Battle of Tinian

The Battle of Tinian was a WW2 military encounter which took place on the island of Tinian, in the Marianas, west-central Pacific. It was fought between the USMC 2nd and 4th Marine Division and the 31st Imperial Japanese Army, from July 24 to August 1, 1944, during the Pacific island-hopping campaign. The result was a victory of the United States of America.

The American invasion of Tinian was part of a larger and massive amphibious offensive against the Japanese positions on the main islands of the Marianas. Thus, on June 15, 1944, the US Marines had invaded Saipan, which had totally been captured by July 9. On July 21, the American forces had also gone ashore on the island of Guam, successfully securing it by August 10.

Summary

On the morning of July 24, the men of the 4th Marine Division, led by General Clifton B. Cates, landed on the beaches of Tinian. The 2nd Marine Division, under Thomas E. Watson, followed suit the next day, landing on a beach located to the north where the 4th Marine Div. had landed, on the western northern shore of the island. Both amphibious invasion waves had been preceded by heavy naval and air bombing to soften up the enemy-held terrain, with P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft attacking the Japanese positions around the airfield.

In order to draw Japanese troops away from the real landing beaches on the northern shore, units of the 2nd Marine Division had just carried out a feign invasion near the town of Tinian on the southern shore. The Japanese commander, Kiyochi Ogata, effectively got deluded and ordered most of his forces move southwards towards the town. From then on, the marines of the 4th and 2nd Division advanced southwards in three columns. When the Japanese realized it, they turned around and put up stiff resistance.

Finally, after ferocious fight, on August 1, the American forces mopped up the last pockets of Japanese resistance on the island. From the 8,000 Japanese soldiers, only 255 surrendered, with the rest being killed in action. Meanwhile about 400 US Marines got killed and around 1,600 got wounded.

Below, map of the island of Tinian, showing the beaches where the US Marines landed and the direction of the American advance.

Two American marines holding up Japanese flags as war trophies for the photographer to take pictures.