It is narrow, being only 800 yards (730В m) wide at its widest point. Shaped roughly like a long, thin triangle, the tiny island is approximately 2 miles (3.2В km) long.

The small, flat island lies at the southernmost reach of the lagoon, and was the base of the majority of the Japanese troops. Located about 2,400 miles (3,900В km) southwest of Pearl Harbor, Betio is the largest island in the Tarawa Atoll. Map of Betio Island, SW corner of Tarawa Atoll Smith, and initiate the planning of the invasion with the division's commanders. Spruance was flown down to New Zealand to meet with the new commander of the 2nd Marine Division, General Julian C. Nimitz to prepare plans for an offensive operation in the Gilbert Islands. On 20 July 1943, the Joint Chiefs directed Admiral Chester W. Losses were replaced and the men given a chance to recover from the malaria and other illnesses that had weakened them through the fighting in the Solomons. Thus, eventually to launch an invasion of the Marianas, the battle had to start far to the east, at Tarawa.ДЇollowing the completion of the Guadalcanal campaign, the 2nd Marine Division had been withdrawn to New Zealand for rest and recuperation. Taking the Marshalls would provide the base needed to launch an offensive on the Marianas, but the Marshalls were cut off from direct communications with Hawaii by a Japanese garrison and air base on the small island of Betio, on the western side of the atoll of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands. The nearest islands capable of supporting such an effort were the Marshall Islands. Naval doctrine of the time held that in order for attacks to succeed, land-based aircraft would be required to weaken the defenses and protect the invasion forces.

To set up forward air bases capable of supporting operations across the mid-Pacific, to the Philippines, and into Japan, the U.S.

The losses on Tarawa were incurred within 76 hours.Д«ackground American strategic decisions Previous landings met little or no initial resistance, but on Tarawa the 4,500 Japanese defenders were well-supplied and well-prepared, and they fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps. It was also the first time in the Pacific War that the United States had faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio, in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll. The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20вЂ“23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S.

Battle fleet 2 ww2 in the pacific