Battlefield Atlas
World War II · 1944 First 3 stages free

Peleliu, 15 September - 27 November 1944

The Battle of Peleliu (Operation Stalemate II), 15 September - 27 November 1944, was fought for a small coral island in the southern Palaus with an airfield that was meant to cover MacArthur's return to the Philippines. Maj. Gen. William H. Rupertus expected a short, hard fight. Instead the 1st Marine Division met Col. Kunio Nakagawa's garrison of about 10,500 - the 14th Division's 2nd Infantry Regiment with naval troops and laborers - in a new kind of Japanese defense: no banzai charges at the water's edge, but defense in depth from hundreds of caves in the Umurbrogol ridges. The Marines took the beaches and the airfield in the first days, but the Umurbrogol Pocket cost Col. Lewis B. Puller's 1st Marines, then the 7th and 5th Marines, most of their strength. The Army's 81st Infantry Division, which took Angaur from 17 September, sent the 321st Infantry to Peleliu, took over the island on 20 October, and finished the siege on 27 November, after Nakagawa burned his regiment's colors and, by a prisoner's account, took his own life. American casualties on Peleliu, Ngesebus and Angaur together came to about 9,615, including 1,656 dead (Gayle); almost the whole garrison died, and only 202 prisoners were taken on Peleliu. Eight Marines received the Medal of Honor, five of them posthumously. Whether the island needed to be taken at all has been debated ever since: Admiral Halsey had recommended canceling the landing two days before D-Day.

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First wave of LVTs
First wave of LVTs — U.S. Navy - public domain

The battle, stage by stage

  1. 12-15 September 1944 (to 08:00, D-Day)

    The bombardment

    From 12 September Rear Adm. Jesse B. Oldendorf's fire support ships - among them the battleships Pennsylvania, Maryland and Mississippi and the heavy cruisers Portland and Louisville, his flagship - shell Peleliu while carrier aircraft bomb and strafe it. Oldendorf reports all known targets destroyed and cancels the last day's fire (Gayle). But Col. Kunio Nakagawa's garrison - about 6,500 Army combat troops (the 14th Division's reinforced 2nd Infantry Regiment with a battalion of the 15th) and about 4,000 naval personnel and laborers, some 10,500 in all (NHL nomination) - is dug into caves and coral ridges and has not been destroyed, nor have the flanking positions north and south of the beaches (Gayle). On the morning of 15 September the 1st Marine Division's amphibian tractors form up at the line of departure behind the armored amphibians, outside a fringing reef up to 700 yards wide, while LCI gunboats close the reef to fire rockets and mortars and about 50 carrier planes strike the beaches from 07:50 (USMC official history).

  2. 15 September 1944, 08:32-10:15

    H-Hour: Beaches White and Orange

    The armored amphibians touch down at 08:32 and the first troop wave about a minute later (USMC official history). Five assault battalions land in the first hour, north to south: 3/1 and 2/1 of Col. Lewis B. Puller's 1st Marines on White 1 and 2; 1/5 and 3/5 of the 5th Marines on Orange 1 and 2; 3/7 of the 7th Marines on Orange 3 (Gayle). Fire from the flanks and from the ridges knocks out LVTs on the reef - 26 officially destroyed, more than 60 by unofficial estimates hit at least temporarily. On the left, Capt. George P. Hunt's Company K, 3/1, attacks the Point, a coral outcrop with five concrete pillboxes, one mounting a 47 mm gun; by about 10:15 it has taken it, with 32 men left of the two assault platoons (USMC official history). Cpl. Lewis K. Bausell of 1/5 throws himself on a grenade while attacking a pillbox; mortally wounded, he dies on 18 September (Medal of Honor); 1st Lt. Carlton R. Rouh of 1/5, already wounded, shields two Marines from a grenade and survives (Medal of Honor).

  3. 15 September 1944, 16:50-nightfall

    The tank attack across the airfield

    At about 16:50 Nakagawa launches his counterattack: light tanks with infantry riding on them come out from east of the ridges above the airfield and cut southwest across its northern part and the front of 2/1 - two crash into a swamp - before the main group strikes 1/5's Company B and penetrates about 150 yards (Hough). Bazookas, 37 mm guns, Marine Shermans, a Navy dive bomber and 2/5's tanks destroy it; the Marines counted 11 tanks destroyed, and most accounts give 13 attacking (Hough). By night the division holds a beachhead about 3,000 yards long and on average 500 yards deep, only about 300 behind the White beaches (Hough), with 2/5 near the center of the airfield and 3/7 stopped in the south by a strongpoint built around a large blockhouse. Hunt's isolated company holds the Point through night counterattacks with as few as 18 men. The division's D-Day losses are 210 dead and 901 wounded (USMC official history).

  4. 16-20 September 1944

    The airfield taken; into the Umurbrogol

    On 16 September the 5th Marines cross the airfield and swing east, and the 7th Marines clear the southern promontories, where Pfc. Arthur J. Jackson of 3/7 is credited with destroying 12 pillboxes (18 September, Medal of Honor). The 1st Marines turn north into the Umurbrogol - a maze of coral ridges, sinkholes and caves just north of the airfield that the Marines name Bloody Nose Ridge - with 2/7 attached. On 18 September Pfc. Charles H. Roan of 2/7 smothers a grenade on an exposed ridge and dies (Medal of Honor). On 19 September Capt. Everett P. Pope's Company C, 1/1, takes Hill 100 at the south end of what will be called Walt Ridge and holds it overnight, at the end with rocks and fists, before being ordered off at dawn (Medal of Honor). By 21 September the 1st Marines report 1,749 casualties (Gayle). The light observation planes of VMO-3 land on the airfield on 19 September and fly from it from the 20th (Hough).

  5. 17-23 September 1944

    Angaur; the 1st Marines relieved

    On 17 September the Army's 81st Infantry Division ('Wildcats') under Maj. Gen. Paul J. Mueller lands on Angaur, about 7 miles to the southwest: the 322nd Infantry on Beach Red on the northeast shore and the 321st on Beach Blue on the east (CMH). The south of the island is secured by 20 September; Maj. Ushio Goto's garrison of about 1,400 holds out in the northwestern hills, Goto is killed about 19 October, and the fighting ends on 21 October, at a cost to the defenders of about 1,300-1,340 killed and 45-59 captured (CMH; Hough). On 21 September Maj. Gen. Roy S. Geiger orders Maj. Gen. William H. Rupertus to send the shattered 1st Marines out of the line and attaches the 321st RCT to the Marine division (Gayle); the 7th Marines take over the southern face of the Umurbrogol. The 321st lands on the Orange beaches on 23 September and relieves the 1st Marines' positions on the west coast (Hough).

  6. 24 September-6 October 1944

    The West Road, Ngesebus and the Pocket sealed

    The 321st moves up the West Road past Garekoru; on 26 September the Neal Task Force - seven medium tanks, six LVTs, a flame LVT and 45 riflemen - reaches Road Junction 15, turns south on the East Road, and the 321st takes Hill B, isolating the Umurbrogol Pocket (Hough). The 5th Marines pass through to the north and clear it. On 28 September 3/5 crosses to Ngesebus in a shore-to-shore attack behind a battleship, a cruiser, two destroyers and Marine Corsairs from the Peleliu airfield; the island is secure on 29 September (Hough). Pfc. John D. New of 2/7 shields two observers from a grenade on 25 September and dies (Medal of Honor). The 7th Marines take Walt and Boyd Ridges on 3 October, but the Five Sisters are lost again. On 3 October (USMC History Division; the Medal of Honor Society gives 5 October) Pfc. Richard E. Kraus of the 8th Amphibian Tractor Battalion, helping bring out a wounded man, smothers a grenade and dies (Medal of Honor). Company L, 3/7, is nearly destroyed attacking Hill 120 on 4 October; that night Pfc. Wesley Phelps of 3/7 smothers a grenade (Medal of Honor), and the regiment is relieved on 5-6 October (USMC official history).

  7. 7-20 October 1944

    Harris's siege of the Pocket

    Col. Harold D. Harris's 5th Marines attack from the north and northwest, nibbling at the caves with sandbagged positions, tanks, flamethrowers and 75 mm pack howitzers fired at close range; Baldy Ridge falls on 10 October and Hill 140 on 11 October (USMC official history). By 14 October the Pocket - originally about 1,900 by 550 yards - is down to about 400 by 500 yards around the China Wall and Wildcat Bowl. On 15-16 October the 321st Infantry relieves the 5th Marines, and on 20 October Mueller takes command on Peleliu and Geiger leaves. To that date the 1st Marine Division has lost 1,124 killed or died of wounds, 5,024 wounded and 117 missing (USMC official history).

  8. 21 October-27 November 1944

    The China Wall and the end

    The 81st Division treats the Pocket as a siege. The 321st takes the Five Brothers one by one from 18 October (CMH). The 323rd Infantry arrives from Ulithi, and on 26 October Col. Arthur P. Watson of the 323rd takes over the Pocket from Col. Dark of the 321st, with the 3rd Battalion, 321st, attached on the east; gains on a good day are 10 to 50 yards (Hough; CMH). The Army names Wildcat Bowl and the China Wall and renames the Horseshoe 'Mortimer Valley'. On 24 November Nakagawa reports that he has burned the 2nd Infantry Regiment's colors and splits his last 56 men into 17 infiltration parties; by one prisoner's account he and Maj. Gen. Kenjiro Murai then take their own lives in the command post. Sources differ on their bodies: Hough says they could not be positively identified, the Army history that the 81st Division identified them. On 27 November eight rifle companies close in from all directions without a shot fired (CMH); Watson's battalions meet on the China Wall, and at 11:00 he reports to Mueller that the operation is over (Hough). Gayle puts Marine casualties at 6,526, including 1,252 killed; the 81st Division's are given as 3,089 with 404 killed (Gayle) or 542 killed and about 2,736 wounded (CMH), Angaur included. Of about 10,900 Japanese on Peleliu, only 202 were taken prisoner, 19 of them Japanese military and most of the rest Korean laborers.

Forces

About 10,500 Japanese defended Peleliu against the reinforced 1st Marine Division, later joined and relieved by the Army's 81st Infantry Division; the Japanese figures are estimates and the Marines later thought the garrison larger than first reported.

Imperial Japanese garrison (Col. Kunio Nakagawa, 14th Division's 2nd Infantry Regiment, naval troops)

Peleliu garrisonThe NPS landmark nomination gives about 6,500 combat troops and 4,000 naval personnel; Gayle says about 7,000 including Korean laborers were first estimated, the Marines later more than 10,000, and about 10,900 casualties. NPS, Peleliu Battlefield NHL nomination; Gayle, Bloody Beaches (USMC)about 10,500 (about 7,000-10,900)
Reinforcements by barge, 23-24 SeptemberNPS nomination; the Japanese record says the 2nd Battalion, 15th Infantry, came from Babelthuap (Hough). NPS, Peleliu Battlefield NHL nomination; Hough, ch. VI (USMC)about 600-700
Angaur garrisonGayle gives about 1,500, later reported as 1,400. Gayle, Bloody Beaches (USMC)about 1,400
Weapons (2nd Infantry Regiment)Gayle also lists about 15 81 mm mortars and about 30 dual-purpose antiaircraft guns. Gayle, Bloody Beaches (USMC)13-15 light tanks, 24 75 mm guns

1st Marine Division (Rupertus) and 81st Infantry Division (Mueller)

81st Division on Peleliu after 20 OctoberFigure given by HistoryNet (Jon Guttman); the division landed about 8,000 men on Angaur. Jon Guttman, Hell on Peleliu (HistoryNet)10,994
Fire supportHampton Roads Naval Museum; the battleships fired 519 16-inch and 1,845 14-inch rounds. Hampton Roads Naval Museum5 battleships, 7 cruisers
Marine tanksMore than half were hit crossing the reef on D-Day (USMC official history). Garand and Strobridge (USMC vol. IV)30

Casualties

Almost the entire Japanese garrison of about 10,900 died on Peleliu; American casualties on Peleliu, Ngesebus and Angaur came to about 9,600, with 1,656 dead. Totals are well documented, but the Marine and Army histories differ in detail, notably on 81st Division losses and prisoners. Certainty: good.

Imperial Japanese garrison (Col. Kunio Nakagawa, 14th Division's 2nd Infantry Regiment, naval troops)

Killed (Peleliu)The USMC official history estimates 10,695 Japanese dead on Peleliu by 20 October; the Army history says over 11,000 were killed on Peleliu; Gayle gives about 10,900 casualties, all but a tiny fraction killed. Garand and Strobridge, Western Pacific Operations (USMC vol. IV); Smith, The Approach to the Philippines, ch. XXIV (CMH); Gayle, Bloody Beaches (USMC)about 10,700-11,000 (10,695-11,000+)
Captured (Peleliu)Gayle counts 202 prisoners, only 19 of them Japanese military (7 Army, 12 Navy) and most of the rest Korean laborers; the USMC official history gives 301 prisoners by 20 October. Gayle, Bloody Beaches (USMC); Garand and Strobridge (USMC vol. IV)202-301
Killed and captured (Angaur)Hough gives 1,338 killed and 59 prisoners on Angaur; Army figures run slightly lower. Hough, The Assault on Peleliu (USMC, 1950)about 1,300-1,340 killed; 45-59 captured
Killed (whole Palau operation)The Army history's figure for Peleliu, Angaur and the other islands, with about 400 prisoners, mostly Korean and Okinawan. Smith, The Approach to the Philippines, ch. XXIV (CMH)about 13,600

1st Marine Division (Rupertus) and 81st Infantry Division (Mueller)

Marine casualties (incl. Navy corpsmen and doctors)Gayle's total for the campaign; to 20 October the USMC official history counts 1,124 killed or died of wounds, 5,024 wounded and 117 missing (6,265). Gayle, Bloody Beaches (USMC); Garand and Strobridge (USMC vol. IV)6,526, including 1,252 killed
81st Infantry Division casualties (Peleliu and Angaur)Gayle gives 3,089 casualties with 404 killed in action; the Army history and the NPS landmark nomination give 542 killed and 2,736 wounded or injured (over 3,275). Gayle, Bloody Beaches (USMC); Smith, The Approach to the Philippines, ch. XXIV (CMH); NPS, Peleliu Battlefield NHL nominationabout 3,089-3,278 (404-542 killed)
Total U.S. casualties (Peleliu, Ngesebus, Angaur)Gayle's combined figure for both divisions. Gayle, Bloody Beaches (USMC)9,615, including 1,656 dead
1st Marine Division, D-DayUSMC official history, excluding combat fatigue and heat cases. Garand and Strobridge (USMC vol. IV)1,111 (210 dead, 901 wounded)
1st Marines (regiment)Gayle; the NPS nomination gives 1,672 before the regiment withdrew. Gayle, Bloody Beaches (USMC); NPS, Peleliu Battlefield NHL nomination1,749 casualties by 21 September

Equipment and ships

LVTs destroyed on D-Day (U.S.)Unofficial estimates put more than 60 knocked out at least temporarily (USMC official history). Garand and Strobridge (USMC vol. IV)26 (official)
Japanese tanks destroyed in the D-Day counterattackMost accounts give 13 attacking, one later check up to 19; Marine claims of 'more than 100' reflected overlapping fire (Hough; Gayle). Hough, ch. III (USMC); Gayle, Bloody Beaches (USMC)11 counted (11-19 attacking)

Then and now: how the ground has changed

The ground itself is little changed - the same beaches, airfield and coral ridges - but the shell-stripped island of 1944 is now under thick jungle that reaches down to the beaches and hides the Umurbrogol, and the main runway, a postwar boat basin and two rebuilt villages are the chief modern features.

The interactive map can show the period landscape (1 shape: Postwar small-boat basin (Beach Orange 3)) under the units. Open the map.

Weapons

Imperial Japanese garrison (Col. Kunio Nakagawa, 14th Division's 2nd Infantry Regiment, naval troops)

Type 95 Ha-Go light tank

Type 95 Ha-Go light tank

Light tank · 1935-1945

At Peleliu: Nakagawa's tank unit had 13 to 15 light tanks (Gayle); about 13 attacked across the airfield at 16:50 on D-Day and the Marines counted 11 destroyed (Hough).

Japan's most numerous tank of the war, light and fast but thinly armored. At Peleliu Nakagawa's tank company attacked across the airfield on D-Day with infantry riding on the hulls and was destroyed by bazookas, 37 mm guns, Marine Shermans and aircraft; a turretless wreck survives on the island.

Crew
3
Armament
37 mm gun, two machine guns
Weight
about 7.4 metric tons
Photo: Hugh Llewelyn, CC BY-SA 2.0
Type 1 47 mm anti-tank gun

Type 1 47 mm anti-tank gun

Anti-tank gun · 1942–1945

At Peleliu: A 47 mm gun in one of the five concrete pillboxes on the Point fired along the White beaches until Hunt's company took it (USMC official history).

The Type 1 was Japan's best anti-tank gun to see wide service in World War II. It could penetrate the side armor of an M4 Sherman at normal combat ranges, especially from well-hidden positions.

Caliber
47 mm
Muzzle velocity
about 830 m/s
Weight
about 800 kg
Photo: Max Smith · Public domain
Type 92 heavy machine gun

Type 92 heavy machine gun

Heavy machine gun · 1932–1945

At Peleliu: Machine guns in caves and pillboxes covered the beaches, the airfield and every approach into the Umurbrogol.

The Type 92 was Japan's standard heavy machine gun in World War II, derived from the Hotchkiss design. Its slow, steady rate of fire earned it the nickname "Woodpecker" from American troops.

Caliber
7.7×58mm SR
Rate of fire
about 450 rounds/min
Feed
30-round strips
Weight
about 55 kg with tripod
Photo: Gary Todd · CC0
Type 96 light machine gun

Type 96 light machine gun

Light machine gun · 1936–1945

At Peleliu: Light machine guns fought from the ridges and caves of the Pocket to the last weeks.

The Type 96 was a standard Japanese squad light machine gun of World War II, alongside its 7.7 mm successor, the Type 99. Its curved box magazine fed from the top, and it could even mount a bayonet.

Caliber
6.5×50mm Arisaka
Rate of fire
about 550 rounds/min
Magazine
30-round top-mounted box
Weight
about 9 kg
Photo: BrokenSphere · CC BY-SA 3.0
Type 89 grenade discharger

Type 89 grenade discharger

Light mortar / grenade discharger · 1929–1945

At Peleliu: Grenade dischargers and mortars, preregistered on the beaches and ridges, added to the fire from the caves.

Nicknamed the "knee mortar" by Americans because of its curved base plate, the Type 89 was a light, accurate weapon carried at squad level. Firing it braced against the thigh could cause serious injury; it was meant to be set on the ground.

Caliber
50 mm
Range
up to about 670 m
Weight
about 4.7 kg
Photo: Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

1st Marine Division (Rupertus) and 81st Infantry Division (Mueller)

M1 Garand

M1 Garand

Semi-automatic rifle · 1936–1958 (US standard rifle)

At Peleliu: Standard rifle of the Marine and Army riflemen.

The M1 Garand was the first semi-automatic rifle adopted as a nation's standard infantry weapon. It gave the American rifleman much more firepower than a bolt-action rifle, and General George Patton called it "the greatest battle implement ever devised."

Caliber
.30-06 Springfield
Effective range
about 460 m (500 yd)
Feed
8-round en-bloc clip
Photo: Armémuseum (Swedish Army Museum) · Public domain
M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)

M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)

Automatic rifle · 1918–1960s

At Peleliu: The fire team's automatic rifle in both divisions.

John Browning's BAR first reached the front in September 1918 and became the automatic weapon at the heart of the US rifle squad in World War II. The M1918A2 version added a bipod and a two-speed rate of fire.

Caliber
.30-06 Springfield
Magazine
20-round box
Rate of fire
M1918A2: selectable slow/fast, roughly 300–650 rounds/min
Weight
about 8.8 kg (M1918A2)
Photo: Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
M1/M1A1 Bazooka

M1/M1A1 Bazooka

Shoulder-fired rocket launcher · 1942–1950s

At Peleliu: A 2/1 bazooka gunner hit two of the Japanese tanks in the D-Day counterattack (Gayle).

The bazooka was one of the first shoulder-fired anti-tank weapons to use a shaped-charge warhead. Infantry used it against tanks and also against bunkers, gun pits and fortified buildings.

Caliber
2.36 in (60 mm)
Range
effective about 140 m
Weight
about 6 kg
Photo: Daderot · CC0
M4 Sherman

M4 Sherman

Medium tank · 1942–1950s (US service)

At Peleliu: More than half of the division's 30 Shermans were hit crossing the reef on D-Day; tanks broke up the Japanese tank attack and later fired into the caves of the Pocket (USMC official history).

The Sherman was the most widely used American tank of World War II, valued for its reliability and ease of production. Specialized versions included the Duplex Drive (DD) amphibious tank and flamethrower conversions.

Crew
5
Armament
75 mm gun M3 (most early versions)
Weight
about 30 metric tons
Photo: Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
LVT(A)-4 armored amphibian

LVT(A)-4 armored amphibian

Amphibious assault vehicle · 1944-1950s

At Peleliu: Armored amphibians led the assault waves at 08:32 and gave covering fire at Ngesebus; one, with its 75 mm howitzer turret, still stands near the Umurbrogol (NHL nomination).

An amphibian tractor fitted with a 75 mm howitzer turret, used to lead the assault waves over coral reefs and give close fire support on the beach. At Peleliu armored amphibians touched down at 08:32 ahead of the first troop wave.

Crew
6
Armament
75 mm howitzer in an open turret, machine guns
Propulsion
tracks, swimming at about 7 mph
Photo: U.S. Department of Defense, public domain
M2 flamethrower

M2 flamethrower

Man-portable flamethrower · 1943–1950s

At Peleliu: Flamethrowers, man-carried and mounted in LVTs, were the main tools against the caves.

The backpack M2 flamethrower projected thickened fuel at bunkers, caves and pillboxes. It was the US Marines' key tool for clearing Japanese fortifications in the Pacific, though its operators were prime targets.

Fuel capacity
about 4 US gal (15 L)
Range
about 20–40 m
Burn time
roughly 7–9 seconds of fire
Photo: U.S. Army · Public domain

Paintings and photographs

First wave of LVTs
First wave of LVTs The first wave of amphibian tractors heads for the beaches on 15 September 1944. U.S. Navy - public domain · source
Marines in the beach trenches
Marines in the beach trenches Marines move through Japanese trenches on the beach, 15 September 1944 (National Archives 532535). U.S. Marine Corps - public domain · source
Corsair attack
Corsair attack A Marine F4U Corsair attacks a Japanese position in the ridges. U.S. Marine Corps - public domain · source
Marine radioman
Marine radioman A Marine radioman on Peleliu, 1944. U.S. Marine Corps - public domain · source
Cemetery dedication
Cemetery dedication Dedication of the Armed Forces cemetery on Peleliu, 1944. U.S. military - public domain · source

★ Medal of Honor 8 recipients

Links go to the official records: the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and, where they exist, the service's own pages.

Free for everyone every year on its anniversary: September 15 – November 27.

Accuracy score: 71/100 (good)

How the accuracy score works

Sources and method

Peleliu, 15 September - 27 November 1944. The course of the battle, order of battle, times and figures follow the Marine Corps official histories: Maj. Frank O. Hough, The Assault on Peleliu (Historical Division, HQMC, 1950; HyperWar chapters III, VI and VIII); Garand and Strobridge, Western Pacific Operations (History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, vol. IV, 1971; D-Day and the Umurbrogol Pocket); and Brig. Gen. Gordon D. Gayle, Bloody Beaches: The Marines at Peleliu (USMC History and Museums Division, 1996; casualties and awards). Angaur follows Robert Ross Smith, The Approach to the Philippines (U.S. Army Center of Military History). Site descriptions follow Erwin N. Thompson's Peleliu Battlefield National Historic Landmark nomination (National Park Service, 1984). Ships: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (Mississippi, Portland) and the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. Medal of Honor citations: Congressional Medal of Honor Society and USMC History Division. No staff ride handbook for Peleliu was found. The Army's last weeks follow Smith's chapter XXIV. Site coordinates are from OpenStreetMap/Mapbox points of interest (Beaches White 1, White 2 and Orange 1, the museum, the Five Brothers, Horseshoe Valley, Death Valley, the Marine Corps and 323rd Infantry memorials, the Japanese 200 mm gun), Wikipedia's Naval Base Peleliu and Peleliu Airfield articles (dock, airfield, other memorials), TracesOfWar (Orange Beach, Thousand Man Cave) and Plizio map pins (Orange 2 and 3, Scarlet Beach, the tank wreck). The Point, the blockhouse, Walt and Boyd Ridges, Hill 100, the Five Sisters, the China Wall and Wildcat Bowl are placed schematically from the official histories' descriptions. Unit blocks are at battalion and regiment scale.

Where the positions come from

Further reading