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This film (originally titled as ‘With the Marines at Tarawa’) is a 1944 documentary short film created by the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). The film depicts the harrowing battle between the U.S. Marines and the Japanese for control of the Pacific island of Tarawa (20-23 November 1943). It used authentic footage taken at the Battle of Tarawa by combat cameramen to tell the story of the American servicemen from the time they get the news that they are to participate in the invasion to the final taking of the island and raising of the Stars and Stripes.
The film is in full color and uses no actors, making it a valuable historical document. It is a must see for all students of World War 2 history. It is amazing to see the whole event as it happened.
The film won the 1945 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject. The Oscar was presented to the U.S. Marine Corps.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND / CONTEXT
The Battle of Tarawa was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War 2 that was fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It took place at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio, in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll.
The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the Pacific War that the United States faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Previous landings had met little or no initial resistance, but on Tarawa the 4,500 Japanese defenders were well-supplied and well-prepared, and they fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps. The U.S. had suffered similar casualties throughout the duration of other previous campaigns, for example over the six months of the Guadalcanal Campaign, but the losses on Tarawa were incurred within the space of 76 hours.
The Gilbert Islands are part of Micronesia. They became a colony of the British Empire in January 1916. They were invaded and occupied by the Empire of Japan in December 1941. The battle was fought almost two years later.
American strategy:
In order to set up forward air bases capable of supporting operations across the mid-Pacific, to the Philippines, and into Japan, the U.S. planned to take the Mariana Islands. The Marianas were heavily defended. Naval doctrine of the time held that in order for attacks to succeed, land-based aircraft would be required to weaken the defenses and protect the invasion forces. The nearest islands capable of supporting such an effort were the Marshall Islands, northeast of Guadalcanal. Taking the Marshalls would provide the base needed to launch an offensive on the Marianas, but the Marshalls were cut off from direct communications with Hawaii by a Japanese garrison and air base on the small island of Betio, on the western side of Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. Thus, to eventually launch an invasion of the Marianas, the battle had to start far to the east, at Tarawa.
U.S. Marines in Battle of Tarawa | 1943 | WW2 Documentary in Color
TBFA_0094 (DM_0050)
NOTE: THE VIDEO DOCUMENTS HISTORICAL EVENTS. SINCE IT WAS PRODUCED DECADES AGO, IT HAS HISTORICAL VALUES AND CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A VALUABLE HISTORICAL DOCUMENT. THE VIDEO HAS BEEN UPLOADED WITH EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. ITS TOPIC IS REPRESENTED WITHIN HISTORICAL CONTEXT. THE VIDEO DOES NOT CONTAIN SENSITIVE SCENES AT ALL!