06/22/09

 Battle of Tarawa

Tarawa was an island in the Pacific that was held by some 4,500 Japanese elite marines. On November 20, 1943, US Marines stormed the shores of Betio, the main island in the Tarawa chain. The Americans had bombarded the island for seven days starting on November 13.

However, there were complications in the assault. The Americans attacked during low tide exposing the islands reef. Many landing craft became stuck on the reef forcing the soldiers to wade to shore through heavy Japanese fire. On the first day of fighting, the American troops barely had a foothold on the beach. On the second day of combat, US forces pushed their way inland making painfully slow progress. The Japanese were dug into bunkers and the Americans had to either blast them, burn them or bury them. On the night of the 22^nd, the Japanese launched a major counter attack. These suicidal, desperate attacks were made often by the Japanese throughout the war and were called Banzai attacks. By dawn of November 23, some 300 to 600 Japanese had been killed. This was virtually the end of fighting on Tarawa.

The fight for Tarawa was crucial for America’s future tactical planning. The Battle for Tarawa taught the Americans what and what not to do in island assaults.