America's Deadliest Amphibious Operation in the Pacific | The Battle of Peleliu (WW2)
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- Опубліковано 7 лис 2019
- There is a fairly good chance that you have never heard of the tiny Pacific Island of Peleliu. With its size of approximately 13 square kilometres, it is little more than a speck on the map. Nevertheless, for two and a half long months in 1944, the island was home to some of the most intense combat in all of the Second World War, causing massive loss of life on both the Japanese and the American side. And what is more, it may all have been very well for nothing.
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Time Codes:
0:43 A stepping-stone to the Philippines
4:01 Establishing a Bridgehead
6:55 The Japanese in their element
9:42 Getting Methodical
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It is difficult to determine any definitive turning points in the Second World War’s Pacific Theatre. The Battle of Midway springs to mind, the naval battle that caused the Imperial Japanese Navy to lose their edge. But one can also make a decent case for the first Allied major offensive, the Guadalcanal campaign.
What was clear, however, was that Japan was increasingly on the defence as 1943 progresses. The definitive blow to the Japanese ambitions as a great naval power, capable of projecting power across the Pacific with its carriers, came in June 1944. It was at the Battle of the Philippine Sea, where Japan suffered irreplaceable losses to its carrier fleet. To follow up on this success of the US, the High Command decided to invade the Philippines. They figured the Philippines could later be used as a staging area for the invasion of Japan. To reinforce their southern flank during the invasion of the Philippines, it was decided that the Palau Islands a bit to the south-east had to be captured first.
The Palau-campaign was codenamed Stalemate but was adapted into Stalemate II after it was only deemed necessary to invade the southernmost two islands: Angaur and Peleliu. To be honest, in hindsight, the preparation of the assault showed terrible signs of… mismanagement on the part of the Americans.
Sources:
Photos, paintings and imagery: Public Domain, Wikicommons
#HouseofHistory #History #WW2
My father was in 1st Marine Division, he fought on both Guadalcanal & Peliliu, and was one of the few who survived.
My grandfather was wounded on Tarawa, never once talked about the war, you could tell it messed his mind up, he passed in 78.
Respect to the memories of both your family. The Pacific Marines, Navy, and Soldiers that fought are my heroes
@@brentondudley3925 my hero's too thanks and bless you.
God bless your father. Pride!
My father was at Peleliu, Leyte Gulf, Lingayen Gulf, then Okinawa. He considered himself lucky to live.
My father was at Peleliu. He was in the first wave LCVPs from LST 658. Never said a word about it. When was very Ill (dying actually) he talked a little about the carnage. I then understood why it was so painful to talk about that battle. The forgotten corner of hell.
The scars, that American Families bear from that Battle are many and terrible.
Being a MARINE, and a Son of MARINE veteran of that Battle. I know, a little of that. Being a MARINE, I got other older MARINES to talk about it (Dad did not, much......). The pain and HELL Our Fathers lived through, is far, far beyond what this current generation could come within a 100 yards of.
Bear your Love for your Father with Great Pride. Cause you my Brother have seen a glimpse of what Hell does to a soul.
My God Bless and Keep our Dad's.....
war is just absolutely horrible, i wish greed and ignorance to differences was much less common in the human race, we can only hope for peace and better options in the future, taking each other lives is a waste.
@@brandons2640 they are not common to us, but in the societal structures we participate in without understanding
My told me about Peleliu as far back as I remember but without the horrible carnage or other things the witnessed and suffered. Mainly he spoke of the admiration he had for Chesty Puller and his dislike of Douglas McArthur. My dad was over 6’2’ tall so when he introduced me to the general on 7/22/66 I was amazed that he wasn’t a giant of a man. I married a Marine Vietnam Veteran and I suspect that talking to my dad was responsible for him never to have any symptoms of PTSD.
@@mrsclark5533 my father did not like Chesty or MacArthur either. He thought Chesty was wasteful with lives and MacArthur was an egotist.
My father was at Peliliu, with the 81th Wildcats, Sargent Hal Hodges, and received three Bronze Stars for actions there. I have the action reports and a photo of a General presenting him his first metal. In 1952 he received a letter from the War Department stating he was eligible for two more Bronze Stars for actions on the island. He refused them as he said he has done his duty as required and wanted nothing else to do with war.. As a child I observed a stream of men coming to visit "Sarge". One was a Lieutenant who carried my fathers combat pack as Dad promised to keep him alive if he did so. He was paralyzed from the chest down due to a accidental gunshot to the spine after the war in 1952. He was given eight years to live due to his condition by the VA. He passed in 1995 after raising two boys and making a living in real estate from his hospital bed at home.
I started to join the army in 1974, but he was determined none of his children would see the horrors of was as he had. Someone must have heard his prayers, as I had a serious accident three days before going to boot camp crushing many bones..but my father was my inspiration as in his condition he never let anything or anyone stand in his way, and I was up and walking in three years.
He could not spank his boys, but the Drill Sergeant was still active in his mind. I wish with all my heart he was still here to have me running laps around the farm again. I would get it done just to see him again......While I never served, I am proud to have a grandson currently serving as a Airborne Medic at Ft. Knox.....waiting for Ranger school. And I have become my father, I worry for him ...
My father fought at Peliu and the canel bad leg wounds but came out alive. Silver Star and 2 purple hearts. Later Frozen Chosen in Korea. Such a humble little man. 1st Marines
My dad was a USMC S/Sgt. In 1944, and he is one of the Marines that landed on Peleliu, Sept. 15, 1944. He was "forward eschelon" of a Marine Air Wing (MAG 11, I think?), which meant that he landed with, and fought along side the infantry, for about 3 weeks. I could rarely get him to speak more than a few words about what happened there.
brabham74
May God bless your father, brabham.
My father also fought there. They sent him home after that one( he was wounded). Fully recovered physically, not mentally.
I grew up amongst the relics and , remnants of the battle of Peleliu!. Having been a witness to the littered bullet casings, ammunitions, rusty and mangled sherman tanks, and amtracs, unexploded ordnances, I can only imagine the horrors these Marines went through and had to endure, during and after the battle. I hope we can end all wars for the sake of humanity..🙏🏽🇵🇼
"This operation will be a quickie. In and out..." said variety of Commanders about: Tarawa, Peleliu, Saipan, etc...
Not to mention Korea and Vietnam...
That's what is said before every battle of every war.
Saipan, even? Couldn’t have! They knew that was Japanese- ruled turf there.
E Fig but it was small-still bloody!
My uncle, PFC Bernie Junior Ryans, was in the 1st Marine Division and was killed on September 28, 1944 on Peleliu, And for nothing apparently, how very sad. He was just 26 years old.
Tangerine, tangerine...living reflections of a dream...
to think that eugene slege manage to survive without any scratch is a miracle
So did my dad, inconceivable.
RV Burgin in his book Islands of the Damned, stated that he feels Peleliu didnt get the press that battles like Iwo Jima got, because they thought they would take the island in no more than three days, and thought it to be an uneventful campaign. As such, they told the combat reporters to stay on the boats and not even land on Peleliu with the Marines.
I met RV Burgin at a gun show in Dallas once, about 5 years before he passed away. He was a very nice and humble man, was selling his books. I have a picture of him and me that his daughter took for me. It's on an old phone, I need to find it!
Yes... That campaign was an embarrassment because the casualties were so high.
That's why there's not as much film, and pictures as other Island campaigns.
@@jasonsabourin2275
Once i watched a footage of Tet and i saw the gruesome sight of a skeletized Marine being retrieved from the streets of Hue.If that happened in a urban zone just imagine on an island defended by a Japanese crack division.
House of History, their is an absolute certainty that I have heard of Peleliu. My dad was a USMC S- Sgt., who was there, early that morning, Sept. 15, and till the fight was done. I grew up with that man in my house. He was a great dad , a quiet dad, and trying to pry any information, out about Peleliu, out of my Dad, was impossible.
damn, it seems like most people who fought in this got scarred deeply. war is so sad.
I lived on Angaur for a year and have visited Peleliu. I can attest to the fact that it should have been bypassed. The caves the Japanese were in were like armor. While I was there, I found lots of war materiel. Interesting trivia, but when the Americans left Angaur, they dumped tons of ammo in the ocean. I saw it myself. I guess it was easier to dump it than take it to the next place.
Sweet information! Hopefully i get the opportunity to visit theit as well!
@@IllusionOF-Freedom I think Palau is still locked down. I know it was at Christmas.
My great uncle was Seabee with the 33rd on Peleliu. He went in with the 1st Marine Division and would've been there to hand out ammo and food. The days following he would've been assigned to either grave detail or stretcher bearing. But he might've been a stretcher bearer since he was short. The stuff he saw when he was there was horrible.
"Lost their edge." Are you kidding me .. the magnitude of their loss of 4 fleet carries, were devastating and turned the tide.
My Father, Dan Starck. Enlisted at the age of 16 in the Marines. Marine Raider. 1st on the beach in Peleliu. Never spoke a word about it. Not one word.
I have heard so many descendants of WW2 combat vets indicate that their fathers, uncles, grandfathers, and so on, never talked about their war experience. That's real testimony to the unimaginable level of horror of it all. I would guess there's a bit of survivors guilt (along with PTSD) involved in that. Even Eugene Sledge said he wrote his book because he could never talk to anyone, not even his own sons, about his combat experiences. The Pacific War was infinitely more savage than the European War. Yet, these days you hear service members who may have done a tour in Afghanistan without ever having fired a shot, or been shelled and shot at, telling all kinds of stories about their "combat" heroics against a handful of bedouins living in caves. It seems like it would be impossible in this day and age to assemble a force of citizen-soldiers to face and do what those young men faced in WW2.
Yes. Now I realize what a horrific experience it was. It changed my father forever. The nightmares never went away.
Finally someone made an episode for this battle. Nice work.
My Dad was on Peleliu and Guadalcanal in the 73rd Seabees . My uncle Luster was there as well in the Wild Cat division . During the invasion Dad told me as he waited to unload he said they were in a LST 1 and 1/2 miles off the beach and the Ocean was red with the blood of the 1st Marine Division . How could anyone see that and not be grateful for the sacrifice made by these men for the freedom we enjoy.
And I wont Forget the men who died and gave that right to me
For more information about the US Army 81st Infantry and Peleliu read: Victory at Peleliu: The 81st Divisions Pacific Campaign.
The Army did most of the fighting in the Pacific
@@simonsimon8572 the Army is large to the corps. But we talking about Specialists
@@thebichocr7659 specialists?
My Father was there, it was terrible but he survived and fought in Okinawa. He talked freely about what he did and how GOD protected him. He is my HERO.
He’s also my hero as well.
@@AZCARD4life thanks for the reply, It made my day I lost My Father March 18th 2018, he was 95 years old and a kind Man. He was blessed by not having flash backs and other problems a lot of Great Soldiers have and would talk freely about the war every campaign he was involved in with amazing detail like it had happened the day before. I miss him every day but I know where he is serving now among many Brothers who was with him. He was the perfect example of SEMPER FI. Thanks again.
Well done vid about Peleliu! btw- My dad was a USMC Sgt., who fought on Peleliu. He managed to make it through, alive.
My dad was there too and got hit the 3rd day. Survived to tell me about it.
That poor marine tripped and fell down the hill , probably exhausted or shot !
He was shot.. he doesn’t trip on anything he just collapses..
There’s no doubt that in my mind that 10,000 to 15,000 Americans died on Peleliu and 8,000 Americans became wounded, there’s no way in hell that only 1,600 Americans died on that island it’s impossible because many veterans had said it was the most bitterest and most terrible battle ever in the pacific war and not only that but also Peleliu is mostly forgotten by most historians and is not acknowledge by the us government except by the veterans who fought on that damn rock.
Thanks for doing this to contribute to WWII history. Typing this as I watch. A few things. My grandfather was Major General Rupertus, CO of the @1stMarDiv from Cape Gloucester to Peleliu -before that he was ADC to Gen. Vandegrift on Guadalcanal/Tulagi. He had been with the USMC since 1915 and served in Haiti and China. And, wrote the Rifleman's Creed. I am writing a book about him. After 5 years of in-depth research and interviewing veterans, I am almost done. On the "quickie" statement - many thought this would be a quick operation, primarily due to pre naval bombing, even Geiger's COS.
Further, they said the same thing is going into Iwo Jima according to WWII Marine vet and Medal of Honor winner Woody Williams- "It will take two days, maybe three- your division may not even need to get off the ship." And, on the Army - they were not hanging out in reserve under palm trees drinking coconut juice - they were actually in battle and mopping up. The original plan was for them to stay in reserve and wait to attack Aguar and Uthili until Pelelui was secure. I don't know why that did not happen. Finally, according to a captured monograph, the Japanese were prepared to annihilate the Americans at Peleliu and halt their Pacific progress. Peleliu was a hell hole and the closer we got to Japan it got worse. Somehow we prevailed on those islands despite the odds and loss of the bravest men. On October 20, the 1stMarDiv was relieved and returned to Pavuvu. Lastly, how could they do intense reconnaissance with 10,000 Japanese embedded on the coral island? As a drone aviator said to me- "If only we had drones back then."
Do you have a title for the book or a publisher? Please keep us posted.
People see this video and others of the Island . But it's always after the battle had already started , and these Islands where absolutely covered with vegetation , they had no idea that it even had mountains or very high hills 😉
If you want some real insight as to what it was like on Peleliu read With The Old Breed by Eugene Sledge.
Great recommendation, thanks!
The Old Breed,
A History of 1st Marine division in WWII. Covers the official records better.
Eugene, gives a MARINES perspective.
By the by my Father knew him.
@@comanche6943 ,
Relax....
You just need more then one source.
He did not just meet him.
The Marine Corps is small.
1st Marine division was a small tight unit in WWII.
He knew every one.
John Basilone taught him machine gun tactics and use before the war. They hung out in D.C. on liberty.
Gen. Alexander Vandegrift wrote my Father after the war.
No, I am a nobody. The son of a Warrior.
I give this, as info. To help others see how close these MARINES were. From top to bottom, they all knew each other.
The audio book is on UA-cam for free.
My dad fought on Peleliu too. After Eugene Sledge published his book, I was lucky enough to speak with him on the phone for about an hour, (mid-80's?). Such a nice man.
My grandfather Joseph Heiman was in this battle. 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines.
William Heiman
May God bless your father, William.
In John Toland's Book "The Rising Sun", One of the Americans did some gruesome math after the battle and calculated that it took 1586 rounds of heavy, medium and light ammunition to kill each Japanese soldier on that Island ( that does not include all the flame throwers)
No. My father was there and i have identified him in the victory at sea tapes. He went back in the 80s and started to remove tge jungle from the monuments and was instumental in getting the iland as a WAR MONUMENT.
What the allies did not know was that the Japanese Soldiers were SEASONED VETERANS FROM THE WAR IN MANCHURIA.
THE GOING WAS TERRABLE...
W.A. Brown, Jr.
onceANexile
Yes, but these Marines-and your father-fought with courage and purpose. Thus they are our eternal heroes. Can you perhaps find solace in your father’s heroism? We all will die, some with eternal respect and gratitude and others who pass having never achieved anything grand. May God bless your father.
PS..I’ve upvoted you on the remote chance that you may revisit your comment. Godspeed, my friend.
Thank you for another excellent presentation. Have you thought of doing a video on operation mincemeat, also known as 'The Man Who Never Was'? It is one episode of WWII that always fascinated me. Ewen Montagu had permission from the family of Glyndwr Michael, a homeless alcoholic, who committed suicide, to use his body, but by the time Montagu received orders to launch Operation Mincemeat, the body had decomposed to a point where it was almost useless. Then came the strangest incident of all. HMS Seraph, the submarine chosen to deliver the body to Spain, was ordered to round the top of Scotland and to dock at Greenock, on the west coast. Montague and the body left London and raced through the night to get to Greenock. Only days before, HMS Dasher, one of the American Liberty Ships, had exploded and sank in minutes off the coast of Scotland. Over 300 of her crew died, most by drowning - and the recovered bodies were taken to Greenock. So - did Montague swap his body for one of HMS Dasher's sailors? A fit young man who really did drown would have been an answer to prayer. But even in wartime, body snatching was illegal, and would have caused an uproar if it had been known. I would love to know your view of this episode of history. Keep up the good work.
My grandfather was on board a destroyer, DD - 652 USS Ingersoll, for the bombardment of Peleliu. He was of the camp that believe it was unnecessary.
My grandpa was with the 1st Marines at Peleliu. It’s hard to imagine the horrors that poor young man had to endure while he was there. I remember asking my dad what grandpa did in the war, and he kinda hesitated and said that grandpa was lucky to be alive, and that’s about all I knew when I was a kid. When I was a little older I learned he was on this island called Peleliu, looked it up, and was absolutely horrified by what I learned.
Regardless of its strategic advantage, or lack there of, my grandpa, and everyone else who was there at that time, are truly heroic if for nothing else than the sheer brutality of what they went through. It’s utterly unimaginable, bodies and parts of bodies all around you rotting in the heat, little water or food, little cover, the lingering knowledge that you or your buddies could die at any minute. It was virtually physical and psychological torture.
excellent excellent job narrating and understanding the horrible factual battle at Peleliu. You did a great job
My grandpa was one of the men who stormed the beach on Anguar and survived
Go Wildcats!
Grandfather I never met fought on Guadalcanal and Peleliu.
Excellent episode, tough subject, mostly ignored by many due to its losses and unnecessary need. Congrats.
Thanks, I enjoy the depth of your vid's.
macarthur said we need it to be closer so that we could use the airfield
They never used it
MacArthur was very good at using the common Warriors life......
Arrogance buries the soul (he seems to me to be a example of this).
PETER PIPER still it was Nimitz’s decision overall because he thought it was useful to the Navy and then he passed it up so it was his fault for selecting it. Even Halsey said it was a mistake!
Actually the concern was air assault from Japanese planes from Peleliu... In either case the need to take the island has been questioned..Marines suffered high losses for no apparent benefit..
@@rackets7991 the navy had everything surrounded on Peleliu for months no plane to my knowledge landed to deliver food or ammunition. MacArthur needed to be in charge of taking back the Philippines that he left at night on a PT boat, and tried to cortmarschall the General who surrendered the Philippines. The Navy under Bull Halsey would have had to feed those Japanese troops if they were to keep them alive, just like they did on Rabal.
Read the book, With the old Breed. That'll tell you anything you need to know about Peleliu. 100% recommended reading.
The book was disturbing and sapped my energy reading it. Bloody Okinawa is another good one.
And ISLANDS of THE DAMMED by RV Burgin!
The beginning of the end was at midway they lost 4 aircraft carriers but more important was the experienced pilots an air crews lost
In memory of James T. Longberry -medical corpsman killed in action at Peleliu
My oldest brother was in the navy in Palau, and landed the Marines there.. After my time in Viet Nam, I visited there and was astounded ,
How far were you two apart?
My Stepfather was there and also landed at Okinawa, unbelievable.
I would like to pay my respects to all those young men who fought in that hell hole . The bravest of the brave , a salute from the UK
And good job. Love your channel
Thank You for this!
Great series. Thank you....
Great video.
On every invasion the Marines made the Japanese were dug in they knew where their artillery could be fired for greatest effects, where their mortars, machine guns and rifleman needed to be and where to retreat to. It's amazing that our forces were able to overcome the difficulties this presented. They were all HEROES, My Father included he is still My Greatest HERO. HE survived and went to Okinawa and then China after the war ended, he also survived Cape Goulester New Britain.
Contrary to popular belief Iwo Jima was not the Marines deadliest battle in the Pacific, Peleliu was.
Respectfully - and you did a great job on the video- i’ve always been bothered by the anachronism with which we have viewed Peleliu planning. To suggest that leaders looking at all options on the table, and one of them being to ignore the island altogether being significant is not really unique. Planning for every invasion explored the range of options. One might suggest that when looking at the two strategies at play in the Pacific, sure, maybe another island could have served the same purpose. But we can’t ignore the fact that fighting on Peleliu and some other smaller islands are precisely the type of battles that prepared the US Marines for victory on the larger more significant ones. And also created the healthy competition between particularly the first three marine divisions if not all of them that compelled them to alternate while island hopping trying to outdo each other. Again great work on the video I’ve just heard this one a lot frequently and thought I’d comment on it.
A fine example of arrogance and lack of proper preparation and reconnaissance on all major commanders! Too many needless casualties and deaths!
in some respects, the later pacific campaign was overly conservative. In the middle-late Solomon's campaign, when the US had moderate superiority, there were good cases in bypassing heavily entrenched positions.
In the later part of war, the US had unleashed the powerful CTF of 10+ carriers, and with newer generation aircraft. The US could have taken greater risks, but perhaps was snake bit from not showing the Japanese sufficient respect in the naval battles of the Guadalcanal period. Until the Marianas, did not realize that the Japanese lost many of their skilled aviators. And also that the Hellcat completely outclassed the Zero
It was a waste of men and resources not helped by an overly prideful 1st MARDIV cdr who refused to use the Army's troops held in reserve until ordered to do so. Nimitz, a usually good cdr, defended his decision to go there but in retrospect he was wrong. It should have been bypassed.
And yes, my father too was a Marine who worked the air strips, I'm not sure what his title was. However, I'm sure he was one of the flagmen guiding the planes on the runway. So, yes I heard about the island of Peleliu starting in the late 1960's. I also recently found a newspaper interview when he was on leave after being in the Peleliu theater. He went back home to where he and my mother grew up, in Wisconsin. Before I was a teenager my father showed me a stack of photos of American soldiers holding up dead Japanese soldiers, or posing with a stack of skulls. I would say far too graphic for a pre-teen to be shown.
My daddy was with the first marines,first marine division who fought at peleliu....I wish I had appreciated him more
Getting great World at War memories here
Fascinating.
Fixed defensive positions are a concrete admission that you cannot win. A force on offense is battling toward victory. A force in a defenseive position is trying to stave off defeat. As soon as the Japanese started fortifying these islands they had lost. If they had captured Hawaii and threatened north America the defensive capacity of Pelelieu would have been irrelevant.
Had the Japanese managed to completely destroy the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor as Yamamoto had planned for, they'd have had total hegemony in the Pacific. Roosevelt then would have been faced with the difficult choice of either greatly reducing the US involvement in the war against Germany to concentrate on defeating Japan, or to continue to commit most US military resources to Europe and let the Japanese have free reign in the Pacific. Yamamoto and Genda had planned for the total destruction of the US fleet - including ships, aircraft, administrative buildings containing US naval and army leadership offices and personnel, fuel dumps, ammo dumps, and all airfields. However, the admiral in charge of the invasion, Nagumo, lost his nerve and refused to launch the third wave of the invasion meant to clean up whatever was still left standing. That was a fatal mistake for Japan, and defeat was just a matter of time. Yamamoto was furious, and was himself later killed when the plane transporting him was shot down by US fighter planes after receiving intelligence on his whereabouts.
What reference book are you using there sir ? Thank you ,, I like it :) USMC 1999-2005. Semper Fi
Read "With the Old Breed " for a great firsthand account.
Totally agree, great book start to finish
Yes, I have the book, my father's book.
@@ninak8506 your father is Eugene sledge?
I got my firsthand account from my Father, Corporal William Earl Caine. With the Old Breed is a very good book and it is well written and it relates very well with the stories my Father told me. One thing to note is most of the Marines were around 19 to 25 years of age, you grow up fast in War.
So many of these islands could of been by passed saving the lives of countless soldiers . My armchair opinion . I don’t know the thought train of the admirals and the people at home
I don't think they wanted airfields, on any islands, in the hands of the Japanese.
@@brentondudley3925 True, but once you've smashed up the runways and the aircraft the next cluster of islands is too far away to fly in replacements so how dangerous would most of the by passed islands really be?
I haven't read about this battle in some time, but IIRC one or the other of Halsey and MacArthur wanted to capture Peliliu and the other wanted to bypass it, but the one that thought it necessary won the argument.
Ghastly American casualties that could have been prevented if the military planners weren't so arrogant and careless of the soldiers at their disposal...
My question about the island hopping tactic is this- why not just use navy and air force might to blockade the islands and starve them out? Send the bulk of our forces to the most strategic and sought after island objectives- not a useless piece of rock like tarawa or pelelieu...
Hey, I just watched your video on the difference between common and civil law and I was wondering if there are any similarities between them? Your reply would be greatly appreciated 😀
My dear father, Crpl. Adrain Simpkins, was KIA on Peleliu, 29 September 1944. RIP dear, brave father
Who would have thought simple reconnaissance wouldnt be done before the landings? Especially since the Tarawa landings in Nov 43 were a colossal disaster leaving marines to wade ashore hundreds of yards under enemy fire because of low tide. ..
They did do some recon. They Navy had spotter planes take photos from above while frogmen swam ashore onto the beach days before the landing. They somehow missed a lot of what was really there. Its also good to note that much of Peleliu was covered in jungle before the landing so not much could be seen, but in the days leading up to the landing and after, most of the island's vegetation was burned away, revealing how bad it was.
I love all the negative criticism based on 20-20 hindsight.
At the time it was the best thing to do. What would have happened if we DID NOT win the Battle of Iwo Jima?
#The Pacific tv mini series.
Great series indeed
The US Marine Corps Leadership was still delusional at this point in the Pacific Theater in World War 2...but this Battle quickly changed that absolutely.
The US Navy which was in a fight for its life against the IJN had already suffered egregious losses against the IJN so they knew every Island taken was Air Support for their Navy and a crushing defeat against the Empire of Japan. "Take no prisoners" started here absolutely in my view.
"Well, Gunny, what did you think of Pelilu?"
My DAD was 323 Wildcat Army , he made it home , BRONZE Star Purple Heart, 11 other Guys did not make it, God Bless the 11..
My father was there. A rifleman in B Company, First Battalion (Davis), First Regiments (Puller). He was wounded on D+4 but survived. The First Regiment had the highest s causality rate in the battle. I believe the First Regiment was relieved after just one week; they were shot to pieces. The Fifth and Seventh Marines took over until relieved by the Army. My father rarely talked to us kids about the horrible details about combat. I’ve learned about this by reading books. When Chesty Puller died in 1971 my father went to his funeral, just showed up along with many other First Division Marines. That’s what those men thought about each other.
05:36 the guy got knocked out by recoil of the artillery gun
Noob
The Marine combat man was outstanding and so were most of the junior officers. But at the general level and among some colonels, leadership and management were awful. Rupertus, for example, commander of 1st Mar Div, should have been arrested for murder after how he handled troops on Peleliu. Same for the HIGHLY over-rated Chesty Puller, who was a sociopath and should never had been given command of anything larger than a battalion. Again and again, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima . . . Marines died needlessly because of piss-poor planning, lack of preparation and just plain old mismanagement. This is the TRUE history of the Pacific War which will be told after "The Greatest Generation" has totally passed. It's still too early for real historians to tell the truth.
Does anyone know where the video thumbnail is from
I'm not sure who gave you that information about General rupertus but it was MacArthur's idea to send the Marines in the cover his flank.
MacArthur only gave the assault his blessing. Rupertus was the one who mismanaged it on an operational level, and Nimitz was the one with the actual authority to move forward with the whole thing.
I believe McArthur was one of the ones that had second thoughts of the operation and told Nimitz that he didn't think it was really necessary. Nimitz said preparations were too far advanced and that it should go forward as planned.
The Navy had planned this operation before MacArthur had been given the go ahead for the Philippines. Blaming MacArthur was used to cover up the Navy and Marine mistakes.
@@tomnoname1372 Correct. MacArthur wanted the 1st Marine Division and the Army's 81st to support his big landing at Leyte. But Marine Generals wanted their own show!
"Theres a fairly good chance that youve never heard of the tiny Pacific island of Peleliu"
People who have played Cod World at War: Am I a joke to you?
I wish I had your library.
I wonder if the american high command, the menn responsible for this operation ever suffered any punishment for their blatant failiures?
"Arrogance in proper reconnaissance"??? not true, like most of the islands Peliliu's defense's were well buried, and camouflaged, recon flyover's, and photography could barely detect half of them, only when the jungle canopy was burned away from pre landing bombardment did commanders realize the depth of the Japanese defense's, and by then the planning was already in action, there may be some guilt(B.S. with Oil drums/water) to go around for not having better "in- campaign" improvisation, or knowing when to bring in the Army, but the Pacific in that era was far from an ideal PERFECT place/theater when it came to having improvisational logistics ability, You Fight With The Army/Corps You Came With. You try and order up 4 more Battleships, 3 more Cruisers, and an Air wing of Corsairs on 4-5 days notice,(after the jungle canopy was blown away) first you would probably not get them, second if you did, it would take 4 weeks.
"Arrogance...."??? Hardly anything ever goes smoothly in war.
I finally found the News Reel on PeriscopeFilm at ua-cam.com/video/vYpC7ltpVpU/v-deo.html My dad is pulling his artillery piece ahore and up a hill at 45:55:04. If you are looking for specific actions, I recommend looking there at PeriscopeFilm.
:25 "Might have all been for nothing..." What a diservice you just spoke to all of those who fought to uphold the constition while fighting & dying with their brothers.
No doubt Midway was the turning point.
My Dad was in the 321st RCT 81st INF DIV Wildcats. I never realized he had been awarded the Bronze Star until after his death in 1986. PFC Donn "Steve'' Stephens had fibbed about his age to join the Army and thought he would like to be a medic after seeing the newsreels of the attack on Hawaii. He had to transfer to the 81st for a couple of weeks to wait for a training slot to open and in that time he discovered his brothers from other Mothers. Bain Crofoot becoming his lifelong best friend during and after the War. They didn't have much good to say of Gen Rupertus. "You had to shoot the dead Japs to make sure it was a dead Jap or one would come to life and open up on us or toss a grenade.'' amazingly, like Sledgehammer, my Dad was never wounded. Combat on Peleliu took it's toll though. After they were done with Peleliu he had lost over 20 pounds and was a 5'11'' stick weighing barely 125 pounds. for all that he went through doing 'Grave Registration'' was the worst. Watching the engineers bulldoze one big trench and the Japanese Soldiers being laid in with the Americans then being buried with the CAT really hit him hard. When they loaded up to head to Leyte' he was a much changed man. "The ones we couldn't kill, we buried in their caves alive." I heard him tell another Veteran once. RIP Dad. Forever in my heart and at peace.
The corsairs took off and then immediately dropped their napalm, then circled back to land. My next door neighbor for 25 years was there.
When it became obvious that the operation was unnecessary this became murder.
A prior recon was not done because it was clear that Japanese positions would have to be taken no matter how many of them there were and no matter how strong they were. It was not arrogance, it was just superfluous effort. Most positions could not be assessed until actually engaged. Recon mostly either did not work or just did not matter. Strategically the islands could have been bypassed but at some risk.
Almost seems like somewhat of a precursor to fighting in Vietnam.
My grandfather fought in this battle
Hate to be a grammar fanatic but it's beachhead not bridgehead. Love the videos though!
My grandfather was on pellilu
sal pan guam tinium
The idea that taking Peleliu was unnecessary only came from their own underestimation of the force there. Knowing it had a garrison of 10k troops they for sure would have attacked it as more of a priority, not less. You can not just bypass an island with 10k troops and 2 airfields. We made a conscious decision to fight the Japanese where they were at. That was the entire strategy of the Pacific. Sometimes in war the objective is to complete a mission with as little loss of life as possible and sometimes the goal is to find and destroy the enemy regardless of the cost. The Pacific was a seek and destroy operation with very little finesse involved.
It seems to me that there were a number of amphibious operations where the planning and/or intelligence was deficient.
Brainiacs, they didn't have satellites or the means to get that info easily back then.
My father was a corpsman there
On the 10-episode series The Pacific from HBO from 2010 (the sequel of Band of Brothers), there are 3 episodes dedicated to the battle for Peleliu alone...yes 3 out of 10...it is ugly business. ua-cam.com/video/o8CWsSFYpNY/v-deo.html
I discovered and watched the series whilst doing research for this video. It truly was hell on earth and I feel the series managed to properly convey that.
Marines never should have gone to that island.. Mac Arthur's army walked into the philippines . Peliliue wasn't therefore necessary to take..we didn't need that airfield..
(Theres a good chance you may never have heard of Peleliu) 🤔 yeah only if you've been living under a rock.
Palau 🇵🇼
Um everyone heard of paylelio island ,an with the old bread ,an a helmet for a pillow
A battle that didn’t need to happen