Battle of Angaur

The Battle of Angaur was a major battle of the Pacific campaign in World War II, fought on the island of Angaur in the Palau Islands from 17 September to 22 October 1944. This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager which ran from June to November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations, and Operation Stalemate II in particular. Angaur is a small coral island, just long, separated from Peleliu by a wide strait, from which phosphate was mined. In mid-1944, the Japanese had 1,400 troops on the island, under the overall command of Palau Sector Group commander Lieutenant General Sadae Inoue and under the direct command of Major Goto who was stationed on the island. The weak defenses of the Palaus and the potential for airfield construction made them attractive targets for the Americans after the capture of the Marshall Islands, but a shortage of landing craft meant that operations against the Palaus could not begin until the Mariana Islands were secure. Once the assault on Peleliu was "well in hand", the 322nd Regimental combat team (RCT) would land on the northern Beach Red, and the 321st RCT on the eastern Beach Blue. Both teams were part of the 81st Infantry Division, commanded by Major General Paul J. Mueller. The Japanese defending both Peleliu and Angaur, were the combat-hardened men of the 14th Infantry Division with four years of experience fighting in Manchuria behind them, and personally sent to defend the Palaus by Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. The 1,400 soldiers garrisoned on Angaur were the 1st Battalion, 59th Infantry Regiment. Bombardment of Angaur by the battleship , four cruisers, and 40 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers from the aircraft carrier began on 11 September 1944. Six days later on 17 September, the two RCTs landed on the northeast and southeast coasts. Not having enough troops to defend all the beaches, Goto selected the most attractive beach (code named Green Beach by the Americans) for an amphibious landing to build his beach defenses.