Operation Causeway
| Operation Causeway | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Pacific War | |
American maps showing the general scheme of maneuver for Operation Causeway Phase 1: the invasion of Formosa (left) Phase 2: the invasion of Kinmen and Xiamen (right) | |
| Location | |
| Planned | March–October 1944 |
| Planned by | |
| Commanded by | Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. |
| Objective | Control the Taiwan Strait |
| Date | Planned Formosa D-Day: February–March, 1945 Planned Xiamen and Kinmen invasion date: ~20 days after D-Day |
| Executed by | Tenth Army |
| Outcome | Operation aborted in favor of the invasions of the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa |
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Operation Causeway was a planned United States invasion of Formosa (Taiwan), the Quemoys (Kinmen Islands) and Xiamen Bay on the southeastern coast of Mainland China during World War II. At that time, Formosa was a Japanese colony since the nineteenth century. The island was seen as a possible next step in the planned Allied "island-hopping" advance across the Pacific after the capture of the Marianas in summer 1944.
The objectives of Operation Causeway included securing control over the Taiwan Strait to establish a forward base for the strategic bombing and final invasion of Japan. Simultaneously linking Nationalist Chinese forces with an unbroken seaborne supply line to America's vast military-industrial complex.