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Operation RY (Invasion of Nauru & Ocean Island) was the name of the Imperial Japanese plan to invade and occupy Nauru and Ocean islands in the south Pacific during the Pacific conflict of World War II. The operation was originally set to be executed in May 1942 immediately following Operation MO and before Operation MI, which resulted in the Battle of Midway. The primary reason for the operation was to exploit the islands' supplies of phosphate. After a postponement due to interference by enemy forces, the operation was completed in August 1942. ==Background== Before and during World War II, Nauru and Ocean Island were isolated but rich with phosphate deposits. The islands were under Australian mandate control with the British Phosphate Commissioners (BPC) running the phosphate mining. The phosphate deposits were mined for making ammunition, explosives and fertilizers. The German auxiliary cruisers and sank five merchant ships and bombarded the island causing damage to the phosphate mining, disrupting the allies production of phosphate. Following the raids the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board requested that the British Admiralty agree to redeploy Australian naval units to meet the threat posed by raiders. The armed merchant cruiser arrived off Ocean Island on 4 January 1941, and Australian and New Zealand warships maintained a continual presence off the islands during the subsequent months and a naval company and two field guns were deployed to each island. The attacks also led to the introduction of convoys between Australia and New Zealand. In late February 1942, as a Japanese invasion of Nauru and Ocean Island was feared, the Free French destroyer departed the New Hebrides to evacuate both Nauru and Ocean Island. The ship arrived on 23 February and completed the evacuation without serious incident. Although Operation MO was cancelled on 8 May 1942 immediately following the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Imperial Japanese Navy forces departed Rabaul and Bougainville on 11 May to execute the ''RY'' operation. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Operation RY」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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