Island Hopping

Leapfrogging (strategy)

Leapfrogging was an amphibious military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against the Empire of Japan during World War II. The key concept was to bypass heavily fortified enemy islands instead of trying to capture every island in sequence en route to a final target. The reasoning was that those heavily fortified islands could simply be cut off from their supply chains rather than needing to be overwhelmed by superior force, thus speeding up progress and reducing losses of troops and materiel. The strategy proved to be successful; although some Japanese garrisons survived longer than the Allies expected, the enemy troops were eventually completely isolated from their main supply chains and incapable of organizing an effective defense against Allied forces.

Island

An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been part of a continent. Oceanic islands can be formed from volcanic activity, grow into atolls from coral reefs, and form from sediment along shorelines, creating barrier islands. River islands can also form from sediment and debris in rivers. Artificial islands are those made by humans, including small rocky outcroppings built out of lagoons and large-scale land reclamation projects used for development.

island-hopping

Verb

1. present participle and gerund of island-hop