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Guam Today and Guam July 21st, 1944 - The Second Battle of Guam

  

Category:  History & Sociology

Via:  kavika  •  7 years ago  •  11 comments

Guam Today and Guam July 21st, 1944 - The Second Battle of Guam

Most American's know little about Guam or it's people. With North Korean threatening to attack Guam it once again is in the news. The people of Guam are called Chamorros, native Indians of the Island. They are very patriotic and enlist in the U.S. Military in great numbers considering how small the population is. They are AMERICANS and part of our nation. 

On December 8, 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 5,000 Japanese troops attacked Guam defended by only 400 troops. The island fell in a few days. 

Guam is part of the Marianas chain and the largest island in the chain. Guam, Tinian and Saipan were and are today the linchpin of our Pacific power. 

In 1944 Guam was only 1,400 miles from Japan and critical for us to take back. At that time we were bombing Japan from China, with great losses and a far great distance from Japan than Guam. 

The attack on Guam was a calculated risk, failure would be a disaster for our forces. 

On July 21st, 1944 U.S. Marines and Army troops stuck, thus began a bloody campaign that resulted in 8,000 U.S. casualties and 18,000 Japanese casualties. 

A few days ago I wrote of Captain Wm. Putney U.S. Marines Dog Platoon. The first Marine war dogs and their heroism on Guam. 

THE SECOND BATTLE OF GUAM.

 

Battle of Guam (1944)



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 




Second Battle of Guam
Part of the  Pacific Theater  of  World War II
First flag on Guam Marine Captains Paul O'Neal (left) and Milton Thompson (right) plant the American flag eight minutes after U.S. Marine and Army troops landed on Guam.
Date 21 July – 10 August 1944
Location Guam Mariana Islands
Result

American victory

Belligerents
  United States   Japan
Commanders and leaders
Roy Geiger Richmond K. Turner Holland Smith Allen H. Turnage Andrew D. Bruce Takeshi Takashina   Hideyoshi Obata  
Units involved

III Amphibious Corps

Supported by elements of:

United States Coast Guard

United States Navy

31st Army

  • 29th Infantry Division
    • 18th Inf. Regiment
    • 38th Inf. Regiment
  • 1st Tank Division
    • 9th Tank Regiment
  • 48th Ind. Brigade
  • 10th Ind. Mixed Reg.
  • 319th, 321st, 322nd, 820th Independent Infantry Battalions

Navy Land Units Navy Air Service

Additional air defense, engineer, signals, etc, support elements
Strength
59,401 [1] :37,39 18,657 [1] :23 40 tanks [2]
Casualties and losses
1,777 killed,
5,798 wounded,
23 missing [3]
18,337 killed,
1,250  POWs [1] :87

The  Second Battle of Guam  (21 July – 10 August 1944) was the American recapture of the  Japanese-held   island  of  Guam , a  U.S. territory  in the  Mariana Islands  captured by the Japanese from the U.S. in the  1941 First Battle of Guam  during the  Pacific campaign  of  World War II .

 

 

Background [ edit ]

Guam, at 212 square miles (341.18 square kilometers), is the largest island of the Marianas, with a length of 32 miles (52 km) and a width ranging from 12 miles (19.31 km) to 4 miles (6.44 km) at different points of the island. [4] [1] :  It had been a United States possession since its  capture from Spain  in 1898 until it was  captured by the Japanese  on 10 December 1941, following the  attack on Pearl Harbor . It was not as heavily fortified as the other Mariana Islands such as  Saipan  that had been Japanese possessions since the end of  World War I , but by 1944, Guam had a large Japanese garrison.

The  Allied  plan for the invasion of the Marianas,  Operation  Forager , called for heavy preliminary bombardment, first by carrier aircraft and planes based in the  Marshall Islands  to the east, then once air superiority was gained, close bombardment by battleships. [1] :22  Saipan, Tinian, and Guam were chosen as targets due to their size, their suitability as a base for supporting the next stage of operations toward the  Philippines Taiwan  and the  Ryukyu Islands ; the deep-water harbor at  Apra  was suitable for the largest ships; and airfields for  Boeing B-29 Superfortresses  could be built from which to bomb Japan. [1] :22

The  invasion of Saipan  was scheduled for 15 June 1944, with landings on Guam tentatively set for 18 June. [1] :22  The original timetable was optimistic, however. A  large Japanese carrier attack  and stubborn resistance by the unexpectedly large Japanese garrison on Saipan led to the invasion of Guam being postponed for a month. [1] :25

U.S. naval and air bombardments lasted from 11–13 June 1944, involving 216 carrier aircraft and land based B-24 bombers. On the 12th and 13th of the month, 12 Japanese cargo ships and several fishing vessels were sunk. On June 27, U.S. battleships started shelling the island, joined by a U.S. carrier group on 4 July, and two more on 6 July, with the total loss of 16 U.S. aircraft. [1] :42

Battle [ edit ]

 
Bombardment of Guam on 14 July 1944 before the battle, as seen from the  New Mexico
 
U.S. Marines  move inland.
 
Map showing the progress of the Guam campaign

Guam, ringed by reefs, cliffs, and heavy surf, presents a formidable challenge for an attacker. [1] :14   Underwater demolition teams   reconnoitered  the beaches and removed obstacles from 14–17 July. [1] :43  Despite the obstacles, on 21 July, the American forces landed on both sides of the  Orote  Peninsula on the western side of Guam, planning to secure Apra Harbor. [1] :23  The  3rd Marine Division landed  near Agana to the north of Orote  at 08:29, and the  1st Provisional Marine Brigade landed near  Agat  to the south. [1] :24,44  Japanese artillery sank 20 U.S.  LVTs  and inflicted heavy casualties on the landing troops, especially of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, but by 09:00 men and tanks were ashore at both beaches.

By nightfall, the U.S. Marines and soldiers had established  beachheads about 6,600 feet (2,000 m) deep. [5] Japanese counterattacks were made throughout the first few days of the battle, mostly at night, using infiltration tactics. Several times the Japanese penetrated the American defenses and were driven back with heavy losses of men and equipment.

The U.S. Army's  77th Infantry Division  had a more difficult landing on 23–24 July. [1] :17  Lacking amphibious vehicles, they had to wade ashore from the edge of the reef where the landing craft dropped them off. The men stationed in the two beachheads were pinned down by heavy Japanese fire, making initial progress inland quite slow. Supply was very difficult [6]  for the landing troops on Guam in the first days of the battle. Landing ships could not come closer than the reef, several hundred yards from the beach, and amphibious vehicles were scarce.

The 1st Provisional Brigade blocked off the  Orote Peninsula  on 25 July, and that same night Japanese Lt. General Takeshi  counterattacked , coordinated with a similar attack against the 3rd Division to the north. [1] :56  The next day, General Obata reported, "our forces failed to achieve the desired objectives." [1] :61   Lieutenant General   Takeshi Takashina  was killed on 28 July, and Lieutenant General  Hideyoshi Obata  took over the command of the Japanese defenders. [1] :65  On 28 July, the two beachheads were linked, [1] :17 and by 29 July, the Americans secured the peninsula. [1] :64

The Japanese counterattacks against the American beachheads, as well as the fierce fighting, had exhausted the Japanese. At the start of August, they were running out of food and ammunition and had only a handful of tanks left. Obata withdrew his troops from the south of Guam, planning to make a stand in the mountainous central and northern part of the island, "to engage in delaying action in the jungle in northern Guam to hold the island as long as possible". [1] :65

After ensuring no significant Japanese forces operated in the southern portion of Guam, Marine Major General Geiger started an offensive north with the 3rd Marine Division on the left flank, and the 77th Infantry Division on the right, liberating  Agana  on the same day. [1] :70  The  Tiyan  Airfield was captured on 1 Aug. [1] :72

Rain and thick jungle made conditions difficult for the Americans, but after an engagement with the main Japanese line of defense around Mount  Barrigada  from 2–4 August, the Japanese line collapsed. [1] :73–74  The 1st Provisional Brigade formed up on the left flank of the 3rd Marine Division on 7 August because of the widening front and continued casualties, in an effort to prevent the Japanese from slipping through the American gaps. [1] :75–76  The Japanese had another stronghold at Mount Santa Rosa, which was secured on 8 Aug. [1] :74,81

On 10 August, organized Japanese resistance ended, and Guam was declared secure, but 7,500 Japanese soldiers were estimated to be at large. [1] :81  The next day, Obata committed  ritual suicide  at his headquarters on Mount Mataguac after he had sent a farewell message to Japan. [1] :81

Aftermath [ edit ]

 
U.S. Marines show their appreciation to the Coast Guard.
 
Three Marine officers of an amphibian tractor battalion who took part in the invasion of Guam (left to right): Major Erwin F. Wann, Major W. W. Butler, and Lt. Colonel Sylvester Stephens

A few Japanese soldiers  held out in the jungle  after the fighting on Guam. [1] :87  On 8 December 1945, three  U.S. Marines  were ambushed and killed. On 24 January 1972, Japanese Army Sergeant  Shoichi Yokoi  was discovered by hunters on the island. He had lived alone in a cave for 28 years, near  Talofofo Falls .

Guam was turned into a base for Allied operations after the battle. Five large airfields were built by the  Navy Seabees , and Army Air Forces B-29 bombers flew from  Northwest Field  and  North Field  on Guam to attack targets in the Western Pacific and on mainland Japan. [1] :87–88

Liberation Day  continues to be celebrated on Guam every July 21.

 

Unit awards [ edit ]

Navy Unit Commendation :

  • 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, 21 July to 10 August 1944.

Medal of Honor recipients [ edit ]

Four  Medal of Honor  recipients of the Battle of Guam:

 

This video is well worth watching and midway in the video Captain Wm. Putney and his Dog Platoon is shown. 


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Kavika
Professor Principal
link   seeder  Kavika     7 years ago

The Chamorro people of Guam suffered greatly under the Japanese rule for two and half years. 

During my working career I spent a lot of time in Micronesia and Polynesia. Area's of many of the most savage battles of WWII. 

We had a shipping facility on Guam and it was our headquarters in Micronesia. 

During my time on Guam I was able to speak to many of the native people, some of which had been captured by the Japanese and well remembered those days. 

I was also able to follow my fathers footsteps through out the area. I visited Tarawa where my father was in the Marine invading force. Saipan, Guadalcanal, New Guinea, Truk, and many other islands. It was walking in my father's history. Semper Fi.

Once again Guam is in the news, I hope that this little bit of information gives you an idea of what Guam went through in WWII and it's place in American today. 

 
 
 
Enoch
Masters Quiet
link   Enoch  replied to  Kavika   7 years ago

Dear Friend Kavika: Great article.

Super historical perspective.

We are indebted.

Thanks.

May those in that, as in all areas of the world know peace, freedom, security, and the warmth of fellowship, not to he coldness of conquest.

Enoch.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
link   seeder  Kavika   replied to  Enoch   7 years ago

Niijii, if you ever want to read a book that is uplifting, funny, dramatic and true, get a copy of ''Always Faithful'' by Wm Putney, the Marines first War Dogs and their role in the Battle for Guam.

Wm Putney was the first and only commander of the Marines 2nd Dog Platoon so the book is a first hand experience of a great American.

 
 
 
Enoch
Masters Quiet
link   Enoch  replied to  Kavika   7 years ago

Dear Friend Kavika: Thanks for the heads up.

Its on my list of books to read.

E.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
link   seeder  Kavika   replied to  Enoch   7 years ago

I know that you'll enjoy it, it's your kind of book.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
link   Perrie Halpern R.A.    7 years ago

I am always amazed at how little we know about these crucial battles and the strategic meanings to these small islands. The younger generations wouldn't even give Guam a second thought if this wasn't in the news. They need to know the reasons why Gaum is so important before they can understand what is going on today. 

History gives us perspective. 

 
 
 
pat wilson
Professor Participates
link   pat wilson  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A.   7 years ago

My dad was stationed there during WWll and flew 35 missions from there.

 
 
 
Randy
Sophomore Participates
link   Randy  replied to  pat wilson   7 years ago

Thank you to your father for his service.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
link   seeder  Kavika   replied to  pat wilson   7 years ago

A saute to your father, pat.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
link   seeder  Kavika   replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A.   7 years ago

''History gives us perspective.''

Indeed it does Perrie, something it seems that some Americans don't have or don't care to have.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
link   seeder  Kavika     7 years ago

The War Dog memorial and cemetery on Guam.

''Always Faithful''

 Image result for photos of the war dog memorial on guam

 
 

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