Battle of Tarawa

E8095

World War II battle battle

The Battle of Tarawa was a brutal 1943 Pacific island assault in which U.S. Marines fought heavily entrenched Japanese forces on the atoll of Betio, marking one of World War II’s first major amphibious invasions against a strongly defended beachhead.

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All labels observed (1)

Label	Occurrences
Battle of Tarawa canonical	38

Statements (52)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	World War II battle ⓘ battle ⓘ
attackingForcesStrength	over 18,000 U.S. Marines and sailors ⓘ
belligerent	Imperial Japanese Army ⓘ Imperial Japanese Navy ⓘ United States Marine Corps ⓘ United States Navy ⓘ
commander	Julian C. Smith ⓘ Keiji Shibazaki ⓘ Richmond K. Turner ⓘ
conflict	Pacific War ⓘ
countryInvolved	Japan ⓘ surface form: Empire of Japan United States of America ⓘ
defensiveFeatures	barbed wire and obstacles ⓘ coastal artillery ⓘ extensive bunkers ⓘ pillboxes ⓘ
defensiveForcesStrength	approximately 4,500 Japanese and Korean defenders ⓘ
endDate	1943-11-23 ⓘ
influenced	subsequent U.S. amphibious warfare doctrine in the Pacific ⓘ
JapaneseCasualtiesKilled	over 4,000 ⓘ
JapanesePrisonersTaken	fewer than 200 ⓘ
location	Betio ⓘ Central Pacific Ocean ⓘ Gilbert Islands ⓘ Tarawa Atoll ⓘ
navalSupport	aircraft carriers ⓘ battleships ⓘ cruisers ⓘ destroyers ⓘ
notableFor	extremely high casualty rate in a very short period ⓘ graphic combat footage shown to the American public ⓘ
notableUnit	2nd Marine Division ⓘ 2nd Marine Tank Battalion ⓘ 2nd Marine Division ⓘ surface form: 2nd Marines 6th Marines ⓘ 8th Marines ⓘ
operationName	Operation Galvanic ⓘ
partOf	Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign ⓘ World War II ⓘ
result	United States victory ⓘ
startDate	1943-11-20 ⓘ
strategicOutcome	U.S. capture of Betio ⓘ U.S. control of Tarawa Atoll ⓘ
strategicSignificance	demonstrated challenges of amphibious landings against strong defenses ⓘ first major U.S. amphibious assault against a heavily fortified atoll in the Pacific War ⓘ
tacticsUsed	amphibious assault ⓘ close air support ⓘ pre-invasion naval bombardment ⓘ use of amphibious tractors (LVTs) ⓘ
USCasualtiesKilled	over 1,000 ⓘ
USCasualtiesWounded	over 2,000 ⓘ

Referenced by (38)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

World War II → hasPart → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

USS Maryland (BB-46) → participatedIn → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

1st Tank Battalion → notableEngagement → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

2nd Marine Division → notableBattle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

World War II battles → hasNotableBattle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

8th Marines → notableBattle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

2nd Marine Tank Battalion → engagement → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Operation Galvanic → hasPart → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

6th Marines → notableEngagement → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign → includesOperation → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Betio → knownFor → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Betio → historicalEventLocation → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Holland M. Smith → participatedIn → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Keiji Shibazaki → battle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Keiji Shibazaki → deathEvent → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Tarawa Atoll → historicalEvent → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Gilbert Islands → notableBattle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

USS Essex (CV-9) → battle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Battle of Kwajalein → precededBy → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Island-hopping campaign in the Pacific → notableOperation → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

The Silent Second → notableBattle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

subject surface form: 2nd Marine Division

Follow Me Division → notableBattle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

subject surface form: 2nd Marine Division

2nd Marine Regiment → notableEngagement → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

USS Essex → tookPartIn → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

10th Marine Regiment → notableOperation → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Julian C. Smith → notableBattle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Navajo Code Talkers → operation → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

2nd Battalion, 8th Marines → engagedIn → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Major General Julian C. Smith → battle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

subject surface form: Julian C. Smith

William J. Bordelon → battle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

1st Battalion, 6th Marines → notableEngagement → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

3rd Battalion, 6th Marines → notableEngagement → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Central Pacific campaign (initial phase) → notableBattle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Battle of Abemama → precededBy → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Operation Flintlock → precededBy → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

2nd Battalion, 6th Marines → notableEngagement → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

Howlin’ Mad → notableBattle → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ

subject surface form: Holland M. Smith

Commander, V Amphibious Corps → notableOperation → Battle of Tarawa ⓘ