Atlas of Battles

battle, major, interwar and Second World War

Battle of Wake Island

Battle of Wake Island was a battle fought on 8 December 1941 at Peale Island, in what is now United States; it lasted 15 days. It was part of the Pacific War, which ran from 1941 to 1945. The recorded result: Japanese victory.

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Battle of Wake Island
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought8 December 1941lasted 15 days
WherePeale Island, United States19.290N, 166.601E
OutcomeJapanese victory
BelligerentsEmpire of JapanagainstUnited States
Part ofPacific War1941 to 1945

Where it sits in the Pacific War

Battle of Guam, 1941Battle of Hong Kong, 1941Battle of Wake Island, 1941Battle of Corregidor, 1942Battle of Manado, 1942Battle of Kuala Lumpur, 1942Battle of Balikpapan, 1942Battle of Port Moresby, 1942Battle of Singapore, 1942Battle of Kranji, 1942Battle of Sarimbun Beach, 1942Battle of Bukit Timah, 1942Battle of Palembang, 1942Battle of Pasir Panjang, 1942Battle of Badung Strait, 1942Battle of Tjiater Pass, 1942Indian Ocean raid, 1942Battle of Midway, 1942Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo, 1942Battle of the Tenaru, 1942Battle of Edson's Ridge, 1942Actions along the Matanikau, 1942Battle for Henderson Field, 1942Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 1942Koli Point action, 1942Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 1942Battle of Tassafaronga, 1942Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse, 1942Battle of Rennell Island, 1943Battle of the Bismarck Sea, 1943Battle of Blackett Strait, 1943Battle of the Komandorski Islands, 1943Battle of Attu, 1943Battle of Wickham Anchorage, 1943Battle of Viru Harbor, 1943Battle of Kula Gulf, 1943Landing at Nassau Bay, 1943Battle of Enogai, 1943Battle of Kolombangara, 1943Drive on Munda Point, 1943New Georgia counterattack, 1943Battle of Bairoko, 1943Battle of Munda Point, 1943Battle off Horaniu, 1943Landing at Nadzab, 1943Huon Peninsula campaign, 1943Battle of Scarlet Beach, 1943Naval Battle of Vella Lavella, 1943Bougainville Campaign, 1943Landings at Cape Torokina, 1943Battle of Koromokina Lagoon, 1943Battle for Piva Trail, 1943Battle of the Treasury Islands, 1943Battle of Sattelberg, 1943Battle of Piva Forks, 1943Battle of Wareo, 1943Battle of Arawe, 1943Battle of Hellzapoppin Ridge and Hill 600A, 1943Pacification of Rabaul, 1943Battle of Mindoro, 1944Formosa Air Battle, 1944Action of 11 January 1944, 1944Battle of the Green Islands, 1944Battle of Biak, 1944Battle of Saipan, 1944Battle of the Philippine Sea, 1944Battle of Tinian, 1944Battle of Angaur, 1944Battle of Morotai, 1944Battle of Leyte, 1944Battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 1944Battle off Samar, 1944Battle of Cabo Engaño, 1944Battle of Ormoc Bay, 1944Battle of Peleliu, 1944Battle of Pearl Ridge, 1944Battle of Tarakan, 1945Action of 8 June 1945, 1945Battle of Sulu Islands, 1945Battle of Luzon, 1945Battle of Camotes Islands, 1945Battle of Tsimba Ridge, 1945Battle of Baguio, 1945Battle of Balete Pass, 1945Invasion of Palawan, 1945Battle of Mindanao, 1945Battle of the Visayas, 1945Battle of Bacsil Ridge, 1945Battle for Cebu City, 1945Battle of Slater's Knoll, 1945Operation Ten-Go, 1945Battle of the Hongorai River, 1945Battle of Davao, 1945Battle of the Malacca Strait, 1945Battle of Bessang Pass, 1945Battle of Ratsua, 1945Battle of Porton Plantation, 1945Battle of North Borneo, 1945Battle of Labuan, 1945Battle of Balikpapan, 194519411945Battle of Wake Island, 1941
101 placed engagements of the Pacific War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date8 December 1941
to 23 December 1941
PlacePeale Island, United States
19.290N, 166.601E
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
StrengthFirst Attempt (11 December): 3 light cruisers; 6 destroyers; 2 patrol boats; 2 troop transports; 1 submarine tender; 3 submarines; Reinforcements arriving for Second Attempt (23 December): 2 aircraft carriers; 2 heavy cruisers; 2 destroyers; 2,500 infantry449 USMC personnel consisting of: 399 infantry of the 1st Defense Battalion; 50 det. VMF-211; 6 coastal artillery pieces; 12 aircraft; 12 anti-aircraft guns; 68 U.S. Navy personnel; 5 U.S. Army personnel; 1,221 civilian workers
Casualties and lossesFirst attempt: 2 destroyers sunk; 340 killed; 65 wounded; 2 missing; 1 submarine sunk; Second attempt: 2 patrol boats wrecked; 10 aircraft lost; 21 aircraft damaged; 600 casualties52 killed; 49 wounded; 2 missing; 12 aircraft lost; 1 dredge seized; 1 scow sunk; 433 captured; 70 civilians killed; 1,104 civilians interned, of whom 180 died in captivity
Commanders
  • Shigeyoshi Inoue
  • Sadamichi Kajioka
  • Shigematsu Sakaibara
  • Eiji Gotō
  • Tamon Yamaguchi
  • Winfield S. Cunningham
  • James Devereux
  • Paul A. Putnam
  • Henry T. Elrod
Battle of Wake IslandBattle of Wake Island100 km19.290N, 166.601E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Wake Island
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Wake Island today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-04-16. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 0 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 16 m, 16 m of relief, flat country.

west to east, 10.0 km0 to 7 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 8 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1941

Battle of Wake Island is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 1,148 in present-day United States.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1141380, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Wake Island, revision 1385446935, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.