Battle of Guam 1942, also known as the Japanese capture of Guam, was a battle fought in the early days of the Pacific War of World War II, taking place the year after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941. In this battle, the Japanese army attacked Guam, an overseas territory of the United States, and landed on the largest island in the Mariana Islands on the fourth day, and fought with the Allied defenders.

All 5,000 Japanese special forces captured Guam on May 10, 1942, and 4,886 Japanese troops were subordinate to the 55th Division of the Japanese Army; However, the Japanese troops actually participated in the course of the battle by transferring 370 naval officers from the 5th Company of the 2nd Naval Landing Special Forces (SNLF) of the Saipan Command.

There are 547 U.S. troops stationed on Guam, including Marines, Island Guards, and some Navy officers, but they are only armed with 160 rifles. 3 x 0.30mm caliber Mk6 machine guns, 4 Thompson***; 271 civilian personnel with no military training, including miscellaneous Guam natives and several nurses; One minesweeper and 137 seafarers based in Guam. The U.S. Guam Naval Barracks has only 153 Marines under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William K. McNulty. The Marine Company was armed with only a few Browning automatic rifles and M1903 Springfield rifles, and most of the Guam native militia came out to operate guns during the celebration, and they had no military training

Japanese Army

Army (4,886 troops)

South China Sea detachment. (Commander: Major General Tomitaro Horii)

The 144th Infantry Team

55th Cavalry Company 3rd Squadron

55th Company of Mountain Artillery 1st Brigade

The Navy (total strength 400) has 21 ships

Guam Raiders Force. (Commander: Major General Atsushi Kasuga)

Laying ship "Tsugaru"

Destroyers "Kikuzuki", "Yuzuki", "Utsuki", "Haku"

Special seaplane carrier "Saikawa Maru"

Special gunboats "Katsuei Maru", "Shotoku Maru", "Kotamamaru"

Special submarine repellent "8th Kyomaru", "10th Kyomaru", "Sukee Maru", "5th Shonan Maru", "6th Shonan Maru", "Shofu Maru",

Special sea sweeper "2nd Bunmaru" and "3rd Sekimaru"

1 Brigade of Marine Corps

Guam Raiders Support Force. (Commander: Major General Goto Cunchi)

Heavy cruisers "Aoba", "Kinugasa", "Kako", "Furutaka"

Battle of Guam

Battle of Guam

American

Garrison (Commander: McMillin (Geo.)

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(The garrison consisted of about 400 members of the Navy and the Aborigines.) total strength 750-550) 4 ships

The small sentinel boat "Penguin" (Pe

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), Sentry Boat No. 16, Sentry Boat No. 17

The harbor tanker "Barn" (R. L. Ba

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At 04:45 a.m. on Monday, December 8, the U.S. Governor General of the island, George W. J. McMillen was told in his sleep that the Pearl Harbor attack had broken out yesterday afternoon, and that the United States and Japan might formally declare war on each other.

At 08:27, Japanese fighters (16 water reconnaissance planes) that took off from Saipan and strafed the US military barracks, the US Navy supply material warehouse, the radio station, the Guam subsidiary of the "Standard Oil Company" of the United States, and the "Pan Am Hotel" in Guam were also attacked by Japanese fighters; During this air raid, the US military minesweeper USS Pe was moored at the dock on Guam

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After shooting down a Japanese plane, the US minesweeper was also sunk (the US side claimed to have sunk itself), killing one officer and wounding several US Navy sailors. The fighting continued into the afternoon, and there were still air raids all day, and it was not until after 17 o'clock in the evening that the Japanese planes did not fly again.

At 08:30 a.m. on December 9, 8 Japanese planes attacked again, but today there was only one air raid, this time the target was the ** mansion in Agania and several nearby villages, fortunately, the building was slightly damaged, but a large-scale battle was about to break out: from the evening, the Japanese invasion fleet was sent from Saipan, including: 4 cruisers full of landing forces and weapons and ammunition, 4 destroyers, 2 gunboats, 6 submarine sweeper destroyers, 2 minesweepers, 2 cargo ships carrying water and food supplies, Rushing at full speed towards Guam, preparing for a large-scale landing.

At 02:15 a.m. on December 10, 370 soldiers belonging to the 5th Company of the 2nd Marine Group of the Japanese Army were in the "Du" of the "Gulf of Agana" north of the capital Agania

GCAS Beach "landed successfully, and immediately attacked and captured the ** mansion after going ashore; The Japanese then advanced from Piti toward Sumay to attack the U.S. Marine camp, and another Japanese unit launched a northern flank attack from Tumo, northwest of Guam

After the landing of the b, the Japanese army attacked southern Agana; At 04:45, a fierce battle broke out between the 5th Company of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Marines and Islanders in Plaza de España in downtown Agania

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At 06:00, he gave up resistance and surrendered; All sporadic fighting ceased one after another.

5 U.S. Marines were killed and 13 wounded; Eight U.S. Navy sailors were killed; 4 Guam militia members were killed and a total of 22 were wounded (including during air strikes); The Japanese suffered 1 dead and 6 wounded, all of which were the 5th Company of the Marine Corps.

In June, the United States changed its strategy of "island-by-island attack" in the Pacific theater to a "leapfrog tactic," that is, it crossed some minor islands defended by the Japanese army, seized the most critical and important strongholds in the Pacific, cut off Japan's sea and air lines of communication, and established a US naval and air strategic base. Therefore, the US military decided to bypass the Caroline Islands and go straight to the Mariana Islands, with the aim of conquering Saipan and Tinian Islands, recapturing Guam, and breaking through Japan's inner defense circle.

Admiral Nimitz, commander-in-chief of the US Pacific Fleet, named the campaign "Operation Surprise Attack" and personally commanded it. To this end, more than 640 warships, more than 1,000 carrier-based aircraft, 620 land-based aircraft, and three marine divisions, two infantry divisions, and one marine brigade were dispatched, including the US Fifth Fleet and the 58th Aircraft Carrier Task Force, totaling 128,000 troops.