In the central Pacific, the role of the American Force had been primarily a defensive one and after the Battle of Midway, the enemy had made no serious effort to advance in that theater. But, by late 1943 as growing U.S. naval strength permitted a more aggressive strategy in the central Pacific, the Hawaii-based 7th Air aircraft regularly were sent to "soften up" those islands scheduled for amphibious assault or to neutralize enemy forces on those islands of little strategic value which were to be bypassed by Allied forces island-hopping through the Gilbert and Marshall islands. American leaders worked out an island-hopping plan to achieve this goal. Island hopping meant capturing some Japanese-held islands and going around others. The islands won by Americans could be used as stepping-stones for the invasion of Japan. Island hopping was a deadly routine. First, American ships shelled a Japanese-held island. Next, troops waded ashore under heavy gunfire. In hand-to-hand fighting, Americans overcame fierce Japanese resistance.
picture from The American Heritage Picture History of World War II