![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(October 2022) |
On 15 September 1944, United States Marine Corps forces landed on the southwestern shore of the island of Peleliu in the Palau island chain, 470 nautical miles due east of the Philippine island of Mindanao. This action, called Operation Stalemate II by American planners, was a phase in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. Whether possession of the island was necessary for the Allied cause has been the source of much controversy.
Peleliu was the least-known island that the US invaded in the Pacific Theatre. Pre-war maps were sorely lacking and the results of photoreconnaissance were poor. Thus, the Marines were completely unprepared for the hard, sharp surface of blistering hot bare coral over much of the landing area. [1]
Defeating the entrenched Japanese forces turned out to be far more arduous than anticipated. Two regiments of Army troops were unexpectedly needed to finish conquest of the island. Peleliu was finally declared secure on 15 November 1944.
The roles of Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPOA) and Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC), were both exercised by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz from his headquarters at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Since the Palaus lie in the Southwest Pacific, their capture was the responsibility of the U.S. Third Fleet, led by Admiral William F. Halsey from aboard his flagship, fast battleship New Jersey.
The ships and embarked troops of Operation Stalemate II, were under the overall command of Rear Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson aboard amphibious command ship Mount Olympus .
Marine Corps planning for Stalemate II was conducted by Major General Julian C. Smith. However, because the III Amphibious Corps was still struggling with the capture of Guam, operational command for the Palaus was turned over to Major General Roy S. Geiger . [2]
III Marine Amphibious Corps (Maj. Gen. Roy S. Geiger , USMC)
Palau District Group [4]
Lieutenant General Inoue Sadao [lower-alpha 9] (HQ on Koror Island)
Vice Admiral Yoshioka Ito
Major General Kenjiro Murai [lower-alpha 10]
The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II by the US military, was fought between the United States and Japan during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign of World War II, from 15 September to 27 November 1944, on the island of Peleliu.
The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. "Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and "Carlson's" Raiders of 2nd Marine Raider Battalion are said to have been the first United States special operations forces to form and see combat during World War II.
This is the order of battle for the Guadalcanal Campaign, called Operation Watchtower, the first major Allied offensive in the Pacific Theater of Operations in World War II. The campaign lasted from the initial American landings on 7 August 1942 until the final Japanese evacuation on 9 February 1943, a period of six months, far longer than was expected by Allied planners.
The Battle of Angaur was a major battle of the Pacific campaign in World War II, fought on the island of Angaur in the Palau Islands from 17 September to 22 October 1944. This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager which ran from June to November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations, and Operation Stalemate II in particular.
The 1st Marine Division is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force.
The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1stMAW) and the 3rd Marine Logistics Group forms the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The division was first formed during World War II and saw four years of continuous combat in the Vietnam War. Today, elements of the 3rd Marine Division are continuously forward deployed and forward postured to carry out the US Government's mission of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific in conjunction with its sister services.
The 1st Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The regiment is under the command of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force. The 1st Marine Regiment is also sometimes referred to as "Regimental Combat Team 1" or "Inchon".
This is the complete order of battle for the Battle of Crete and related operations in 1941.
On 15 June 1944, United States Marine forces landed on the southwest coast of the island of Saipan in the central Marianas chain; these were followed a day later by US Army forces. This invasion was part of Operation Forager, an effort to recapture the entire Marianas chain from the Empire of Japan.
This is the order of battle for both the Russian and German armies at the Battle of Tannenberg, August 17 to September 2, 1914.
The 28th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. The regiment, which is part of the 5th Marine Division, fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. Six Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines were featured in the historical photo by Joe Rosenthal of the U.S. flag raising on top of Mount Suribachi.
Battle of Chosin Reservoir order of battle is a list of the significant units that fought in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir between November 27, 1950 and December 13, 1950.
Kunio Nakagawa was the commander of Japanese forces which defended the island of Peleliu in the Battle of Peleliu which took place from 15 September to 27 November 1944. He inflicted heavy losses on attacking U.S. Marines and held Peleliu Island for almost three months. On the evening of 24 November, after the battle was lost, he performed seppuku in the tradition of Japanese samurai warriors. He was posthumously promoted to lieutenant general.
The 18th Marine Regiment was a composite engineer regiment of the United States Marine Corps subordinate to the 2nd Marine Division. It was disbanded during the war, with the 1st and 2nd battalions remaining in the Division.
The 16th Marine Regiment was a composite engineer regiment of the United States Marine Corps subordinate to the 5th Marine Division. While its subordinate battalions went to the Pacific Theater as part of the 5th Marine Division, the Regimental headquarters was disbanded while still in the United States.
Brigadier General Austin Conner Shofner was a United States Marine Corps officer who was captured during the Battle of Corregidor and then part of the only successful escape from a Japanese prisoner of war camp. He joined the Philippine resistance, and later returned to command units of the Marine Corps in the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa.
On 21 July 1944, United States Marine and Army forces invaded the island of Guam, the southernmost of the Mariana Islands chain in the Central Pacific, with the intent to take control of the island from the Imperial Japanese Army. Operation Forager II, as it was called by American planners, was a phase of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
The Battle of Hong Kong was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II.
On February 19, 1945, men of the United States Marine Corps invaded the island of Iwo Jima, part of the Volcano Islands chain, in the North Pacific. This invasion, known as Operation Detachment, was a phase of the Pacific Theatre of World War II. The American goal was to establish multiple airfields that would allow escort fighters to accompany long-range bombers in their attacks on the Japanese home islands, as well as providing a place for damaged bombers to land on the return flight.
On 10 November 1943, men of the United States Marine Corps invaded the island of Betio, located at the southwest corner of Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands chain in the Central Pacific. This invasion, known as Operation Galvanic, was a phase of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
Orders of battle involving United States Marine forces in the Pacific Theatre of World War II: