Battle of Guam
Part of World War II, Pacific War
Bombardment of Guam, 14 July 1944.
Date 21 July 1944 – 10 August 1944 Location Guam, Mariana Islands Result American victory
Combatants
United States	Japan
Commanders
Roy S. Geiger,	Takeshi Takashima, Hideyoshi Obata
Strength
2 divisions	18,500
Casualties
3,000 killed, 7,122 wounded	18,000+ killed, 485 POWs

The Battle of Guam was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Guam in the Mariana Islands from 21 July 1944 to 10 August 1944. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Combatants Republic of China U.S.A. (from 1941) U.K. (from 1941) Australia (1941) Netherlands (1941) New Zealand (1941) Canada (1941) U.S.S.R. (from 1945) Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin (from 1945) Hideki Tojo The Pacific War was... Bombardment of Guam on 14 July 1944 before the invasion. ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... The Mariana Islands (also the Marianas; up to the early 20th century sometimes called Islas de los Ladrones meaning Islands of Thieves) are a group of islands made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the western Pacific Ocean. ... Roy Stanley Geiger (January 25, 1885 – January 23, 1947) was a United States Marine Corps general who, during World War II, became the first Marine to lead an army. ... Hideyoshi Obata was a Japanese soldier and politician. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... In the Pacific theater of World War II, the American Marianas Campaign, known as Operation Forager, pushed westward from the Marshall Islands in the summer of 1944 to capture the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. ... Combatants United States Japan Commanders Richmond K. Turner, Holland Smith Yoshitsugu Saito Strength 71,000 31,000 Casualties 3,426 killed; 13,160 wounded 24,000 KIA and 5,000 suicides; 921 prisoners The battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on... Combatants United States Japan Commanders Raymond A. Spruance Jisaburo Ozawa Strength 7 heavy carriers, 8 light carriers, 7 battleships, 79 other ships, 28 submarines, 956 planes 6 heavy carriers, 3 light carriers, 5 battleships, 43 other ships, 450 carrier-based planes, 300 land-based planes Casualties 123 planes destroyed (about... The battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July 1944 to 1 August 1944. ... Like the bloody World War II island campaigns before it, the battle of Peleliu was a fight to capture an airstrip on a speck of coral in the western Pacific. ... Battle of Angaur Conflict World War II, Pacific War Date 17 September 1944 – 30 September 1944 Place Angaur, Palau Islands Result American victory The battle of Angaur was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Angaur in the Palau Islands from... Download high resolution version (760x900, 119 KB)Map of the battle of Guam Downloaded from [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Combatants Republic of China U.S.A. (from 1941) U.K. (from 1941) Australia (1941) Netherlands (1941) New Zealand (1941) Canada (1941) U.S.S.R. (from 1945) Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin (from 1945) Hideki Tojo The Pacific War was... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... The Mariana Islands (also the Marianas; up to the early 20th century sometimes called Islas de los Ladrones meaning Islands of Thieves) are a group of islands made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the western Pacific Ocean. ... July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ...

Guam is the largest of the Marianas, 30 miles (48 km) long and 9 miles (14 km) wide. It had been a United States possession from the Spanish-American War of 1898 until it was captured by the Japanese on 11 December 1941. 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 it had a large garrison. A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ... km redirects here. ... Combatants Image:US 45 05:40, 8 December 2006 (UTC)$$$@ United States Republic of Cuba First Philippine Republic Spain Commanders Nelson A. Miles William R. Shafter George Dewey Máximo Gómez Emilio Aguinaldo Patricio Montojo Pascual Cervera Casualties 379 U.S. dead; considerably higher although undetermined Cuban and Filipino... Combatants United States Spain Commanders Henry Glass Juan Marina Strength 1 cruiser 3 transports 54 infantry Casualties None 54 captured The capture of Guam was a bloodless event between the United States and Spain during the Spanish-American War. ... December 11 is the 345th day (346th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Saipan seen from the air A map of Saipan, Tinian & Aquijan Saipan (IPA: in English) is the largest island and site of the capital of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a chain of 15 tropical islands in the western Pacific Ocean (15°10’51”N, 145... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul...

The Allied plan for the invasion of the Marianas 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. Guam was chosen as a target because its large size made it suitable as a base for supporting the next stage of operations towards the Philippines, Taiwan and the Ryūkyū Islands; the deep-water harbor at Apra was suitable for the largest ships; and the two airfields would be suitable for B-29 Superfortress bombers. Location of Ryukyu Islands. ... Apra Harbor is a deep-water port on the western side of Guam in the Mariana Islands. ... The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and other military organizations afterwards. ...

The invasion of Saipan was scheduled for 15 June 1944, with landings on Guam tentatively set for 18 June. The original timetable was wildly optimistic. Stubborn resistance by the unexpectedly large garrison on Saipan, and a large Japanese carrier attack (Operation A-Go) led to the invasion of Guam being postponed for a month. Combatants United States Japan Commanders Richmond K. Turner, Holland Smith Yoshitsugu Saito Strength 71,000 31,000 Casualties 3,426 killed; 13,160 wounded 24,000 KIA and 5,000 suicides; 921 prisoners The battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on... June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... Battle of the Philippine Sea Conflict World War II, Pacific Theater of Operations Date 19–20 June 1944 Place The Philippine Sea Result Decisive American victory The Battle of the Philippine Sea was an air-sea battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought between the US...

Guam, ringed by reefs, cliffs, and heavy surf, presents a formidable challenge for an attacker. On 21 July the Americans landed on both sides of the Orote peninsula on the west of Guam, planning to cut off the airfield. The 3rd Marine Division landed near Agana to the north of Orote at 08:28, and the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade landed near Agat to the south. Japanese artillery sank 20 LVTs but by 09:00 tanks were ashore at both beaches. The 77th Infantry Division had a more difficult landing. Lacking amphibious vehicles, they had to wade ashore from the edge of the reef where they were dropped by their landing craft. A reef surrounding an islet. ... The Trango Towers in Pakistan have the highest cliffs in the world In geography, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. ... July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... The U.S. 3rd Marine Division is a unit of the United States Marine Corps, one of three active divisions. ... War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Asan, Guam Asan is a village located on the western shore of the U.S. territory of Guam. ... Municipality of Agat Agat is a village on the island of Guam, an unincorporated territory of the United States. ... The Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT) was an amphibious vehicle used by the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Army during World War II. It was widely known as amphtrack, amtrak, amtrac etc. ... Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the 77th Infantry Division. ...

By nightfall on 21 July the Americans had established beachheads about 2 km deep. Japanese counter-attacks were made throughout the first few days of the battle, mostly at night, using infiltration tactics. Several times they penetrated the American defenses and were driven back with heavy loss of men and equipment. Lieutenant General Takeshi Takashima was killed on 28 July and Lieutenant General Hideyoshi Obata took over the command of the defenders. July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. ... July 28 is the 209th day (210th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 156 days remaining. ... Hideyoshi Obata was a Japanese soldier and politician. ...

Supply was very difficult for the Americans in the first days of the battle. Landing ships could not come closer than the reef, several hundred metres from the beach, and amphibious vehicles were scarce. However, the two beachheads were joined up on 28 July and the Orote airfield and Apra harbor were captured by 30 July. July 28 is the 209th day (210th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 156 days remaining. ... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ...

The counterattacks around the American beachheads 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 part of the island. But with resupply and reinforcement impossible because of American control of the sea and air around Guam, he could hope to do no more than delay the inevitable defeat for a few days.

Rain and thick jungle made conditions difficult for the Americans, but after an engagement at Mount Barrigada from August 2 to August 4 the Japanese line collapsed and the rest of the battle was a pursuit to the north. As in other battles of the Pacific War, the Japanese refused to surrender, and almost all were killed. Box Log Falls, Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia Jungle refers usually to a dense forest in a hot climate. ... Barrigada is a village in Guam. ... August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ... August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining. ...

A few Japanese soldiers held out in the jungle. On 8 December 1945 three U.S. marines were ambushed and killed. On 24 January 1972 Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi was discovered by hunters. He had lived alone in a cave for 27 years. December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Shoichi Yokoi (横井 庄一 Yokoi Shōichi, March 31, 1915 - September 22, 1997) was a Japanese soldier and celebrity. ...

After the battle Guam was turned into a base for Allied operations. Five large airfields were built by the Seabees and B-29 bombers flew from the island to attack targets in the Western Pacific and on mainland Japan. The official motto of the Seabees, the United States Navy Construction Battalions, is Construimus, Batuimus—We Build, We Fight. ... The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and other military organizations afterwards. ...

See also

• War In The Pacific National Historical Park
• Return to Guam a 1944 documentary and propaganda film about the battle

Marines landing in Asan during Guams Liberation in 1944. ... Return to Guam was a 1944 short propaganda film produced by the US Navy about the taking and recapture of the island of Guam. ...

References

Books

• Gailey, Harry (1988). The Liberation of Guam 21 July - 10 August. Novato, California, U.S.A.: Presidio Press. ISBN 0-89141-651-X.

Web

• U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II: Western Pacific, Center of Military History, U.S. Army.
• Guam: Operations of the 77th Division, American Forces in Action series, Historical Division, War Department, 1946. (Center of Military History Pub 100-5)
• "The Marianas and the Great Turkey Shoot", World War II Database.
• Lodge, Major O.R. USMC Historical Monograph: The Recapture of Guam, Historical Branch, United States Marine Corps, 1954.
• O'Brien, Cyril J. Liberation: Marines in the Recapture of Guam, Marines in World War II Commemorative Series, Marine Corps Historical Center, United States Marine Corps, 1994.

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Battle of Guam