Editing Battle of Peleliu (section)

==Aftermath==
[[File:Soldiers wounded in battle of peleliu.jpg|thumb|Marines in a hospital on Guadalcanal after being wounded in the Battle of Peleliu]]

The reduction of the Japanese positions in "The Pocket" around Umurbrogol mountain has been called the most difficult fight that the U.S. military encountered during the entire war.<ref name=Hough_94>{{cite book | url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-Peleliu/USMC-M-Peleliu-5.html | title = The Seizure of Peleliu |series = USMC Historical Monograph | first = Major Frank O., USMC | last = Hough | chapter = Chapter V: A Horrible Place | page = 94 | publisher = Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps | access-date = 2012-02-07 }}</ref> The 1st Marine Division was severely mauled, and remained out of action until the [[Battle of Okinawa|invasion of Okinawa]] on 1 April 1945. In total, the 1st Marine Division suffered over 6,500 casualties during a month of combat on Peleliu, over one third of the entire division. The 81st Infantry Division also suffered heavy losses, incurring 3,300 casualties during its tenure on the island.

Postwar statisticians calculated that it took U.S. forces over 1,500 rounds of ammunition to kill each individual Japanese defender, and that the Americans expended 13.32 million rounds of .30-calibre, 1.52 million rounds of .45-calibre, 693,657 rounds of .50-calibre bullets, 118,262 hand grenades, and 150,000 mortar rounds over the course of the battle.<ref name= Hastings/>

The battle was controversial in the United States. Many felt that too many American lives had been lost for an island that had little strategic value. The Japanese defenders lacked the means to interfere with potential US operations in the Philippines<ref name= Hastings/> and the airfield captured on Peleliu did not play a key role in any subsequent operations. Instead, [[Ulithi Atoll]] in the [[Caroline Islands]] was used as a staging base for the invasion of Okinawa. The casualty rate exceeded all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War.<ref name="militaryhistoryonline.com"/>

In addition, few news reports were published about the battle because Rupertus's prediction of a "three days" victory motivated only six war reporters to report from shore. The battle was also overshadowed by MacArthur's [[Battle of Leyte|return to the Philippines]] and the Allies' push towards [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] in [[European Theatre of World War II|Europe]].

The [[Battle of Angaur|battles for Angaur]] and Peleliu offered the Americans a preview of future Japanese island defense, but American planners made few adjustments to their tactics before the battles of [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]] and Okinawa.<ref>{{harvnb|Morison|1958|p=46}}</ref> Naval bombardment prior to amphibious assault at Iwo Jima was only slightly more effective than at Peleliu, but at Okinawa the preliminary shelling was greatly improved.<ref name=Alexander95>Alexander, ''Storm Landings'', p. 95.</ref> [[Frogmen]] performing [[underwater demolition]] at Iwo Jima confused the enemy by sweeping both coasts, but later alerted Japanese defenders to the exact assault beaches at Okinawa.<ref name=Alexander95/> American ground forces at Peleliu gained experience in assaulting heavily fortified positions, which they would encounter again on Iwo Jima and Okinawa.<ref>{{harvnb|Morison|1958|p=47}}</ref>

At the recommendation of Admiral [[William Halsey Jr.]], the planned occupation of [[Yap]] Island in the Caroline Islands was canceled. Halsey actually recommended that the landings on Peleliu and Angaur be canceled, too, and their Marines and soldiers be sent to [[Leyte Island]] instead, but this plan was overruled by Nimitz.<ref>{{cite book | first = Major Frank O., USMC | last = Hough | title = The Seizure of Peleliu | series = USMC Historical Monograph | chapter = Appendix B – Stalemate II and the Philippines Campaign | publisher = Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps }}</ref>

In his book ''[[With the Old Breed]]'', [[Eugene Sledge]] describes his experiences in the Battle for Peleliu. One of the final scenes in ''Parer's War'', a 2014 Australian television film, shows the Battle of Peleliu recorded by [[Damien Parer]] with his camera at the time of his death.<ref>{{cite web |title=Australia's War 1939–1945: Parer's Last Reel |url=http://www.ww2australia.gov.au/farflung/parer.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410235800/http://www.ww2australia.gov.au/farflung/parer.html |archive-date=April 10, 2010 |access-date=2010-04-11 |publisher=Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs}}</ref>