GUAM 1941
At the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, the American garrison on the small island of Guam consisted of 153 US Marines, 271 US Navy personnel and 308 Guamanians. They had no artillery and their heaviest weapons were a few .30 cal & .50 cal machine guns.
Naval forces consisted of 3 small patrol craft, one (USS Penguin) was armed with 2 x 3” AA Guns and an old oiler which mounted 2 x .50cal AA machine guns.
The Japanese actions against Guam started early, from the middle of October 1941, the 18th Air Unit based in the Marianas began recce flights and in November flew frequent overflights at altitudes of 3,000 metre & higher.
At the same time the Japanese Navy patrolled and mapped the coastline and in early December landed a number of Guamanian agents on the island.
The plans for the landings on Guam were completed by 8 November 1941, the South Seas Detachment of approx 5,500 Army troops were assembled in the Bonin Islands in Novemember to wait the confirmation of the attacks against the USA. Naval air units on saipan were then to begin attacks on US shipping and ground installations and to escort the ground force which would begin landings on 10 December.
In addition, the IJN created a special group from the 5th Defence Force based on Saipan.
At 0525 on 8 December, word came through of the attacks on Pearl Harbor, within 3 hours Japanese planes began their attack sinking the USS Penguin & causing the oiler Barnes to be abandoned, a further attack came in at 1330 to further attack the Barnes and the cable & wireless installations. Air attacks continued for the next 2 days.
The landing forces arrived off the coast in the early hours of 10 December, landing commenced at 0230 with the main force landing on the west coast intending to drive on the town of Agat. This failed because there wasn’t an adequate road and the troops re-embarked and landed again at Facpi Point. However by the time this occurred the US Forces had surrendered.
The smaller Naval Force had landed about 2 miles North of Agana, as it advanced it flushed the machine gun emplacement which had been spotted by air the previous day. The main body of US Marines had taken positions on the Rifle range on Oraote Peninsula and only about 80 Guamanians & a few Americans were in Agana when the Japanese arrived. These few men put up a stiff fight and twice threw back the Japanese advances before finally being overcome by superior numbers.
At 0545, the Island Governor realized that resistance was useless and commenced negotiations for surrender.
The reoccupation of Guam 21 July – 10 August used the 3rd Marine Div, 1 Prov Marine Bde& 77th US Infantry Division and cost the US Forces 2,124 KIA & 5,700 wounded. The Japanses force of 18,500 was killed or captured.
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Whe're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful wizard of OZ - 6 Australian Infantry Div, Bardia January 1941
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