Battle of Roi-Namur

The Battle of Roi-Namur took place during the Allied Marshall Islands Campaign of World War II. It was fought between the US 4th Marine Division, led by Maj.Gen. Harry Schmidt, and the Japanese 61st Guard Force, under Michiyuki Yamada, from February 1, to February 2, 1944, on the islands of Roi and Namur. Result: American victory.

Battlefield Description

The islands of Roi and Namur are joined by a spit of sandbank and a 500-yard long concrete causeway. Being part of the Kwajalein Atoll, both sand islands are only a few feet high above sea level. Cleared of vegetation, Roi was occupied by an airfield, while Namur was full of military barracks, logistics installations, and palm trees. They were defended by the IJN 61st Guard Force, composed of 3,100 men, and the aircraft service personnel, which included approximately 400 men.

Summary

The Battle of Roi-Namur began in the early hours of February 1, when naval guns of Task Force 53's battleships opened fire on the two islands. They would be pounded hard for several hours. At 10,00 hours, the men of the 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Div, landed on Red 2 and Red 3 Beach on the south coast of Roi. Meanwhile, the 24th Marine Regiment troops would set foot on Green 1 and Green 2 Beach, on the southern coast of Namur.

Roi was secured at about 18:00 hours on the same day, after mopping up operations. Here, the marines had received reinforcement by additional units that landed on Red 1. However, Namur was very hard to take as it was covered by vegetation, the torn building rubble, anti-tank ditches, trenches, and coils of barbed wire. On the first day, a marine demolition team crept up to an enemy bunker, attacking it with high demolition charges; they did not know that the bunker was full of torpedo warheads as the whole concrete complex disappeared in a powerful explosion that killed 20 marines at once.

The fighting on Namur raged on for the next couple of days. As the US troops advanced northward, the Japanese resistance became more stubborn. Reinforced concrete blockhouses had to be torn down by 75mm self-propelled howitzers. Many Japanese had hidden out of sight in drainage ditches and they had to be ferreted out with flamethrowers. At about 17:30 hours, on February 2, the island of Namur was declared secured.

Below, men of the 23rd Marine Regt on Roi. They watch the black smoke billow from the torpedo warhead store explosion on Namur.

 

Map of Roi-Namur, with the landing sectors marked.

A Japanese sailor from the IJN force surrenders to the US marines on Namur, on February 2