Combat· World War II
Ngesebus-Kongauru shore-to-shore amphibious assault
On 28 September 1944, the 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, launched a shore-to-shore amphibious assault against Ngesebus and Kongauru, two small islands just north of Peleliu defended by some 500 entrenched Japanese.
The operation became a textbook demonstration of concentrated firepower: General Rupertus massed a battleship, two cruisers, most of the division and corps artillery, nearly all available armor, and all Marine aviation on Peleliu behind a single depleted battalion. Marine Corsairs of VMF-114 strafed the beach so closely that the assault waves were ashore before the defenders recovered. In about 36 hours the battalion destroyed 463 defenders at a cost of only 48 American casualties, making it the most cost-effective single-battalion action of the entire Peleliu campaign.
Podcast episodes on World War II
Record no. 577