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INVASION
OF PELELIU
AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC -
1944
By James Burbeck
Of all the
battles of the Pacific War that raged across half the world between 1941 and
1945, one of the least publicized in relation to its violence and impact was
arguably the amphibious invasion of the island of Peleliu in the Palau island
group. This 1944 invasion took place barely ten months after the carnage of
Tarawa, and ended up costing nearly double the casualties for the attacker and
defender. In the process, the Japanese 14th Infantry Division was totally
destroyed and the U.S. 1st Marine Division was dreadfully crippled, losing over
half its strength due to severe casualties. The U.S. 81st Army Division which
assumed responsibility for the later half of the battle, suffered an additional
round of losses before completing the destruction begun as such cost by the
USMC.
"Well, sir, all I can see is dust. I doubt if
you've cleaned it out. I know they have underground oil dumps for that
airfield. We haven't seen that blow. I've been boning over those maps for weeks
and I believe they'll have pillbox stuff, fortifications like we've never seen
before."
Colonel Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller. An
important characteristic of the fighting on Peleliu was not what happened, but
rather what did not happen. The Japanese Army - which until this time had been
employing their own style of World War I bayonet charge tactics - did a radical
about face and organized a defense in depth. The island commander forbad the
emotional employment of "last ditch" Banzai charges. He instead utilized a
strict fire control regime which made the best possible use of their plentiful
ammunition stocks and planned to fight to the last man.
When
considered along with the lengthy preparation of the island and the garrison of
veteran infantry newly arrived from China, the defense of Peleliu created a
formidable tactical dilemma for invasion planners. Unfortunately for the U.S.
troops about to go ashore, the 1st Marine Division's relatively new commander
was possessed of an overly optimistic impression of the coming battle's
prospects. This faulty impression - pressed home despite misgivings and
recommendations of officers lower in the command chain - were to compound the
dreadful casualties suffered by the U.S. Marines.
These WTJ Flash maps
present an overview of the general flow of battle and the order in which events
took place. Due to limitations on size, time scales are necessarily compressed
and not all events can be shown. General naval and air bombardment activity is
shown on an abstract scale, and local artillery fire is not shown at all as its
massive activity would be difficult to recreate and would prevent viewers from
seeing unit movement. The island was generally covered with Japanese units or
Japanese infiltrators, and so their front lines are not shown, only the
approximate front lines of the American forces. Due to the uncertainty and
confusion of battle, even the American front lines can only be estimated for
any particular time. A well researched title on Peleliu is Peleliu 1944
by Harry Gailey. The classic eyewitness account With the Old Breed by
E.B. Sledge is also highly recommended. |
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Peleliu Map
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Peleliu Map
2
Peleliu Map
3
Peleliu Map 4
(coming next...)