Battle of Peleliu

Battle of Peleliu
Part of World War II, Pacific War
The first wave of U.S. Marines in LVTs during the invasion of Peleliu on September 15, 1944.
Date 15 September – 27 November 1944 Location Peleliu, Palau Islands 7°00′N 134°15′E / 7.000°N 134.250°E / 7.000; 134.250Coordinates: 7°00′N 134°15′E / 7.000°N 134.250°E / 7.000; 134.250 Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
William H. Rupertus Paul J. Mueller Roy S. Geiger Herman H. Hanneken Harold D. Harris Lewis B. Puller	Kunio Nakagawa † Sadae Inoue
Units involved
III Amphibious Corps 1st Marine Division 81st Infantry Division Additional support units	Peleliu garrison 14th Infantry Division 49th Mixed Brigade 45th Guard Force 46th Base Force Additional support units
Strength
47,561	10,900 17 tanks
Casualties and losses
2,336 killed 8,450 wounded	10,695 killed, 202 captured (183 foreign laborers, 19 Japanese soldiers) 17 tanks lost

III Amphibious Corps

Peleliu garrison

The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II by the United States, was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September to November 1944 on the island of Peleliu (in present-day Palau). U.S. Marines of the First Marine Division, and later soldiers of the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division, fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island. This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager, which ran from June to November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations.

Major General William Rupertus, (USMC commander of 1st Marine Division) predicted the island would be secured within four days. However, after repeated Imperial Army losses in previous island campaigns, Japan had developed new island-defense tactics and well-crafted fortifications that allowed stiff resistance, extending the battle through more than two months. In the United States, this was a controversial battle because of the island's questionable strategic value and the high casualty rate, which exceeded that of all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War. The National Museum of the Marine Corps called it "the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines".

...
Wikipedia