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The Battle of Tarawa was a battle in the Pacific Theatre of World War II that was fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It took place at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio, in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll.<br/><br/> The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the war that the United States faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Previous landings met little or no initial resistance, but this time the 4,500 Japanese defenders were well-supplied and well-prepared, and they fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps.<br/><br/> The Gilbert Islands are part of Micronesia. They became a colony of the British Empire in January 1916. They were invaded and occupied by the Empire of Japan in December 1941. The battle was fought almost two years later. In July 1979 the islands became independent from the United Kingdom and now comprise part of the nation of Kiribati.