FACTS ABOUT TARAWA

1. Operation Galvanic was the invasion of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll. Tarawa was in the Gilbert Islands.  It is 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii.   Adm. Chester Nimitz felt the island, with its airfield, needed to be taken before attacking the Marshall Islands.  Tarawa would be the start of the island-hopping campaign.  It would be the first opposed amphibious invasion by Americans in the Pacific.
2. Betio was garrisoned by a Special Navy Landing Force (equivalent to the Marines). Adm. Keiji Shibaski commanded this elite force of 4,500 men.  They and Korean laborers had prepared the defense.  Numerous pillboxes connected by trenches were built.  Since Betio was only 2 miles long and 800 yards wide.  It became the most heavily-defended island on Earth.  Shibasaki claimed the island could not be taken by “one million men in 1,000 years”.  He was a bit off in that prediction.
3. On Nov. 20, 1943, a large fleet arrived off the island. The island was subjected to an intensive 3 hour bombardment by the warships and bombers from aircraft carriers.  (Nimitz had suggested a short bombardment that would take the Japanese by surprise.)  The Marines of the 2^nd Marine division thought it would be a cake-walk.  Instead, it would be “one square mile of hell.”
4. Things went badly from the start. Maj. Gen. Julian Smith, the commander of the 2^nd Marine Division, did not take warnings of a low tide coral reef seriously. The LVT’s (amtracs) were able to crawl over the reef, but their thin skins were bullet magnets and most were soon disabled.  Most of the first wave made it ashore, but heavy fire prevented them from moving off the beach.   When the Higgins boats moved in with reinforcements, they bumped into the reef 1,000 yards from the beach.  The Marines had to exit and wade to the beach under heavy fire.  They joined the first wave in taking shelter behind a sea wall that was a lifesaver, but they were supposed to move inland.  Leadership to do that was lacking due to the number of officers who were casualties, the mixing up of units, and the wet radios that would not work.  Col. David Shoup was in command on the island and despite being wounded he tried to organize the men.  He ended up with the Medal of Honor for his leadership under fire.
5. Nov. 21 saw the Americans barely inland. At night, they prepared for the inevitable banzai charge that would be difficult to stop.  Fortunately, Japanese communications lines had been wrecked by the bombardment.  Shibasaki could not organize a counterattack.  He and his staff exited their below ground command center, and were killed by a naval shell.  So, the night was sleepless for the Americans, but there was no attack.
6. On Nov. 22, Americans gradually moved inland, taking out pillboxes with grenades, demolition charges, and flamethrowers. And some very brave Marines.  Help came from a few Sherman tanks that turned the tide.
7. 1^st Lieutenant Alexander Bonnyman led the assault on the Japanese command center. Gasoline was poured down the ventilation ducts and then grenades were dropped down them.  He was killed defending the position against a Japanese attack.  He was one of four Medal of Honor recipients in the battle.
8. A Higgins boat commander named Eddie A. Heimberger made several trips to rescue wounded off the reef. He took out a sniper that was shooting at him from an abandoned landing craft.  Heimberger was awarded the Navy Cross.  After the war, he continued his acting career using his first two names –  Eddie Albert.
9. The banzai attacks came on the second night and were defeated by machine gun, howitzer, and naval gunfire.
10. The battle ended after 76 hours. 961 Marines were killed and 2,000 were wounded.  (That was approximately the casualties on Guadalcanal in six months.)  Of the 4,500  Japanese, 17 were taken alive.  17! Many of the dead had committed suicide.  (Either by holding a grenade to their stomachs or firing their rifle into their face using their toe to pull the trigger.)  Of the 1,200 Koreans forced to provide labor for creating the defenses, only 129 survived.
11. Despite the recriminations from the public, the first opposed invasion was bound to have problems. The Navy and Marines made reforms die to lessons learned.  More bombardment, better reconnaissance, more amtracs, and water-proof radios.  To scout the landing area and remove obstacles, the underwater demolition teams were created.  Better known as “frogmen”, they were the forerunners of Navy SEALs.
12. In 1944, a short documentary entitled “With the Marines at Tarawa” (see it on Youtube) was released.  It was the first time the public saw dead American soldiers.  It mentioned that the shore guns at Tarawa had been captured at Singapore.  In the 1970’s, it was determined that the guns had actually been sold by the Vickers company to Japan in 1905 for use in the Russo-Japanese War.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/military/fallen-and-forgotten/8-facts-you-didnt-know-about-tarawa/65-490631104

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-tarawa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tarawa

http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_tarawa.html