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The Battle of Wake Island was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on Wake Island.The assault began simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor naval and air bases in Hawaii on the morning of 8 December 1941 (7 December in Hawaii), and ended on 23 December, with the surrender of American forces to the Empire of Japan.
Farrow had visited Wake Island during his pre-Hollywood sailing days. [8] Filming started 23 March 1942. [9] Most of the Japanese were played by Filipinos. [10] A special weapons detail of selected Marines from Camp Elliott, near San Diego, manned machine guns in land battle scenes. Marine crews were also used as extras and to operate equipment ...
Overly confident that the island's defenses had been reduced by air bombardment, his forces suffered heavy casualties in the first phase of the Battle of Wake Island before being forced to retreat. Hayate and Kisaragi were sunk, and Yubari was hit 11 times by shells fired by the Marine defenders. Perhaps surprisingly for the Japanese Naval ...
In January 1941, the United States Navy constructed a military base on Wake Island. On 19 August, the first permanent military garrison, understrength elements of the 1st Marine Defense Battalion, [5] totaling 450 officers and men, [6] were stationed on the island, under Major James P.S. Devereux.
In November 1941, VMF-211 embarked 12 of its 24 F4F-3 Wildcats and 13 of its 29 pilots aboard USS Enterprise for movement to Wake Island, the scene of the squadron's heroic battle, launching from the carrier and arriving at Wake on 3 December. [4] On 8 December 1941, the Japanese attacked Wake, destroying seven of the aircraft on the ground.
[6] It begins with an overview of the Corps' development of its amphibious warfare doctrine and landing craft, the Corps' expansion beginning in 1940, and the replacement of British forces in Iceland in July 1941. Further sections describe Marine Corps actions during the Pearl Harbor attack, the defense of Wake Island, the loss of the ...
Across the International Date Line just a few hours later on December 8, Japanese aircraft bombed Wake Island. While the Marines were able to repulse the first Japanese landing attempt on December 11, the Japanese successfully landed on December 23 and captured the island and all of the defenders.
Winfield Scott Cunningham (February 16, 1900 – March 3, 1986) was the Officer in Charge, Naval Activities, Wake Island when the tiny island was attacked by the Japanese on December 8, 1941. Cunningham commanded the defense of the island against the massive Japanese attack. After 15 days, he surrendered the island to the Japanese.