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
Sangihe Islands main islands of the group are, north to south, Sangir Besar (or Sangir Island), Siau (or Siao), Tahulandang, and Biaro. The largest island is Sangir Besar and contains an active volcano, Mount Awu (). Tahuna is the chief town and port, also hosting the islands' sole airport, Naha Airport. The area came under Dutch control in 1677, and became part of Indonesia when it declared independence from the Netherlands in 1945. The Sangir language is spoken in the islands; this Austronesian language is also spoken in some islands in the Philippines, and on the extreme northern tip of Sulawesi. The