Primary Image:On Guadalcanal, American servicemembers battled heat, mosquitoes, disease, dense vegetation, and unfamiliar terrain along with a determined Japanese enemy in an all-consuming, round-the-clock battle. As we "hopped" from island to island, we were able to shorten the distance to Japan and establish forward land bases for supply purposes. Characteristically, the Japanese defenders refused to surrender, and virtually all of them were killed. The next day on June 7, exactly six months after the Pearl Harbor attacks, the Japanese seized control of the . Battleships, destroyers and planes had pounded key targets in pre-assault bombardments, but they had missed many gun emplacements along the beach cliffs. The Japanese had learned from past attacks, however, and they took a new strategy, aimed at bogging the enemy invaders down for days and inflicting massive casualties in hopes of pushing the Allies into a negotiated peace. Located about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) west of Hawaii and 600 miles (approximately 1,000 km) north of the Japanese-held Marshall Islands, Wake Island impressed American naval planners as an ideal site for an advance defensive outpost. No one thought of canceling the Peleliu landings though.Iwo Jima, like Tarawa, was an all-Marine operation, lasting for six weeks beginning in mid February 1945. How much is a biblical shekel of silver worth in us dollars? The Japanese navy sacrificed two destroyers, two converted destroyers, one submarine, and some 1,000 lives to capture Wake Island, whereas just over 100 Americans and Guamanians were killed in the atolls defense. Launching their planes, the escort carriers began to flee, while the destroyers valiantly attacked Kurita's much superior force. Usually, these islands would have some strategic value (like an airfield or anchorage) which helped to move the fight closer to Japan. Kennedy Hickman is a historian, museum director, and curator who specializes in military and naval history. Admiral Chester Nimitz had long waited to launch his Operation Forager to reclaim Guam and defeat the Japanese garrison at these islands. Omissions? Growing superiority at sea and in the air, as well as in the number of fighting men, gave the United States increasing advantages. Rather than engage sizable Japanese garrisons, these operations were designed to cut them off and let them "wither on the vine." for Wake Island, an atoll consisting of three coral islets (Wilkes, Peale, and Wake) in the central Pacific Ocean. By December CPNAB had more than 1,100 construction workers toiling on Wake, but they did not complete their work before the outbreak of war between Japan and the United States. This was accomplished after heavy fighting around Yae-Take. Despite this, the islands of the atoll were captured on February 23 after a brief but sharp battle. During the battle a small force of U.S. Marines and civilian defenders fought elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which ultimately seized the island but at great cost. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. The Japanese first struck Wake Island at noon (local time) on December 8, 1941, with a wave of tactical bombers launched from the Marshall Islands. Though the controversial attack on Peleliu resulted in a higher death toll than any other amphibious assault in U.S. military history, Allied commanders and troops learned important lessons that would benefit them during the invasion of the Philippines and the Japanese home islands. Realizing he could no longer hold out against the American onslaught, Saito apologized to Tokyo for failing to defend Saipan and committed ritual suicide. This fleet included most of the Navy's carriers and battleships, along with many of its transports of the Pacific Fleet. The Solomon Islands Campaign cost the Allies approximately 7,100 men, 29 ships, and 615 aircraft. The logistical challenges of transport and supply across the Pacific were also immense. Adm. Yamamoto Isoroku, commander in chief of the Combined Fleet from 1939, ordered his staff to study the feasibility of a surprise attack by carrier-borne air forces on the U.S. fleet in Pearl Harbor at the outset of a waran idea that he had long had in mind. In the event of war with the United States, the plan called for the Japanese Navy to destroy the enemys Far Eastern fleet at the outset of hostilities, to occupy Luzon and Guam in cooperation with the Army, and then to intercept and destroy the main enemy fleet when it sailed to Far Eastern waters. The Japanese garrison commander, Capt. Below are the top five veteran research questions, where to go for further resources, and how to begin your search. On July 9, when Americans declared the battle over, thousands of Saipans civilians, terrified by Japanese propaganda that warned they would be killed by U.S. troops, leapt to their deaths from the high cliffs at the islands northern end. When U.S. forces stormed the beaches of Saipan on June 15, 1944, 800 African-American Marines unloaded food and ammunition from landing vehicles and delivered the supplies under fire to troops on the beach. The survivors became prisoners of war, and most were evacuated to China and Japan, although 98 civilian workers were kept on the island to be used as forced labour. The key elements of Cartwheel involved Allied forces under General Douglas MacArthur pushing across northeastern New Guinea, while naval forces secured the Solomon Islands to the east. Gregory J. W. Urwin is a professor of history at Temple University and current president of the Society for Military History. The 11th Air Fleet, the mainstay of the Navys land-based air force, was pulled out of mainland China to prepare for the ocean operations. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. While the Japanese naval threat was removed, an aerial one remained: kamikazes. Before his death, however, Saito ordered his remaining troops to launch an all-out, surprise attack for the honor of the emperor. Fighting on Iwo Jima proved extremely brutal as American troops gradually pushed the Japanese back. With the Japanese defeated at sea, MacArthur's forces pushed east across Leyte, supported by the Fifth Air Force. In the air, American aircraft downed over 600 Japanese aircraft while only losing 123 of their own. Despite the heavy resistance they faced, 8,000 Marines managed to reach the shore that first morning. This was the first involvement by US ground troops in an offensive anywhere in the war. Mare Island (Spanish: Isla de la Yegua) is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about 23 miles (37 km) northeast of San Francisco.The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay.Mare Island is a peninsula, as no full body of water separates this or several other named "islands" from the mainland. While land forces were fighting ashore, the US fleet, supported by the British Pacific Fleet, defeated the last Japanese threat at sea. World War II: Battle of the Philippine Sea, World War II Pacific: The Japanese Advance Stopped, M.S., Information and Library Science, Drexel University, B.A., History and Political Science, Pennsylvania State University. The aerial battle proved so one-sided that US pilots referred to it as "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot." Did you know? Forty-five Guamanian men, employed by Pan American Airways as part of its transpacific Clipper service, rounded out the atolls human population. The Marines dubbed the ridge Purple Heart Ridge for the many American casualties sustained there. fanatical Japanese troops out of the many Pacific islands. Japanese naval policy had also long considered a strength equivalent to 70 percent of the total strength of the U.S. Navy as a prerequisite for victory over the United Stateson the assumption that 30 percent of the main U.S. fleet would be destroyed before reaching Far Eastern waters. It was only on Yamamotos strong insistence that the Naval High Command finally agreed, late in September, to incorporate it in the overall operational plan. U.S. troops advancing on Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, in 1943, Explorers have announced they found a sunken Japanese ship that was transporting Allied prisoners of war when it was torpedoed off the coast of the Philippines in 1942, resulting in Australias largest maritime wartime loss with a total of 1,080 lives, Learn about Japan's pre-World War II invasions, joining of the Axis powers, and attack on Pearl Harbor, Investigate devastation wrought by Japan on Manchuria and China during the Great Depression. The Battle of Wake Island was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on Wake Island. Although the Battle of Wake Island ended in a U.S. defeat, the Japanese navy suffered significant losses at the hands of a much smaller American force. Saipan & the Battle of the Philippine Sea. As early as 1934, two monster battleships, to be equipped with 18-inch (46-cm) guns, had already been planned despite the limitations of the treaty, though actual construction began only afterward. Crossing the Japanese "T," Oldendorf's ships opened fired at 3:16 AM and immediately began scoring hits on the enemy. The loss of Saipan stunned the political establishment in Tokyo, the capital city of Japan. At 2:00 a.m. on February 19, 1945, U.S. ships opened fire on the island, and aerial attacks began. Facing these new threats, Japan unconditionally surrendered on August 15. For Pearl Harbor, 6 regular carriers (all that the Japanese Navy then had), 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, and 11 destroyers were allocated. Updated: August 21, 2018 | Original: November 18, 2009. Marines became very adept at this as they slogged across tha Moving quickly, Clark Field, Bataan, and Corregidor were retaken, and pincers closed around Manila. Instead, with the Marines invading and capturing islands on the way to Japan, the US forces built huge airfields, navy bases, and supply depots from which the Marines and Navy could rest, re-group, and re-supply before their next assault westward. The Japanese war plan, aimed at the American, British, and Dutch possessions in the Pacific and in Southeast Asia, was of a rather makeshift character. Subsequently, Marines headed straight into exploding bombs and streaming gunfire. In an effort to displace U.S. forces, Japanese forces started bombing Wake Island on December 8, just hours after their attack on Pearl Harbor, which had drawn the United States into World War II. Understanding its importance, Admiral Keiji Shibazaki, Tarawa's commander, and his 4,800-men garrison heavily fortified the island. For his role in ordering the killing of nearly 100 prisoners of war, Sakaibara was executed for war crimes in June 1947. As US amphibious forces sailed northwest to attack Eniwetok, the American aircraft carriers were moving to strike the Japanese anchorage at Truk Atoll. (Image: The National WWII Museum, 2002.069.144. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. NamedOperation Ten-Go, the Japanese plan called for the super battleshipYamatoand the light cruiserYahagito steam south on a suicide mission. Another part of Operation Cartwheel had Marines landing on Cape Gloucester, on New Britain Island, in the Bismarck Archipelago, on December 26, 1943. Click on red bar for more information. Since 1907, when Japanese military planners first defined hypothetical enemies, Russia, the United States, and France fell into this category. "To the Best of My Ability" Podcast DEATH STAND The war in Europe was over, but fighting raged in the Pacific. American forces fought their way to the base of this 130-foot (40-metre) hill three times in five days and were thrown back each time. It served as the primary carrier-based fighter in the early stages of the war in the . Fighting became especially brutal and prolonged around Mount Tapotchau, Saipans highest peak, and Marines gave battle sites in the area names such as Death Valley and Purple Heart Ridge. When the U.S. finally trapped the Japanese in the northern part of the island, Japanese soldiers launched a massive but futile banzai charge. Geography. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. It may have been a mistake because it tipped the Japanese to the fact the the US was interested in the Gilbert Islands, and may have spurred their efforts to fortify the islands.The Marines next landed on Bougainville, in the Solomons, in November 1, 1943, as part of Operation Cartwheel. Pacific island hopping was extremely important to chasing Wake Island spent the rest of World War II in Japanese hands. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Battle Of Tarawa summary: A group of islands about 2,400 miles southwest of Hawaii makes up those of Tarawa and during 1941-1943 they were held by the Japanese. It was also decided to postpone the start of hostilities, mainly because preparations were proceeding slowly. This. On September 15, 1944, U.S. Marines fighting in World War II (1939-45) landed on Peleliu, one of the Palau Islands of the western Pacific. Wake was bombed on an almost daily basis for the next two weeks. Landing operations of this type were to be repeated until Java was captured. Updated: August 21, 2018 | Original: November 17, 2009. The ships were to attack the U.S. fleet and then beach themselves near Okinawa and continue the fight as shore batteries. It was at this stage that the Army and the Navy began to plan war against the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands. Japan secured a tactical victory, sinking the carrier Hornet, but paid a severe price in aircraft and skilled aircrew. It sits some three hundred miles south of Japan but was considered part of the Home Islands. "Pacific Island Hopping in World War II." What time does normal church end on Sunday? However, the suicidal maneuver failed to turn the tide of the battle, and on July 9, U.S. forces raised the American flag in victory over Saipan. Most of these islands were nowhere near as large as any of the Home Islands and had only some thousands of troops. Fighting raged through April and May as two Japanese counteroffensives were defeated, and it was not until June 21 that resistance ended. On December 15, Allied troops landed on Mindoro and met little resistance. On the night of the 24th, part of the Southern Force led by Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura entered the Surigao Straight where they were attacked by 28 Allied destroyers and 39 PT boats. The first target in the chain was Kwajalein. On November 27, 1944, after weeks of brutal fighting that killed 2,336 Americans and 10,695 Japanese, Peleliu was declared secure. Spruance's Task Force 58 launched the first of many pre-invasion air sorties on June 11 on Japanese positions, airplanes, and ships. American losses were significant, but Japanese losses were devastating. For the Southern Operation, two drivesone from Formosa through the Philippines, the other from French Indochina and Hainan Island through Malayawere to converge on the Dutch East Indies. This early success led Lt. General Simon B. Buckner, Jr. to order the 6th Marine Division to clear the northern part of the island. Located at the center of Saipan, Mount Tapotchau is the islands highest point, rising some 1,550 feet. The Northern Pacific was entirely handled by the U.S. and Canadian armies. In 2000, 58 years after the raid, the remains of 19 Marines were found on Makin Island through bioarchaeological excavation and recovery, then sent to the Defense Department's Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii, where they were identified. What is the significance of the Battle of Wake Island? While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. (Image: The National WWII Museum, 2002.069.144.). Hickman, Kennedy. From the Collection to the Classroom: Teaching History with The National WWII Museum. On August 8, following the Hiroshima bombing, the Soviet Union renounced its nonaggression pact with Japan and attacked into Manchuria. The assumption here was that the main U.S. fleet would have to come to the Western Pacific sooner or later to challenge the Japanese aggression, in which case it would be intercepted on its way by Japanese submarines and land-based air forces and then destroyed once and for all by Japans main fleet in a concentrated attack (as the Russian main fleet had been destroyed in the Battle of Tsushima in 1905). U.S. troops began landing on April 1, 1945, and initially met light resistance as Tenth Army swept across the south-central parts of the island, capturing two airfields. With Okinawa secured and American bombers regularly bombing and firebombing Japanese cities, planning moved forward for the invasion of Japan. Their landings were hampered by a reef 500 yards offshore that prevented many landing craft from reaching the beach. On December 11 a Japanese naval task forceincluding three light cruisers, six destroyers, and two transportsattempted to land 450 Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF) troops on Wake Islands south shore. The result of Ozawa's arrival was the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which pitted his fleet against seven American carriers led by Spruance and Mitscher. The Japanese lost 31,000 men, 38 ships, and 683 aircraft. The Marin Islands are two small islands, named East Marin and West Marin, in San Rafael Bay, an embayment of San Pablo Bay in Marin County, California. Image: 80-G-287121: Marianas Campaign, July 1944. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Nature was the greatest enemy here - more Marines were killed by falling trees in the rain-soaked jungle than by the enemy.Later on November 20, 1943, the Marines landed at Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, on the tiny island of Betio. Technician Fifth Grade Lewis Hall from Obetz, Ohio, was born March 2, 1895, and was 47 years old at the time of his action. The fight for control of Guadalcanal, its critical airfield, and the seas around them continued for months with both sides losing men, ships, and aircraft and with neither side able to drive the other off the island. The Japanese were building an airfield on Guadalcanal, and once it was completed from it they could interfere with the sealanes to Australia. Such a crushing blow would, he thought, eliminate the threat of a flank attack by the main U.S. force against a planned Japanese movement southward. Born in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1913, William Fournier was raised in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. They were quickly overrun by the larger Japanese landing . The battle that ensued, known as the Battle of Leyte Gulf, was the largest naval battle in history and consisted of four primary engagements. Okinawa was the only island outside the Philippines large enough that the US deployed and entire field army in its capture. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. He has appeared on The History Channel as a featured expert. Pacific Island Hopping in World War II. Able to shift troops through the tunnel network, the Japanese frequently appeared in areas that the Americans believed to be secure. With only two carriers and 35 aircraft remaining, Ozawa retreated west, leaving the Americans in firm control of the skies and waters around the Marianas. The first draft, submitted by the chiefs of the Army and Navy General Staff, was accepted by Imperial General Headquarters early in September 1941. But then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of success.. In intensive fighting, U.S forces gradually drove the Japanese defense from their nearly impregnable position in the heights. Understanding the importance of the islands, Admiral Soemu Toyoda, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, dispatched Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa to the area with five carriers to engage the U.S. fleet. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. In this area, known as Death Valley, the Japanese had their strongest defenses. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Using the lessons learned at Tarawa, U.S. forces advanced into the Marshall Islands. Kurita's retreat effectively ended the battle. U.S. Marines of the first Marine Division stand by the corpses of two of their comrades, who were killed by Japanese soldiers on a beach on Peleliu island, Republic of Palau, in September of. The Japanese Navy began gradually mobilizing its forces. As planning moved forward, casualty estimates of 1.7 to 4 million for the invasion were presented to Secretary of War Henry Stimson. American forces first landed on the Solomon Islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida on the morning of August 7,1942. Six of these Marines were returned to their families for private burial ceremonies. The Navys mission in the Southern Operation was to destroy enemy air forces with its long-range Zero fighters and twin-engined bombers before the Japanese landings, to provide an umbrella for the landing forces, and to escort the surface vessels. Later on November 20, 1943, the Marines landed at Tarawa Atoll in the. 504-528-1944, Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, Operation Vengeance: The Killing of Isoroku Yamamoto, Technician Lewis Hall and Sergeant William Fournier, Kenneth Gruennert and Elmer Burrs Medals of Honor, The Top 5 Veteran Research Questions: Where to Go and What to Know, Commemorating Filipino American History Month, Alexander A. Vandegrift Before Guadalcanal, Call for Action and Liberation in the Philippines. By early July, the forces of Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito (1890-1944), the Japanese commander on Saipan, had retreated to the northern part of the island, where they were trapped by American land, sea and air power. U.S. troops gradually forced the Japanese out by employing a mix of flamethrowers and explosives. The islands comprise the Marin Islands National Wildlife Refuge, which was . On the morning of June 15, 1944, a large fleet of U.S. transport ships gathered near the southwest shores of Saipan, and Marines began riding toward the beaches in hundreds of amphibious landing vehicles. Considered one of the home islands, Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi prepared his defenses in-depth, constructing a vast array of interlocking fortified positions connected by a large network of underground tunnels. These methods had worked in earlier landings and were expected to work again on Peleliu. On September 15, 1944, U.S. Marines fighting in World War II (1939-45) landed on Peleliu, one of the Palau Islands of the western Pacific. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Primary Image: The US pursued a two-pronged offensive across the central and southwest Pacific to roll back the Japanese advance. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/world-war-ii-across-the-pacific-2361460. These were followed by landings carried out by the 4th Marine Division and the 7th Infantry Division. The main force of the Japanese Army was still deployed on the Chinese mainland and in Manchuria (for fear of Soviet intentions). After the US strategic victories at the Battles of the Coral Sea (May 78, 1942) and Midway (June 47, 1942), the Japanese Imperial Navy was no longer capable of major offensive campaigns, which permitted the Allies to start their own offensive in the Pacific. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. As the battle was concluding, Halsey was informed that the situation off Leyte was critical. Hickman, Kennedy. The ultimate goal of the start of the United States offensive in the Pacific Theater of World War 2 was to take the Marianas Islands. They were the first African-American Marines to see combat in World War II. More U.S. reinforcements arrived, and the ridge was finally neutralized on November 25. As one Japanese officer noted, This was the fork in the road. While fighting continued on the island, the Japanese withdrew their final men and left the island to the Allies in February 1943. On June 6, 1942, the Japanese Northern Army took control of the island of Kiska, which is a remote volcanic island in the Aleutian chain off the coast of Alaska. Island hopping During World War 2, Allied strategy of capturing Japenese held islands to gain control of the Pacific. On the 25th, U.S. aircraft began pummeling Ozawa's force in the Battle of Cape Engao. Of the Japanese garrison, only seventeen Japanese soldiers remained alive at the end of the fighting along with 129 Korean laborers. Almost one thousand Marines died in four days securing Betio, and the 4500 Japanese defenders fought to the last man.On June 15, 1944, only nine days after the Normandy landings in France, the US mounted another huge amphibious invasion in the Mariana Islands, landing US Marines and Army troops on Saipan. They lost four ships, one submarine, and some 1,000 lives; just over 100 Americans and Guamanians died during their defense of Wake Island. The Japanese used Peleliu's unique terrain to their advantage, stationing troops in caves just above invading U.S. forces so as to inflict the maximum amount of damage on the troops below. In the battle, the escort carrierUSSPrinceton(CVL-23) was sunk by land-based bombers. Though the island was declared secure, several hundred Japanese held out in the Tinian's jungles for months. While Ozawa did launch a strike of around 75 aircraft against Halsey, this force was largely destroyed and inflicted no damage. With two other ships damaged in collisions while trying to avoid American torpedoes, the scattered Japanese chose to retreat. The islands airfield would allow Japanese planes to threaten any Allied operation in the Philippines, and General Douglas MacArthur pushed for an amphibious attack in order to neutralize this threat. 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130info@nationalww2museum.org HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. On June 15, 1944, during the Pacific Campaign of World War II (1939-45), U.S. Marines stormed the beaches of the strategically significant Japanese island of Saipan, with a goal of gaining a crucial air base from which the U.S. could launch its new long-range B-29 bombers directly at Japans home islands. This took place on January 9, 1945, when Allied forces landed at Lingayen Gulf on the island's northwest coast. At the same time, seizing airfields enabled them to attack the next set of island chains by air and sea assault in order to kill the Japanese defending the islands and carry the fight to Japan. US code breakers deciphering Japanese naval messages provided an opportunity for vengeance in April 1943 after intercepting the travel plans of Japans naval commander in chief, the mastermind behind the attack on Pearl Harbor. With Saipan taken, U.S. forces moved down the chain, coming ashore on Guam on July 21. Think about that: one for every 6,000. Worse still, General Hideki Tojo (1884-1948), Japans militaristic prime minister, had publicly promised that the United States would never take Saipan. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Wake-Island, Military History Encyclopedia on the Web - Battle of Wake Island. Plans to capture Iwo Jima unfolded June 15, 1944, with Army Air Forces and Navy bombardment of the island. American commanders decided to make the first Mariana landing on Saipan, the largest of the Mariana Islands. When the U.S. embargo was imposed, Japans oil stocks amounted to 53 million barrels (8,400,000 kilolitres), barely enough to fulfill its needs for two years. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), The Landing and First Phase of the Battle, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-saipan. Chief of the Philippine National Police, retirement | 297K views, 1.1K likes, 812 loves, 1K comments, 873 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Radio Television Malacaang - RTVM: President Ferdinand R.. By the end of February 1944, Allied forces had gained control of the Marshall Islands in the western Pacific Ocean and moved on to the Marianas, where 20,000 U.S. troopsby far the largest force used in a Pacific operation thus farput ashore on Saipan on June 15. The World War II Facilities at Midway consist of ammunition magazines, a concrete pillbox, gun emplacements for 3-inch batteries, which were manned by U.S. Marines, and two emplacements for the 3-inch naval battery, all on Sand Island. How long did the Battle of Wake Island last? This campaign illustrated the powerful synergy of American joint operations. To counter the landings, the Japanese threw their remaining naval strength against the Allied fleet. Both fast and escort carriers participated in these attacks that lasted until the capture of Guam on August 10. The islands experienced a population decrease from 69,221 individuals in 2000 to 53,882 in 2010. No effort was made to take Rabaul - this was one of the things the US was "bypassing". Other properties associated with the defense of Midway, but not listed in the National Register, include . The Japanese won the Battle of Wake Island. What are the qualities of an accurate map? In the battle, 6,821 Americans and 20,703 (out of 21,000) Japanese died. Following a final Japanese assault on March 25 and 26, the island was secured.