(1/5) Pacific Lost Evidence Peleliu Episode 5 World War II

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Japan seized the Palau Islands, along with the rest of Micronesia, from Germany in World War I. Receiving a mandate from the League of Nations after the war, Japan established its administrative headquarters for Micronesia at Koror, the capital of the Republic of Palau today. On Peleliu Island, thirty miles south of Koror, a phosphate crushing plant was established and, by World War II, an excellent airfield had been constructed. When war came, the Palaus served as a staging area and replacement depot for Japan's forces in the Netherlands, East Indies, and New Guinea.
The battle for Peleliu Island, the Gateway to the Philippines, was the longest and one of the most hard-fought battles in the entire Central Pacific amphibious operations of World War II. In contrast to earlier combats where the Japanese had vainly attempted to annihilate the enemy on the beaches, Peleliu's defenses were organized with the main line of resistance established inland, artillery and mortar fire registered on the beaches, and defenses skillfully arranged in depth in order to sustain resistance to an attack while destroying the enemy. Although the crack Japanese troops lost the battle, their new tactics enabled them to inflict heavy losses on American Marine and Army forces and to hold out for 74 days. While some strategists have argued that the capture of Peleliu was not a necessary preliminary for the coming struggle in the Philippines, brave men bled and died in the Palaus for their beliefs and their loyalties. Peleliu marked the conclusion of the Central Pacific drive toward the Philippines. A new phase of the Pacific War was already underway.

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[Zajuts149]

Argh! The history channel bothers me. Peleliu was not a step to crack the defenses of japan, but a safeguard for the retaking of the Philippines.

[2bn442RCT]

And in the end worthless.

[kcolpaer]

A good compliment to this are the memoirs of Eugene B. Sledge and Robert Leckie (soon to be the basis of Tom Hanks' and Seven Spielberg's Pacific Theater counterpart to "Band of Brothers") and, of course, many fine histories of Peleliu, itself.

[2bn442RCT]

Does this series have a web site?

[zetsupk]

Very Good Videos! Keep up the good work!

[Brian567899]

My Great Great Uncle was a U.S. Marine only 18 he died on this island on September 15th Damn Japs shot em up. RIP Arnold Phillips and the rest of the marines who died on the bloody battle.

[Marzaq87]

@randy109 honour to your uncles! and i agree with you about the suicides but to be fair not many nations would toss in the towel when a war goes bad. this is true even for most western countries. especielly not in the ww2 era when unconditional surrender was something outrageous and almost unheard of.

[StonewallJackson26]

Pe-le-loo. That is how you pronounce it.

[0TheXBoxRocks0]

I wish SHOOTOUT was still on, what happened to it?

[ddnak36]

I am from the island of Palau and my father and the rest of his family are from Peleliu.. I am currently residing in Guam but can still recall the times when i would go to Palau and visit my father's family in Peleliu,,,I can also recall the times when there would be stacks of Japanese and U.S. grenades, bayonets, bullets and parts of rifles that were in the back of the house... Its so sad that so many soldiers died from both sides in that small island...

[blkhyundaisonata]

@Toddinfantry Didn't know that... And I got tons of footage from our previous wars! Thnx for the info!

[Toddinfantry]

@blkhyundaisonata Before you write this battle off remember this, the aircraft that found the survivors of the USS Indianapolis sinking came from Peleliu. Doesn't even the cost, but we Marines seem to do a lot of dying to save other lives....guess we evened the score better at Iwo.

[TheRapper10000]

@2bn442RCT That's why they call this Peleliu "The Lost Battle".

[blkhyundaisonata]

That's one military blunder that could have saved many many Marines who we could have fought on other battlefields!!! If it was my choice I'd just have skipped Peleliu and proceeded to the main islands and cut off supplies to Peleliu so it'll just have been a matter of weeks before the Japanees soldiers starved to death. would have saved Time,Supplies,Munition,and most of all Lives!!! THUMBS UP CUZ THIS IS A DAMN GOOD DECISION!!

[2bn442RCT]

@xxn0h3artxx1 In America that is.

[2bn442RCT]

@xxn0h3artxx1 It has always been pronounced just as the narrator states. Only until recently like in the series "The Pacific" has if been pronounced like you state.