_“Tarawa No. II,” a sketch by combat artist Kerr Eby, reflects the
difficulty in landing reinforcements over the long pier throughout the
battle. As Gen Julian Smith personally learned, landing across Green
Beach took longer but was much safer._]
[Illustration: _Marines fire a M-1919A4 machine gun from an improvised
“shelter” in the battlefield._
Department of Defense Photo 63495
]
The toughest fight of the fourth day occurred on the Red Beach One/Two
border where Colonel Shoup directed the combined forces of Hays’ 1/8
and Schoettel’s 3/2 against the “re-entrant” strongpoints. The Japanese
defenders in these positions were clearly the most disciplined--and the
deadliest--on the island. From these bunkers, Japanese antiboat gunners
had thoroughly disrupted the landings of four different battalions, and
they had very nearly killed General Smith the day before. The seaward
approaches to these strongpoints were littered with wrecked LVTs and
bloated bodies.
[Illustration: