View source for Battle of Guam (1941)

{{Short description|WWII Battle by Japanese forces to capture Guam from the United States}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict = Battle of Guam
|partof = the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theater]] of [[World War II]]
| image = Japan Guam Landing 1941.gif
| image_size = 300
|caption = A Japanese illustration of the main landing on Guam by the 144th Infantry Regiment, South Seas Detachment. Painting by [[Kohei Ezaki]].
|date = December 8–10, 1941
|place = [[Guam]], [[Mariana Islands]], [[Pacific Ocean]]
|result = Japanese victory
|combatant1 = {{flag|United States|1912}}
|combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Empire of Japan}}
|commander1 = [[George J. McMillin]]
|commander2 = [[Tomitaro Horii]]
|strength1 = '''Land:'''<br />547 [[Marine (military)|marine]]s and [[sailor]]s<br />'''Sea:'''<br />1 [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]]<br />2 [[patrol boat]]s<br />1 [[cargo ship|freighter]]
|strength2 = '''Land:'''<br />5,900 infantry and marines<br />'''Sea:'''<br />4 [[heavy cruiser]]s<br />4 [[destroyer]]s<br />2 [[gunboat]]s<br />6 [[submarine chaser]]s<br />2 minesweepers<br />2 [[Destroyer tender|tenders]]<br />'''Air:'''<br />unknown air forces
|casualties1 = 17 killed<br />35 wounded<br />406 captured<br />1 minesweeper scuttled<br />1 patrol boat scuttled<br />1 patrol boat captured<br />1 freighter damaged
|casualties2 = 1 killed<br />6 wounded<br />1 aircraft destroyed
|notes =
*''13 American civilians and five POWs were killed by Japanese forces during the battle.''
*''Three Japanese infiltrators were captured by American forces but were released upon the surrender of the island.''
}}
{{Campaignbox Pacific 1941}}
[[File:Guam 1941.gif|300px|thumb|right|Japanese landings on Guam]]
[[File:Japanese Guam 1941.jpg|300px|thumb|Illustration of the route Japanese forces followed during the invasion]]
{{Confused|text=the [[Battle of Guam (1944)]]}}
The '''Battle of Guam''' was an engagement during the [[Pacific War]] in [[World War II]], and took place from 8 December to 10 December 1941 on [[Guam]] in the [[Mariana Islands]] between [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] and the [[United States]]. The American [[garrison]] was defeated by Japanese forces on 10 December, which resulted in an [[Japanese occupation of Guam|occupation]] until the [[Battle of Guam (1944)|Second Battle of Guam]] in 1944.

==Background==
[[Guam]] is the southernmost part of the [[Mariana Islands]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. It is the largest of the islands, with an area of 225 square miles. Guam's interior is rugged, with heavy tropical forests in the north of the island and wooded hills in the south. Much of the island's coastline is edged with [[coral reef]]s and cliffs, though beaches suitable for landing troops exist in the center of the west coast.<ref name="Rottman-2004">{{cite book |last1=Rottman |first1=Gordon L |title=Guam 1941 & 1944: Loss and Reconquest |date=2004 |publisher=Osprey Publishing Ltd. |location=Botley |isbn=978-1-84176-811-3 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fXGHCwAAQBAJ&q=rottman+guam+osprey&pg=PT151 |access-date=1 November 2020}}</ref>{{RP|14}} Guam has a tropical climate, though December forms part of the dry season.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|13}}

The United States [[Capture of Guam|captured Guam]] from the [[Kingdom of Spain (1874–1931)|Kingdom of Spain]] on 21 June 1898 during the [[Spanish–American War]].<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|13}} The next year Spain sold the other islands in the Marianas chain to [[German Empire|Germany]].<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|12}} The [[United States Navy]] established a facility near the village of [[Piti, Guam|Piti]] in 1899, and the [[United States Marine Corps]] (USMC) opened a [[barracks]] at [[Sumay, Guam|Sumay]] in 1901. A naval [[Fuelling station|coaling station]] was established on the island in 1905, and a battery of six {{convert|6|in|cm|adj=on}} guns was emplaced to strengthen Guam's defenses in 1909. A U.S. Navy captain served as both [[List of Governors of Guam|governor of Guam]] and commander of the naval base from 1899 onwards, though there were some elements of a civilian government on the island.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|13}}

During [[World War I]], Japanese forces captured German-controlled islands in the Marianas during October 1914 and established a garrison which was designated the South Seas, Defense Force. Japan gained a [[South Seas Mandate|mandate over the islands]] from the [[League of Nations]] in December 1920, and they were administered by the South Seas Bureau which formed part of the Ministry of Overseas Affairs. Japanese colonists were permitted to settle in the Marianas, and by the late-1930s there were more colonists than natives in the islands.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|12}} In 1935 the Japanese Government banned Westerners from entering its mandated islands in the Pacific and in 1939 established the [[4th Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|4th Fleet]] to defend the region.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|12-13}}

While the United States considered increasing Guam's defenses during and after World War I, no action was taken other than to deploy a USMC seaplane unit to the island in 1921. The outcomes of the 1922 [[Washington Naval Conference]] included an agreement by both the United States and Japanese governments that they would not further fortify the islands they administered in the western Pacific, including the Marianas. As a result, no improvements were made to Guam's defenses during the 1920s and 1930s, the island's coastal artillery battery was removed by 1930, and the USMC seaplane unit departed in 1931.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|13}} The U.S. Navy sought permission to build fortifications on the island in 1938, but this proposal was rejected.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|13}} 

In 1941 Guam had a population of 23,394, most of whom lived in or within {{convert|10|mi|km}} of the island's capital of [[Hagåtña, Guam|Agana]]. The island had about {{convert|85|mi|km}} of improved roads, and [[Apra Harbor]] was considered the best in the Marianas, but the island did not have an airfield.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|15}}

==Prelude==
Japanese plans for the [[Pacific War]] included capturing Guam in the war's early days. From March 1941, Japanese aircraft flew photo reconnaissance sorties over the island.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|18}} Plans for the invasion of the island were completed in September 1941, and the [[South Seas Detachment]] was selected as the main unit responsible for this. The South Seas Detachment included the [[144th Infantry Regiment (Imperial Japanese Army)|144th Infantry Regiment]] and other units detached from the [[55th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|55th Division]], a total of 4,886 men. The South Seas Detachment was concentrated in Korea during November 1941 and, following a brief stay in Japan, sailed for [[Chichi-jima]] in the [[Bonin Islands]] late that month. The 370-man strong 5th Company of the [[Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces|2nd Maizuru Special Naval Landing Force]], which was based at [[Saipan]] in the Marianas, was also assigned to join the assault on Guam.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|19}} These units would be transported to Guam by nine transports escorted by the minelayer [[Japanese minelayer Tsugaru|''Tsugaru'']] and four [[destroyer]]s. The 6th Cruiser Division, composed of four [[heavy cruiser]]s, was also available to provide support if needed. The landing force and naval units were supported by the 18th Naval Air Corps, which was based at Saipan and equipped with obsolete floatplanes.<ref name="Williford_208">Williford (2010), p. 208</ref>

The United States government did not believe that it would be possible or practical to defend Guam if it was attacked. The island was not seen as being useful in efforts to reinforce the [[Philippines]], though it served as a refueling point for [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]] flying boats and was one of the relay points for the [[Commercial Pacific Cable Company|Pacific Cable Company's]] telegraph cable which linked the Philippines to the U.S. west coast.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|15}}<ref name="Williford_137">Williford (2010), p. 137</ref> In 1941, the island was given a "Category F" defense rating; this ruled out the construction of new defenses and meant that, when war broke out, Guam's defenders were to destroy all facilities of military value and withdraw.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|13}} Despite this and with only small arms available to them for their defense, the U.S. Marines stationed on the island under the command of Lieutenant Colonel [[William K. MacNulty]], fortified their positions and put up a defense against the subsequent Japanese aerial assault of the island, while suffering losses and other casualties of nearly one-third of their complement.<ref>Thomas Wilds, "The Japanese Seizure of Guam", ''Marine Corps Gazette'', July, 1955</ref>

Despite the low priority accorded to Guam, some minor steps were taken by other commands to improve Guam's defenses before war broke out. A contract for minor improvements to the military facilities on Guam was issued in April 1941, and work began the next month.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|13,18}} The [[Guam Insular Force Guard]], which was a local militia responsible for protecting the naval base, was also slightly expanded in May. On 17 October dependents of American military personnel on the island were evacuated to the United States by the transport {{USS|Henderson|AP-1|6}}, followed by more than 1,000 construction workers.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|18}} On 23 October the U.S. Navy's [[General Board of the United States Navy|General Board]] provided [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] [[Frank Knox]] with a report on Guam's defenses which recommended against reinforcing the island because of the difficulties of defending it and the need to allocate resources to other priorities. The report argued in favor of continuing to improve Guam's harbor and seaplane facilities.<ref name="Williford_138">Williford (2010), p. 138</ref>

At the outbreak of war on 8 December 1941 (local time), Guam was defended by small US Navy and USMC units as well as the Insular Force Guard. Captain [[George McMillin]], who was the island's governor and the overall commander of the garrison, was in charge of naval forces, Guam, which amounted to 271 personnel and four nurses. This force was a subordinate unit of the [[United States Asiatic Fleet|Asiatic Fleet]], and most of its personnel were unarmed. Guam's guard ship, the {{USS|Gold Star|AK-12|6}}, had sailed to the Philippines to pick up supplies and enable the crew to buy Christmas presents and was directed to remain there.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|18}} The [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]] {{USS|Penguin|AM-33|6}} was present at the island, along with the immobile oil depot ship {{USS|Robert L. Barnes|AO-14|2}},<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|19}} and two old [[yard patrol boat]]s ''[[USS YP-16|YP-16]]'' and ''[[USS YP-17|YP-17]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=War in the Pacific: Outbreak of the War U.S. Navy: Sailors and Ships|website=[[National Park Service]]|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/npswapa/extContent/wapa/guides/outbreak/sec6.htm  |quote=YP-16 and YP-17 patrol boats provided naval surveillance and reconnaissance off Guam waters}}</ref><ref name="NS-YP16">{{Cite web|first= Joseph M.|last=  Radigan |title= YP-16 ex CG-267 (1925–1934)  |website=NavSource - Naval Source History|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/14/31016.htm  |access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref><ref name="NS-YP17">{{Cite web|first= Joseph M.|last=  Radigan|title= YP-17 ex CG-275 (1925–1934)  |website=NavSource - Naval Source History|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/14/31017.htm  |access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref> Marine barracks, Sumay, had a strength of 145 men who were organised into a [[Company (military unit)|company]] armed with rifles and a small number of machine guns.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|18}} The Insular Force Guard included 246 men, most of whom had received little training.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|19}}<ref name="Williford_138" /> The Marines and Insular Force Guard were equipped with 170 [[M1903 Springfield]] rifles, 13 [[Lewis gun|Lewis guns]] and 15 [[M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle|Browning Automatic Rifles]]. The defenders did not have any [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]]s or artillery other than the guns on board ''Penguin''.<ref name=Williford_138 /> In addition to these military units, Guam's police force (the [[Guam Insular Patrol]]) had a strength of 80 men who were armed only with pistols.<ref name="Rottman-2004" />{{RP|19}}

==Battle==
At 04:44 on 8 December McMillin was informed of the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. At 08:27 Japanese land-based aircraft from Saipan attacked the Marine barracks, Piti Navy Yard, Libugon radio station, Standard Oil Company, and the Pan American Hotel. During the air attack, the USS ''Penguin'' was sunk after shooting down at least one Japanese aeroplane.<ref name=Klemen>{{cite web |first=Klemen |last=L |url=https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/december2.html |title=Chronology of the Dutch East Indies, December 1941 |date=1999–2000 |work=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015214226/http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/december2.html |archive-date=2015-10-15 }}</ref> One officer was killed and several men wounded. The air raids all over Guam continued into the morning and afternoon before subsiding at 17:00.

At 08:30 on 9 December Japanese air attacks resumed, with no more than nine aircraft attacking at a time. The same targets as the previous day were attacked, and also the Government House in Agana and several villages. That evening, a Japanese invasion fleet of four heavy cruisers, four destroyers, two [[gunboat]]s, six [[submarine chaser]]s, two minesweepers, two [[destroyer tender]]s,<ref name=MCG/> and ten transports (''[[Yokohama Maru (1912)|Yokohama Maru]]'', ''[[SS China Maru (1920)|China Maru]]'', ''Cheribin Maru'', ''Clyde Maru'', ''Daifuku Maru'', ''Kogyoku Maru'', ''Matsue Maru'', ''Moji Maru'', ''Nichimei Maru'', and ''Venice Maru'')<ref name=CF-YokohamaMaru>{{cite web |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/Yokohama_t.htm|title=Yokohama Maru -Tabular Record of Movement|first1=Bob |last1=Hackett|first2=Erich  |last2=Muehlthaler  |first3=John |last3=Whitman |work=combinedfleet.com |year=2016 |access-date=30 January 2021}}</ref> left Saipan for Guam. A mistake in their intelligence gathering had caused the Japanese to overcommit resources and attack Guam with disproportionate force.<ref name=MCG>Thomas Wilds, "The Japanese Seizure of Guam," ''Marine Corps Gazette'', July 1955</ref>
[[File:USS Penguin (AM-33).jpg|thumb|right|250px|USS ''Penguin'']]
[[File:Japanese POW Propaganda.png|thumb|right|250px|Captain Haviland of the USS ''Penguin'' at the bottom row 2nd from right]]

The Japanese landed about 400 troops of the 5th Defence Force from Saipan on Guam in the early morning of 10 December 1941 at Dungcas Beach, north of Agana.<ref name=Klemen/> They attacked and quickly defeated the Insular Force Guard in Agana. They advanced on Piti, moving toward Sumay and the Marine barracks. The principal engagement took place on Agana's [[Plaza de España (Hagåtña)|Plaza de España]] at 04:45 when a few Marines and Insular Force guardsmen fought with the Japanese naval soldiers. After token post-invasion resistance, the Marines, on McMillin's orders, surrendered at 05:45. McMillin officially surrendered at 06:00.<ref name=Klemen/> A few skirmishes took place all over the island before news of the surrender spread and the rest of the island forces laid down their arms. ''YP-16'' was scuttled by means of fire, and ''YP-17'' was captured by Japanese naval forces. An American freighter was damaged by the Japanese.

In the meantime the Japanese South Seas Detachment (about 5,500 men) under the command of Major General [[Tomitarō Horii]] made separate landings at [[Tumon Bay]] in the north, on the southwest coast near Merizo, and on the eastern shore of the island at Talofofo Bay.<ref name=Klemen/>

U.S. Marine losses were five killed and 13 wounded (including the prior Japanese air assault of the island, the Marines' losses were 13 dead and 37 wounded<ref> Thomas Wilds, in "The Japanese Seizure of Guam", noted that, "With the island softened up by 2 days of bombing and strafing (and U.S. Marine machine gun and small arms counter fire, which, remarkably, actually, struck and disabled enemy aircraft), … His (Maj. Gen. Horii's) assumption that the main resistance would be on Orote was well founded, for the Marines under Lt. Col William K. MacNulty, less 28 men on patrols at scattered points, took up positions at the butts of their rifle range near Sumay. The Insular Force Guard, however, formed in Agana Plaza, and Capt McMillin kept his headquarters at Government House in Agana. … The Hayashi Detachment became the pride of the (Japanese) Imperial Navy (after their seizure of Guam). But their pride lasted no longer than Japan's hold on Guam. When the Marines landed in 1944, the Hayashi Detachment, still on the island, was annihilated."</ref>). The U.S. Navy lost eight killed, and four of the Guam Insular Force Guards were killed and 22 others wounded. One Japanese naval soldier was killed<ref name=Klemen/> and six wounded. Private First Class John Kauffman was killed by the Japanese after the surrender.<ref>{{cite web|first=Roger |last=Mansell  |url= https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/kauffman.html |title=The death of Private Kauffman, USMC Sumay Barracks, Guam Island, December 10th, 1941 |date=1999–2000 |website=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942}}</ref>

Thirteen American civilians were killed by the Japanese during the battle. Six U.S. Navy seamen evaded capture by the Japanese rather than surrender; five were eventually retaken by the Japanese and beheaded, while Radioman First Class [[George Ray Tweed]] survived with the help of local [[Chamorro people|Chamorros]]. They moved him from village to village, sometimes endangering their own families for his protection. The Japanese knew that an unknown American could not hide without some form of help. Consequently, Chamorro suspects were questioned, tortured, and beheaded. Despite the abuses, Chamorros loyal to the United States protected Tweed. Tweed managed to evade the Japanese during their [[Japanese occupation of Guam|occupation of Guam]] for 2 years and 7 months until he was rescued prior to the [[Battle of Guam (1944)|Second Battle of Guam]].<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/npswapa/extContent/wapa/guides/outbreak/sec6.htm War in the Pacific: Outbreak of the War] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519021010/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/npswapa/extContent/wapa/guides/outbreak/sec6.htm |date=May 19, 2014 }}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
{{Commons category|Battle of Guam (1941)}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121108095415/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/npswapa/extContent/wapa/defense/defense1.htm Tony Palomo, "The Defense of Guam"] (U.S. National Park Service) Access date: June 11, 2007.
*Lodge, Major O.R. [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-Guam/index.html ''USMC Historical Monograph: The Recapture of Guam''], Historical Branch, United States Marine Corps, 1954.
*Hough, Lieutenant Colonel Frank O. [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/I/index.html ''History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II. Volume I: Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal''], Historical Branch, United States Marine Corps.
* {{cite web |first= Klemen |last= L |date= 2000 |title= Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 |url= https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/index.html }}
*[http://www.mansell.com/pow_resources/guam/guamroster.html Roster of Guam Personnel.]
*{{cite book|last=Williford|first=Glen M.|title=Racing the Sunrise: Reinforcing America's Pacific Outposts, 1941-1942|year=2010|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|isbn=978-1-59114-956-9}}

{{Dec41attacks}}
{{Guam}}

{{coord missing|Guam}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guam 1941}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1941]]
[[Category:Pacific Ocean theater of World War II]]
[[Category:History of Guam]]
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Japan]]
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving the United States]]
[[Category:1941 in Japan]]
[[Category:1941 in Guam]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps in World War II]]
[[Category:Amphibious operations of World War II]]
[[Category:December 1941 events in the United States]]
[[Category:Military in Guam]]
[[Category:Attacks on military installations in the 1940s]]
[[Category:Attacks on military installations in the United States]]
[[Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in insular areas of the United States]]