Battle of Angaur

Battle of Angaur
Part of World War II, Pacific War
Date 17 September–22 October 1944 Location Angaur, Palau Islands Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Paul J. Mueller	Ushio Goto † Sadae Inoue
Units involved
81st Infantry Division 321th Infantry Regiment 322th Infantry Regiment	14th Infantry Division 29th Infantry Regiment
Strength
10,000	1,400
Casualties and losses
260 killed 1,354 wounded	1,350 killed 50 captured

81st Infantry Division

14th Infantry Division

The Battle of Angaur was a battle of the Pacific campaign in World War II, fought on the island of Angaur in the Palau Islands from 17 September—22 October 1944. This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager which ran from June 1944 to November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations, and Operation Stalemate II in particular.

Angaur is a tiny limestone island, just 3 mi (4.8 km) long, separated from Peleliu by a 7 mi (11 km) strait, from which phosphate was mined. In mid-1944, the Japanese had 1,400 troops on the island, under the overall command of Palau Sector Group commander Lieutenant General Sadae Inoue and under the direct command of Major Goto who was stationed on the island.

The weak defenses of the Palaus and the potential for airfield construction made them attractive targets for the Americans after the capture of the Marshall Islands, but a shortage of landing craft meant that operations against the Palaus could not begin until the Mariana Islands were secure.

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