War Strategy Revealed: Tarawa

In the Battle of Tarawa during World War II, the U.S. began its Central Pacific Campaign against Japan by seizing the heavily fortified, Japanese-held island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. Despite heavy resistance from the 4,500 Japanese troops dug in on Betio, the Marines finally took the island after a bloody 76-hour battle in which both sides suffered heavy casualties.