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Battle Of Tawara Essay

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The Seizure of Gilberts and Marshalls was a high price to pay for a few hundred acres of coral. The Battle of Tawara lasted from November 20th – 23rd, 1943. During this battle, which occurred in the Central Pacific, the Americans lost just as many soldiers as the Japanese. One has to ask, was this seizure even necessary? The Americans used and lost so many of its resources, that it was not financially burdensome. The Americans are already known to be a super power; they have the largest navy in the world and are experienced fighters of war. Yes, Australia is one of alley that we had kept in mind during the onset of the war but we could have done this a different way. The Americans needed to gain some type of control with the Pacific and the seizure was necessary but the way that they did it was not. The American forces had only a combination of 1389 more fatalities, wounded and missing in action than the Japanese. That is actually at the same time a significant and insignificant amount. Its insignificant because in other wars, more …show more content…

They made this battle more tedious than what was planned for the Americans. The Japanese basically rigged the space. For instance, the island of Betio measured approximately two miles long and a half-mile wide, it was crisscrossed with several defenses: 100 pillboxes (dug-in concrete bunkers), seawalls, bomb shelters, an extensive trench system for defensive movements and an airstrip were supported by coastal guns, antiaircraft guns, heavy and light machine guns and light tanks. The beaches were naturally ringed with shallow reefs, which were covered with barbed wire and mines. All of these deterrents hindered the Americans from achieving smooth access to the area. Japan had control over this atoll and the components within for a few years and the Americans were coming in to take over without acknowledging that

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