Reference Entry
LANDINGS ON GUAM BEGIN
Three weeks after seizing Saipan, American forces returned to Guam, reclaiming a prewar United States possession that had been lost in the dark days of 1941. Marines and soldiers from the Third Marine Division, the First Provisional Marine Brigade, and the Seventy-Seventh Infantry Division went ashore under heavy fire, forced to slog through surf, coral, and fortified jungle slopes.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Landings on Guam begin
Three weeks after seizing Saipan, American forces returned to Guam, reclaiming a prewar United States possession that had been lost in the dark days of 1941. Marines and soldiers from the Third Marine Division, the First Provisional Marine Brigade, and the Seventy-Seventh Infantry Division went ashore under heavy fire, forced to slog through surf, coral, and fortified jungle slopes. Japanese defenders had spent months digging in along ridges and ravines, turning the terrain into a layered defensive zone that had to be cleared ridge by ridge. Fighting for beachheads near Asan and Agat was brutal, with counterattacks coming at night and artillery duels echoing across the island. As United States units pushed inland and linked up their lodgments, they slowly crushed organized resistance and began the long process of rooting out remaining pockets. Regaining Guam not only restored a piece of American soil but also provided another key base in the Marianas for airfields, logistics hubs, and naval anchorages supporting the drive toward Japan.
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