Operation Galvanic

Battle of Tarawa
Part of World War II, Pacific War
Lt Alexander Bonnyman (4th from right) and his assault party storming a Japanese stronghold. Bonnyman received the Medal of Honor posthumously.
Date 20–23 November 1943 Location Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands Result United States victory
Belligerents
United States	Japan
Commanders and leaders
U.S. Navy: Raym. A. Spruance Richmond K. Turner Harry W. Hill U.S. Marine Corps: Holland M. Smith Julian C. Smith Leo D. Hermle Merritt A. Edson David M. Shoup	Keiji Shibazaki †
Units involved
V Amphibious Corps 2nd Marine Division 27th Infantry Division US Fifth Fleet	Garrison Force: 3rd Special Base Defense Force 7th Sasebo Special Naval Landing Force Imperial Navy
Strength
35,000 troops, 18,000 Marines	2,636 troops, 2,200 construction laborers (1,000 Japanese and 1,200 Korean) 14 tanks 40 artillery pieces 14 naval guns
Casualties and losses
1,696 killed 2,101 wounded U.S. Marine Corps: 1,009 killed 2,101 wounded U.S. Navy: USS Liscome Bay, sunk 23 November 1943 687 killed	4,690 killed 17 soldiers captured 129 laborers captured
Location within Pacific Ocean

Coordinates: 1°25′37.00″N 172°58′32.00″E / 1.4269444°N 172.9755556°E / 1.4269444; 172.9755556

V Amphibious Corps

Garrison Force:

The Battle of Tarawa was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that was fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It took place at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio, in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll.

The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the Pacific War that the United States faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Previous landings had met little or no initial resistance, but on Tarawa the 4,500 Japanese defenders were well-supplied and well-prepared, and they fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps. The U.S. had suffered similar casualties throughout the duration of other previous campaigns, for example over the six months of the Guadalcanal Campaign, but the losses on Tarawa were incurred within the space of 76 hours.