Battle of Wake Island

Battle of Wake Island
Part of World War II, Pacific War
A destroyed Japanese patrol boat on Wake
Date December 8 - December 23, 1941 Location Wake Island Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
Empire of Japan	United States of America
Commanders and leaders
Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue	Commander Winfred S. Cunningham
Strength
2,500 Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces (Rikujo Butai) plus unknown number of participants from air and naval units	523 military small unit of civilian volunteers
Casualties and losses
700-900 killed 1,000 wounded	52 military killed, 70 civilian 45 military wounded, 12 civilian

The Battle of Wake Island began simultaneously with the Attack on Pearl Harbor and ended on December 23, 1941. It was fought on and around the atoll formed by Wake Island and its islets of Peale Island and Wilkes Island by the air, land and naval forces of the Empire of Japan against those of the United States of America, with Marines playing a prominent role on both sides.

Prelude

In January 1941, the United States Navy constructed a military base on the atoll. On August 19, the first permanent military garrison, elements of the [1st Marine Defense Battalion], totaling 449 officers and men, were stationed on the island, under naval Commander Winfield Scott Cunningham. Also present on the island were 68 U.S. Naval personnel and about 1,221 civilian workers.

The Marines were armed with six old 5" (127 mm) cannons, removed from a scrapped cruiser, 12 3" (76.2 mm) M3 anti-aircraft guns (with only a single working anti-aircraft sight between them), 18 Browning M2 heavy machine guns and 30 heavy, medium and light, water or air-cooled machine guns of various manufacture and operating condition.

On December 8, 1941 the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor (Wake being on the opposite side of the International Date Line), 16 Japanese medium bombers flown from bases on the Marshall Islands attacked Wake Island, destroying eight of the twelve F4F Wildcat fighter aircraft belonging to Marine Corps fighter squadron VMF-211 on the ground. All of the Marine garrison's defensive emplacements were left intact by the raid, which primarily targeted the naval aircraft.

First landing attempt

Early on the morning of December 11, the garrison, with the support of the four remaining Wildcats, repulsed the first Japanese landing attempt by the South Seas Force, which included the light cruisers Yubari, Tenryu, and Tatsuta; the destroyers Yayoi, Mutski, Kisaragi, Hayate, Oite, and Asanagi; two old destroyers converted to patrol boats (Patrol Boat No. 32 and Patrol Boat No. 33), and two troop transport ships containing 450 Japanese marines. The U.S. Marines fired at the invasion fleet with their six 5 inch (127 mm) coastal artillery guns, sinking the Hayate and damaging most of the other ships. The four Wildcats also succeeded in sinking another destroyer, the Kisaragi. Hayate was the first Japanese naval ship sunk during World War II. The Japanese force withdrew before landing. This was the first Japanese defeat of the war. The first battle of Wake Island also marked the only occasion in all of World War II when an amphibious assault was defeated by shore-based guns. After the defeat, when asked if he needed anything, the US commander said "Send more Japs".

But the continuing siege and frequent Japanese air attacks on the Wake garrison continued, without resupply for the Americans. The initial resistance offered by the garrison prompted the Japanese Navy to detach two aircraft carriers (Soryu and Hiryu) from the force which attacked Pearl Harbor to support the second landing attempt.

Task Force 14

The projected U.S. relief attempt by Admiral Wilson Brown's Task Force Fourteen (ZO14) consisted of fleet carriers Saratoga and Lexington, the fleet tanker USNS Neches, the seaplane tender USS Tangier, three cruisers USS Astoria, USS Minneapolis, USS San Francisco and ten destroyers. The convoy carried the 4th Marine Coastal Defense Batallion, the VMF-221 fighter squadron equipped with F2A Brewster Buffalo fighters, along with 9,000 five-inch (127 mm) rounds, 12,000 three-inch (76.2) mm rounds, and 3,000,000 .50 cal. (12.7 mm) rounds as well as a large amount of ammunition for mortars and other battalion small arms.

On December 22 at 21:00 the task force received orders signed by Vice Admiral William S. Pye Acting Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, to return to Pearl Harbor for fear of losses, so no naval battle took place.

Second landing and American surrender

The second Japanese invasion force, on December 23, composed most of the same ships from the first attempt with some new additions, plus 1,500 Japanese marines. The landings begain at 02:35 hours where, after a preliminary bombardment, the ex-destroyers Patrol Boat No. 32 and Patrol Boat No. 33 were beached and burned in their attempts to land the invasion force. After a full night and morning of fighting, the Wake garrison surrendered to the Japanese by mid-afternoon.

The U.S. Marines lost only 49 killed during the entire 15-day siege while three U.S. Navy personnel and at least 70 civilians were killed. The Japanese losses were recorded at between 700 to 900 killed with at least 1,000 more wounded, in addition to the two destroyers lost in the first invasion attempt, as well as at least 20 land-based and carrier aircraft. The Japanese captured all men remaining on the island, of whom the majority were civilian contractors employed with Morrison-Knudsen Company.

Captain Henry T. Elrod, one of the pilots from VMF-211, was awarded the United States Medal of Honor posthumously for his action on the Island during the Japanese landings on the 23rd for shooting down two Japanese Zero fighters. A special military decoration, the Wake Island Device was also created to honor those who had fought in the defense of the island.

Japanese occupation and eventual surrender

File:Wake Artillery.gif

The Japanese imported an artillery piece from Singapore, fearing an American invasion.

The surrender of the Japanese garrison on Wake Island - September 4, 1945. Shigematsu Sakaibara is the Japanese officer in the right-foreground.

Fearing an imminent invasion, the Japanese reinforced Wake Island with more formidable defenses. The American captives were ordered to build a series of bunkers and fortifications on Wake. The Japanese even imported a heavy artillery piece from Singapore (The gun was captured from the British in Singapore.). On February 24, 1942, USS Enterprise attacked the Japanese garrison on Wake Island. The United States forces bombed the island from 1942 until Japan's surrender in 1945. On July 8, 1943, B-24 Liberators in transit from Midway Island bombed the Japanese garrison on Wake Island. George H. W. Bush also conducted his first mission as an aviator over Wake Island. Afterwards, Wake was occasionally raided, but never attacked en masse.

War crimes

On October 5, 1943, carrier planes from USS Yorktown conducted an extremely successful raid. Two days later, fearing an imminent invasion, Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara ordered the execution of 98 captured American contract workers remaining on the island who had been doing forced labour for the Japanese. They were taken to the northern end of the island, blindfolded and machine-gunned. One of the prisoners (whose name has never been discovered) escaped the massacre, apparently returning to the site to carve the message 98 US PW 5-10-43 on a large coral rock near where the murdered Americans had been hastily buried in a mass grave. This unknown American was re-captured within a few weeks, after which Sakaibara personally beheaded him with a sword. The inscription on the rock can still be seen and is a Wake Island landmark. After the war, Sakaibara and his subordinate, Lieutenant-Commander Tachibana, were sentenced to death for this and other crimes (several Japanese officers in American custody had committed suicide over the incident, leaving written statements that incriminated Sakaibara). Tachibana's sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

On September 4, 1945, the remaining Japanese garrison surrendered to a detachment of the United States Marine Corps. In a brief ceremony, the handover of Wake was officially conducted.

Wake in media & popular culture

Cinematic portrayal

The Paramount studio began work on a movie before the real life battle for Wake Island was over. The resulting 1942 film, directed by John Farrow, tacks unrelated romantic subplots onto a straightforward retelling of the Battle of Wake Island. There are factual errors. The movie leaves viewers with the impression that the island's defenders fought to the last man. However, the film succeeded in its primary purpose as a stirring patriotic film. Wake Island was nominated for four Academy Awards, including best picture. Farrow won the 1942 New York Film Critics Circle Award for best director. The film was released on DVD by MCA Home Video in 2004. A 2003 TV documentary, subtitled "Alamo of the Pacific," included interviews with both US Marines and Japanese sailors who took part in the fighting.

Video games

Several games based on World War II scenarios make mention or even feature a 'Wake Island' map or location. The most noted of this is from the Digital Illusions CE/ Electronic Arts game Battlefield 1942. Wake Island quickly became a favorite among gamers of Battlefield 1942 because of its size, and the fact that it allowed for spectacular dogfighting between the two opposing teams. In EA's latest Battlefield game, Battlefield 2 the 1.03 Patch released on the 5th of October added a new map to the current line up called Wake Island 2007 This version of Wake Island was based on its BF1942 counterpart but instead had the Chinese People's Liberation Army as the oppenant instead of the Japanese. Wake Island 2007 differs from its older sister in that only one team has an aircraft carrier and that the Chinese team already has control of the island. This scenario is set up so that the United States Marine Corps forces must take the island back and has many remnants left from World War 2, including many aircraft wrecks and bunkers. Like its BF1942 counterpart it is also a favourite among gamers. The only inaccurate part of the map is that the artillery island is not an actual part of the island in real life.

Reference

• Sloan, Bill. Given up for Dead: America's Heroic Stand at Wake Island. Bantam Books, 2003. ISBN 0-55-380302-6

External links

USMC Historical Section Publications

• The Defense of Wake
• A Magnificent Fight: Marines in the Battle for Wake Island
• Part Three: The Defense of Wake