Battle+of+Tarawa

The Battle of Tarawa Now for a Little Geography… In the Pacific, southwest of Hawaii, there is an island chain called the Gilbert Islands. Contained within is the Tarawa atoll, composed entirely of islets and coral reef. One of these islets is Betio, site of a bloody battle over a Japanese garrison. Betio is a long, thin triangle, two miles long and only 800 yards at its widest. Betio is in the southwest corner of Tarawa, and rather than being part of a string of islets, as on the northeast side of Tarawa, Betio is a lone islet among coral reef.

//My// video on the formation of an atoll:media type="file" key="formationofanatoll_0001.wmv" width="300" height="300"
 * For a video on the formation of an atoll visit**: []

The battle of Tarawa was a bloody one for a small island that was only needed to clear a communication to the Marshall Islands, which in turn was needed as a base for the primary goal, the invasion of the heavily defended Marianas Islands. About 6,000 Japenese and American soldiers died at Tarawa, a number similar to the losses of the six-month campaign at Guadacanal, the difference being that these 6,000 were lost over a course of just over three days from November 20-23, 1943. Over 2,000 men died per day, or, if you prefer, 80 men per hour, or, to cut it down even further, more than one man died per minute on average. It’s all in the Preparation… The Japanese had foreseen an American attack and had spent a year fortifying the island Betio’s defenses. Fourteen coastal defense guns were placed in concrete bunkers around the island to protect the island from landing forces from open water and from the lagoon, even if the force could get into the lagoon in the first place. 500 pillboxes of logs and sand, reinforced with concrete. were constructed. In reinforced firing pits about the island lay forty artillery pieces. In the center of the island, what was once bush became an airfield and trenches connected all corners of the island. Defensive preparations continued until the day of the invasion. 4,500 Japanese defenders were on the island and prepared for what was going to happen. The Japanese were confident, and rightly so. //After clearing the way for an airstrip, coral would be dredged up and ground before it was spread.// //For a few days the airstrip was then sprayed with seawater, allowing the coral to grow and bind// //the surface together.//

**Operation Galvanic** Begins… //The northern beaches, or Red beaches, were for the main landing force. The western, or Green, beach was for reinforcements. The Black southern beaches were not used. //

The force sent to invade the garrison was the largest force at the time sent for a single operation in the Pacific. In addition to the 66 destroyers, there were also 36 transports, 17 aircraft carriers, 12 battleships, 8 heavy cruisers, and 4 light cruisers. 35,000 troops were aboard the transports. The flotilla arrived before dawn on November 20, and having been shot at by Betio’s four 8-inch guns, proceeded to shoot. Three were knocked out, while the fourth continued to fire intermittently and inaccurately during the second day of the battle. The damage to the guns left the entrance to the lagoon undefended.

The next three hours composed of a naval bombardment of the small island. The plan was to land troops on the north beaches. The attack began later than expected, as the planners had not allowed for the neap tide, in which the tide barely changed, so the landing boat could not pass the reef. Only the LVT “Alligators”, or amphtracks, could pass the reef. Meanwhile, the bombardment had let up to let the Marines land, but the Japanese took the opportunity to man the firing pits and move troops from the southern beaches to the northern ones. As the amphtracks approached the beach, more and more Japanese made their way to their guns. The LVTs did not have armoured hulls, and though some survived with only holes, many were rendered useless. Those that made it could not pass the sea wall, stranding men against the log wall. Others were trapped on the reef 500 yards off shore. By the end of the first day, half of the amphtracks had been forcibly taken out of action. Almost all tanks that were landed were soon knocked out, but served to push the attack as forward as the first line of Japanese defenses at noon and were almost to the main runway by nightfall. On the Japanese side of things, commander Keiji Shibazaki was cut off from command following the bombardment, as the shallow communication lines were soon destroyed. Leaving his command post for the wounded, Keiji Shibazaki prepared to move south with the escort of two tanks. He did not anticipate the high explosive round that killed him and most of his staff, complicating the Japanese command issues. Each unit was in the isolation that had begun when the communication lines had been destroyed and would continue now that their commander was dead. Their fire was sporadic, and only intended to harass the Marines who lay in their boats without food or water. As the first night of the battle fell, out of the 5,000 Marines that had landed on the tiny island, 1,500 were dead or wounded while the others lay that night fearing the attack that would come in the morning as Japanese soldiers sneaked to the wrecked Niminoa, a steamship, and to the new LVT wrecks to attack the Marines from behind. But the lack of a unified command prevented the coordinated attack that should have wiped the pitiful number of Marines from the island. It was the beginning of the end for the defenders. Now that they had a toehold, the Americans’ goal for the second day was to divide the defenders until the Marines’ line reached the southern shore. Meanwhile, forces would secure the western beach for reinforcements to land. This task was at first hard going until the artillery spotters directed the Navy to the remaining strong points. The gun posts were soon destroyed after that and the Marines were able to take their positions with comparatively few losses. The first task force, on the other hand, had to deal with new machine gun posts that split the American forces for quite a while, until they brought in their own machine guns and occupied the recently emptied defensive works on the southern side. But at half past noon, word came that some Japanese were presumably trying to escape. When troops were sent to close off the retreat path, they were shot at by machine guns. They requested aircraft suppress the guns, and there was no further fire. Later it was found out that the planes had hit a tank of gasoline within the single attacking pillbox and the Japanese force had been burned. There was no further opposition to the landing of the reinforcements on the western beach. By the end of the second day of the battle of Tarawa, the western side of Betio had been captured, most of the airfield in the center of the island was in American control, and parts of the southern beach had been taken.

The third day was mostly concerned with joining up the lines and bringing in additional heavy equipment. By the time afternoon had rolled around, the Japanese forces had been pushed back to the eastern end of Betio, or existing in small isolated pockets of resistance. Although the Japanese attempted to counterattack, they were at first averted by heavy American fire and the second attempt made only a bit of progress. It was the next morning that the defenders made their final desperate attack. 300 Japanese soldiers at 4 am launched a charge at the Marines, who were only able to drive back the Japanese when artillery approached within 75 yards of Japanese lines. Out of the 300who had charged, 200 were found dead on the front lines, and another 125 dead soldiers behind the Japanese line. The Japanese defense was getting weaker, and at 7 fighters and dive bombers began to drive the Japanese out of their positions, gaining more momentum as the planes were backed up on the ground and as the eastern point thinned the American lines thickened and pushed the Japanese forward.

Prezi: []


 * Note**: //This Prezi is a summary of an eyewitness account. To read the original text, visit//[| http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/tarawa.htm]

On our Menu is the Shoup of the Day Marine Corps commanding officer Colonel David Shoup, despite severe shock and a painful infected leg wound, rallied his troops to lead them to reinforce the lines by exposing himself to the incessant artillery without. He commanded attacks against the heavily defended Japanese positions despite obstacles and heavy casualties, later earning him a Medal of Honor.

Bibliography


 * Anonymous (February 18, 2012); //Battle of Tarawa;// Retrieved February 28, 2012

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 * EyeWitness to History (2003); //The Bloody Battle of Tarawa, 1943;// Retrieved February 29, 2012

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 * Anonymous (n.d.); //Operation Galvanic (1): The Battle of Tarawa November 1943;// Retrieved March 4, 2012

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 * National Museum of the Pacific War (n.d.); //Tuesday, November 23, 2010 Tarawa;// Retrieved March 5, 2012

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 * Anonymous (n.d.); //General David M. Shoup, USMC (Retired), (1904-1983);// Retrieved March 10, 2012

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 * dizzo95 (May 23, 2011) //Formation of coral islands// Retrieved March 1, 2012

[|http://www.google.com/search?q=atoll&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&tbm=vid&source=lnms&ei=nh5NT82FNoiFsgL685Ek&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=4&ved=0CDMQ_AUoAw&biw=1280&bih=594&surl=1#hl=en&safe=active&tbm=vid&sclient=psy-ab&q=formation+of+an+atoll&pbx=1&oq=formation+of+an+atoll&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=53625l58000l2l58203l21l17l1l0l0l0l375l2311l2.6.3.1l13l0&fp=1&biw=1280&bih=594&cad=b&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb]


 * Smith, Rex A., and Gerald A. Meehl. //Pacific Legacy//. New York, NY: Abbeville Press, 2002. 116-41. Print.

=__ Extra Practice __=

1. **Tarawa was a relatively bloodless campaign.** -//True// -//False//

2. **How were the Black beaches used?** a)//The Black beaches were for landing tanks.// b)//The Black beaches were for the main landing force.// c)//The Black beaches were not used at all.// d)//The Black beaches were for the retreat of the Japanese.//

3. **Where was the Japanese garrison located?** a)//In the Gilbert Islands.// b)//On Betio.// c)//In the Tarawa Atoll.// d)//All of the above.//

4. **Who won the Battle of Tarawa and after how long?** a)//The Japanese after six months.// b)//The Japanese after three days.// c)//The Americans after six months.// d)//The Americans after three days.//

Answers: These questions were not that hard, so if you looked down here first, EPIC Faaaaaiiiiiilllllllll!!!

1. False

2. c)

3. d)

4. d)