Battle of Wake Island

• 1. Strategic Prelude And Setup

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  In January 1941, the United States Navy began construction of a military base on the atoll. On the 19th of August, the first permanent military garrison arrived under the command of Major J.P.S. Devereux with a force of 450 officers and men. Despite the relatively small size of the atoll, the Marines could not man all their defensive positions nor did they arrive with all their equipment. Notably, air search radar units were missing from their inventory. Only 449 Marines remained on hand for the battles because one officer, Major Walter Baylor, had been ordered to leave on the 20th of December with official reports. The Marine Detachment was supplemented by Marine Corps Fighter Squadron VMF-211, consisting of 12 F4F-3 Wildcat fighters commanded by Marine aviator Major Paul A. Putnam. Also present on the island were 68 U.S. Navy personnel. About 1,221 civilian workers for the Morrison-Knudsen Civil Engineering Company were present on the island for the construction of the military facilities. Most of these men were veterans of previous construction programs for the Boulder Dam, Bonneville Dam, or Grand Coulee Dam projects. Others were men who were in desperate situations and great need for money. The construction plans included an airfield, a seaplane base, a submarine base, and a channel cut through Wilkes Island for submarines to be able to reach the lagoon. The 326-foot dredge Columbia arrived in April 1941 and immediately set about with her task. Pan American Airways also had facilities on the island which served as one of the stops on the Pan Am Clipper trans-Pacific amphibious air service initiated in 1935. The civilian facility was part of a string of seaplane bases that opened the first commercial air route across the Pacific. Other stops were at islands across the Pacific. The flying boats were some of the largest fixed-wing aircraft of the day, and the tickets were very expensive but did allow a much faster trip to Asia and Australia. A couple dozen or so Pan-American employees plus 45 Chamorro men native Micronesians from the Mariana Islands and Guam were employed at the company's facilities on Wake Island. They worked at the seaplane base and hotel. Pan Am remained in operation up to the day of the first Japanese air raid in December 1941.

• 2. Initial Air Raids And Defense

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  Sunday the 7th of December 1941 was a clear and bright day on Wake Island. Just the previous day, Devereux ordered a practice drill for his Marines which happened to be the first one done because of the great need to focus on the island's defenses. The drill went well enough that Devereux commanded the men to rest and take their time relaxing doing laundry writing letters thinking cleaning or doing whatever they wished. On Monday the 8th of December 1941 the day started normally enough when a China Clipper Martin M-130 had left and was on its way to Guam with passengers. It received a radio message about the attack on Pearl Harbor and was told to return to Wake. Wake was on the other side of the date line so though just hours away in time from Pearl Harbor the massive attacks by Japan came on Monday not Sunday. Just hours after receiving word of the attack on Pearl Harbor 36 Japanese Mitsubishi G3M3 medium bombers flown from bases on the Marshall Islands attacked Wake Island. They destroyed eight of the 12 F4F-3 Wildcats on the ground and sank the Nisqually a former Design 1023 cargo ship converted into a scow. The remaining four F4F Wildcats were in the air patrolling but because of poor visibility failed to see the attacking Japanese bombers. These Wildcats shot down two bombers on the following day. All of the Marine garrison's defensive emplacements were left intact by the first raid which primarily targeted the aircraft. Of the 55 Marine aviation personnel 23 were killed and 11 were wounded. The Japanese bombing raid killed nine Pan Am employees and destroyed many of the buildings. Following this attack the Pan Am employees were evacuated along with the passengers of the Philippine Clipper as the Martin 130 had survived the attack unscathed save a few bullet holes. The surviving Chamorro workers did not board the plane and were left behind. The aircraft was stripped down to hold as many as possible and about 40 passengers could fit but they had to sit on the bare floor. The Philippine Clipper took three take-off attempts to get airborne then flew to Midway then Honolulu and finally San Francisco over three days. The passengers provided first-hand accounts of the attack. They experienced the Wake air raid and also saw damage at Midway and Pearl Harbor on the way back to San Francisco. Midway was also attacked that day along with Wake and Pearl. It was shelled by two Japanese destroyers that withdrew after being hit by Midway's shore batteries. The attack destroyed a PBY Catalina and there was several casualties along with damage to the facilities there. Of the 45 Chamorros five were killed and five wounded in the initial airstrikes on the 8th of December. The five in the hospital died the next day when the hospital was bombed. The military commander of Wake asked the surviving Chamorros if they would help defend the island. They agreed and helped fortify the island. They were taken POW with 33 surviving the war and in 1982 they were granted veteran status for their contributions during the battle.

• 3. First Amphibious Assault Repelled

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  Early on the morning of the 11th of December the garrison with the support of the four remaining Wildcats repelled the first Japanese landing attempt by the South Seas Force. The Japanese invasion fleet for the 11th of December assault included the light cruisers Yubari and Kisaragi plus older ships like the destroyer Hayate and others. Submarines Ro-65 Ro-66 and Ro-67 patrolled nearby to secure the perimeter. In the early morning hours of the 11th of December the Japanese fleet moved within range and began shelling the island around 06:00. The island was already on alert by morning because Cunningham had been informed the Japanese were trying to jam radio communication during the night. Prior to the landing assault Cunningham had been working to get the civilians away but Pearl Harbor had lost so many ships in the December 7 attack that there were fewer resources available for a relief mission. Because of the concern over radio jamming Wake was able to send up four serviceable F4F Wildcats on patrol before the invasion fleet arrived. After Japanese ships were spotted Cunningham ordered that the guns hold fire until they got into closer range. The US Marines began firing at the invasion fleet with their six 5-inch coast-defense guns as they approached the island. Battery L on Peale islet sank Hayate at a distance of 9,000 yards with at least two direct hits to her magazines causing her to explode and sink within two minutes in full view of the defenders on shore. Battery A claimed to have hit Yubari several times but her action report makes no mention of any damage. The four Wildcats also succeeded in sinking the destroyer Kisaragi by dropping a bomb on her stern where the depth charges were stored although some also suggest the bomb hitting elsewhere and an explosion amidships. Two destroyers were thus lost with nearly all hands since there was only one survivor from Hayate. Hayate became the first Japanese surface warship to be sunk in the war. The Japanese recorded 407 casualties during the first attempt. The Japanese force withdrew without landing suffering their first setback of the war against the Americans. Later in the day the Japanese conducted an air raid of 17 G3M2 Nell bombers of which between the defending F4F Wildcats and anti-aircraft they claimed two shot down and 11 damaged. The invasion fleet returned to the Japanese-controlled Marshall Islands and preparations for the Wake relief mission continued in Hawaii. During the battle one Wildcat had been hit by fire which although landing safely rendered it unserviceable. This left three Wildcats available for air patrols.

• 4. Second Invasion And Surrender

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  The initial resistance offered by the garrison prompted the Japanese Navy to detach the Second Carrier Division Soryu and Hiryu along with its escorts 8th Cruiser Division and the 17th Destroyer Division all fresh from the assault on Pearl Harbor. They also brought the 6th Cruiser Division destroyer Tenyo Maru from the invasion of Guam and 29th Destroyer Division from the invasion of the Gilbert Islands to support the assault. The second Japanese invasion force came on the 23rd of December composed mostly of the ships from the first attempt plus 1,500 Japanese marines. The landings began at 02:35 after a preliminary bombardment when the Japanese landed at different points on the atoll. They were immediately faced with resistance by a 3-inch gun manned by Lieutenant Robert Hanna. His gun destroyed the ex-destroyers Patrol Boat No. 32 and Patrol Boat No. 33. The Japanese marines bypassed the gun position and attacked the airfield. Meanwhile a company of Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces Marines landed on Wake. They had advanced quite inland until they were met with a strong US counterattack led by Captain Platt which inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese and forced them to retreat back to their landing area. After heavy fighting the U.S. Marines guarding the airfield retreated to a final line northeast of the airfield. Unfortunately Cunningham had received notification of the recall of an American relief expedition that had been dispatched by the Pacific Fleet. With communications disrupted by SNLF men cutting American field phone lines Devereux assumed that most of his strongpoints on Wake's south shore had been overrun. Cunningham reluctantly issued orders to surrender and Devereux headed toward the sounds of the fighting to make sure they were obeyed. The US Marines lost 49 killed two missing and 49 wounded during the 15-day siege while three US Navy personnel and at least 70 US civilians were killed including 10 Chamorros and 12 civilians wounded. 433 US personnel were captured. The Japanese captured all men remaining on the island the majority of whom were civilian contractors employed by the Morrison-Knudsen Company. In the aftermath of the battle once the surrender was completed most of the captured civilians and military personnel were sent to POW camps in Asia. However some were enslaved by the Japanese and tasked with improving the island's defenses.

• 5. Failed Relief Expeditions

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  Admiral Fletcher's Task Force 14 TF-14 was tasked with the relief of Wake Island while Admiral Brown's Task Force 11 TF-11 was to undertake a raid on the island of Jaluit in the Marshall Islands as a diversion. A third task force under Vice Admiral Halsey centered around the Enterprise was tasked with supporting the other two task forces as the Japanese Second Carrier Division remained in the area of operations presenting a significant risk. TF-14 consisted of the fleet carrier Saratoga the fleet oiler Neches the seaplane tender Tangier which was outfitted for transport of cargo and people not seaplanes three heavy cruisers and eight destroyers. The convoy carried the 4th Marine Defense Battalion Battery F with four 3-inch AA guns and Battery B with two 5-inch/51 guns plus fighter squadron VMF-221 equipped with Brewster F2A-3 Buffalo fighters along with three complete sets of Fire Control equipment for the 3-inch AA batteries already on the island. It also included tools and spares spare parts for the 5-inch coast defense guns replacement fire control gear 9,000 5-inch rounds 12,000 3-inch rounds and 3 million .30 caliber rounds machine gun teams and service and support elements of the 4th Defense Battalion VMF-221 Detachment planes embarked on Saratoga an SCR-270 air search radar and an SCR-268 fire control radar for the 3-inch guns and a large amount of ammunition for mortars and other battalion small arms. At 21:00 on the 22nd of December after receiving information indicating the presence of two IJN carriers and two fast battleships near Wake Island Vice Admiral William S. Pye the Acting Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet ordered TF-14 to return to Pearl Harbor. Saratoga arrived at Pearl on the 15th of December 1941 refueled and departed for Wake Island the following day. The ship was assigned to Task Force TF-14 under the command of Fletcher. VF-3 had been reinforced by two additional Wildcats picked up in Hawaii but one SBD had been forced to ditch on the 11th of December. Saratoga rendezvoused with the seaplane tender Tangier carrying reinforcements and supplies and the slow replenishment oiler Neches. Saratoga's task force was delayed by the necessity to refuel its escorting destroyers on the 21st of December before reaching the island. This process was prolonged by heavy weather although the task force could still reach Wake by the 24th of December as scheduled. After receiving reports of heavy Japanese carrier airstrikes and then troop landings TF-14 was recalled on the 23rd of December the day Wake was captured by the Japanese.

• 6. Submarine Warfare And Losses

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  There were two Tambor-class U.S. submarines on patrol near Wake at the start of the battle and at least six Japanese submarines participated. The Japanese ultimately lost two submarines in the operation but not as a direct result of enemy action. Two Japanese submarines collided with each other sinking one and another crashed into a reef trying to get back to base after the battle. One US submarine engaged one Japanese vessel to no effect the night of the 10th of December. Prior to and at the start of hostilities the waters around Wake were patrolled by two USN submarines the Triton and the Tambor. Prior to the battle a USS Triton crew member became sick and was dropped off at Wake Island on the 1st of December 1941. He became a prisoner of war at the conclusion of the battle and survived WWII. Assigned to Submarine Division 62 commanded by Forrest M. O'Leary Triton made a training cruise to Midway from the 30th of August to the 15th of September then participated in local and fleet operations in the Hawaiian area. On the 19th of November the submarine headed west to conduct a practice war patrol and arrived off Wake on the 26th of November 1941. On the 8th of December she saw columns of smoke rising over the island but assumed it was caused by construction work being done ashore. That night when she surfaced to charge her batteries she was informed by radio from Wake that Pearl Harbor had been bombed and was ordered to stay out of range of Wake's guns. The next morning Triton observed the Japanese bombing the island. On the night of the 10th of December she surfaced and was charging her batteries when flashes of light from Wake revealed a destroyer or light cruiser on a parallel course. The submarine was silhouetted against the moon and the enemy ship turned towards her. Triton went deep and began evasive action. When the Japanese ship slowed astern the submarine came to periscope depth and fired four stern torpedoes, the first American torpedoes shot during World War II, on sonar bearings. She heard a dull explosion 58 seconds later and believed one had hit the target then went to deeper water and cleared the area. No sinking was recorded and she was not credited with one. After their initial repulse on the 11th of December the Japanese returned with two aircraft carriers Hiryu and Soryu. Triton was not informed and made no attacks on them. Neither did she make any effort to evacuate people from Wake. On the 21st of December the submarine was ordered to return to Hawaii and she arrived back at Pearl Harbor on the 31st of December 1941.

• 7. Japanese Occupation And War Crimes

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  Fearing an imminent invasion the Japanese reinforced Wake Island with more formidable defenses. The American captives were ordered to build a series of bunkers and fortifications on Wake. The Japanese brought in four naval guns which are often incorrectly reported as having been captured in Singapore. The U.S. Navy established a submarine blockade instead of an amphibious invasion of Wake Island. As a result the Japanese garrison starved which is thought to have led to their hunting the Wake Island Rail an endemic bird to extinction. On the 24th of February 1942 aircraft from the carrier USS Enterprise attacked the Japanese garrison on Wake Island. U.S. forces bombed the island periodically from 1942 until Japan's surrender in 1945. On the 24th of July 1943 Consolidated B-24 Liberators led by Lieutenant Jesse Stay of the 42nd Squadron struck the Japanese garrison on Wake Island. At least two men from that raid were awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses for their efforts. Future U.S. President George H. W. Bush also flew his first combat mission as a naval aviator over Wake Island. After this Wake was occasionally raided but never attacked en masse. In early 1944 Wake was largely cut off from resupply because the Allies Pacific campaign had moved past Wake. By May 1944 the Japanese forces on Wake began rationing food and the rationing became progressively more strict. Fishing growing vegetables bird eggs and rats were important food supplies at this time and sometimes tens of thousands of rats were eaten to stave off starvation. Their main resupply base was taken in the Allied Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign which created a supply issue for the garrison. The Japanese attempted resupply by submarine but it was difficult to get supplies ashore. In June 1945 the Japanese hospital ship Takasago Maru was allowed to visit Wake Island and it departed with 974 patients. It was boarded and checked both before and after the visit to confirm it was not carrying contraband and the number of patients was confirmed. The condition was recorded first hand by the McDermut II which reported that about 15% of the troops that were evacuated by the Japanese were extremely sick.