The Alamo of the Pacific: The Battle of Wake Island

Located in the western Pacific is the American Territory of Wake Atoll. There isn’t much to say about the island today, other than that it is one of the most remote islands in the world and is home to a small military base. But in 1941, the island would be the site of one of the few bright spots the Americans had.

You see, just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Naval forces would attack the island and the American garrison stationed there. Prior to the war, Wake Island was nothing more than a remote outpost where PanAm flying boats would stop to refuel while on their way to Asia. But when war seemed inevitable, the U.S. built up a military outpost to defend the island.

Japanese Attack and American Defense

On December 7th, 1941, Japanese aircraft attacked the island, and seeing it was completely isolated, the Japanese believed that Wake would be an easy target. But they were wrong.

The Americans had built up the defenses and were prepared. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the Marine and Navy garrison on Wake held out for almost two weeks. During that time, they repelled several attempts by the Japanese to land troops. The coastal guns even managed to sink 2 Destroyers, two transport ships, and even a submarine. However, eventually, the island was overrun and captured on the 23rd.

Aftermath and Legacy

The survivors would be sent off to POW camps in China and Japan, while 98 civilian contractors would be executed out of pure spite in 1943. But even though the Japanese now had control of the island, Wake would end up being more trouble than it was worth. The island would be blockaded by American submarines and used for “Target Practice” by Carrier Aircraft for the remainder of the war.

Now, while Wake did eventually fall to the Japanese, the fact that such an isolated base with a small Marine garrison was able to hold out for as long as it did was still notable. The Battle is sometimes called “The Alamo of the Pacific”.

~NC