WWII Archives

The Battle of Guam (July 21-August 10, 1944) was the American reconquest of the Japanese-controlled island of Guam, a territory of the Mariana Islands captured by the Japanese from the United States in the First Battle of Guam. of 1941 during the Pacific. World War II campaign. Guam, at 212 square miles (543 square kilometers), is the largest island in the Mariana Islands, with a length of 32 miles (52 km) and a width that ranges from 12 miles (19.31 km) to four miles ( 6.44 km) in different parts of the island. It had been in possession of the United States from its capture of Spain in 1898 until it was captured by the Japanese on December 10, 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. During the Japanese occupation of Guam, it was not as heavily fortified as the other Mariana Islands, such as Saipan, which had been Japanese possessions since the end of World War I. But in 1944, Guam had a large Japanese garrison. The allied plan for the invasion of the Mariana Islands, Operation Forager, envisaged intense preliminary bombardment, first by USAAF aircraft carriers and bombers based in the Marshall Islands to the east, and then, once air superiority was achieved, bombardment close to the boats. War, Cruisers and Destroyers: Saipan, Tinian and Guam were chosen as targets due to their size and suitability as a base to support the next stage of operations towards the Philippines, Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands. The seaport of the port of Apra was suitable for the larger ships; and air bases could be built for Boeing B-29 Superforts to bomb Japan. B-24 Liberators from the Mariana Islands could also bomb Iwo Jima and the Bonin Islands, such as Chichi Jima. The invasion of Saipan was scheduled for June 15, 1944, and landings on Guam were tentatively scheduled for June 18. However, the original schedule was optimistic. A major attack by the Japanese aircraft carriers and the stubborn resistance of the unexpectedly large Japanese garrison at Saipan led to the invasion of Guam being postponed for a month. The US naval and air raids lasted from June 11 to 13, 1944, involving 216 aircraft carriers and B-24 land bombers from the Marshall Islands. On June 12 and 13, 12 Japanese freighters and several fishing vessels sank. On June 27, US Navy warships and cruisers began bombing the island, joined by a group of US carriers on July 4 and two more on July 6. The BATTLE OF GUAM in color 1944 WWII was the American recapture of the Japanese-held island of Guam