Bloody fighting erupts on a group of tiny Pacific islands in November 1943. In November 1943, a group of island in the Pacific would become the scene of some of the most brutal combat of World War II. The Japanese would fight furiously, almost to the last man. On the tiny atoll of Tarawa, the Japanese cut down landing marines with vicious precision. Military blunders by American commanders add to the losses in taking the Island of Tarawa. Through sheer numbers, Americans finally take hold and firebomb the final Japanese resistance.