Battle of Tinian

By the summer of 1944, the United States was pushing steadily across the Central Pacific toward Japan.

Saipan had fallen after weeks of savage fighting.

The next objective lay only a few miles away.

Tinian.

The island was smaller than Saipan, but its capture would have enormous consequences. Tinian possessed terrain ideally suited for constructing airfields from which the new B-29 Superfortress could strike the Japanese home islands.

Standing in the way were thousands of Japanese defenders.

The Marines would have to invade.

What followed became one of the most carefully planned and successfully executed amphibious operations of the Pacific War.

The Marines deceived the Japanese about where they intended to land, came ashore across beaches considered too narrow for a major invasion and overwhelmed the island's defenses in little more than a week.

And the tiny island they captured would eventually become the launching point for the atomic bomb missions against Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Next Island

Tinian lies just a few miles southwest of Saipan in the Mariana Islands.

American forces had invaded Saipan on June 15, 1944. After nearly a month of brutal combat, organized Japanese resistance there collapsed in early July.

Attention immediately turned toward Tinian.

The island was strategically valuable because of its relatively flat terrain.

American planners envisioned enormous airfields capable of supporting hundreds of B-29 bombers.

Once Tinian, Saipan and Guam were secured, the United States would possess bases close enough for sustained strategic bombing attacks against Japan.

But first, the Marines had to get ashore.

The Obvious Landing Beach

The most obvious place to invade Tinian was near Tinian Town on the southwestern coast.

The beaches there were relatively broad and suitable for a large amphibious landing.

The Japanese knew that too.

They prepared accordingly.

Defensive positions covered the likely landing areas. Artillery, machine guns and other weapons were positioned to attack an invasion force approaching the beaches.

If the Americans landed where expected, the Japanese intended to make them pay heavily.

Marine planners looked for another option.

They found one on the opposite side of the island.

White Beach 1 and White Beach 2

On northern Tinian were two tiny stretches of sand designated White Beach 1 and White Beach 2.

They hardly looked like invasion beaches.

White Beach 1 was only about 60 yards wide.

White Beach 2 was roughly 160 yards wide.

Conventional landing craft would have difficulty putting a major assault force ashore there.

That was precisely why the beaches were attractive.

The Japanese did not believe the Americans could land a large force across them.

Marine planners believed otherwise.

If engineers could solve the problem of getting vehicles and equipment over the coastal obstacles, the Marines might achieve tactical surprise.

The Seabees Build a Way Ashore

One of the most ingenious pieces of equipment used during the invasion was developed by Navy Seabees.

The beaches were bordered in places by low coral cliffs and ledges that presented serious problems for vehicles coming ashore.

The solution became known as the "Doodlebug."

Seabees mounted steel ramps on amphibious vehicles so they could be carried toward shore and positioned against the coral le