Tarawa, capture of

Tarawa, capture of, one of the epic battles of the Pacific war, which opened the way to the Marshall Islands for US forces and started their drive across the central Pacific.

Part of the Gilbert Islands, the atoll's main island, Betio, 4 km. (2.5 mi.) long and no larger than New York's Central Park, had more than 4,500 top-grade Japanese troops concealed in intricate defences. Makin and Apamama islands, also part of the atoll, were less heavily defended but Betio's defences were so strong that the Japanese commander, Rear-Admiral Shibasaki Keiji, boasted that it could not be taken by a million men in a hundred years. It seemed impervious to the pre-landing air and sea bombardment, though communications were disrupted which prevented a concerted Japanese counter-attack the first night.

Employing LVTs (see amphibians) as armoured personnel carriers for the first time in battle, 2nd Marine Division, commanded by Major-General Julian Smith, and a company of tanks, landed on 20 November 1943 after a delay in the assault which gave Shibasaki time to transfer troops to the landing beaches. Insufficient LVTs meant that back-up troops had to be ferried ashore in landing craft. But the tides, which were not constant, had been predicted incorrectly. Many craft became stuck on the reefs and there were heavy casualties among those who had to wade ashore.

The situation remained critical throughout the first day, but by the following afternoon marines had managed to divide the defences by occupying positions on the south shore, and others established a defensive line at the island's western end which allowed reinforcements to land there on the third day. These moved eastwards meeting violent, but isolated, resistance until the remaining Japanese were pinned down at the eastern end. They counter-attacked with banzai charges but were held, and by 23 November the island had been overrun.

The US casualty list—1,009 killed, 2,101 wounded—shocked the American public. But it was not the worst, merely the first in a long series of bitterly contested Pacific island battles. See also amphibious warfare.