The 1st Marines on Bloody Nose Ridge

On 15 September 1944, the 1st Marine Division landed on Peleliu with its commander, Major General William H. Rupertus, confidently predicting the Japanese-held island would be in U.S. hands within four days. But the grueling Battle of Peleliu would last 73 days, with the U.S. Army’s 81st Infantry Division eventually taking over operations.

Two key factors contributed to the battle stretching so long: The Japanese abandoned large-scale assaults in favor of attritional, defensive warfare, and they had ideal terrain in which to implement their new tactics—the rugged coral and limestone Umurbrogol Mountain, which Marines nicknamed “Bloody Nose Ridge.”

Colonel Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller’s 1st Marines was assigned to capture this high ground. After two-and-a half days of unexpectedly brutal fighting, the regiment reached the southwestern base of Bloody Nose Ridge and began the assault.