Battle of Tinian

Infobox Military Conflict
partof=World War II, Pacific War
conflict=Battle of Tinian
campaign=Marianas and Palaus
colour_scheme=background:#ffccaa


caption=U.S Marines wading ashore on Tinian.
date=24 July – 1 August 1944
place=Tinian, Mariana Islands
result=American Victory
combatant1=flagicon|USA|1912 United States
combatant2=flagicon|Japan|alt Empire of Japan
commander1=flagicon|USA|1912 Harry Schmidt
commander2=flagicon|Japan|alt Kiyochi Ogata
strength1=30,000 Marines
strength2=4,700 soldiers and 4,110 marine soldiers
casualties1=328 killed, 1,571 wounded
casualties2=8,010 killed, 313 POW|

The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July 1944 to 1 August 1944.

Background

The American victory in the battle of Saipan made Tinian, 5.6 km (3.5 miles) south of Saipan, the next step in the Marianas campaign. The Japanese defending the island were commanded by Colonel Kiyochi Ogata.

Battle

The 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions landed on 24 July 1944, supported by naval bombardment and artillery firing across the strait from Saipan. A successful feint for the major settlement of Tinian Town diverted defenders from the actual landing site on the north of the Island. The USS "Colorado" and the destroyer USS "Norman Scott" were both hit by six inch Japanese shore batteries. The "Colorado" was hit 22 times killing 44 men. The "Norman Scott" was hit six times killing the captain Seymore Owens and 22 of his shipmates.

The Japanese adopted the same stubborn defensive tactics as on Saipan, retreating during the day and attacking at night. The gentler terrain of Tinian allowed the attackers more effective use of tanks and artillery than in the mountains of Saipan, and the island was secured in nine days of fighting. On 31 July, the surviving Japanese launched a suicide charge.

The battle had the first use of napalm in the Pacific. Of the 120 jettisonable tanks dropped during the operation, 25 contained the napalm mixture and the remainder an oil-gasoline mixture. Of the entire number only 14 were duds, and eight of these were set afire by subsequent strafing runs. Carried by P-47 Thunderbolts, the "fire bombs", also known as napalm bombs, burned away foliage concealing enemy installations.

Aftermath

Several hundred Japanese troops held out in the jungles for months. The garrison on Aguijan Island off the southwest cape of Tinian, commanded by Lieutenant Kinichi Yamada, held out until the end of the war, surrendering on 4 September 1945. The last holdout on Tinian, Murata Susumu, was not captured until 1953.

After the battle, Tinian became an important base for further Allied operations in the Pacific Campaign. Camps were built for 50,000 troops. Fifteen thousand SeaBees turned the island into the busiest airfield of the war, with six 2,400 m runways for attacks by B-29 Superfortress bombers on targets in the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands and mainland Japan.

ee also

HyperWar Project

External links

* [http://www.army.mil/cmh/brochures/westpac/westpac.htm U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II: Western Pacific]
* [http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=10 WW2DB: The Marianas and the Great Turkey Shoot]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-Tinian/index.html USCM Historical Monograph: The Seizure of Tinian]