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Bitter Peleliu: The Forgotten Struggle on the Pacific War's Worst Battlefield
The hard-hitting history of the Pacific War's 'forgotten battle' of Peleliu – a story of intelligence failings and impossible bravery.
In late 1944, as a precursor to the invasion of the Philippines, U.S. military analysts decided to seize the small island of Peleliu to ensure that the Japanese airfield there could not threaten the invasion forces. This important new book explores the dramatic story of this 'forgotten' battle and the campaign's strategic failings. Bitter Peleliu reveals how U.S. intelligence officers failed to detect the complex network of caves, tunnels, and pillboxes hidden inside the island's coral ridges. More importantly, they did not discern – nor could they before it happened – that the defense of Peleliu would represent a tectonic shift in Japanese strategy. No more contested enemy landings at the water's edge, no more wild banzai attacks. Now, invaders would be raked on the beaches by mortar and artillery fire. Then, as the enemy penetrated deeper into the Japanese defensive systems, he would find himself on ground carefully prepared for the purpose of killing as many Americans as possible.
For the battle-hardened 1st Marine Division Peleliu was a hornets' nest like no other. Yet thanks to pre-invasion over-confidence on the part of commanders, 30 of the 36 news correspondents accredited for the campaign had left prior to D-Day. Bitter Peleliu reveals the full horror of this 74-day battle, a battle that thanks to the reduced media presence has never garnered the type of attention it deserves.
Pacific War historian Joseph Wheelan dissects the American intelligence and strategic failings, analyses the shift in Japanese tactics, and recreates the Marines' horrific experiences on the worst of the Pacific battlegrounds. This book is a brilliant, compelling read on a forgotten battle.
In late 1944, as a precursor to the invasion of the Philippines, U.S. military analysts decided to seize the small island of Peleliu to ensure that the Japanese airfield there could not threaten the invasion forces. This important new book explores the dramatic story of this 'forgotten' battle and the campaign's strategic failings. Bitter Peleliu reveals how U.S. intelligence officers failed to detect the complex network of caves, tunnels, and pillboxes hidden inside the island's coral ridges. More importantly, they did not discern – nor could they before it happened – that the defense of Peleliu would represent a tectonic shift in Japanese strategy. No more contested enemy landings at the water's edge, no more wild banzai attacks. Now, invaders would be raked on the beaches by mortar and artillery fire. Then, as the enemy penetrated deeper into the Japanese defensive systems, he would find himself on ground carefully prepared for the purpose of killing as many Americans as possible.
For the battle-hardened 1st Marine Division Peleliu was a hornets' nest like no other. Yet thanks to pre-invasion over-confidence on the part of commanders, 30 of the 36 news correspondents accredited for the campaign had left prior to D-Day. Bitter Peleliu reveals the full horror of this 74-day battle, a battle that thanks to the reduced media presence has never garnered the type of attention it deserves.
Pacific War historian Joseph Wheelan dissects the American intelligence and strategic failings, analyses the shift in Japanese tactics, and recreates the Marines' horrific experiences on the worst of the Pacific battlegrounds. This book is a brilliant, compelling read on a forgotten battle.
- GenresWorld War IIHistoryWar
336 pages, Hardcover
First published October 11, 2022
43 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 2, 2023
As a former Army officer, it is not in my DNA to give the Marines credit for anything. It’s a sibling rivalry (the Army is the older, for the record) which means we give each other endless….well you know.
All that said, the reputation the Marines have as indefatigable doesn’t come from nowhere. And the forgotten Battle of Peleliu is one of the places that burnished this reputation. As the U.S. marched towards Japan during World War II, Peleliu island stood as one of the paths to victory. Some historians will also let you know it was an island that could have been skipped. It wasn’t. And it turned into an absolute horror show.
Joseph Wheelan writes about the battle in a way that makes it readable for any audience. Military history can sometimes get too caught up in which unit was where and loses the human side of the battle. Wheelan weaves every component into a story that doesn’t require you to understand military science and strategy. Along the way, you will read names nearly everyone knows and you will feel just how horrific this battle was.
(This book was provided by Osprey Publishing.)
All that said, the reputation the Marines have as indefatigable doesn’t come from nowhere. And the forgotten Battle of Peleliu is one of the places that burnished this reputation. As the U.S. marched towards Japan during World War II, Peleliu island stood as one of the paths to victory. Some historians will also let you know it was an island that could have been skipped. It wasn’t. And it turned into an absolute horror show.
Joseph Wheelan writes about the battle in a way that makes it readable for any audience. Military history can sometimes get too caught up in which unit was where and loses the human side of the battle. Wheelan weaves every component into a story that doesn’t require you to understand military science and strategy. Along the way, you will read names nearly everyone knows and you will feel just how horrific this battle was.
(This book was provided by Osprey Publishing.)
December 17, 2022
This is an excellent history of a little known and sadly unnecessary battle fought to the death. It is a truly a story of vanity and uncompromising short sightedness on the part of the American Marine Commander, Rupertus, who's personality led to a lot of unnecessary American deaths. Wheelan does an excellent job describing the heartbreaking conditions these Amercian and Japanese men suffered and providing the necessary background information to put the battle in context.
March 29, 2023
The subtitle of this fine work tells the story best: “The forgotten struggle on the Pacific War’s worst battlefield.” Peleliu is a small island in the Palau Islands chain. In September 1944, the US was preparing for its invasion of Leyte in the eastern edge of the Philippines. Many in the US military establishment thought that the Japanese airfield on Peleliu posed a threat to MacArthur’s Philippine invasion fleet.
Peleliu Island itself is a small island. Its southern part is flat and large enough for the Japanese to construct an airfield. Behind stood the Umurbrogol ridges, jungle-covered, and to the invasion planners, seemingly benign. The Japanese had other notions.
By 1944, the Japanese shifted strategies as they waited for the next round of American invasions.
Before the invasion of Peleliu, the Japanese realized they were losing the war on all fronts. The newly formed United Nations was calling for an unconditional surrender of all Axis Powers.
To avoid such a humiliation, the Japanese decided on a new land strategy. Each island would become a nest of pillboxes, hidden caves, overlapping fields of fire. Their defensive system would stage an “endurance engagement” that cost the Americans dearly for each yard of ground gained. The Umurbrogol ridges and valleys were the ideal landscape for this strategy.
The Japanese military leaders thought that this bloodletting would show the resolve and determination of the individual Japanese soldier, thus again, shock the Americans into a more malleable attitude at a peace table.
At Peleliu, in caves, bunkers, and hidden firing zones, the Japanese would bleed America white—the same failed tactic the Germans used at Verdun against France nearly three decades before.
The Marine general in charge, William Rupertus, let his ego and arrogance override any other consideration. He believed his Marines would walk over the Japanese in four days. The battle raged for nearly 80. Although he had a US Army division in reserve, he refused time and again to allow the army to have part of this fight. Instead, he ordered his beleaguered, exhausted, wounded Marines to attack, often uphill, against heavily defended crags and sharp ridges honeycombed with determined Japanese defenders.
And no one watched. The European war seemed to be drawing to an early close. MacArthur invaded the Philippines. The roiling fight on Peleliu was too costly, too embarrassing, so humiliating for the Marine Corps, that it was brushed aside. Even after the war, it was buried in the historical record. The Corps wanted to forget Peleliu.
Wheelan’s work is worth the time to read. It does not shy away from the truth of this battle and its bloody consequences.
Peleliu Island itself is a small island. Its southern part is flat and large enough for the Japanese to construct an airfield. Behind stood the Umurbrogol ridges, jungle-covered, and to the invasion planners, seemingly benign. The Japanese had other notions.
By 1944, the Japanese shifted strategies as they waited for the next round of American invasions.
Before the invasion of Peleliu, the Japanese realized they were losing the war on all fronts. The newly formed United Nations was calling for an unconditional surrender of all Axis Powers.
To avoid such a humiliation, the Japanese decided on a new land strategy. Each island would become a nest of pillboxes, hidden caves, overlapping fields of fire. Their defensive system would stage an “endurance engagement” that cost the Americans dearly for each yard of ground gained. The Umurbrogol ridges and valleys were the ideal landscape for this strategy.
The Japanese military leaders thought that this bloodletting would show the resolve and determination of the individual Japanese soldier, thus again, shock the Americans into a more malleable attitude at a peace table.
At Peleliu, in caves, bunkers, and hidden firing zones, the Japanese would bleed America white—the same failed tactic the Germans used at Verdun against France nearly three decades before.
The Marine general in charge, William Rupertus, let his ego and arrogance override any other consideration. He believed his Marines would walk over the Japanese in four days. The battle raged for nearly 80. Although he had a US Army division in reserve, he refused time and again to allow the army to have part of this fight. Instead, he ordered his beleaguered, exhausted, wounded Marines to attack, often uphill, against heavily defended crags and sharp ridges honeycombed with determined Japanese defenders.
And no one watched. The European war seemed to be drawing to an early close. MacArthur invaded the Philippines. The roiling fight on Peleliu was too costly, too embarrassing, so humiliating for the Marine Corps, that it was brushed aside. Even after the war, it was buried in the historical record. The Corps wanted to forget Peleliu.
Wheelan’s work is worth the time to read. It does not shy away from the truth of this battle and its bloody consequences.
April 30, 2024
The complete history of the Battle for Peleliu
The most thorough read on the Battle for Peleliu. It describes in great detail both the USMC and the Japanese decisions on how to fight this lost historical WW II Battle. A must-read. Semper Fi.
The most thorough read on the Battle for Peleliu. It describes in great detail both the USMC and the Japanese decisions on how to fight this lost historical WW II Battle. A must-read. Semper Fi.
November 21, 2023
Pity the poor 2nd Lieutenant serving under Chesty Puller. A horrifying telling of a battle that should never have been fought. It was here where correspondent and artist Tom Lea painted two of the most memorable renderings of combat in the Pacific Theater in WWII.
July 15, 2024
A worthy read.
Well done and researched. The work flows smoothly. It clearly shows the fatigue and conflict within the command structure of the 1st marine division.
Well done and researched. The work flows smoothly. It clearly shows the fatigue and conflict within the command structure of the 1st marine division.
October 19, 2024
During the fighting north of the airfield, Norris held the hand of a dying comrade whose belly had been split open by shrapnel. “He said ... I’m not going to make it.’ He squeezed real tight and every once in awhile he said, ‘Am I getting weaker?’ And I said, “Nah, you're all right.’ And he lived about 15 minutes.”
My initial instincts was to rate this as a three star book under my World War II handicap system. The writing leans too heavily on primary sources in that the narrative tends to jumps from extract to extract (Sledge and Leckie now losing their novelty through no fault of their own). The editorial control is okay but not amazing, with examples of unnecessary backtracking and repetition of information. Finally, while the Battle of Peleliu is relatively obscure, it is not undercovered nor offers particular insights compared to other amphibious invasions - you can stretch a little on that last point (as Wheelan does) but most of the issues in the battle occur in other campaigns. Peleliu was a precursor to some elements, but you could get away with reading a chapter about it, rather than a book (or just read Sledge, I guess).
Despite these issues, I like this book, and I like because it is laser focussed on one thing:
War is hell.
After repelling the main enemy counterattack, the Marines threw thermite grenades to flush the Japanese hiding at the cliff base. With loud shrieks and flames licking their bodies, they ran to the water as the ammunition in their belts exploded like “strings of fireworks.” They rolled over and over in the water in a futile attempt to extinguish the flames. Their bodies burned in the shallows, “crackling human bonfires that lit up the night.” Hunt said that their “shrill screams resounded so piercingly that I realized that the noise of the battle had suddenly ceased."
There's not much in the war of tactical maneuvering on Peleliu. It's either straight assault or siege against a fanatically dug in against an also tactically limited enemy. So Wheelan leans heavily into the brutal and gruesome aspects of the battle. It's not new information, but the consistency does get closer of getting you to the idea that there was no easy escape. I'm hardly going to get PTSD reading the book, but it gets it right that there was no rest for either side.
Another point is the difference of approach between the Marines and the US Army as to the respective assault vs siege mentality. We don't, and probably can't, get a definitive answer on the best approach, but Wheelan gets across the incredible wastage of highly trained amphibious forces (including support troops pressed into the frontline) for small gain.
The use of specialists as infantrymen became more common as casualties mounted. Among the newly anointed infantrymen could also be found amtrac crewmen; pioneers; stevedores from the 16th Field Depot; and clerks, cooks, truck drivers and communications men. A messman won a Silver Star, and a Marine combat correspondent was wounded while supervising a machine-gun section.
It makes me see perhaps why the atomic bombs became so attractive. As for the Japanese approach of "suicide by bayonet" - thanks to Wheelan I can see why it hasn't caught on.
One thingi would like to see, and I suspect it is more wishcasting than anything achievable, is a deeper analysis of Japanese tactical moves other than digging deep holes and infiltration. Wheelan does note a couple of times that a quicker Japanese counterattack might have achieved something, but we don't know the how and why of any indecision within Japanese command - the lack is very noticeable having just read The Hill. I wonder if there are some Japanese language sources out there awaiting translation - their tendency not to survive does make it tougher.
This is not a book that demands to be read, but it does make demands on you if you do. A pretty good anti-war book.
My initial instincts was to rate this as a three star book under my World War II handicap system. The writing leans too heavily on primary sources in that the narrative tends to jumps from extract to extract (Sledge and Leckie now losing their novelty through no fault of their own). The editorial control is okay but not amazing, with examples of unnecessary backtracking and repetition of information. Finally, while the Battle of Peleliu is relatively obscure, it is not undercovered nor offers particular insights compared to other amphibious invasions - you can stretch a little on that last point (as Wheelan does) but most of the issues in the battle occur in other campaigns. Peleliu was a precursor to some elements, but you could get away with reading a chapter about it, rather than a book (or just read Sledge, I guess).
Despite these issues, I like this book, and I like because it is laser focussed on one thing:
War is hell.
After repelling the main enemy counterattack, the Marines threw thermite grenades to flush the Japanese hiding at the cliff base. With loud shrieks and flames licking their bodies, they ran to the water as the ammunition in their belts exploded like “strings of fireworks.” They rolled over and over in the water in a futile attempt to extinguish the flames. Their bodies burned in the shallows, “crackling human bonfires that lit up the night.” Hunt said that their “shrill screams resounded so piercingly that I realized that the noise of the battle had suddenly ceased."
There's not much in the war of tactical maneuvering on Peleliu. It's either straight assault or siege against a fanatically dug in against an also tactically limited enemy. So Wheelan leans heavily into the brutal and gruesome aspects of the battle. It's not new information, but the consistency does get closer of getting you to the idea that there was no easy escape. I'm hardly going to get PTSD reading the book, but it gets it right that there was no rest for either side.
Another point is the difference of approach between the Marines and the US Army as to the respective assault vs siege mentality. We don't, and probably can't, get a definitive answer on the best approach, but Wheelan gets across the incredible wastage of highly trained amphibious forces (including support troops pressed into the frontline) for small gain.
The use of specialists as infantrymen became more common as casualties mounted. Among the newly anointed infantrymen could also be found amtrac crewmen; pioneers; stevedores from the 16th Field Depot; and clerks, cooks, truck drivers and communications men. A messman won a Silver Star, and a Marine combat correspondent was wounded while supervising a machine-gun section.
It makes me see perhaps why the atomic bombs became so attractive. As for the Japanese approach of "suicide by bayonet" - thanks to Wheelan I can see why it hasn't caught on.
One thingi would like to see, and I suspect it is more wishcasting than anything achievable, is a deeper analysis of Japanese tactical moves other than digging deep holes and infiltration. Wheelan does note a couple of times that a quicker Japanese counterattack might have achieved something, but we don't know the how and why of any indecision within Japanese command - the lack is very noticeable having just read The Hill. I wonder if there are some Japanese language sources out there awaiting translation - their tendency not to survive does make it tougher.
This is not a book that demands to be read, but it does make demands on you if you do. A pretty good anti-war book.
January 2, 2026
I didn't know much about the battle here. I highly recommend reading this book, as it will bring this chapter of the Pacific War to the recognition it deserves.
February 16, 2025
I was a little sad about this one as I loved Wheelan's Midnight in the Pacific (though interestingly I didn't really enjoy Bloody Okinawa). I wanted a lot more detail, especially during the early days of the invasion and the attack on the airfield, especially as that was portrayed so iconically on TV in The Pacific. There also didn't feel like nearly enough character detail except for the section on Chesty Puller, which was great.
September 28, 2023
This is an excellent book that gives equal exposure to the US Army 81st Infantry and the Marines who gave their all on this God forsaken island. Wheelan is the beneficiary of so many great Peleliu authors before him like, Hough, Gailey, Blair, Sledge, Leckie, Hallas, and Ross. With this available research he is able to weave this information into a concise and compelling story of this often overlooked battle.
He pulls no punches, as history tells no lies. This invasion never should of happened and the failure of leadership up to and during this horrific fight is disturbing. So many mistakes and so many lives lost. What was expected to be a 3-4 day battle turned into a 73 day bloodbath.
79 years later we honor all that fought and died here.
He pulls no punches, as history tells no lies. This invasion never should of happened and the failure of leadership up to and during this horrific fight is disturbing. So many mistakes and so many lives lost. What was expected to be a 3-4 day battle turned into a 73 day bloodbath.
79 years later we honor all that fought and died here.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews