Battle of Peleliu The Battle of Peleliu , codenamed Operation Stalemate II , was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II , from September – November 1944 on the island of Peleliu , present - day Palau . U . S . Marines of the First Marine Division and later soldiers of the U . S . Army ' s 81st Infantry Division , fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island . This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager which ran from June 1944 to November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations . Major General William Rupertus , USMC — commander of 1st Marine Division — predicted the island would be secured within four days . However , due to Japan ' s well - crafted fortifications and stiff resistance , the battle lasted over two months . In the United States , it was a controversial battle because of the island ' s questionable strategic value and the high casualty rate , which was the highest for U . S . military personnel of any battle in the Pacific War . The National Museum of the Marine Corps called it " the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines " . Background . By the summer of 1944 , victories in the Southwest and Central Pacific had brought the war closer to Japan , with American bombers able to strike at the Japanese main islands from air bases secured during the Mariana Islands campaign ( June — August 1944 ) . There was disagreement among the U . S . Joint Chiefs over two proposed strategies to defeat the Japanese Empire . The strategy proposed by General Douglas MacArthur called for the recapture of the Philippines , followed by the capture of Okinawa , then an attack on the Japanese mainland . Admiral Chester Nimitz favored a more direct strategy of bypassing the Philippines , but seizing Okinawa and Taiwan as staging area s to an attack on the Japanese mainland , followed by the future invasion of Japan ' s southernmost islands . Both strategies included the invasion of Peleliu , but for different reasons . The 1st Marine Division had already been chosen to make the assault . President Franklin D . Roosevelt traveled to Pearl Harbor to personally meet both commanders and hear their arguments . MacArthur ' s strategy was chosen . However , before MacArthur could retake the Philippines , the Palau Islands , specifically Peleliu and Angaur , were to be neutralized and an airfield built to protect MacArthur ' s right flank . Preparations . Japanese . By the summer of 1944 , Peleliu Island was occupied by about 11 , 000 Japanese of the 14th Infantry Division with Korean and Okinawan laborers . Colonel Kunio Nakagawa — commander of the Division ' s 2nd Regiment — led the preparations for the island ' s defense . After their losses in the Solomons , Gilberts , Marshalls and Marianas , the Imperial Army assembled a research team to develop new island defense tactics . They chose to abandon the old tactic of stopping the enemy at the beach . The new tactics would only disrupt the landings at the water ' s edge and depend on an in - depth defense farther inland . Colonel Nakagawa used the rough terrain to his advantage , by constructing a system of heavily fortified bunkers , caves , and underground positions all interlocked into a " honeycomb " system . The old tactic of the banzai charge was also discontinued as wasteful of men and ineffective . These two tactics would force the Americans into a war of attrition requiring more and more resources . Nakagawa ' s defenses were based at Peleliu ' s highest point , Umurbrogol Mountain , a collection of hills and steep ridges located at the center of Peleliu overlooking a large portion of the island , including the crucial airfield . The Umurbrogol contained some 500 limestone caves , inter - connected by tunnels . Many of these were former mine shafts that were turned into defense positions . Engineers added sliding armoured steel doors with multiple openings to serve both artillery and machine guns . Cave entrances were built slanted as a defense against grenade and flamethrower attacks . The caves and bunkers were connected to a vast system throughout central Peleliu , which allowed the Japanese to evacuate or reoccupy positions as needed , and to take advantage of shrinking interior lines . The Japanese were well armed with and mortar s , and cannons , and backed by a light tank unit and an anti - aircraft detachment . The Japanese also used the beach terrain to their advantage . The northern end of the landing beaches faced a coral promontory which overlooked the beaches from a small peninsula , a spot later known to the Marines whom assaulted it simply as " The Point " . Holes were blasted into the ridge to accommodate a gun , and six 20 mm cannons . The positions were then sealed shut , leaving just a small firing slit to assault the beaches . Similar positions were crafted along the stretch of landing beaches . The beaches were also filled with thousands of obstacles for the landing craft , principally mines and a large number of heavy artillery shells buried with the fuses exposed to explode when they were run over . A battalion was placed along the beach to defend against the landing , but they were meant to merely delay the inevitable American advance inland . American . Unlike the Japanese , who drastically altered their tactics for the upcoming battle , the American invasion plan was unchanged from previous amphibious landings , even after suffering 3 , 000 casualties and two months of delaying tactics against the entrenched Japanese defenders at the Battle of Biak . On Peleliu , American planners chose to land on the southwest beaches , due to their proximity to the airfield on South Peleliu . The 1st Marine Regiment — commanded by Col . Lewis B . Puller — was to land on the northern end of the beaches . The 5th Marine Regiment — under Col . Harold D . Harris — would land in the center , and the 7th Marine Regiment — under Col . Herman H . Hanneken — would land at the southern end . The division ' s artillery regiment — the 11th Marines — would land after the infantry regiments . The plan was for the 1st and 7th Regiments to push inland , guarding the 5th Regiment ' s left and right flank , and allowing them to capture the airfield located directly to the center of the landing beaches . The 5th Marines were to push to the eastern shore , cutting the island in half . The 1st Marines would push north into the Umurbrogol , while the 7th Marines would clear the southern end of the island . Only one battalion was left behind in reserve , with the Army ' s 81st Infantry Division available for support from Angaur , just south of Peleliu . On 4 September , the Marines shipped off from their station on Pavuvu , just north of Guadalcanal , a trip across the Pacific to Peleliu . The Navy ' s Underwater Demolition Team went in first to clear the beaches of obstacles , while U . S . Navy warships began their pre - invasion bombardment of Peleliu on 12 September . The battleship s , , , and , heavy cruiser s , , and , light cruiser s , , and , and three fleet and five light aircraft carrier s dropped 519 rounds of shells , 1 , 845 rounds of shells , 1 , 793 bombs , and 73 , 412 machine gun rounds onto the tiny island , only in size . The Americans believed the bombardment to be successful , as Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf claimed that the Navy had run out of targets . In reality , the majority of the Japanese positions were completely unharmed . Even the battalion left to defend the beaches was virtually unscathed . During the assault , the island ' s defenders used unusual firing discipline to avoid giving away their positions . The bombardment managed only to destroy Japan ' s aircraft on the island , as well as the buildings surrounding the airfield . The Japanese remained in their fortified positions , ready to attack the troops soon to be landing . Battle . Landing . The Marines landed at 08 : 32 on 15 September ; the 1st Marines to the north on " White Beach 1 and 2 " , and the 5th and 7th Marines to the center and south on " Orange Beach 1 , 2 , and 3 " . As the other landing craft approached the beaches , they were caught in a crossfire when the Japanese opened the steel doors guarding their positions and fired artillery . The positions on the coral promontories guarding each flank attacked the Marines with 47 mm guns and 20 mm autocannons . By 09 : 30 , the Japanese had destroyed 60 LVT s and DUKW s . The 1st Marines were quickly bogged down by heavy fire from the extreme left flank . Colonel Puller narrowly escaped death when a dud high velocity artillery round struck his LVT . His communications section was destroyed on its way to the beach by a hit from a 47 mm round . The 7th Marines to the south faced similar problems with gun emplacements on their flank . Many of their LVT ' s were knocked out in their approach , leaving their occupants to wade ashore through the coral reef in chest - high or deeper water while being raked by Japanese machine guns ; casualties were severe and many who reached the beach alive had lost their rifles and other gear . The 5th Marines made the most progress on the first day , due to their distance from the heavy gun emplacements guarding the left and right flanks . They pushed toward the airfield , but were met with Nakagawa ' s first counterattack . His armored tank company raced across the airfield to push the Marines back , but was soon engaged by tanks , howitzers , naval guns and dive bombers . Nakagawa ' s tanks and escorting infantrymen were quickly destroyed . At the end of the first day , the Americans held their stretch of landing beaches , but little else . Their biggest push in the south moved inland , but the 1st Marines to the north made very little progress because of the extremely thick resistance . The Marines had suffered 200 dead and 900 wounded . Rupertus , still unaware of his enemy ' s change of tactics , believed the Japanese would quickly crumble since their perimeter had been broken . The airfield / South Peleliu . On the second day , the 5th Marines moved to capture the airfield and push toward the eastern shore . They ran across the airfield under heavy artillery fire from the highlands to the north , suffering heavy casualties in the process . After capturing the airfield , they rapidly advanced to the eastern end of Peleliu , leaving the island ' s southern defenders to be destroyed by the 7th Marines . This area was hotly contested by the Japanese , who still occupied numerous pillboxes . Temperatures were around , and the Marines soon suffered high casualties from heat exhaustion . Further complicating the situation , the Marines ' water was distributed in empty oil drums , and became contaminated with oil . Still , by the eighth day the 5th and 7th Marines had accomplished their objectives , holding the airfield and the southern portion of the island . American forces put the airfield to use on the third day . L - 2 Grasshopper s from VMO - 1 began aerial spotting missions for Marine artillery and naval gunfire support . On 26 September ( D + 11 ) , Marine F4U Corsair s from VMF - 114 landed on the airstrip . The Corsairs began dive - bombing missions across Peleliu , firing rockets to open cave entrances for the infantrymen , and dropping napalm ; it was only the second time the latter weapon had been used in the Pacific . Napalm proved useful , burning away the vegetation hiding spider hole s and usually killing their occupants . The Point . The fortress atop The Point continued to cause heavy casualties due to enfilading fire from heavy machine guns and anti - tank artillery across the landing beaches . Puller ordered Captain George P . Hunt , commander of K Company , 3rd Battalion , 1st Marines , to capture the position . He approached The Point short on supplies , having lost most of his machine guns while approaching the beaches . Hunt ' s second platoon was pinned down for nearly a day in an anti - tank trench between fortification s . The rest of his company was endangered when the Japanese cut a hole in their line , surrounding his company and leaving his right flank cut off . However , a rifle platoon began knocking out the Japanese gun positions one by one . Using smoke grenade s for cover , they swept through each hole , destroying the positions with rifle grenade s and close - quarters combat . After knocking out the six machine gun positions , the Marines faced the 47mm gun cave . A lieutenant blinded the 47 mm gunner with a smoke grenade , allowing Corporal Henry W . Hahn to launch a grenade through the cave ' s aperture . The grenade detonated the 47 mm ' s shells , forcing the cave ' s occupants out with their bodies lit aflame as well as their ammunition belts exploding around their waists . A fire team was positioned on the flank of the cave where the former occupants were shot down . K Company had captured The Point , but Nakagawa counterattack ed . The next 30 hours saw four major counterattacks against a sole company , critically low on supplies , out of water , and surrounded . The Marine s soon had to resort to hand - to - hand combat and attrition warfare to fend off the Japanese attackers . By the time reinforcement s arrived , the company had successfully repulsed all Japanese attacks , but had been reduced to 18 men , suffering 157 casualties during the battle for The Point . Hunt and Hahn were both rewarded the Navy Cross for their actions . Ngesebus Island . The 5th Marines — after having secured the airfield — were sent to capture Ngesebus Island ( present day Ngedbus ) , just north of Peleliu . Ngesebus was occupied by many Japanese artillery positions , and was the site of an airfield still under construction . The tiny island was connected to Peleliu by a small causeway , but 5th Marines commander Harris opted instead to make a shore - to - shore amphibious landing , predicting the causeway to be an obvious target for the island ' s defenders . Harris coordinated a pre - landing bombardment of the island on September 28 , carried out by Army guns , naval guns , howitzers from the 11th Marines , strafing runs from VMF - 114 ' s Corsairs , and fire from the approaching LVTs . Unlike the Navy ' s bombardment of Peleliu , Harris ' assault on Ngesebus successfully killed most of the Japanese defenders . The Marines still faced opposition in the ridges and caves , but the island fell quickly , with relatively light casualties for the 5th Marines . They had suffered 15 killed and 33 wounded , and inflicted 470 casualties on the Japanese . Bloody Nose Ridge . After capturing The Point , the 1st Marines moved north into the Umurbrogol pocket , named " Bloody Nose Ridge " by the Marines . Puller led his men in numerous assaults , but every one brought on severe casualties by the Japanese . The 1st Marines were trapped within the narrow paths between the ridges , with each ridge fortification supporting the other with deadly crossfire . The Marines took increasingly high casualties as they slowly advanced through the ridges . The Japanese again showed unusual fire discipline , striking only when they could inflict maximum casualties . As casualties mounted , Japanese sniper s began to take aim at stretcher bearers , knowing that if two stretcher bearers were injured or killed , more would have to return to replace them , and the snipers could steadily pick off more and more Marines . In place of their " banzai " attacks , the Japanese infiltrated the American lines at night to attack the Marines in their foxholes . The Marines built two - man foxholes , so one could sleep while the other kept watch for infiltrators . One particularly bloody battle on Bloody Nose came when the 1st Battalion , 1st Marines — under the command of Major Raymond Davis — attacked Hill 100 . Over six days of fighting , the battalion suffered 71 % casualties . Captain Everett Pope and his company penetrated deep into the ridges , leading his remaining 90 men to seize what he thought was Hill 100 . It took a day fighting to reach what he thought was the crest of the hill , which was in fact another ridge , occupied by more Japanese defenders . Trapped at the base of the ridge , Pope set up a small defense perimeter , which was attacked relentlessly by the Japanese throughout the night . The Marines soon ran out of ammunition , and had to fight the attackers with knives and fists , even resorting to throwing coral rock and empty ammunition boxes at the Japanese . Pope and his men managed to hold out until dawn which brought on more deadly fire . When they evacuated the position , only nine men remained . Pope later received the Medal of Honor for the action . The Japanese eventually inflicted 60 % casualties on Puller ' s 1st Marines , who lost 1 , 749 out of approximately 3 , 000 men . After six days of fighting in the ridges of Umurbrogol , General Roy Geiger , commander of the III Amphibious Corps , sent elements of 81st Infantry Division to Peleliu to relieve the regiment . The 321st Regiment Combat Team landed on the western beaches of Peleliu — at the northern end of Umurbrogol mountain — on 23 September . The 321st Regiment , 5th , and then 7th Marines took turns attacking the Umurbrogol , and all suffered similar casualties . By mid - October , the 5th and 7th Marines both lost around half their men while clawing their way through the ridges . Geiger then decided to evacuate the entire 1st Marine Division , to be replaced by more 81st troops . The 323rd Regimental Combat Team landed on 15 October , and by the third week of October , almost all of the Marines had been evacuated back to Pavuvu . The Army troops battled the remaining Japanese on Bloody Nose Ridge for another month before securing the island . On 24 November , Nakagawa proclaimed " Our sword is broken and we have run out of spears " . He then burnt his regimental colors and performed ritual suicide . He was posthumously promoted to lieutenant general for his valor displayed on Peleliu . On 27 November , the island was declared secure , ending the 73 - day long battle . A Japanese lieutenant with his 26 2nd Infantry soldiers and eight 45th Guard Force sailors held out in the caves in Peleliu until April 22 , 1947 and surrendered after a Japanese admiral convinced them the war was over . Aftermath . The reduction of the Japanese pocket around Umurbrogol mountain is considered to be the most difficult fight that the U . S . military encountered in the entire Second World War . The 1st Marine Division was severely mauled and it remained out of action until the invasion of Okinawa on 1 April 1945 . In total , the 1st Marine Division suffered over 6 , 500 casualties during their month on Peleliu , over ⅓ of their entire division . The 81st Infantry Division suffered nearly 3 , 300 casualties during their tenure on the island . The battle was controversial due to the island ' s lack of strategic value . The airfield captured on Peleliu was of little use for the attack on the Philippines . The island was never used for a staging operation in subsequent invasions ; the Ulithi Atoll , in the Caroline Islands north of the Palaus , was used as a staging base for the invasion of Okinawa . In addition , few news reports were made on the battle . Due to Rupertus ' " 3 days " prediction , only six reporters bothered coming ashore . The battle was overshadowed by MacArthur ' s return to the Philippines and the Allies ' push towards Germany in Europe . The battles for Angaur and Peleliu showed Americans the pattern of future Japanese island defense which would be seen again at Iwo Jima and Okinawa . Naval bombardment prior to amphibious assault at Iwo Jima was only slightly more effective than at Peleliu , but at Okinawa the preliminary shelling was superb . Frogmen performing underwater demolition at Iwo Jima confused the enemy by sweeping both coasts , but later alerted Japanese defenders to the exact assault beaches at Okinawa . American ground forces at Peleliu gained experience in assaulting heavily fortified positions such as they would find again at Okinawa . On the recommendation of Admiral William F . Halsey , Jr . , the planned occupation of Yap Island in the Caroline islands was canceled . Halsey actually recommended that the landings on Peleliu and Angaur be canceled , too , and their Marines and soldiers be thrown into Leyte Island instead , but was overruled by Nimitz . Honors and recognitions . The nation ' s highest award : The Medal of Honor was presented to eight Marines in the fight for Peleliu , five of whom were decorated posthumously ( indicated by * ) The Peleliu Battlefield was listed on the U . S . National Register of Historic Places in 1985 .