Pacific War Peleliu: The Forgotten Hell

From September 12 to 14, 1944, Jesse Odendorf commanded his 27 battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, as well as aircraft taking off on 8 aircraft carriers, and transferred 4,000 rounds of shells, bombs and 70,000 shells. All the bullets were poured on a small island called Peleliu, which was only 13 square kilometers. After completing this task, Odendorff told Rupertus, the commander of the First Marine Division, who commanded the landing operations, "There is no more bombing target."

Today’s Peleliu and the Peleliu in the war

Looking ahead, this originally lush island is already a piece of scorched earth. After the bombing, it is indeed invisible on the ground. Any valuable military target deserves attention. The island is quiet. Rupertus judged that after such indiscriminate bombing of , the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army stationed here will inevitably be greatly reduced. He estimates that his heroic force can be taken in three to four days. This small island.

He was completely wrong.

▍Why Peleliu

Palau Islands are located on the outskirts of the Japanese defense inner circle in the western Pacific, 1,000 kilometers west of Wright Bay. In MacArthur’s plan to attack the Philippines, here is one The thorn must be removed, because its airfield can threaten American operations in the Philippines.

In MacArthur’s plan, the US military will land on Peleliu on September 15, 1944, capture the airport there, and then take control of the entire Palau Islands within a month. The Americans believe that the Japanese army is poorly equipped and has a small number of troops, and victory should be easy. The glorious victory achieved in the Mariana Islands in early 1944 gave them a lot of confidence and made them a certain degree of contempt for the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army.

The first division of the United States Marine Corps carried out the attack on Peleliu Island. This troop is an ace troop that has experienced the battle of Guadalcanal and is commanded by Major General Rupertus.

The first division armband of the United States Marine Corps is embroidered with the words "Guadacanal". Their commander is William Rupertus

behind the first Marine Division , Under the command of Major General Muller, the 81st Infantry Division of the US Army known as the "Wildcats". They first captured Angar Island, 10 kilometers away from Peleliu, and because there was only one group of Japanese troops defending, they quickly won. In the ensuing time, they served as a reserve team, waiting to support the battle at Peleliu.

"Wildcats" 81st Infantry Division and Commander Paul Muller

Palau is not at the strategic core of the US military. The attack here is to cope with the battle of the Philippines and land on Wright Island’s battle plan. Palau has beautiful scenery, important geographical location, and a deep-water port with very good conditions, which can dock large fleets. Since taking over Palau from Germany after the First World War, the Japanese have built their largest airport in Nanyang and comprehensive supporting facilities here.

Peleliu Island is located 50 kilometers southwest of Palau’s main island, Barberdaobu Island. Two large air bases in Palau are on these two islands. In the US military's combat plan, Peleliu's landing operation will begin on September 15, 1944, and it is expected to capture the entire Palau Islands on October 15.

On October 20th, the U.S. army will begin landing in Wright Bay. The capture of Palau will solve the hidden dangers of the right wing for landing forces in the Philippines.

The location of Palau Islands, the southwest corner is Peleliu Island.

The US military's combat plan codenamed "Stalemate 2", this plan was opposed in the prototype stage. According to the results of aerial reconnaissance, the commander of the Third Fleet, General Halsey, concluded that believes that the entire Palau and the Philippine Islands’ air power is not to be feared. Instead of wasting energy and distributing forces to capture Palau, it is better to concentrate. , Liberated the Philippines in one fell swoop. But to ensure everything, Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific Fleet, decided to keep the original plan unchanged.

On September 12, 1944, Major General Jesse Odendorff led a task force of the Seventh Fleet into the Palau waters to begin shelling on the shore, and the battle for Peleliu started.

▍Fourteenth Division

On the island, the Japanese garrison waiting for the US attack is more than 10,000 of the Second Wing of the Fourteenth Division, drawn from the Chinese battlefield. Soldiers, the commander is the male leader of Zhongchuan Prefecture. The Fourteenth Division was one of the seventeen original standing divisions in Japan before World War II. The division leader was Lieutenant General Inoue Sadae. As one of the most elite Japanese troops, this unit was originally established for the Russo-Japanese War.

The captain of the second regiment stationed at Peleliu Nakagawa Shuo Ozo

The 14th Division was called the Utsunomiya Division. As early as 1937, the Sino-Japanese War broke out. Before, it was stationed in northeast China as part of the Kwantung Army and participated in the January 28th Incident in 1931. After the Lugouqiao Incident, the division under the command of Kenji Tufeihara invaded North China and participated in the Battle of Baoding and the Battle of Taiyuan.

In May 1938, during the Battle of Xuzhou, the 14th Division rushed across the Yellow River, captured Heze, and cut off the Longhai Line, which played an important role in completing the siege of Xuzhou. After the Battle of Xuzhou, the Chinese army blasted the Yellow River dam at Huayuankou in order to delay the Japanese march to the south.

From 1943 to 1944, when the pressure on the Pacific battlefield increased sharply, in order to consolidate the absolute defense circle, Japan began to deploy Chinese troops to support the Pacific. At the beginning of 1944, the Fourteenth Division received an order in Manchuria to accept light-weight modification and transfer to Palau for defense. In April 1944, this unbeaten Japanese force arrived in Palau.

The Fourteenth Division is composed of veterans who have experienced many battles. The infantry units are all directly transferred from China. There are basically no new mobilized soldiers to join, so the combat effectiveness is extremely strong. Palau has sufficient food and fresh water reserves. Although weapons and ammunition are only half of the battle, the soldiers have accurate marksmanship and are well prepared. Before the war, they are expected to be able to conduct a war of attrition with the US military for two to three months.

Japanese fortress on Peleliu Island

Floor plan of Japanese fortress

The 14th Division deployed the second infantry on Peleliu Island The Wing and the Navy’s 45th base garrison the Special Marine Corps, and the rest are stationed on the main island. The Japanese army learned the lessons of the defeat in the Mariana Islands, recruited a large number of laborers from North Korea and Ryukyu to build fortifications, and built a large number of strong bunkers based on volcanic peaks; actively prepared for combat training and carefully prepared defense operations; tactically, suicides were explicitly prohibited "Long live the charge" requires soldiers to stick to the fortress, and at the same time arrange a large number of snipers, and strive to use the least ammunition consumption to maximize damage.

▍D-Day

At 5:30 in the morning on September 15, 1944, the "Stalemate 2" project was officially launched, and naval warships began to shell Peleliu Beach. At 7:50, soldiers from three Marine Regiments boarded the landing craft and advanced towards the beach on Peleliu Island. There is not much suspense about the location of the beach landing. The entire island is small. The northern coast is completely exposed to highland fire. The eastern coast is covered with muddy swamps. Only the narrow strip of land near the airport on the west is an ideal area for landing. There, Japan People are ready to fight to the last moment.

Peleliu Island landing operation

Among the soldiers who landed, there was a recruit named Eugene Sledge. He comes from a wealthy family in Alabama, and his father is a well-respected doctor. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, he had hoped to join the army with his friend Sidney Philip, but missed the opportunity due to physical reasons. The well-trained Sledge graduated from high school in May 1942. He had been admitted to Marion Military Academy, but in order not to miss the war, he chose to directly join the Marine Corps and was assigned to the fifth regiment of the First Division. The K company of the third battalion became a mortar.

Marine Corps noSoldiers were allowed to keep diaries. During the battle, Sledge used the blank spaces of the Bible he carried with him to record. After the war, he wrote wartime memoirs based on records and his own memory, which is an important historical material for studying the Pacific War.

The Battle of Peleliu was the first battle that Eugene Sledge participated in when he was in the landing craft. He wrote in his diary: "I was sweating all over, and I was very nervous under the intensive artillery fire. My stomach began to cramp, and my throat was unable to speak, so I could barely swallow my saliva. My legs became soft and I could only Leaning weakly against the landing armored vehicle. Huge water splashes in front of us, and the landing craft gradually approached the reef of the tidal flat. The entire beach was plunged into a sea of ​​flames. With dense black smoke, the island looked more like a volcano erupting in the sea. We seem to be caught in a burning abyss. For many people, this is the end of life.”

Photo of the US army landing

The US army divides the beach into five In the area, the northernmost is White Beach 1 and White Beach 2, which are attacked by the First Marine Corps; in the middle are Orange Beach 1 and Orange Beach 2, which are attacked by the Fifth Marine Corps; and the seventh Marine Corps on the southernmost side is Orange Beach 3.

On the northeast side of White Beach, near the coast, there is a strategic point called "the Point". The Japanese army deployed heavy firepower including 47mm artillery and 20mm machine guns. The First Marine Regiment soon Was caught in intensive artillery fire, with heavy casualties. On the southernmost side, the Seventh Marine Regiment also encountered flank fire. The defensive positions of the Japanese army were hidden deep underground, and they hardly suffered any loss in the shelling of the previous few days. Their firepower was fierce, and in less than an hour, they destroyed 60 American landing craft.

Peleliu’s landing day combat situation

The battle on the "dot" was very tragic, the first regiment suffered heavy casualties, and everyone who could fight was sent to the battlefield, including All commanders and more than 100 engineers. The heavy weapons on the "point" suppressed them very fiercely. As soon as the regiment commander Lewis Puller landed, the landing craft he was riding in was directly shelled and the situation was very critical.

Under the condition that a frontal attack could not achieve a breakthrough, Puller ordered the 3rd Battalion K Company Captain George Hunter to command the K Company to attack "Point" from the flank. Due to the loss of a large number of heavy weapons during the landing, K Company's offensive was very difficult. They fought in the enemy's crossfire for more than two hours and finally made a breakthrough. Lieutenant William Willis threw a smoke bomb, blocking the view of the Japanese army. Under the cover of smoke, Corporal Henry Anderson threw the grenade into the bunker. The grenade detonated a 47mm shell. The Japanese soldiers guarding the cave were forced to flee and were shot and killed by Marines guarding the door.

After K company captured the "point", Zhongchuan Zhounan, who was eager to regain the strategic location, sent troops to counterattack. In the next 30 hours, the Japanese attacked the K Company 4 times. In the absence of supplies, the brave Marines even used hand-to-hand combat to resist the Japanese attack at the most critical moment. When the reinforcements finally arrived, K Company had already suffered 157 casualties on the "point", and only 18 of them could continue to fight.

On the first day of the battle, only the fifth regiment of Eugene Sledge was in the middle, which was far from the flanks on both sides and suffered the least loss. They marched directly to the airport from Orange Beach. On the way, they encountered a counterattack from a tank unit sent by Nakagawa Prefecture, but the Japanese tanks were vulnerable to the American Sherman's artillery. In the end, the fifth regiment advanced 3 kilometers from the beach and reached the area on the south side of the airport, making the most progress on the day of landing.

On September 15th, the US Marine Corps suffered more than 1,100 casualties, of which more than 200 were killed and more than 900 were injured. Except for the fifth regiment advanced 3 kilometers, the seventh regiment on the south side also advanced 1 kilometer inland, but the first regiment on the north side was suppressed by the firepower of the "point" and made no progress.

U.S. M4A2 Sherman tank and Japanese tank destroyed by it

U.S. forces suffered heavy casualties on the beach

Although Rupertus suffered heavy casualties, Rupertus still believes that he can win quickly, because the first day of battle has broken through the periphery of the Japanese defense line , His troops have reached the edge of the airport, only one step away from capturing the airport.

▍Seizing the airport

The day after landing, the US military ushered in a major problem in the battle-water shortage. On that day, the temperature on the tropical island of Peleliu reached 46 degrees Celsius, and the only water source in the area controlled by the US military had been contaminated with Japanese military corpses and could not be consumed. The soldiers had to fight with dehydration and heat stroke.

Rupertus, with his knee injured and plastered in plaster, landed on the island from Orange Beach at 9:50 this morning. His location is still within the coverage of Japanese artillery, but it is similar to his troops. Than, these are nothing. To the north, the K company of the first regiment still held on to the "point"; to the south, the Marines of the seventh regiment were also fighting desperately against the Japanese in the bunker.

In the case of heavy casualties during the landing operation, the two regiments of the 81st Infantry Division were preparing to support the battle, but they were stopped by Rupertus because he insisted that the glory of capturing Peleliu must belong to the Marines.

The Fifth Regiment where Sledge is in attacked the defensive front of the Japanese airfield. During the passage through the empty airfield, the American soldiers were completely exposed to the heavy firepower of the Japanese army, especially the shelling from the northern highlands. Very heavy casualties. After occupying the airfield, they pushed the front line all the way to the east coast of Peleliu Island and divided the Japanese forces that blocked the 7th Regiment in the south.

From the fourth day after landing, the US military has already used Peleliu’s airport to take off and land. When the north side of the airport is still not fully controlled, US pilots can even shoot Japanese soldiers with pistols during takeoff and landing.

The U.S. military spent seven days completely eradicating the Japanese defense forces in the southern part of the island. On September 23, they had actually completed the main strategic purpose of the Peleliu battle-occupying the airport. However, in the long narrow volcanic mountain area in the north of Peleliu, Zhongchuan Zhounan and his remaining troops are still holding their positions. To control the entire island, they also need to destroy the last defense of the Japanese.

▍Bloody nose corner

After holding the position on the "dot", Lewis Puller's first regiment went northward into the pocket of the mountain, this piece of land is 1 kilometer long from north to south, The narrow area with a width of 400 meters from east to west and a height of 100 to 300 meters was named "Bloody Nose Corner" by the American Marines.

Under the order of Rupertus' "full offensive", the first regiment fought non-stop in the corner of the nose and suffered heavy casualties. The bloodiest battle took place at the top of the 100th hill. The first regiment was attacked under the leadership of Major Raymond Davis. In the 6-day battle, they paid 71% of the casualties, but still did not win. Captain Everett Pope led the 90 soldiers of the First Battalion to attack the mountain, but when he reached the summit, he found that there was another higher mountain in front of him that was occupied by the Japanese. In the face of the enemy's firepower from top to bottom, they held their positions overnight, and when they descended the next morning, only 9 survived.

Major Raymond Davis and Captain Everett Pope of the First Marine Regiment

The battle at the corner of the nose was arduous and long, and the plan was "stalemate" Unfortunately, the phrase becomes a truth. In the first 200 hours, the Marine Corps had nearly 1,700 casualties. On September 21st, General Roy Geiger, commander of the 3rd Amphibious Army, could no longer bear Rupertus' stubbornness, and decided to send the 81st Infantry Division to come for reinforcements. After September 23, the Seventh and Fifth Marine Regiments that ended the southern battle also joined the battle.

By mid-October, the First Marine Division had suffered one-third of casualties, and the entire unit was exhausted and unable to fight. General Geiger evacuated the First Division from the battlefield, and the Army's 81st Division replaced them.

In this small area, the U.S. Army and the Japanese Army have launched a long-term tug of war. Japanese soldiers would touch the paratrooper pits where the U.S. military rests at night to carry out sneak attacks, forcing the U.S. military to stipulate that there must be at least two soldiers in each paratrooper pit, one of whom is on guard and the other is resting.

In the battle, the Japanese army often used precise marksmanship to injure American soldiers. They used the American practice of "not leaving anyone behind" to focus their firepower on attacks when medical soldiers or other soldiers rescued the wounded. . The Japanese obviously do not have any kind of gentleman style. This is a life and death battle. There is no dignity, no honor, only life and death.

On October 3, 1944, the 8th Amphibious Tractor Group was attacked by Japanese troops while escorting the wounded. The 18-year-old Richard Crouch threw himself on the grenades that were about to detonate, sacrificing himself to protect A comrade-in-arms. After the war, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

The U.S. military used short-range artillery to bombard the cliffs, and used an improved flamethrower with a longer range to clean the caves one by one. Bulldozers kept opening the way, and bombers kept dropping high explosive bombs and incendiary bombs. The battle is carried out on every inch of land. The US army is advancing with difficulty meter after meter, while the Japanese army is defending tenaciously.

The bloody battle lasted until November 24. On the 71st day of the battle, the Japanese guards ran out of ammunition and food. Nakagawa Prefecture announced that "the sword is broken and the spear is gone", and then the flag and uniform are burned. , Amputated suicide. The Japanese Defense Command of Peleliu Island sent a telegram "Sakura Sakura" to the Japanese base camp, expressing the determination to break the jade. The 55 remnants launched a long live assault on the US army.

The Battle of Peleliu ended here.

▍The Forgotten Battle

Peleliu, this small island at the southwestern tip of the Palau Islands, if not for such a tragic battle in World War II, I’m afraid Few people will know this place. But even this battle did not make this small island famous. When people talk about the Pacific War, they will start counting from Pearl Harbor, going through the Coral Sea, Midway Island, Guadalcanal, the Philippines, Leyte Bay, and Iwo Jima. , Okinawa, and finally to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Compared with these magnificent battles or the strategic transitions in the special books of the history books, the battle on Peleliu Island is like a dwarf around the giant, and it is easy to be ignored.

Today’s Peleliu, there are still war relics everywhere

The strategic value of Peleliu has always been doubted by people. Before this battle began, Halsey I have always opposed the plan to attack the Palau Islands. After such a tragic loss, many people criticized the island for not being worthy of occupying so many soldiers' lives. In the second half of 1944, Japan did not have enough airpower to threaten the actions of the US military, and after occupying the island, the Americans never used Peleliu’s airport to support operations.

At the beginning of the battle, Rupertus predicted that they would take the island in three to four days. At the same time, the largest naval battle in the history of Wright Bay is about to begin, the largest in history A large-scale airborne combat market garden operation is currently underway in the Netherlands, so few journalists have followed and participated in this battle.

In order to make up for the obscurity of this tragic battle, in 2010, the 10-episode TV series "Pacific War" shot by HBO used 3 episodes to tell the story of Peleliu. The plot highly restored the scene on the battlefield and led The audience experienced the cruelty of this battle immersively.

Episodes 5 to 7 of "The Pacific War" truly restored the cruelty and stalemate of the Battle of Peleliu

This battle allowed the Americans to learn about the combat effectiveness of the Japanese elite divisions. Let the Americans understand for the first time how terrifying the Pacific islands can become in the well-arranged fortifications. From Peleliu to Iwo Jima and then to Okinawa, as the U.S. military got closer and closer to the Japanese mainland, the resistance they faced became more and more thorough, and the battle became more and more barbaric, making the U.S. commander fully aware of the island capture. The huge casualties that may be caused by combat have an important impact on the strategic decisions of the US military.

▍Hell is with usNext to me

Today, Peleliu Island has restored the paradise of a tropical island. The Pacific Ocean is surrounded by green grass and wooded islands. Palau is known as a sacred place for diving. The deep seafloor fractures, clear blue waters and prosperous marine biota attract tourists from all over the world to come for vacation and sightseeing.

But this is the place where the battle with the highest casualty rate in the Pacific War took place. The National Marine Corps Museum called this battle "the most painful battle of the Marine Corps in the war." After this battle, the U.S. military immediately abandoned its plan to occupy the Palau Islands and turned its attention to more important goals.

In Peleliu, the US First Marine Division suffered more than 6,500 casualties, accounting for one-third of the division, causing this troop to be absent from the subsequent battles of the Pacific War; the 81st Infantry Division suffered more than 3,000 casualties; The Second Wing of the 14th Division of Japan was annihilated, and the death toll exceeded 10,000. The US military originally planned to capture the entire Palau Islands within one month, but it took three months on Peleliu. Even in 1947, there were still Japanese soldiers remaining in the cave who refused to surrender.

The Japanese would rather commit suicide than surrender, which made the Americans deeply puzzled and helpless. "Why didn't they surrender?" In the TV series "Pacific War", American soldiers asked this question many times. This may represent the difference in thinking between the two races on the nature of war, country, and life when confronted. Most of the captured Japanese soldiers were conscripted North Korean and Okinawa laborers. Some of them escaped death by hiding in caves.

Most of the captured Japanese troops on the island were North Korean and Okinawa laborers.

Now in Peleliu, traces of war are still everywhere, dark green barrels covered with moss, overturned Tanks and soldiers’ tombstones still warn us of the cruelty of war. Although this battle cannot occupy too many chapters in any history book, for those soldiers who died here, this is the end of the entire world. Today, the remains lying in Peleliu always remind us that hell was once close by.

is like Eugene Sledge said in his book: "The life and death battle of in Peleliu corroded the appearance of civilization and made each of us barbaric and savage ."