Battle of Wake Island
From 12 September 1941, "Tatsuta" and "Tenryū" were redeployed to Truk, in the Caroline Islands, as CruDiv 18 of the Fourth Fleet. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, CruDiv 18 had deployed from Kwajalein as part of the Wake Island invasion force. "Tatsuta" was strafed with machine-gun fire by a USMC Grumman Wildcat on 11 December, but otherwise suffered no damage during the first Battle of Wake Island. "Tatsuta" also participated in the second (successful) invasion attempt on Wake Island on 21 December.