Battle of Peleliu (1944)

2

The Pittsburgh Press (September 15, 1944)

Yanks invade two Jap isles

Big invasion armada pours troops into Palau and Morotai
By Frank Tremaine, United Press staff writer

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Drive toward the Philippines by U.S. forces was underway today from two directions, as U.S. troops landed on Morotai Island, northernmost of the Halmahera group south of the Philippines, and went ashore on the Palau Islands, to the east.

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii –
A big American invasion armada poured fighting men ashore on the Jap island base of Palau, 560 miles east of the Philippines, today as Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s troops stormed up into the Halmahera Islands from the south in a twin offensive to clear the road back to Bataan and Corregidor.

Exploding their greatest combined offensive of the Pacific war, Gen. MacArthur and Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, breached the coastal defenses of the two island bastions under cover of shattering bombardments from sea and sky.

Gen. MacArthur led his troops ashore early Friday on Morotai Island, northernmost of the Halmaheras and only 250 miles south of the Philippines, at almost the same moment Adm. Nimitz’s Marines and Army assault units were battling across the beaches of Palau.

Gen. MacArthur issued a statement from the Morotai beachhead a few hours after the landing saying that “we now dominate the Moluccas” and “our position here is now secure and the immediate operation has achieved its purpose.” He added that “defeat now stares Japan in the face” and the campaign is entering its decisive phase.

A Navy communiqué said a number of beachheads were established on Palau, a narrow chain of 26 islands, many of them mountainous, lying between the Carolines and the Philippines. Babelthuap is the principal islet in the group.

Because of time difference, Adm. Nimitz’s announcement said the Palau landing occurred Thursday morning, Honolulu Time, which would be Friday morning Halmahera Time.

The twin invasion blow threatened to break the chain of sprawling island bases established by the Japs around the Philippines and the western and southern approaches to the Chinese mainland, and first reports from Palau said the enemy was fighting back furiously from long-prepared defenses.

U.S. battleships, cruisers and supporting warships of the Pacific Fleet stood offshore bombarding the Jap shore installations while carrier-based aircraft dive-bombed and strafed the enemy in close support of the advancing ground troops.

“Enemy defenses are being heavily bombed and shelled at close range,” the communiqué said.

Gen. MacArthur’s men on Morotai also went in under a powerful warship and aircraft screen, but their landing met only feeble Jap opposition, and casualties in the initial assault were described officially as “very light.”

The bulk of the Jap garrison in the Halmaheras were revealed to have been concentrated in the southern part of the island group in the belief that Gen. MacArthur would strike there. Instead, they were bypassed, cut off from their only direct sources of supply, and left to surrender or die.

On Palau, however, one of the toughest battles of the Pacific campaign was believed in progress, possibly exceeding in savagery the epic fight for Saipan or the Marine landing on Tarawa.

The troops who swarmed ashore had to overcome obstacles of barbed wire on the beaches, backed up by entrenched machine-gun positions. Farther inland were larger guns, probably ranging up to six inches, and the deadly mortars which caused heavy casualties on the Mariana Island beachheads.

A brief Navy communiqué said reinforcements were being put ashore from a host of transports guarded by the guns and planes of Adm. William F. Halsey’s Third Fleet, and that the landings were “continuing against stiff ground opposition.”

The reference to “ground” opposition indicated that the bulk of Palau’s aerial defenses had been smashed by Adm. Halsey’s task force in a series of softening up bombardments that began on Sept. 5 and continued almost without interruption until the zero hour.

The exact point of the landing was not disclosed, but Radio Tokyo said the attack centered on Peleliu Island, southernmost of the chain of atolls comprising the Palau group. Tokyo said the landing was made at 6:00 a.m. (Palau Time) and that the Jap garrison drove the Americans back into the sea after a two-hour battle.

“About 2,500” American dead were left on the beach, the broadcast said.

The language of the Pearl Harbor communiqué left little doubt the Japs would make a desperate attempt to hold Palau, probably their most important bastion in the Central Pacific, outranking even Truk, 1,150 miles to the west.

There was no mentioned of Jap opposition in the air, although there was a possibility that enemy might risk units of their grand fleet in an attempt to run carrier aircraft to the aid of their island garrisons.

Any such move, however, almost certainly would bring on a major battle of surface ships for which Adm. Halsey is undoubtedly well prepared. The size of the supporting battle fleet covering the Palau landing was not divulged, but it was known to include some of the Navy’s heaviest units.

The landing followed more than a week of widespread naval and air assaults by Adm. Halsey’s battlewagons and carriers against Jap positions on Palau and in the Central Philippines that cost the enemy 501 planes and scores of merchant vessels.

Truk bypassed

U.S. occupation of the Palaus would close a watery trap around 75,000 to 100,000 Jap troops now bypassed in the Western Carolines, including the once-formidable naval base at Truk.

In addition, it would remove the last island barrier astride the Central Pacific route to the Philippines and enable Adm. Nimitz to throw the full weight of his land, sea and air forces against the Jap-occupied islands.

VAdm. Theodore S. Wilkinson of Rosslyn, Virginia (commander of
the U.S. Third Amphibious Force), was directing the landing operations, while Marine Maj. Gen. Julian C. Smith of Alexandria, Virginia, who commanded the 2nd Marine Division at Tarawa, led the expeditionary troops.

Win air base*

The 300-mile overwater thrust from Dutch New Guinea to Morotai cleared away the last important barrier on Gen. MacArthur’s road back to the Philippines and gave his gathering air forces fighter bases within one hour’s flight of the southern up of the latter islands.

Gen, MacArthur watched the preliminary bombardment of Morotai from the bridge of a U.S. cruiser and went ashore in the wake of his troops to inspect the Pitoe Airdrome, one of the first prizes taken on the island’s southern coast.

“We shall shortly have an air and light naval base here within 300 miles of the Philippines,” he told his officers.

Pitoe Field is about 40 miles from the northern tip of Morotai.

“They are waiting there for me,” he added. “It has been a long time.”

Japs face trap

A triumphant communiqué announcing the invasion of Morotai declared that the Halmahera-Philippines line has now been penetrated, imperiling all of the remaining Jap conquests in the South Seas and threatening to isolate the enemy’s 16th and 19th Armies, some 200,000 strong, in the East Indies.

Envelopment of these armies, the communiqué said, “would sever the vital supply lines to the Japanese mainland of oil and other war essentials.”

Gen, MacArthur told his troops at the Pitoe Airdrome:

You have done well. You now dominate the last stronghold which bars the way to the Philippines. The enemy, as usual, was not in the right place at the right time.

Morotai Island, 12 miles off the northern tip of Halmahera, is 40 miles long, with a narrow coastal strip rising steeply to 4,000-foot, densely-wooded mountains, and had a native population of about 10,000 before the Japs seized it from the Dutch.

The initial landing was made at the southwestern end of the island, within a few hundred yards of Pitoe Airfield.

New record set for Navy release

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (UP) –
The Navy established a new record for speed in announcing Pacific operations, disclosing the invasion of Palau approximately nine hours after U.S. troops hit the beaches.

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Like others Yanks took, Palaus are Coral Islands

Principal products are shells and Japanese is taught in all the schools

Washington (UP) –
U.S. troops now fighting in the Palau Islands will encounter thick tropical forests of ironwood and ebony trees and a few crocodiles as they battle inland from coralline coasts.

The islands, which extend some 77 miles in a north-northeasterly direction, lie some 560 miles east of Mindanao in the southern Philippines and 1,980 miles south of Tokyo.

Most of the islands, with the exception of Angaur at the southern tip, lie on and are surrounded by coral reefs.

Some, including Babelthuap, Arakabesan and Malakal, appear to be of volcanic origin with hills rising to a height of 641 feet.

Some are of coral

Others, consisting mostly of coral, are either flat or composed of long narrow hills with steep slopes on the seaward sides.

The natives speak a Malayan dialect and are the majority of the inhabitants. Out of a population of 10,632 in 1934, however, 4,842 were Japanese. Japanese is taught in the schools.

The principal products are shells, copra and pearls.

Has four peninsulas

Halmahera is an extremely irregular island consisting of four peninsulas enclosing four great bays opening toward the east.

The four peninsulas are traversed lengthwise by mountain chains 3,000 to 4,000 feet high, covered with forests rich in a great variety of trees.

The mountain chains from which spurs extend to the coast are frequently interrupted by plains.

The northern part of the mountain chain of the northern peninsula is volcanic. Along the western coast are volcanic mountains, at least one of which is active.

4

‘Final stage’ is foreseen by MacArthur

Says ‘defeat stares Japan in the face’

Adv Allied HQ, Southwest Pacific (UP) –
In a statement issued on the Morotai Beachhead today, Gen. Douglas MacArthur declared that the Allied campaign is entering upon its decisive stage and “defeat now stares Japan in the face.”

Gen. MacArthur said:

Our position here is now secure and the immediate operation has achieved its purpose.

We now dominate the Moluccas. I rejoice that it has been done with so little loss. Our campaign is now entering upon its decisive stage.

Jap officers inferior

Gen. MacArthur declared:

The Japanese ground troops still fight with the greatest tenacity. The military quality of the rank and file remains of the highest.

Their officer corps, however, deteriorates as you go up the scale. It is fundamentally based upon caste and the feudal system and does not represent strict professional merit.

Therein lies Japan’s weakness. Her sons are strong of limb and stout of heart but weak in leadership.

Sees Jap ‘revulsion’

Gripped inexorably by military hierarchy, that hierarchy is now failing the nation. It has had neither the imagination nor foresighted ability to organize Japanese resources for total war. Defeat now stares Japan in the face.

Its barbaric codes and creeds dominated the Japanese character and culture for centuries and have produced a type of national savagery at strange variance with many basic impulses of the Japanese people.

Its successful domination has been based largely upon the people’s belief in its own infallibility. When public opinion realizes that its generals and admirals have failed in the field of actual combat and campaign, the revulsion in Japanese thought will be terrific.

‘Military failed Japs’

Therein lies the basis for the ultimate hope that the Japanese citizen will cease his almost idolatrous worship of the military and readjust his thoughts along more rational lines.

No sophistry can disguise the fact from him that the military has failed him in this, his greatest hour of need.

That failure may mark the beginning of a new and ultimately happier era for him. His hour of decision is close at hand.

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U.S. Navy Department (September 16, 1944)

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 119

During September 15 (West Longitude Date), U.S. Marines made some additional gains against strong opposition on Peleliu Island and captured the airfield at the southern end. The enemy has launched several strong counterattacks against our positions but has been thrown back each time.

An attack begun by our forces on the early morning of September 15, preceded by aerial bombing and naval gunfire, resulted in steady advances through well-organized defenses in depth. This attack was supported by artillery, tanks, naval gunfire, and bombing. Several enemy tanks were reported destroyed. Our troops had counted more than 1400 enemy dead by nightfall on September 15. Severe fighting continues.

Carrier aircraft continued to give close support to our ground forces throughout September 15. Enemy troop concentrations, gun positions, and supplies were bombed. Carrier planes also bombed airfield installations at Babelthuap, the northernmost island in the Palau Group. Several fires were started by strafing.

Seventy‑two tons of bombs were dropped on Dublon and Moen in the Truk Atoll by Liberators of the 7th Army Air Force on September 14. Five enemy planes intercepted our force and one Liberator was damaged. The enemy planes were driven off with probable damage to one. Anti-aircraft fire was meager. On the same day Mitchell bombers of the 7th Army Air Force bombed Ponape Island in the Carolines.

Paramushiru in the Kurils was bombed by 11th Army Air Force Liberators at night on September 12. Anti-aircraft fire was meager and all of our planes returned. Venturas of Fleet Air Wing Four attacked Paramushiru on September 14, setting fire to several buildings. Intercepting enemy aircraft damaged one Ventura. Two of the interceptors were probably damaged. All of our planes returned.

Pagan Island was attacked on September 14 by Thunderbolts of the 7th Army Air Force. Gun emplacements were hit with rockets and strafed. One plane was damaged by anti-aircraft fire.

Gun emplacements at Wotje Atoll were bombed on September 14 by Corsairs of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing. Meager antiaircraft fire was encountered.

A single search plane of Fleet Air Wing Two strafed and damaged two enemy sailboats at Lemotrek Island, east of Woleai, on September 14. Another search plane of Fleet Air Wing Two on routine patrol near Iwo Jima on September 14 sighted two large landing craft escorted by a fighter plane: Both landing craft were strafed and the enemy plane was shot down.

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The Pittsburgh Press (September 16, 1944)

JAP CIVILIANS FLEEING PHILIPPINES
Leathernecks advance toward key airdrome in invasion of Palaus

Army troops march almost unopposed through Morotai Island, south of Philippines
By Frank Tremaine, United Press staff writer

Bulletin

Tokyo radio reported today that civilians are being evacuated from Davao on Mindanao Island in the Philippines. The Tokyo broadcast said evacuation started in “good order” Sept. 9 after a U.S. carrier task group began a series of air attacks against Mindanao. Tokyo indicated the civilians were fleeing from the city into the northern part of the island.

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii –
U.S. Marines, supported by heavy fire from warships and planes, battled their way through strong Jap tank and artillery fire today to expand their Palau Island beachhead.

On the other end of the American offensive arc around the Philippines, Army infantrymen attacking the Halmaheras made an almost unopposed march through Morotai Island.

The Marines on Peleliu Island hammered out a beachhead of nearly 1½ miles and closed in on the principal Jap airdrome in the Palau group, 560 miles east of the Philippines.

Despite heavy fighting, in which the Japs brought up tanks, artillery and mortars and attempted several counterattacks, a communique by Adm. Chester W. Nimitz said U.S. casualties on Peleliu Island were “light.”

The Marines found the going tough on Peleliu, which is less than six miles long and two miles wide, but Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s infantrymen, who landed simultaneously in the Halmaheras, found no organized resistance on Morotai, 250 miles south of the Philippines.

300,000 Japs bypassed

Gen. MacArthur said his invasion forces had taken “all objectives” and engineers already had begun construction work at Pitu Airfield at the southwestern tip of the 700-square-mile island.

United Press writer Ralph C. Teatsorth, who went ashore with U.S. troops at Morotai, said the landing was made without opposition, on two beaches less than a mile apart. Pitu Airstrip, only 1,000 yards from the beachhead, fell quickly.

The twin invasions, only 500 miles apart, under the closely-coordinated leadership of Adm. Nimitz and Gen. MacArthur, were believed to have bypassed 300,000 Jap troops in the Central and Southwest Pacific.

Thirty to forty thousand of them were in the Palau Islands, and observers said Japan may attempt to move some of these onto Peleliu, although such an operation would involve the use of barges within range of warships.

Aims for airfield

Big ships’ guns and carrier planes maintained a steady bombardment of the enemy defenses, but Maj. Gen. William S. Rupertus, commander of the Marine forces, seemed to be getting field artillery ashore to speed up the operation.

Gen, Rupertus’ immediate objective was the Peleliu Airfield, which has two runways, each 4,200 feet long. It is only large enough for fighters and medium bombers but could be lengthened to accommodate heavy bombers.

The Japs were fighting desperately with mortars and artillery in an effort to hold off the Marines, members of the 1st Division, veterans of Guadalcanal.

Adm. Nimitz said the Japs made several counterattacks supported by tanks shortly after the landing but were thrown back. The Japs threw sporadic mortar and artillery fire onto the landing beaches in a futile attempt to stop the invasion.

Carrier-based aircraft from VAdm. Marc A. Mitcher’s fast task force supported the immediate landing by bombing, strafing and firing rockets into installations behind the beaches, and also hit gun positions at the northern end of the island. One plane and four flight personnel were lost.

Adm. William F. Halsey’s Third Fleet, of battleships, cruisers, destroyers and carriers, patrolled the waters off the Palaus to frustrate any attempt to bring. in reinforcements.

The missing Japanese Navy, however, was not expected to make an appearance because of the potent array of American fighting power.

Gen. MacArthur, whose planes have long been raiding the Palaus in conjunction with Central Pacific bombers, disclosed in his communiqué that Far Eastern Air Force patrols had again hit the island group. The time and the extent of the attack were not given.

Of the Morotai campaign, Gen. MacArthur said it “has progressed according to plan,” with land and carrier-based aircraft continuing to support the ground forces.

His statement that “all objectives” had been achieved, indicated a rapid extension of control over the coastal areas held by scattered Jap troops. Beside the unfinished Pitu Airstrip, the soldiers also seized Gila Peninsula, on the southwest corner of Morotai, and the communiqué added that no organized Jap ground reaction had developed so far.

Adm. Nimitz, meanwhile, announced that Army and Navy bombers from the Aleutians raided Shumushu and Paramushiru in the Kuril Islands Tuesday and Wednesday night. while Army Liberators hit Iwo Jima, in the Volcanos, with 52 tons of bombs Wednesday.

Japs reinforce Philippines

By the United Press

The Japs acknowledged for the first time today that U.S. forces had made successful landings on Peleliu and on Morotai Islands.

An Imperial Headquarters communiqué, broadcast by Tokyo radio, said “fierce fighting” was taking place on both islands.

Another Tokyo broadcast indicated that the Japs were rushing preparations against an invasion of the Philippines. The dispatch said the city of Davao, on southeastern Mindanao less than 300 miles from Morotai, had been elaborately fortified.

Tokyo radio said Prime Minister Gen. Kuniaki Koiso had announced that Japan will launch a great offensive in the “near future” and Adm. Naokuni Nomura, former Navy Minister, had been installed in a “certain important post.”

Koiso’s announcement did not say where or how the offensive would be made, although he claimed it would show Japan’s determination “to crush Britain and America.”

In connection with Nomura’s new job, Tokyo radio announced that VAdm. Nichitara Tezuka had been named Chief of the Navy Aviation Headquarters.

7

Völkischer Beobachter (September 17, 1944)

Heftige Kämpfe im Pazifik

Tokio, 16. September –
Das Kaiserlich japanische Hauptquartier gibt bekannt, daß am 6. September ein starkes feindliches Schlachtgeschwader in den Gewässern der westlichen Karolinen erschien. Im Zusammenwirken mit feindlichen Luftstreitkräften, die auf Neuguinea stationiert sind, wurden die Insel Jap, die Palau-Inseln, die Philippinen, die Celebes-Inseln und die Molukken angegriffen. Ein Teil der feindlichen Kriegsschiffe nahm die Insel Jap sowie die Palau-Inseln unter Geschützfeuer.

Die japanischen Garnisonstruppen auf den Palau-Inseln griffen die feindlichen Landungskräfte auf der Insel Peleliu an und warfen sie zweimal zurück. Es gelang dem Feind jedoch, dann Fuß zu fassen. Seitdem verstärkte er seine Truppen. Die japanischen Truppen setzten alle ihre Energie ein und liefern dem Feind einen heißen Kampf. Japanische Garnisonstruppen auf den Molukken griffen die inzwischen auf der Insel Morotal gelandeten Feindkräfte an. Es spielen sich heftige Kämpfe ab.

Wie japanische militärische Kreise zu der strategischen Stellung der Palau-Inseln bemerken, sind sie durch ihre geographische Beschaffenheit ausgezeichnet für die Verteidigung geeignet. Die Hauptinseln Palau-Koror und Peleliu sind gebirgig und von Riffen umgeben, die nur an wenigen Stellen Durchfahrt aufweisen. Sollte der Feind weitere Landungsversuche unternehmen, so dürfte er in der Palaugruppe Opfer von bisher noch nicht dagewesenen Ausmaßen zu bringen haben.

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U.S. Navy Department (September 17, 1944)

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 120

U.S. Army assault troops established beachheads on Angaur Island, the southernmost of the Palau Islands, on September 16 (West Longitude Date). Carrier‑based aircraft of the Pacific Fleet heavily bombed the island prior to the landings, and cruisers and destroyers took enemy defensive positions under deliberate fire.

The initial landings were made by troops of the 81st Infantry Division, commanded by Maj. Gen. Paul J. Mueller, USA. The ships in direct support are commanded by RAdm. W. H. P. Blandy, USN.

All initial objectives have been gained against resistance which so far has been relatively light.

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 121

The 1st Marine Division continued to encounter heavy opposition on Peleliu Island during September 16 (West Longitude Date), but extended the area under their control in the southwestern peninsula and moved ahead in a northerly direction approximately a third of a mile. Our attack was preceded by bombing and naval gunfire. The enemy is using artillery and mortars in considerable numbers against our positions although many have been destroyed by bombing and counter‑battery fire. On Angaur Island, troops of the 81st Infantry Division have joined the beachheads established on the north and northeast sectors of the island, and have pushed inland more than a thousand yards against light opposition. The northeast third of Angaur is now in our hands.

Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands was bombed on September 14 (West Longitude Date) by a single Liberator of the 7th Army Air Force and by Liberators in greater number on September 15. In the latter attack the airstrips and surrounding areas were bombed causing large explosions and starting fires. Four enemy planes attempted interception without success. There was moderate anti-aircraft fire, which did no damage.

Pagan Island in the Marianas was attacked twice on September 15 by the 7th Army Air Force. Liberators attacked early in the day followed by Thunderbolts which launched rockets and strafed gun positions and the runway. There was meager anti-aircraft fire. There were two attacks against Rota on September 14. In the afternoon, Corsairs of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing strafed gun positions and Navy Hellcat fighter planes strafed the airfield at night. Rota was again visited by Corsairs of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing on September 15. The runway and gun emplacements were bombed and strafed.

Gun positions and the airfield at Ponape were bombed on September 14 by 7th Army Air Force Mitchells.

On September 15, a single 7th Army Air Force Liberator bombed Marcus Island.

The same day Corsairs and Dauntless dive bombers of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing dropped six tons of bombs on Wotje. One of our planes was shot down. The crew was rescued. Corsairs again bombed Wotje on September 16.

A lone Catalina search plane of Fleet Air Wing Two attacked Nauru on the night of September 16.

9

The Pittsburgh Press (September 17, 1944)

Marines take Palau Airfield, kill 1,400 Japs

Enemy evacuating civilians from Davao

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Early invasion of the Philippines was predicted by Tokyo today from the new springboards invaded by U.S. forces. The Yanks, meanwhile, had surrounded the airfield on Peleliu, southernmost of the Palau Islands, and were mopping up on Morotai Island, northernmost of the Halmaheras. The Tokyo radio reported evacuation of civilians from Davao on southern Mindanao in preparation for the anticipated next American attack.

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii – (Sept. 16)
U.S. Marine veterans of Guadalcanal have captured the 4,200-foot Peleliu Airdrome in advances of 1,500 yards against stubborn resistance, beating off several strong counterattacks and taking a toll of more than 1,400 Jap dead, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz announced tonight.

The excellent figure-four shape airfield fell in bitter fighting Friday (West Longitude Time) after the Leathernecks clamped a three-way pincer on the airdrome in a drive aided by the blazing guns of field artillery, tanks, warships and carrier aircraft.

U.S. troops have extended their beachhead to two and one quarter miles and occupy the entire southern end of the island with the exception of two small bulges on the extreme tip. The biggest penetration was 2,000 yards, while gains along the entire front, ranged from 200 to 1,000 yards in the 24-hour period covered in the communiqué, indicating the tough resistance being encountered.

The capture of the airdrome was announced as the Tokyo radio said the city of Davao was being evacuated in anticipation of an American drive into the Southern Philippines from new invasion, springboards less than 300 miles away.

As capture of the airfield approached, front dispatches from United Press writers Lisle Shoemaker and Richard W. Johnston revealed that a battle of annihilation was in progress on the southern tip of the island.

Mr. Shoemaker reported that Jap snipers emerged from caves, infiltrated the left flank of the beachhead and pinned the Marines down through the night. Today, however, the Marines attacked and field artillery barrages pinpointed enemy troop concentrations ahead as assault troops pushed forward.

The densely wooded hills of Peleliu were the scene of bloody fighting, with the Marines fighting for every yard while warships and carrier aircraft stood by prepared to blast any Jap attempt to bring in reinforcements from other islands in the Palau group.

The 1st Division Marines apparently were taking a heavy toll of enemy lives as the seventh invasion in 10 months in the Central Pacific unfolded as part of a coordinated offensive toward the Philippines.

Some 500 miles to the southwest, Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s Army troops, fashioning the southern claw of a pincer aimed at the big Philippine island of Mindanao, began whipping into shape the newly-captured Morotai Airfield, less than 300 miles below Mindanao and 375 miles from Davao.

Gen. MacArthur reported that work on the airfield and consolidation of U.S. positions were being rushed without enemy opposition, while heavy bombers blasted nearby Halmahera with 125 tons Friday and neutralized the Lolobata and Hatetabak airdromes. The airfields are only 12 miles from Morotai Island.

Six vessels blasted

Other bombers continued to hit East Indies island airdromes and shipping routes, sinking or damaging six vessels and nine barges.

Reflecting growing alarm at the twin American thrust to the threshold of the Philippines, Tokyo said civilians were being evacuated from Davao, a stronghold of Nipponese fifth columnists before the war, and that “preparations for a United States invasion of the Philippines are being pushed rapidly.”

Jap Premier Gen. Kuniaki Koiso, attempting to boost home front morale, said that Japan was preparing to “launch a great offensive in the near future to crush Britain and the United States,” and Tokyo revealed another shakeup in the Japanese Naval High Command. Adm. Naokuni Nomura, former Navy Minister, was installed in a “certain important post” and was succeeded as chief of the great Yokosuka Naval Station by VAdm. Nishizō Tsukahara.

Fierce Peleliu fighting

A Jap communiqué admitted the U.S. landings at both Peleliu and Morotai and claimed fierce fighting raged in both areas. The Japanese Dōmei News Agency said, “We are on the eve of a decisive battle” and said American strategy was to cut off the southern regions from Japan, seize bases from which continuous bombings of Japan could be launched and accelerate preparations for direct assaults – presumably amphibious – against Japan itself.

The U.S. landings left some 300,000 Japs bypassed in various Central and Southwest Pacific bases strung far behind our expanding invasion line.

10

Shoemaker: Jap snipers slow Marines but not for very long

Enemy troops move out of Peleliu caves to seek to disrupt U.S. landings
By Lisle Shoemaker, United Press staff writer

In a foxhole on Peleliu Island, with Marine assault forces (UP) – (Sept. 16)
Jap snipers, emerging from their caves, infiltrated the left flank of our newly-won beachhead and kept the Marines here discouragingly pinned down last night. Today the snipers are being mopped up, slowly.

Bill Hipple of Newsweek and I spent the night in this hastily-dug two-man foxhole and throughout the hours of darkness tracers and bullets whined overhead.

The enemy, blasted but unbroken by our tremendous pre-invasion bombardment, came out of hiding places in a small, wooded section.

The Marines assaulted and won this beach by sprinting directly toward a blanket of Jap mortar fire. Now advance units are clamping a three-way pincer on the airfield, sole invasion objective on this island.

75 men wounded

It was mortars yesterday, and last night it was small-arms fire. A Marine doctor told us 75 men out of one company had been wounded. Nobody reached the wounded during the night.

“I would hate to talk about what happened to them if the Japs got to them,” the doctor said.

The front along the left flank of our beachhead was 250 yards long. A colonel, who arrived hastily in a foxhole near ours, said an amphibious vehicle blew up along the flank, giving the Jap snipers an opportunity to sneak toward this spot during the night.

Late yesterday, 12 Jap tanks attempted to fight their way to the beach from the air field. Objective of this armored column was to drive the Marines from their sandy beachhead back into the surf.

Three of the tanks actually broke through our lines, but they were knocked out by bazookas, rifle and grenade fire, and our Sherman tanks.

It is now 9:00 a.m. and sorely-needed artillery is whooshing big shells into the hill on the left, while assault troops inch their way forward, still subjected to sniper fire.

Corpsmen praised

The corpsmen and litter bearers have performed magnificently under fire. One corpsman was warned not to expose himself too much.

“To hell with the snipers.” he said. “I’ve got to take care of six wounded men up there.”

Yesterday some of the amphibious vehicles were left blazing on the beach by the initial salvos of fire from the Jap defenders.

The alligator in which I came ashore crawled and crashed over a 350-yard reef to the shoreline after a thundering bombardment of shells, rockets and bombs halted temporarily to permit the Leathernecks to storm the beach.

Wave after wave of alligators, following the amphibious tanks, crept crablike up the shore, bumping and grinding into a shambles of jungle vegetation only 10 yards from the waterline.

It seemed impossible there could still be Japs close enough to man weapons after that torrent of bombs and shells from our ships and planes had done its work.

But our burning vehicles are proof enough that the Japs were able to crawl out of their caves and put up a fight against the invading Marines.

11

Editorial: Twins in the Pacific

Gen. MacArthur says the twin landings in the Palau and Halmahera island groups are the beginning of the Philippine recovery campaign. There was never much doubt about that. Palau is 550 miles east, and Morotai at the Halmahera tip is only 250 miles from the southern Philippines.

But the value of these two new bases, when secure, will not be limited to the Philippine campaign, important as that is. They are keys to a larger Far Pacific strategy, the chief aim of which is to knock out Japan rather than take any particular territory as such.

Control of the Halmahera area can isolate enemy armies in the East Indies estimated at about 200,000 men. That will make the mopping-up operations much easier.

Palau is even more important. The Japs have used it as the administrative and strategic center of all the mandated islands. It – rather than the great Truk stronghold, as first supposed – has been the main outer enemy naval base, his “Pearl Harbor.” Unlike Truk, it cannot be bypassed safely. It must be taken and converted to American use, especially for naval purposes.

This was so obvious to the enemy that no real surprise attack on Palau was possible. Gen. MacArthur in the Halmahera drive could fool the enemy by landing on the relatively undefended Morotai Island, rather than on the larger islands of the group where the Japs expected him. As a result, his victory was swift and cheap. But there was no such soft spot in the Palau group, where the fighting is described as bitter.

The two-pronged thrust in the Southwest Pacific, timed almost to the minute, is new evidence of the high degree of cooperation achieved by Gen. MacArthur and Adm. Nimitz in an area where their commands overlap and in which each is using all types of fighting services.

Though Mindanao in the Philippines is indicated as the next step, the enemy cannot be certain, Maybe at the same time, or sooner, we shall strike north at the Bonin Islands off Japan – or even at Formosa. The Japs would like to know.

12

U.S. Navy Department (September 18, 1944)

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 122

During the night of September 16‑17 (West Longitude Date), the enemy counterattacked the western flank of our forward lines on Peleliu Island, but was thrown back. An attack launched by the 1st Marine Division in the early morning of September 17 resulted in further gains to the north, and the occupation of Asias Town. Meantime mopping-up operations in the southern sector progressed and Ngarmoked Island off the southern tip of Peleliu was captured. Two enemy aircraft bombed our positions on September 17, but caused no casualties. Seabees are at work rebuilding the Peleliu Airfield. Heavy fighting continues.

On Angaur Island, several enemy counterattacks have been repulsed and good progress has been made by the 81st Infantry Division. The northern half of the island excepting some strongpoints along the western shore is under our control. Through September 17, our forces had wiped out 5,495 enemy troops on Peleliu and 48 on Angaur.

13

The Pittsburgh Press (September 18, 1944)

Yanks invade second island in Palaus area

Advance on Morotai, in Halmaheras
By Frank Tremaine, United Press staff writer

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii –
U.S. invasion forces extended their foothold in the Southern Palau Islands today, capturing one-third of tiny Angaur and the southern end of Peleliu, together with its airfield, 560 miles east of the Philippines.

Army troops of the 81st Infantry Division, which landed on Angaur Saturday, rolled through the three-square-mile island against little opposition and penetrated as much as 1,500 yards at one point.

Marines on Peleliu, six miles north of Angaur, met stiff resistance but with the support of a steady naval and air bombardment, fanned out for one-third of a mile on the southwest coast and were driving northward.

Tighten grip on Morotai

At the same time, Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s veteran Army forces tightened their grip on Morotai, in the Halmaheras. at the southern end of the American line extending around the southeastern corner of Mindanao from the Palaus.

Southwest Pacific Headquarters said the troops reached all the perimeter objectives against negligible opposition and continued to consolidate their beachhead.

While construction battalions rushed completion of the Pitu Airfield, 250 miles south of the Philippines, Allied bombers dropped more than 210 tons of explosives in neutralization raids on other Halmahera airdromes.

Drive 1,000 yards inland

On Angaur, Army troops under Maj. Gen. Paul J. Mueller pushed more than 1000 yards inland within a day after they landed, joined their beachheads on the north and northeast end of the island, captured a radio station and started a drive southward.

The American line extended from the phosphate diggings on the west coast to a point 200 yards south of Rocky Point on the east coast.

“The northeast third of Angaur now is in our hands,” Adm. Chester W. Nimitz said, and observers believed the Jap garrison of less than 2,000 men may be overwhelmed by the end of the week.

Seize high ground

The invasion of Angaur eliminated the threat of Jap artillery from the rear of the 1st Division Marines hacking their way northward through Peleliu.

Despite the heavy opposition in which the Japs were using artillery and mortars, the Marines drove one-third of a mile from their beachhead on the southwest corner, seized a large part of the town of Asias-Omaok and occupied high ground in the Ngarekeukl area.

William Ewing, in a pooled broadcast from a U.S. flagship off Palau, said the Marines captured the highest point on Peleliu – a 200-foot hill overlooking the entire island – and reported that the battle was progressing favorably “beyond our greatest expectations.”

Losses heavy

The hill, Mr. Ewing said, was an important objective. From it the Japs had hurled mortar and artillery shells on U.S. forces.

Losses were heavy in taking the hill by frontal attack, he said. He added that total U.S. casualties have been relatively light.

The Marines and fire of warships and planes were taking a heavy toll of the Jap force, numbering 10,000 men at the start. In four days of fighting, the Americans have counted 1,400 Jap dead.

The Marines captured the second radio station on the island, a power plant and the Peleliu Airfield, which has two strips, each 4,200 feet long, and is large enough to accommodate medium bombers and fighters.

Headquarters disclosed that the Marines on Peleliu consisted of elements of the 1st Regiment under Col. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller of Saluda, Virginia, the 7th Regiment under Col. Herman H. Hannekan of Kingston, North Carolina, and the 50th Regiment under Col. Harold D. Harris of Alexandria, Georgia.

A Tokyo broadcast gave an indication of the nature of the American assault on Peleliu. It said U.S. battleships “are cruising back and forth, raining salvo after salvo into the Japanese positions” and by Sunday had fired over 10,000 shells. At the same time, Tokyo added, formations of Allied planes “which darkened the skies continuously rained bombs on our positions.”

Allied bombers from Adm. Nimitz and Gen. MacArthur’s commands, meanwhile, continued widespread attacks on bases through the Central and Southwest Pacific.

Seventh Army Air Force Liberators hit Iwo Jima, in the Volcanos; Marcus Island; Pagan and Rota, in the Marianas: Ponape in the Carolines, and Nauru, west of the Gilberts.

Allied pilots of the Far Eastern Air Force swept through the Dutch East Indies, mostly concentrating on shipping lanes where they sank or damaged 13 merchant vessels, barges and small craft. The largest was a 3,000-ton freighter-transport which was sunk off Celebes Island.

14

Peleliu as well as the Huertgenwald battles always seemed to me to be to be huge FUBAR’s.
And for me the less said about MacArthur, the better. My mom married a Marine in 1943, if that doesn’t give you a clue about why MacArthur is so disliked in my family, just let me know and I will fill you in. In all sincerity, I’m not being a wise ass.
Peace, bros and sis’s.

1 Like
15

Völkischer Beobachter (September 19, 1944)

Nordamerikaner wollen neue Flugplätze –
Die neuen US-Landungen im Pazifik

Wie aus Tokio gemeldet wird, haben die Nordamerikaner im Pazifik zwei neue Landungsoperationen unternommen, die sie näher an die Philippinen heranbringen sollen. Man hat darin wohl eine Begleitmusik zu den Besprechungen von Québec zu sehen. Zum erstenmal wurden die Operationen des Generals MacArthur und des Admirals Nimitz am gleichen Tage und zur gleichen Stunde unternommen.

Am 15. September, 8 Uhr früh, landeten amerikanische Seesoldaten und Heerestruppen des Admirals Nimitz auf der Palaugruppe, während nordamerikanische und australische Truppen des Generals MacArthur auf der Insel Morotai der Molukkengruppe an Land gesetzt wurden. Die japanische Gegenwehr ist erbittert, wie auch von nordamerikanischer Seite eingestanden werden muß.

Damit haben sich die nordamerikanischen Operationen im Pazifik in der Richtung entwickelt, die nach den Kämpfen auf den Marianen und auf Neuguinea erwartet worden ist. Von den Marianeninseln Saipan und Guam aus hatten die Nordamerikaner zwar mit Flugzeugträgern zahlreiche Luftangriffe auf die weiter nördlich in Richtung Japan liegenden Bonininseln durchgeführt, die auch von See her beschossen wurden. Sie hatten auch von China aus weiteren Luftangriffen mit Fernbombern gegen das japanische Mutterland gestartet. Aber es war doch deutlich, daß die nächsten Absichten des US-Admirals Nimitz in die Richtung der Philippinen zielten.

Dies wurde durch zahlreiche Bombenangriffe auf die Westkarolinen, insbesondere Jap und die Palauinseln, unterstrichen. Die Palaugruppe besteht aus 26 meist schmalen Inseln, die zusammen nur 450 Quadratkilometer groß sind. Es handelt sich teils um Koralleninseln, teils um vulkanische Inseln, die stark bewaldet und von Riffen umgeben sind. Babelthuap, die größte der Palauinseln, nimmt allein zwei Drittel der Fläche ein. Auf den Palauinseln befindet sich die Verwaltung der japanischen Mandatsgebiete.

Der Angriff der Nimitz-Streitkräfte ist nach den vorliegenden Meldungen auf die Inseln Peleliu und Angaur erfolgt. Vorher wurden die Landeplätze tagelang bombardiert und dann durch ein Schlachtschiffgeschwader beschossen, zu dem Schiffe des modernsten Typs gehören. Trotzdem stießen die Landungstruppen auf heftige Gegenwehr, nachdem 30 Landungsboote und ein Kreuzer bereits vorher durch Minentreffer untergegangen waren. Weitere 30 Landungsboote wurden zusammengeschossen, ehe die US-Truppen einen Brückenkopf im Süden von Peleliu bilden konnten. Nach japanischen Feststellungen hatten die Nordamerikaner dort am ersten Tag bereits 3.500 Tote zu beklagen. Ihr Ziel ist die Eroberung des Flugfeldes. Die Palauinseln sind etwa 1.000 Kilometer von den Philippinen entfernt.

Die Molukkeninsel Morotai, auf der die Landung MacArthurs erfolgte, liegt 500 Kilometer von Mindanao, der südlichsten Insel der Philippinen, wo der japanische Stützpunkt in der letzten Zeit schon häufige Luftangriffe von Fernbombern erlebt hat. Die Molukken sind die östlichste Inselgruppe von Niederländisch-Indien, dessen Bewohnern die japanische Regierung vor kurzem die Unabhängigkeit zugesagt hat. Deshalb hat die Landung auf Morotai auch für die Lage in Südostasien ihre Bedeutung, Die Molukken sind seit Jahrhunderten als die „Gewürzinseln“ bekannt, da auf ihnen der Gewürznelken- und Muskatnussbaum in großen Kulturen angebaut wird.

Morotai ist wirtschaftlich weniger wichtig, aber die Wahl dieses Landeplatzes im Norden der Gruppe unterstreicht, daß es den Nordamerikanern darum geht, eine möglichst nahe Absprungbasis gegen die Philippinen zu erhalten. Auch auf Morotai sind die Kämpfe außerordentlich heftig. Die feindliche Luftwaffe richtet gleichzeitig starke Angriffe gegen die japanischen Flugfelder auf anderen Inseln der Molukken und auf Celebes.

Auch die neuen englisch-amerikanischen Landungen im Pazifik sind überholend erfolgt, so daß sich nun weitere japanische Stützpunkte im Rücken des Feindes befinden. Alle diese japanischen Stützpunkte von den Salomonen über Neuguinea, das Bismarck-Archipel und die Karolinen bis zu den Marshallinseln und den Marianen sind trotz teilweise bis zu siebenmonatiger Abschnürung nach wie vor sehr aktiv. Sie machen den Nordamerikanern erheblich zu schaffen. Wenn Admiral Nimitz es auf sich genommen hat, weitere solche gefährlichen Fremdkörper in seinem Operationsraum zu belassen, so ist dies nicht nur ein Ausdruck der Risikofreudigkeit, sondern sehr wesentlich mit der Zeitnot zu erklären, von der seine gegen die chinesische Küste zielenden Operationen beherrscht sind.

Während die Japaner das pazifische Inselvorfeld zwar örtlich außerordentlich heftig, aber in der Gesamtstrategie hinhaltend verteidigen, haben sie in China große offensive Operationen mit bedeutenden Erfolgen durchgeführt. Die Besetzung des Hafens Wentschau und die Ausschaltung mehrerer US-Flughäfen auf chinesischem Boden sind Beispiele, wie die Japaner auf dem Festlande schön frühzeitig den Nimitz-Plänen entgegenwirken. Aber auch im Raum der Philippinen und Indonesiens werden die Japaner zweifellos weitreichende Gegenmaßnahmen gegen die nordamerikanische Offensive getroffen haben.

Die Stimmen aus Tokio besagen, daß man sich dort über die verstärkte Drohung gegen die Seeverbindungen nach Südostasien im Klaren ist, die von den neuen Landungen ausgeht, Japanische Marineschriftsteller, wie der frühere Flottenchef Admiral Takahashi und der Admiral Yamamoto, erklären, daß es noch nicht an der Zeit sei, von der zurückhaltenden Flottenstrategie abzugehen, die durch die augenblickliche nordamerikanische Luftüberlegenheit bestimmt ist. Aber es ist bekannt, daß die Japaner ihre Luftzeugproduktion erheblich vergrößert und auch bereits neue Flugzeugtypen bereitgestellt haben, die von US-Sachverständigen als sehr hochwertig anerkannt werden. Mit zunehmender Heftigkeit der Pazifikkämpfe ist also zu rechnen.

E. G.

16

U.S. Navy Department (September 19, 1944)

Communiqué No. 543

Central Pacific.
The USS PERRY (DMS‑17) was sunk as the result of enemy action during the present operation in the Palau Islands.

The next of kin of casualties (which were small) have been informed.

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 123

First Marine Division troops on Peleliu Island scored further gains in a northeasterly direction during September 18 (West Longitude Date), securing Ngardololok Town and bringing most of the eastern coastal area under control. There was no significant change in our positions in the center and along the west coast. The enemy, fighting from pillboxes, trenches and other pre­pared fortifications, supported by mortars and artillery, continues to offer stubborn resistance. Found in badly damaged condition on the Peleliu Airfield were 77 single‑engine fighter aircraft, 28 medium bombers, eight light bombers, and four transport planes.

On Angaur Island, further southward advances have been made and two thirds of the island is in the hands of the 81st Infantry Division. The enemy now occupies only two isolated pockets of the island. During September 1, Saipan Town and Middle Village were occupied.

A landing craft equipped as a gunboat (LCI‑459) struck a mine while firing rockets in close support of our troops on Peleliu on September 17, and sank in about 20 minutes. Two of the crew were wounded, but all are safe.

Shumushu Island in the Kurils was bombed by 11th Army Air Force Liberators during the night of September 16. Anti-aircraft fire was inaccurate and all our planes returned to their base. Shumushu and Paramushiru were attacked on September 17 by search Venturas of Fleet Air Wing Four. Buildings were set afire. A small boat, loaded with enemy personnel, and a warship, thought to be a destroyer, were strafed off the east coast of Paramushiru. Several enemy fighter planes intercepted and one was shot down. One of our planes was damaged.

Iwo Jima was attacked on the night of September 16 (West Longitude Date) by a single plane. There was no anti-aircraft fire.

Seventh Army Air Force Liberators bombed Marcus Island on September 17. Anti-aircraft fire varied from meager to intense. On the same day,7th Army Air Force Mitchells flew through moderate anti-aircraft fire to bomb runways, bivouac areas, and gun emplacements on Nauru Island.

Further neutralization raids were carried out against Wotje in the Mar­shalls on September 16 and 17. Both attacks were directed at storage areas and encountered meager anti-aircraft fire. On September 16, 7th Army Air Force Liberators bombed Jaluit.

17

The Pittsburgh Press (September 19, 1944)

Marines slay half of Japs on Palau Isle

Americans expand invasion of area
By Frank Tremaine, United Press staff writer

Bulletin

Aboard expeditionary flagship, Palau –
The 1st Marine Regiment today captured “Bloody Nose” Ridge after a vicious fight and tonight the battle for Peleliu appeared to have passed the crisis point.

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii –
The bloody battle for Peleliu in the Southern Palaus was believed near its culmination today as U.S. forces wiped out more than half of the garrison, seized nearly half of nearby Angaur Island and occupied tiny Ngarmoked Island off Peleliu.

A Tokyo broadcast said approximately 50 U.S. planes, including Liberators and Lightnings, raided Davao, in Southwest Mindanao, yesterday, while some 100 carrier-planes attacked Koror Island in the Palaus north of Peleliu.

The intensified strikes in the Palaus came simultaneously with the opening of a new phase of the Southwest Pacific campaign by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who will lead victorious Allied armies back to the Philippines.

Announced by Nimitz

For the first time of the war, Gen. MacArthur sent carrier-based planes against Halmahera’s airdromes Saturday to prevent attacks on American-held Morotai Island at the north end of the Halmahera group and 250 miles south of the Philippines.

Selection of Gen. MacArthur to command the campaign to reconquer the Philippines was announced last night by Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, in a radio broadcast to the American Legion convention in Chicago.

The invasion of the Palaus, 560 miles east of the Philippines, by his own Pacific forces will provide a base “from which to cover and support Gen. MacArthur’s Philippines campaign,” Adm. Nimitz said.

5,495 killed

It was the first official confirmation that Gen. MacArthur will have full command of the reconquest of the Philippines, which he left more than two years ago resolutely pledging himself to return.

Despite severe losses which totaled 5,495 men killed by American count, the Japs fought fiercely on Peleliu’s difficult terrain and even attempted counterattacks which slowed the Marine drive northward from their southern beachhead.

Adm. Nimitz’s communiqué disclosed that the town of Asias, about a half mile north of captured Peleliu, fell to the 1st Marine Division, which also seized tiny Ngarmoked Island off the southern tip of the island to remove a potential threat from the rear.

Army troops of the 81st Infantry Division turned back several Jap counterattacks on Angaur, south of Peleliu, and continued their advance to gain control of the northern half of the island except for several strong pockets on the western shore. A total of 48 Jap bodies was counted on Angaur.

Battle from caves

Front dispatches said the Japs on Peleliu were fighting bitterly from caves and concrete pillboxes built in the sheer coral cliffs.

United Press writer Richard W. Johnston said they were dying by the hundreds in these escape-proof holes. The Marines were also suffering casualties, though not comparable with those at Tarawa or Saipan.

Mr. Johnston disclosed that the heaviest fighting was taking place on “Bloody Nose” Ridge, which overlooks the island. The Marines silenced Jap artillery which rained shells on the newly-captured airstrip.

A front dispatch from Leif Erickson, representing the combined Allied press, revealed that while the bitter ridge battle raged, U.S. planes were using the Peleliu Airdrome, less than a mile to the south.

Japs shackled to posts

Mr. Erickson reported that desperate Jap commanders shackled their soldiers’ hand and foot to their observation posts inside small caves, and made booby traps of the bodies of dead officers.

Warships and planes continued the unrelenting bombardment of the remaining Jap positions on Peleliu and Mr. Johnston said the combined forces have hurled “thousands of tons” of shells and bombs into the enemy defenses.

He said:

It appears likely that better than one half of the garrison has been wiped out or made ineffective. The stench of decaying bodies is already heavy on the beachhead.

Victory near

Although the Japs probably will fight to the end, observers believed that because of Peleliu’s small area – six by two miles – the Marines soon would be in full control.

Peleliu is the main eastern anchor of the Allied line around the Southern Philippines.

Gen. MacArthur’s troops were consolidating their positions and rapidly completing an airfield on Morotai Island, the southern anchor.

The carrier planes which attacked Halmahera airdromes also made sweeps over Wasile Bay. Thirteen barges were wrecked, three planes shot down and “many” planes destroyed on the ground. The assault came only a week after naval task force units made a three-raid attack on the Philippines.

Gen. MacArthur’s land-based bombers, meanwhile, hit nearby Celebes Island with 146 tons of bombs, concentrated on Kendari Airdrome. Two of eight Jap interceptors were shot down.

18

U.S. Navy Department (September 20, 1944)

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 124

During the afternoon of September 19 (West Longitude Date), organized enemy resistance ceased on Angaur Island. The 81st Infantry Division is proceeding with mopping‑up operations.

Shore installations and bivouac areas at Chichijima in the Bonin Islands were bombed by 7th Army Air Force Liberators on September 18. A direct hit and two near misses were obtained in attacking a medium cargo vessel at anchor in Futami Harbor, and numerous barges were bombed. The cargo ship was left burning and eight to 10 barges were destroyed. Anti-aircraft fire was meager.

Pagan Island in the Marianas was bombed and strafed by Thunderbolts of the 7th Army Air Force on September 18. Anti-aircraft emplacements and storage facilities were the principal targets, and several fires were started.

Marcus Island was attacked by 7th Army Air Force Liberators on the same day, and 7th Army Air Force Mitchells bombed Ponape Island, hitting gun positions and the airstrip in the latter attack.

Corsair fighters and Dauntless dive bombers of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing bombed Wotje Atoll in the Marshalls on September 18, dropping 27 tons on barracks areas.

All of our aircraft returned from the foregoing missions.

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 125

During September 19 (West Longitude Date), the 1st Marine Division continued to apply heavy pressure on the left flank of our front on Peleliu Island, seeking to dislodge the enemy from strong defensive positions in the rough terrain which parallels the western shore. The enemy resistance is bitter, but slow progress is being made, and in one sector 11 field guns, 70 machine guns, and 23 mortars have been captured by our forces. Small local advances were made on the left during September 19, but there was no ap­preciable change in our line. On the right flank, along the eastern shore, ad­ditional gains were scored and virtually all enemy resistance has been mopped up. The small unnamed island below Ngabad Island was occupied by our forces during the day.

Mopping up on Angaur Island by troops of the 81st Infantry Division continues. Our forces have killed an estimated 7,045 enemy troops on Peleliu and 600 on Angaur. Enemy aircraft dropped two bombs near positions occupied by our forces during the night of September 18‑19, but caused no damage.

19

The Pittsburgh Press (September 20, 1944)

Marines mop up on Palau Islands

Half of Peleliu held after heavy fighting
By Frank Tremaine, United Press staff writer

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii –
Marines holding almost the entire east side of Peleliu Island in the Palau group began the final phase of their campaign today by digging out stubborn Japs from ridge pillboxes while Army troops nearly completed the occupation of nearby Angaur Island.

A Tokyo broadcast said about 200 U.S. bomber and fighter planes “fiercely” raided Koror Island in the Central Palaus for the second successive day yesterday. The broadcast said 30 Liberator bombers attacked Chichijima in the Bonin Islands.

Front dispatches said 1st Division Marines, veterans of Guadalcanal, had battered through viciously-defended Jap positions to seize all primary objectives, including Peleliu Airdrome and the town of Ngardololok.

On Angaur, Army forces swept through the town of Saipan, site of a phosphate works and Middle Village to take control of four-fifths of the island. The Japs offered little resistance and their remaining forces were hopelessly trapped on the northwest and southeast corners.

Adm. Chester W. Nimitz disclosed that 117 damaged enemy aircraft were found at Peleliu Airfield which U.S. planes will use to neutralize the northern Palau Islands, such as Koror and Babelthuap. The Japs are believed to have approximately 30,000 troops on those islands.

The damaged planes included 77 single-engine fighters, 28 medium bombers, eight light bombers and four transports. They raised to 703, the toll of enemy aircraft destroyed or damaged in Palau and Philippines attacks.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur, collaborating with Adm. Nimitz in the Philippines offensive, announced that Mitchell medium bombers again hit southern Mindanao Sunday. concentrating on Buayan Airdrome and harbor installations in Sarangani Bay.

Battle from pillboxes

The Southwest Pacific commander for the second successive day failed to report on operations of ground forces which occupied Morotai Island, in the Halmaheras, 250 miles south of the Philippines.

On Peleliu, the Japs, despite the loss of more than half their forces, continued fighting bitterly from pillboxes, trenches and other prepared defenses, from where they hurled intermittent artillery and mortar fire in the Marine ranks.

The Leathernecks, who cleared “Bloody Nose” Ridge in one of the most vicious battles of the Pacific, continued their advance about one mile northeastward, to gain almost full control of the eastern side of Peleliu. There was little chance, however, in their positions on the west coast or in the center.

Adm. Nimitz, meanwhile, disclosed new aerial attacks on Iwo Jima in the Volcanos last Saturday; Marcus Island on Sunday, and, Shumushu and Paramushiru in the Kurils on Saturday and Tuesday.

Gen. MacArthur’s bombers carried out new strikes in the Dutch East Indies, centering the raids with a 145-ton assault on Celebes, just west of Halmahera.

20

U.S. Navy Department (September 21, 1944)

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 126

The 1st Marine Division made minor gains in a northerly direction along the western ridge of Peleliu Island on September 24 (West Longitude Date) facing stiff opposition from the enemy troops well entrenched in precipitous terrain. Our attack was preceded by gunfire from cruisers and destroyers and by bombing.

Meantime, our forces occupied the entire east coast of Peleliu, including the island of Ngabad.

More enemy equipment has been captured consisting of six trench mortars and 31 machine guns. An additional 10 enemy aircraft have been found destroyed on the airfield.

The 81st Division is continuing mopping‑up operations on Angaur.

Enemy troops killed on Peleliu number 8,792. Enemy troops killed on Angaur number 850.

The airfield and installations on Babelthuap and the seaplane base at Arakabesan were bombed on September 20.

Seventh Army Air Force Thunderbolts strafed and bombed gun emplacements on Pagan in the Marianas on September 19.

Aircraft of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing bombed storage areas at Rota Island on September 18 and attacked it again on September 19, causing several explosions and starting fires.

A single plane bombed Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands on September 18. There was no anti-aircraft fire.

Truk Atoll was the target of 7th Army Air Force Liberators on September 18. Sixty‑nine tons of bombs were dropped on the airfield at Moen. Four enemy aircraft attempted interception. Anti-aircraft fire was meager. Three Liberators were slightly damaged but all returned.

Venturas of Fleet Air Wing Four bombed Paramushiru in the Kurils on September 19. Direct hits were scored on communication facilities. Later the same day, a single 11th Army Air Force Mitchell bomber attacked Paramushiru, encountering meager anti-aircraft fire. All planes returned safely.

Corsairs and Dauntless dive bombers of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing attacked Wotje, in the Marshalls, on September 19. Bivouac areas, storage areas, and communication facilities were bombed. Meager anti-aircraft fire was encountered.

21

The Pittsburgh Press (September 21, 1944)

Worse than Tarawa and Saipan –
Marines storm Japs in Peleliu caves

Leathernecks charge ‘Gibraltar’ across jagged coral at high cost

AFHQ, Southwest Pacific (UP) –
Marines fighting across sheer, jagged coral, today assaulted a chain of superbly-constructed Jap cave fortresses on the ridges of western Peleliu under battle conditions even worse than those at Tarawa, Guadalcanal and Saipan, front dispatches reported.

Richard W. Johnston, United Press writer, who went in at the beach at Tarawa and scaled Mt. Tapochau on Saipan, reported from Palau: “Peleliu Ridge surpasses them both.”

He disclosed that the 1st and 7th Marines had suffered considerable casualties.

Caves connected

From connecting caves equipped with steel doors, Japs were reported pouring a crossfire of small arms, mortar and artillery at leathernecks inching their way over the sharp coral. The surface was so rough that men injured themselves merely by falling down.

Maj. Gen. Roy S. Geiger said the terrain was “the worst I ever saw.”

From the standpoint of territory captured, the Marines appeared near the end of the Peleliu campaign because they hold two-thirds of the island.

Blast Davao

Farther west, land-based Liberator bombers, intensifying the two-way drive on the Philippines, battered the port of Davao without opposition Monday.

Mr. Johnston said the caves on Peleliu were five levels deep, making the entire chain of coral cliffs into a gigantic bombproof shelter.

“This is the first Jap base in the Pacific which literally is comparable to Gibraltar,” he wrote.

Tokyo radio indicated that the Japs feared an American landing in the Philippines was imminent. More than 50 Liberators of the Far Eastern Air Force carried out the attack on Davao, showering 120 tons of bombs on airdromes, supply and personnel installations.

Clear Angaur Island

The heavy raid, first large-scale operation since carrier planes from Adm. William F. Halsey’s Third Fleet hit Mindanao nearly two weeks ago, came as soldiers and Marines were cleaning up enemy forces on Morotai, 250 miles south of the Philippines.

A Jap Dōmei News Agency broadcast said that about 80 carrier-based planes raided “the main island of Palau,” presumably Babelthuap, in daylight Tuesday (Tokyo Time). The dispatch also reported that U.S. planes raided Truk in the Central Carolines the same day.

The Army’s 81st (Wildcat) Infantry Division already crushed Jap opposition on Angaur Island in the Palau group, after killing 600 enemy troops.

Adm. Chester W. Nimitz announced that the Marines killed a total of 7,045 Japs, approximately three-fourths of Peleliu’s garrison, in less than one week of bitter fighting on the strategic island, 560 miles east of the Philippines.

Japs hemmed in

The remaining Japs, including picked troops. Were hemmed into an area 1,000 yards wide and 5,000 yards long, Blue Network correspondent William Ewing reported from the flagship off the Palaus.

Adm. Nimitz also disclosed that Marines from Peleliu had occupied a tiny unnamed island, 100 yards off Ngabad. The island, the fourth taken since the invasion of the Palaus last week, was apparently occupied without opposition.

On the right flank on Peleliu, along the eastern shore, enemy resistance practically ended, with only a few stragglers to be mopped up.

Headquarters revealed that the Army troops which overwhelmed the Japs on Angaur in four days were seeing combat for the first time.

Attack Talaud Islands

Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s stepped-up aerial offensive against the Philippines also brought new attacks on the Talaud Islands, nearly midway to Morotai, Celebes, Ceram and Amboina.

The raids, including the heavy strike on Davao, failed to bring a single Jap plane into the air, and only meager anti-aircraft fire.

Mitchell medium bombers and Lightning fighters joined in a heavy attack on Celebes Island airdromes, 200 miles south of Mindanao, for the 16th time in the last 17 days. Four enemy planes were destroyed on the ground.

In the ground operations on Morotai, a headquarters spokesman said U.S. troops have established a 12-mile perimeter on the island to protect construction work on the Pitu Airfield.