Word: babelthuap
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...discovered floating in Peleliu's lowland swamps. Then a Marine sentry fired on a band looting a warehouse of captured Japanese weapons, was answered with rifle and grenade fire. The Jap strength was estimated at 50, led by a lieutenant commander, with more coming in daily from nearby Babelthuap. Alarmed by the weakness of his small, lightly armed Marine garrison, worried for the safety of the 35 naval dependents, Peleliu's commander radioed for reinforcements...
...operation expensive in human lives, which are highly regarded in the U.S. if not in Japan. Wherever possible, U.S. strategy has been to by-pass Jap defenses. From air bases on Angaur, Peleliu and Ngesebus, the U.S. can now neutralize not only the 25,000 Japs on Babelthuap, Koror and the other northern Palaus, but also an estimated 100,000 others on once-mighty Truk, Ponape and other Caroline islands...
Without invading Babelthuap and the other northern Palaus, the U.S. could not immediately use the vast Palau fleet basin. But airfields in the southern Palaus would serve: 1) for bombing the Philippines-if MacArthur invaded the central Philippines instead of Mindanao, Peleliu would be closer to the invasion coast than Morotai; 2) for air patrols which could clamp the northern Palaus in a neutralizing vise. Last week marine flyers based on Peleliu were already strafing and bombing Babelthuap...
...capture of Peleliu and Angaur alone will not secure the anchorage. That is situated off the northern Palaus: 25-mile-long Babelthuap and Koror (where the capital is located). But, said Admiral Nimitz: "We will have a base from which to cover and support General MacArthur's Philippine campaign...