Editing Battle of Peleliu (section)

===Landing===
[[File:Battle of Peleliu map.jpg|thumb|250px|Routes of Allied landings on Peleliu, 15 September 1944]]

US Marines began landing on Peleliu at 08:32 on 15 September. The 1st Marines landed to the north on White Beach 1 and 2, while the 5th and 7th Marines landed to the center and south on Orange Beach 1, 2, and 3.<ref name=Moran>Moran, J. and Rottman, G.L., 2002, Peleliu 1944, Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd., {{ISBN|1841765120}}</ref>{{rp|42–45}} As the additional landing craft approached the beaches, the Marines on shore were caught in a crossfire when the Japanese opened the steel doors guarding their positions and began firing artillery. The positions on the coral promontories guarding each flank fired on the Marines with 47&nbsp;mm guns and 20&nbsp;mm cannons. By 09:30 the Japanese had destroyed 60 [[Landing Vehicle Tracked|LVT]]s and [[DUKW]]s.
[[File:Orange Beach 2 - Peleliu.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[5th Marine Regiment|5th Marines]] on Orange Beach]]

The 1st Marines were quickly bogged down by heavy fire from the {{convert|30|ft|m|sigfig=1|adj=on}} high coral ridge on their left flank, "The Point".<ref name=Moran/>{{rp|49}} Puller's LVT was hit by a dud high-velocity artillery round, and his communications section was destroyed on its way to the beach by a hit from a 47&nbsp;mm round. The 7th Marines faced a cluttered Orange Beach 3, with natural and man-made obstacles forcing the LVTs to bunch together and approach in column.<ref name=Moran/>{{rp|52}}

The 5th Marines made the most progress on the first day, aided by cover provided by coconut groves.<ref name=Moran/>{{rp|51}} As they approached the airfield they were met with Nakagawa's first counterattack. His armored tank company attacked across the airfield, attempting to push the Marines back to the beach, but was swiftly engaged by tanks, howitzers, naval guns, and dive bombers. Nakagawa's tanks and escorting infantrymen were quickly destroyed.<ref name=Moran/>{{rp|57}}

At the end of the first day, the Americans held their {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch of landing beaches but little else. Their biggest push in the south moved {{convert|1|mi|km}} inland, but the 1st Marines to the north made very little progress in the face of extremely heavy Japanese resistance.<ref name=Moran/>{{rp|42}} The Marines had suffered 200 dead and 900 wounded on the first day. Rupertus, still unaware of his enemy's change of tactics, believed the Japanese defenses would quickly crumble since their perimeter had been broken.<ref name="Western Pacific">{{cite web|title=Western Pacific|url=http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/westpac/westpac.htm|work=United States Army|access-date=January 14, 2014|archive-date=February 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203034354/http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/westpac/westpac.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>