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 Defense (DoD)

In November, 1943, the Japanese commander at Tarawa said it would take 100 years and 1 million men to conquer the Pacific atoll. It took the U.S. Marine Corps just three days in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. | U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)

6.3K views · 66 reactions | #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 | Facebook