Peleliu

Peleliu
State
Flag
Location of Peleliu in Palau
Coordinates: 7°0′N 134°15′E / 7.000°N 134.250°E / 7.000; 134.250Coordinates: 7°0′N 134°15′E / 7.000°N 134.250°E / 7.000; 134.250
Country	Palau
Capital	Kloulklubed
Area
• Total	13 km2 (5 sq mi)
Population (2000)
• Total	571
• Density	44/km2 (110/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	PW-228

Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu forms, along with two small islands to its northeast, one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is noted as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II.

Peleliu is approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of the island of Angaur and 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of the island of Koror. Peleliu has a total area of 13 square kilometres (5.0 sq mi). As of 2000^[update], its population was about 571, making it the third most populous state of Palau. Most of the island's population lives in the village of Kloulklubed which is the state capital on the northwestern coast. Including the capital, there are a total of four villages:

First sighting of Peleliu, Babeldaob, and Koror recorded by Westerners was by the Spanish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos at the end of January 1543. They were then charted as Los Arrecifes (“The Reefs” in Spanish). In November and December 1710 these three islands were again visited and explored by the Spanish missionary expedition commanded by Sargento Mayor Francisco Padilla on board of the patache Santísima Trinidad. Two years later they were explored in detail by the expedition of Spanish naval officer Bernardo de Egoy. Following its defeat in the Spanish–American War, Spain sold Palau (including Peleliu) to Germany in 1899. Control passed to Japan in 1914.

During World War II, the Battle of Peleliu was a major battle between units of the United States Marine Corps and United States Army against the Imperial Japanese Army. The battle for the island was particularly brutal because by this time the Japanese military had evolved island defense tactics with strong fortifications in the island's caves and rock formations, which enabled a defense in depth which maximized casualties on the attacking force. On both sides involved in the fighting there were high losses with more than 2,000 Americans and 10,000 Japanese killed, but, remarkably, there were no casualties among the local civilians because they were evacuated from the fighting to other islands of Palau.