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8/11/2025, 2:11:48 AM
>>64104803
What is truly interesting is the size of Saipan against the size of Peleliu.
Saipan is 115 Sq/Km, 23 Kilometers north to south and 3-5 kilometers across in most parts. Mixed terrain with some jungle, low scrubs, rocky outcrops and caves. Great for defense.
Peleliu is less than 1/9th the size of Saipan, 10 kilometers in length and 3 kilometers at its widest span. It had lots of rugged coral outcrops and rough terrain with plenty of caves, but a decent chunk of the island was cleared for an airstrip.
Peleliu was garrisoned with just 6,500 combat effective troops against more than 20,000 in Saipan, yet tit for tat it was much more costly to take than Saipan, and took more than two months to capture.
It's crazy to look at Peleliu in satellite, the island is smaller than Central Park, yet it took 2 months and more than 2,000 dead to clear out this miserably small island. The word "Defense in depth" is being stretched to the limit here. Crunching the numbers, Peleliu was the hardest battle in the Pacific for the Marines.
What is truly interesting is the size of Saipan against the size of Peleliu.
Saipan is 115 Sq/Km, 23 Kilometers north to south and 3-5 kilometers across in most parts. Mixed terrain with some jungle, low scrubs, rocky outcrops and caves. Great for defense.
Peleliu is less than 1/9th the size of Saipan, 10 kilometers in length and 3 kilometers at its widest span. It had lots of rugged coral outcrops and rough terrain with plenty of caves, but a decent chunk of the island was cleared for an airstrip.
Peleliu was garrisoned with just 6,500 combat effective troops against more than 20,000 in Saipan, yet tit for tat it was much more costly to take than Saipan, and took more than two months to capture.
It's crazy to look at Peleliu in satellite, the island is smaller than Central Park, yet it took 2 months and more than 2,000 dead to clear out this miserably small island. The word "Defense in depth" is being stretched to the limit here. Crunching the numbers, Peleliu was the hardest battle in the Pacific for the Marines.
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