The Battle of Wake Island is often referred to as the loneliest battle of World War II.
On December 8, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor surprised American military forces in Hawaii
an occupied much of America’s collective imagination.
However, the attack on Pearl Harbor was only one of a collection of offensives the Japanese
conducted on that day.
Stranded nearly 2,500 miles away from Hawaii, halfway to Japan, a small assembly of Marines
held back a fierce amphibious assault by Japanese forces as they awaited reinforcements.
The frustrated Japanese Navy would have to call in a second invasion force while the
US’s naval Task Force 14 raced to relieve the island...
War Comes to the Pacific
Hours after the first bombs fell, the Japanese hit twenty-nine targets along a three thousand
mile stretch from Hawaii to the South China Sea.
Destroyers attacked Midway Island as aerial bombers dropped payloads on American airbases
in the Philippines.
In just one raid, half of the American planes in the area were obliterated.
The Imperial Japanese Army took control of Shanghai, entered Thailand, and invaded Malaya,
an advantageous position to conquer Singapore.
The swift military action force Thailand to partner with Japan the very next day.
Japan sought a quick takeover of the Philippines, Guam, Malaya, Burma, Hong Kong, Sumatra, Java,
Celebes, Borneo, Timor, and the Bismarck Archipelago.
These were the first big step of war in the Pacific.
The Japanese High Command also saw secondary, smaller opportunities to gain territory.
Among these targets, Wake Island was a coral Atoll in the Pacific.
It was too American property with a holdout of Marines.
The Japanese saw it as their future base of operations for patrol planes supporting their
conquest of the larger Midway Island.
Claimed by the U.S. since 1899, the Island served as a naval and airbase since the 1930s.
It provided direct access to Japanese territories, which became increasingly important as the
prospect of war became inevitable.
For its attack on the Island, the Japanese sent 450 assault and garrison soldiers commanded
by Rear Admiral Sadamichi Ajioka.
The Japanese expected little resistance.
Prior intel informed the Japanese that the Island was guarded by inexperienced Marines.
Therefore, the Japanese expected a swift surrender as in Guam, Luzon, and the Philippines.
Besides, the Imperial Japanese Navy hadn't lost one ship thus far.
Wake Island
Wake Island was a desolate and relatively unavailing military position in the central
Pacific.
It sat at the rim of a submerged volcano, counting only three tiny atolls to its name.
From satellite imagery, Wake Island seemed like nothing more than a broken wishbone.
But, the Island only seemed irrelevant until the development of long-range bombers.
When the area was discovered in 1586, the Spanish explorer didn't even bother naming
it.
The Wake Island name comes from a British sea captain who rediscovered it in 1796.
Its smaller atolls, Wilkes and Peale, are named after the leaders of an American geological
survey conducted in 1841.
In 1899, the U.S. officially staked their claim to the Island, putting on a ceremonial
landing show which raised the American flag and fired cannons.
After the festivities, however, the Island was all but neglected for three and a half
centuries.
Suddenly, the area became important as part of the American air route across the Pacific,
for it is 1,025 miles from Midway Island and 1,300 miles away from Guam.
. Pan American Airways was granted a permit to build and operate a seaplane refueling
station there.
The airline also made storage catchments for rainwater, a twenty-four room hotel, and a
vegetable garden by 1936.
Still, the Island had little to offer.
The accommodations were less than desirable, but Pan American offered overnight travelers
rifles.
They were granted permission to target practice on rats that infested the Island.
These questionable conditions notwithstanding, Wake Island became an essential part of American
influence in the Pacific.
More importantly, its location drew a neat line in the direction of Iwo Jima and Marcus
Island, which quickly led to Tokyo.
For this reason, Wake Island increasingly showed up in both Japanese and American war
plans.
By 1941, Congress, on the U.S. Navy's advice, provided the necessary funds for a permanent
airfield.
Construction started in January.
Marine corporals made twenty-eight dollars a month, while construction workers made close
to two hundred or more.
This provided the necessary motivation for construction workers to take the job overseas.
Still, the men eventually suffered from the inevitable loneliness of the Island.
Alcohol was prohibited.
Women were nowhere to be found.
Each time a supply ship arrived at the Atoll, more and more construction workers boarded,
giving up on the two-hundred a month for a cold glass of beer.
The Garrison
In February of 1941, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel became the Commander of the Pacific Fleet.
He called for rigorous sailing formations and precise drills.
He wasn't a particularly inventive man, but he made up for that lack with tactical wit.
He calculated that if an invading army was kept in the waters for long enough, a counterstrike
would make defending the atolls easy.
Therefore, he ordered a Marine defense battalion to take position at Wake Island.
Led by Major James P.S.
Devereux, the Marines arrived at Wake Island.
Devereux was detail-oriented and hardnosed.
He suffered little patience for nonsense from his men and kept a sharp eye out for tomfoolery.
A fellow officer stated [QUOTE] "He's the kind of guy who would put all the mechanized
aircraft detectors into operation and then station a man with a spyglass in a tall tree."
He put Marines to work for 12 hours each day, seven days a week.
By December of 1941, the garrison boasted a detachment of 422 Marines and 27 officers
from the 1st Defense Battalion, 10 naval officers and 58 enlisted men.
It also included Marine aviators from the Marine Fighting Squadron VMF-211.
They received a small Army communications unit comprising a single officer and his four
men.
Finally, there were 70 Pan American Airways civilians present and 1,146 contractors.
The majority of the Marines on Wake Island were artillerymen.
Tough as they were, the men were overworked, and the detachment understaffed.
However, on December 8, just as early morning chow wrapped up, the men received news that
Pearl Harbor was under attack.
At Wake Island, they had no radar.
They lacked new technologies and advanced armament.
While they had some Wildcat F4F planes to patrol the skies, mild rain, and low cloud
cover failed to alert them of the impending Japanese sneak attack on their Island.
Japanese bombers destroyed eight Wildcats at the airbase.
The bombs injured 23 men...
Sinking Hayate
Japanese invasion forces arrived at Wake Island within three days of the Pearl Harbor attack
on December 11 at the command of Rear Admiral Sadamichi Kajioka.
The 450 special naval troops only slightly outnumbered Marines.
American troops defended the Island with coastal guns strapped with 50-pound shells.
For their initial defensive move, the Marines scored 11 hits on the flagship Yubari.
They also hit the destroyer Hayate three times, lucky shots from 4,000 yards away.
Better than expected, the blows caused internal explosions, tearing the destroyer in two.
Their expert warfighting sunk the first Japanese ship of the war.
The Marines cheer wildly.
Reportedly Serdeant Henry Bell had to interfere by yelling, [QUOTE] "Knock it off, you bastards,
and get back on the guns.
What d'ya think this is, a ball game?"
They scored two hits on destroyer Oite.
They fired on the leading secondary transport, which withdrew back to the water, leaving
the survivors of Hayate to fend for themselves.
On Peale Island, the Marines hit the leading ship, Yahoi.
The Japanese fired back, severing the fire-control communications.
However, little else was damaged.
Captain Elrod
The four Grumman Wildcat fighters on the Island took off as the Japanese continued their assault.
Captain Henry Elrod shot down two Japanese planes a few days before, making him the first
Marine to get an air-to-air victory.
He bombed several Japanese ships by the battle of Wake Island.
He sank the destroyer Kisaragi on December 11, just as more landing attempts occurred.
He became the first pilot to destroy a warship using small caliber bombs from a fighter jet.
His aircraft was damaged in the fight, forcing him to land.
Afterward, he took up a rifle and performed land defense.
For his leadership and action, fellow Marines gave him the nickname Hammerin' Hank.
Hammerin' Hank and company took out 200 Japanese troops and two destroyers that day.
Furthermore, they pushed back invading ships and prevented even a single soldier from landing
on Wake Island.
Through their brave defense of Wake Island, Japanese ships withdrew from the assault.
It was the first and only time in World War II that coastal defenses successfully defeated
an amphibious assault.
Only one American soldier was reported missing after the first clash.
Yet, the Marines still lacked air cover, and only two of the Wildcats were serviceable
by the end of the battle.
The Marines saw their victory as it was: temporary.
To succeed in fending off the enemy again, they required supplies and reinforcements.
Two task forces, 11 and 14, prepared to depart Wake Island.
Task Force 14 was ready to go to the Marshall Islands, so the Japanese would divert their
attention.
Task Force 11 would then land at Wake Island with the supply carrier, Saratoga.
The Loneliest Battle
Task Force 11 didn't take off from Pearl Harbor until December 16.
They stopped to refuel on the 22nd, which lengthened their voyage further.
In retrospect, they sealed the fate of Wake Island.
At around that time, Vice Admiral William Pye, the temporary Commander of the Pacific
Fleet, was informed of two Japanese carriers lurking near Wake Island.
They didn't heed the warning.
On December 21, the Japanese launched a vicious airstrike as Commander of VMF-211, Major Paul
Putnam boarded an unescorted flight to find the aircraft carriers which housed the bombers.
Pearl Harbor attackers Hiryu and Soryu were now part of the invading force of Wake Island.
Putnam earned a Navy Cross for his discovery and role in defending the entirety of the
Atoll.
Commander Cunningham was authorized to evacuate the Island.
However, this was impossible since the Japanese flanked them from all sides.
Although he sent Vice Admiral Pye a message explaining the urgency of the situation, Wake
Island was already considered collateral damage.
Task Force 11 was ordered back to Pearl Harbor.
Reportedly, the crew and leadership expressed their disgust with the decision.
Some considered defying orders but thought better of it and obliged, albeit devastated.
For the Marines and civilians still on Wake Island, their country left them stranded.
Early on December 23, a Japanese amphibious landing unleashed 1,500 soldiers on the Island.
Marines defended their position ferociously over a day and a half.
Their efforts, nevertheless, were hopeless.
Captain Elrod was lost that day after holding down fire while his men restocked a gun turret.
Posthumously, Elrod was awarded the Medal of Honor, the first Marine to receive the
award during World War II.
Realizing they'd be neither evacuated nor rescued, Commander Cunningham ordered his
Marines to surrender.
Several required convincing by Major Devereux before giving up the fight.
For his role in preventing further Marine deaths, Devereux would earn the Navy Cross.
Dishonored, the Americans surrendered.
If only their country provided supplies and more men, the Japanese wouldn't have gained
Wake Island.
Japanese Control
Forty-nine Marines from the 1st Defense Battalion and VMF-211 were lost during the battle.
An additional 32 were wounded.
The Japanese interned the remaining Marines as POWs.
Of the Pan American Airways employees, 70 were lost while still 20 more were wounded.
Of the remaining civilian contractors, 98 died at the command of Rear Admiral Shigematsu
Shakaibara in October 1943.
Ironically, the Rear Admiral received the same fate from Allied victors after the war.
The Prisoners of War were sent to Chinese territory or became wartime slaves in Japan.
They suffered mistreatment and challenging conditions until Allied forces liberated them.
Until September 4, 1945, the Japanese controlled Wake Island until the Empire of Japan surrendered
to the Allies.