islands, Mono and Stirling, the Treasuries are located north of Guadalcanal, and from Vella Lavella, and just from the Shortland Islands. At the time of the battle, the islands offered the Allies further opportunities to bypass large groups of Japanese forces as they advanced through the Solomons towards the main Japanese base