On the morning of July 21, 1944, after one of the longest and heaviest pre-assault naval bombardments of the war, the American recapture of Guam began with simultaneous landings at Asan and Agat beaches by 55,000 men of the 3rd Marine Division, 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, and 305th Regimental Combat Team of the 77th Army Infantry Division. By the day’s end, despite some initial confusion over landing sites and stiff resistance by the island’s 18,500 Japanese defenders, both beaches had been secured. In the three weeks that followed, the Americans cleared Orote Peninsula and secured Fonte Plateau. They then moved north toward Agana, Barrigada, Mount Santa Rosa, and on to Ritidian Point, where the island was declared secure. The recapture of Guam cost more than 7,000 American and about 17, 500 Japanese causalities. Japan’s grip on the Marianas was broken and the end of the war was now just slightly over a year away.