Truk's history of early Spanish domination was followed by German acquisition after the Spanish-American war about 1890, and then a Japanese mandate from the League of Nations upon Germany's defeat in 1918. The Japanese era saw a great buildup of arms and bases in advance of a wide military blitz over the Western Pacific. The blitz was supplied heavily from facilities at Truk, where often more than 1,000 merchant and war ships moored in readiness for further deployment. Five airfields supporting close to 500 aircraft provided complete protection over Truk's Gibraltar-like facilities. A deep lagoon, high islands and circling barrier…