Battle of Tarawa 1943
.jpg){kind=link}
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 20 November 1943 – 23 November 1943 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1943 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Nearest landmass | At sea (nearest continent: Oceania) | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Oceania | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Operation Galvanic, World War II | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 1.4269, 172.9756 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan on Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, now part of the Republic of Kiribati but then a Japanese-occupied British colony. The battle was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts, and ended in a decisive American victory. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died during the battle, mostly on and around the small island of Betio, in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll. At the time, Betio was only 118 hectares (290 acres).
The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical Central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the Pacific War that the United States faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Previous landings had met little to 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.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Tarawa (revision 1375587361), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Makin 1943 · 184 km
- Battle of Drummond's Island 1841 · 203 km
Other battles of the World War II
- Battle of Tjiater Pass 1942
- Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo 1942
- Battle of the Barents Sea 1942
- Battle of the Eastern Solomons 1942
- Fall of Singapore 1942
- Action of 13 November 1943 1943
- Allied invasion of Italy 1943
- Battle of Attu 1943
- Battle of Bobdubi 1943
- Battle of Cape Gloucester 1943
All 178 battles of the World War II →
Browse more: battles at sea · Oceania · World War II era battles