INVASION! The Americans were still amateurs at amphibious warfare. At Guadal-canal they had just been lucky. But now, in a three-pronged attack uniting the Army, Navy, and Marines, the U.S. was poised to invade the Gilbert Islands. This group of coral atolls, together with the Marshall Islands, was the nerve center of Japan's defense system. STORM OVER THE GILBERTS Here's the behind-the-lines planning which became a battle between Allied commanders. And here is the courageous hell-torn action of one of the most strategic victories in the Pacific. For seven days in unbeara ble heat the deadly warfare raged on land, sea, and in the air. The Japanese were well fortified behind their coral cairns and coconut log barricades, and they would die before surrendering.