#OTD in 1943, the Battle of Tarawa began. This scene from the Academy Award winning documentary "With the Marines at Tarawa" of Marines firing on Japanese soldiers in the open is believed to be the only combat footage that captures American and Japanese individuals in the same frame. | U.S. Naval Institute

On this date in history in 1943, the WWII Battle of Tarawa began. The three-day battle for Tarawa in the Central Pacific was the first major trial by fire for the new Marine doctrine of forcible amphibious assault from the sea against a fortified island. Tarawa's coral reef, a barrier to the Navy's landing boats, posed a serious problem. To land the initial attack forces across the reef, the Marines converted their tracked "Alligator" cargo-haulers - civilian rescue vehicles designed to perform

On Nov. 20, 1943, U.S. Marines and sailors with the 2nd Marine Division commenced the Battle of Tarawa, a major offensive during #WWII. The ensuing 76-hour fight saw unprecedented bloodshed for both U.S. and Japanese forces. The U.S. emerged victorious, however, and would eventually defeat the Japanese in the Pacific in August 1945. | U.S. Department of War

Um die Invasion Englands vorzubereiten, eröffnet die deutsche Luftwaffe ihre Offensive gegen die Insel. | WELT Geschichte