Finishing off the Tailenders PTO (id:#65461)

(From The Cellar Pack #10 ID: FT298)   [next]   [previous]

Betio, Tarawa atoll, Gilbert Islands 1943-11-23 (9 others)

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Overview:

By D+3 the end of the fighting on Tarawa was within reach. Lt. Col. McLeod, in command of the fresh 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, was to pass through the lines of Major Jones’ depleted 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, and attack eastwards down the tail of the island to finish off the Japanese in this area, some of whom, at low tide, had been streaming off the island along a sand spit to establish new fighting positions on Bairiki, the next atoll in the Betio chain about a mile and a half to the east of Tarawa. Whereas early in the battle, the confusion of the time prevented effective tank-infantry coordination, by D+3 this friction was no longer rearing its ugly head, as it had earlier with tragic consequences from some Marines. McLeod had all available tanks at his disposal to complete the objective assigned to him.

Defender: American (USMC) (3rd Battalion, 6th Marines and C Company, 2nd Marine Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division)  

Errata (source)