Tarawa Battle Analysis

nature of the battle, a new war tactic was used on Tarawa the two-mile-long and mile-and-a-half wide island. ‘Atoll War’ relied heavily on pre-invasion massive attacks by battleships and carrier planes. Which then allowed marines to approach through a new concept to the army, the amphibious tractor vehicles. The tractor vehicles were able to travel over reefs and barriers.
Timing issues and weather complications threatened the time-sensitive mission which then lead to the soldiers being stranded. When they finally reached the lagoon, all communication equipment was ruined by the water, and they were under heavy fire by the Japanese. They were unable to gain access to the shore because of destroyed planes and lost Marines. Only
5,000 Marines made it and 1,500 perished in their
Also, the island Betio, one of the islands in the Tarawa Atoll, blocked the Allies from the Marshalls, along with blocking communication lanes and supply lanes to Hawaii. The high stakes of WWII, made it imperative for the Allies to take control of Tarawa, to complete their
Pacific Campaign.
Although a bloody battle, Tarawa was a major success in helping the army perfect their tactics, communications, and planning. The ‘Atoll War’ tactic would later be perfected after the battle was over, along with communication between soldiers and reinforcements along with precision planning. Not only did the battle allow American access to the Marshalls, it also delivered a mighty blow to the Japanese Army and presented the Americans as the superior Farias 8 nation in the Pacific (HistoryNet) The Navajo once were an intricate piece of the battle of
Tarawa as they relayed messages during the seventy-six hour long battle.
During the fierce seventy-six hour battle of Tarawa, there were a total of eight Navajo transmitting messages across the island of Betio, They transmitted sensitive information,