Tarawa (172.93E 1.36N) is the principal atoll of the Gilbert Islands group, located just north of the equator and southwest of Hawaii. The atoll is triangular in shape, with the east side 18 miles long and the south side 12 miles long. These are studded with islets, of which the most important was Betio at the southwest tip. All were planted with coconut palms. The west side of the triangle is barrier reef with two deep passes.
Betio is elongated east to west, with a length of
about 3800 yards (3500 meters) and a width of about 600 yards (550
meters). The total area was about 291 acres (118 hectare).
The atoll was seized by a small Japanese
force
on 9 December 1941. The Japanese subsequently constructed an airbase on Betio, with a 4000 foot
(1200 meter) runway and set of taxiways.
Battle
of Tarawa. The Japanese heavily fortified the
islet of Betio,
where the principal airstrip was located. There was a coconut log
barrier 3 to 5 feet (1 to 2 meters) high behind the beaches, with
numerous machine guns sited
behind it. Many of these were covered with coconut logs, sometimes
supplemented with concrete or armor
plate. There were also 14 coastal defense guns from 5.5" (140mm) to
8" (203mm) caliber. Further fire support was provided by 25 field guns of from 37mm to 75m
caliber, mostly emplaced in well-constructed pillboxes; a number of
13mm to 5.1" (130mm) antiaircraft
guns; and 14 immobilized tanks with
37mm guns. Some of the bomb shelters on the islet had roofs six feet
thick made of sand, logs, and corrugated iron.
The heart of the defending garrison was 1497 men
of 7 Sasebo SNLF. These were
reinforced with another 1122 men from 3 Special Base Force and 1247
men from 111 Pioneers, plus some 970
labor troops (over half Korean) of
limited combat effectiveness. The troops had 7 light tanks at their
disposal, but ammunition supplies were somewhat limited, at 4800 rounds
of 75mm and 127mm antiaircraft ammunition and 15,000 rounds of 13mm
machine gun ammunition.
Preinvasion reconnaissance
was thorough and effective and determined that the Japanese defenses
were oriented towards the south and west beaches of the islet. As a
result, the decision was made to land on the lagoon side. However, the
reefs here extend 300 to 500 yards offshore, and there was concern
about whether the tides would be
deep enough to allow landing
craft to cross. Tides in this part of the Pacific are often erratic
("dodging tides") and no tide tables existed in 1944. Planners
consulted former British
residents of the atoll and concluded that there was a 2 in 3 chance of
favorable tides on the proposed invasion date. Delaying the invasion
meant a risk of westerly winds setting in that would make the invasion
impossible, and Turner
decided to take the chance.
The 2 Marine Division under Julian Smith began landings on 20 November 1943 and immediately ran into trouble. Turner had lost his gamble on the tides, one of the few instances of bad luck in an otherwise lucky career. Many of the landing craft were stranded on the reef by an unusual low tide. Their passengers had to wade ashore under withering fire from the defenders and suffered terrible losses. Many of the American naval commanders believed that their preliminary bombardment, which placed 3000 tons of shells on the island, would leave nothing but a few shocked survivors to be mopped up; this proved grossly optimistic, as most of the Japanese fortifications were still intact. (Several Marine officers were much less optimistic.) The 3500 Marines who made it ashore (out of 5000 in the first day's landing waves) were pinned down on the beaches by intense machine gun and small arms fire.
Not all the luck was with the Japanese, however. Rear Admiral Shibasaki Keiji, commander of the Special Naval Landing Forces on the island, was killed by artillery fire early in the battle. His death, and the disruption of the island communications network from the bombardment, meant that no counterattack could be organized while the Americans were still vulnerable.
The next day, tanks and additional troops came ashore and began rolling up the Japanese from the western tip of the island. The tide finally rose over the reef and the remainder of the division was able to swarm ashore. By the 22nd the battle was no longer in doubt, and the island was declared secure at noon on the 23rd. The Marines had suffered 3234 casualties, including 984 dead and 88 missing, while the 4836 Japanese defenders were virtually wiped out. Only 17 wounded soldiers and 129 Korean laborers survived to be taken prisoner.
Following the battle, American engineers further developed the
airfield. By 1 January 1944 there were two runways over a mile (1.6 km)
long and a new 6000' (1800m) runway on Buota islet. These airfields
proved valuable for staging bomber
raids on the Marshalls.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia (c) 2007-2008 by Kent G. Budge. Index