Battle of Peleliu

The Battle of Peleliu was a long and savage military encounter that took place from September 15 to November 27, 1944, on the Island of Peleliu, Palau group, during the island-hopping campaign, in the WW2 Pacific Theater of Operation. It was fought between the US III Amphibious Corps and an Imperial Japanese Army's garrison. Result: American victory, with many casualties.

Opposing Forces

The US Navy had successfully finished the Marianas' Campaign, with the Battles of Saipan, Guam, and Tinian, when Admiral Chester Nimitz proposed Halsey and McArthur to attack the Palau Islands, invading Peleliu to capture and secure its military airstrip, which was in the hands of the Japanese. The US III Amphibious Corps was assigned to carry out Operation Stalemate, as this military campaign was called. It was composed of the 1st Marine Division and the US Army's 81st Infantry Division. The US commander of this landing force was Major General William Rupertus. Meanwhile, the Imperial Japanese Army's 14th Infantry Division, the 45th Guard Force, and the 46th Base Force, which were under the command of Lt. Col. Kunio Nakagawa, had been deployed on the island.

Summary

At 08:30 hours, on the morning of September 15, 1944, the men of the 1st Marine Regiment and the Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, landed on White Beach I and II. They were immediately followed by the 5th and 7th Marine Regiment troops landing on Orange Beach I, II, and III. The 81st Infantry Division would land later and would take part in vicious fighting inland. Before the landing began, the island of Peleliu had been heavily bombarded by the US Navy's battleships USS Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Idaho, and by dive bombers from US carriers to soften up the terrain for the invading force.

On the first day, the Marines managed to secure a 2-mile wide beachhead. On the second day, the American troops were able to advance eastward, towards the airfield, which was situated in the southern portion of the Peleliu. When they secured the airfield, the Marines suffered heavy casualties as they were subjected to heavy bombing from Japanese artillery emplaced in the low Umurbrogol hills located to the north, at the center of the island. In the fighting for the landing strip, the Marines were aided by men from the 81st Infantry Division.

Although the landing strip was already operational on the fourth day of combat operation, the Battle of Peleliu would rage on for several weeks in the southern portion, called the Point, and especially in the north, where there were a series of low ridges and hills. This is where they Japanese had set up most of their cannons and machine guns, in caves in the hills. The fighting for Bloody Ridge Nose was extremely savage and gory as hundreds of Marines were killed in action. The use of M4 Sherman tanks equipped with flamethrowers and the US Navy's F4U Corsair aircraft, which dropped incendiary bombs, were vital to be able to defeat the Japanese, who were stubbornly entrenched in the hillsides.

Men of the 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Div., sail towards White Beach in their LVTs

Below, Map of Peleliu, a lesser island of the Palau group. The Americans landed on the western shores of the southern half of the island. The airfield and Bloody Ridge Nose are clearly marked by arrows.

Once on the beachhead, a marine, holding his M1 carbine, calls in for fire support.

Below, the last pocket of Japanese resistance, Bloody Ridge Nose (Umurbrogol hills). You can see men of the 81st Infantry Division and Marines walking after the final surrender.