It took the combined effort of Sherman tanks supported by demolition and flamethrower men to destroy enemy fortifications and gain access to Red Beach one, and the eastern edge of the airfield. During the night the Japanese made three counter attacks against First Battalion, Sixth Marines, but were fought off (Himmel, 202). Finally on D Day /3 the opposition lagged under the tenacity of U.S. forces, and Third Battalion, Sixth Marines successfully entered the eastern end of the island and cleared it for follow on forces of Seabees and engineers to begin the repair of the airstrip. The final pocket of resistance was on the small islet of Buariki where the remaining Japanese force of 156 fought to the death. In all the Second Marine Division suffered 1,027 dead, 88 missing, and 2,292 wounded in the three days of fighting, which was considered unacceptable by the military and public at large (Hoyt, 109). A change to the amphibious doctrine was in need. In all aspects the doctrine of amphibious warfare may have been sound on but lacked in practical application at each part of the battle. If it were not for the Japanese failing to conduct a decisive counter attack on a weaker force the Marines would have failed to take the island, thus failing the Pacific drive was conceivable. Strategically the victory opened the way to the Marshall Islands, and tactically it established the amphibious assault as the means used to defeat Japan in the Pacific campaign and supplied an endorsement of the Marines for future engagements that would end successfully such as Tarawa. Finally, it was not the doctrine, the equipment, or the strategy, but the Marines that saved the day on Tarawa. The Marines who had not gone to the Amphibious School and had not been part of pre-war training exercises, but the individual marines who fought to knockout a bunker, who fought to save a buddy, or fought to survive. Edwin Hoyt proclaimed that the invasion "was saved from becoming a disaster only by the magnificent performance of the individual soldier." (Hoyt, 90). Bibliography: Alexander, Col. Joseph H. USMC (Ret). Across The Reef: The Marine Assault Of Tarawa -Marines In World War II Commemorative Series. Washington D.C.: Marine Corps Historical Center, 1993 Alexander, Col. Joseph H. USMC (Ret). Utmost Savagery. New York: Ivy Books, 1995. (back) Baldwin, Hanson. Battles Lost And Won. New York: Harper & Row, 1966. Berry, Henry. Semper Fi, Mac. New York: Arbor House, 1982 Costello, John. The Pacific War 1941 -1945. New York: Quill, 1981 Unknown Author Great Battle Of World War II. New York: Shooting Star Press, 1995. Hoyt, Edwin P.Storm Over The Gilberts. New York: Mason/Charter Publishers, 1978 Isley, Jeter A., and Crowl, Philip A. The U.S. Marines and Amphibious War. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1951. Morison, Samuel Eliot. The Two -Ocean War. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1963. Potter, E. B. Nimitz. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1976. Shaw Jr., Henry I. Tarawa: A Legend Is Born. New York: Ballantine Books, 1968. Sherrod, Robert. Tarawa: The Story Of A Battle. Fredricksburg, Texas: The Admiral Nimitz Foundation,1973. (back) Simmons, Brigadier General Edwin H. USMC (Ret). The United States Marines: The First Two Hundred Years, 1775-1975. Spector,Ronald H. Eagle Against The Sun. New York: The Free Press, 1985. Steinberg, Rafael. Island Fighting. Alexandria, Virginia: Time -Life Books, 1978. Tapert, Annette. Lines Of Battle. New York: Pocket Books, 1987. Wheeler, Richard. A Special Valor. Edison, New jersey: Castle Books, 1996.Alexander, Col. Joseph H. USMC (Ret). "Bloody Tarawa." Naval History, December, 1993, 10-16. Alexander, Col. Joseph H. USMC (Ret). "How Can Men Like That Ever Be Defeated'" Leatherneck, November, 1994, 28-33. Alexander, Col. Joseph H. USMC (Ret). "Tested At Tarawa." World War II, January, 1995, 42-48. Fleming Jr., V. Keith. "Hurried Invasion's Grim Toll." World War II, January, 1987, 16-25. Hammel, Eric. "The Invasion Of Tarawa." Leatherneck, November, 1984, 28-33. Hoffman, Major Jon T. USMC Reserve. "Red Mike Fights On." Naval History, December, 1993, 17-22. Moise, Norman S. "Unconquerable Ground Reclaimed." World War II, November, 1993, 42-48. Shaw Jr., Henry I. "Tarawa: The Atoll War Begins." History Of The Second World War, part 57, 1994. -C
|
