Battle of Guam (1944)

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The Battle of Guam (21 July – 10 August 1944) was the American recapture of the Japanese-held island of Guam, an American territory in the Mariana Islands captured by the Japanese in the First Battle of Guam in 1941 during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The battle was a critical component of Operation Forager. The recapture of Guam and the broader Mariana and Palau Islands campaign resulted in the destruction of much of Japan's naval air power and allowed the United States to establish large airbases from which it could bomb the Japanese home islands with its new strategic bomber, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The invasion of Saipan was scheduled for 15 June 1944, with landings on Guam tentatively set for just three days later, but the Battle of the Philippine Sea and stubborn resistance by the unexpectedly large Japanese garrison on Saipan led to the invasion of Guam being postponed for over a month. On 21 July, American forces landed on both sides of the Orote Peninsula on the...

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