![]() Won from Spain in the 1898 war and confirmed by treaty in 1901, the island’s 22,290 residents (1940 Census), while not American citizens, lived under the protection of the American flag. In American hands, the islands would become major air and naval bases. The Marianas island chain was critical to the American advance against Japan. In July 1944 Guam was the next target for invasion. July was also typhoon season, and tides would be unusually high. As soon as the rainy season began in July, the dirt roads would turn to mud. Prewar Guam had only a few miles of asphalt roads. It is surrounded by coral reefs, and the island’s mountains rise more than 500 feet. From Ritidian Point in the north to the extreme southern coastline, Guam is 34 miles long, made in an irregular shape covering 228 square miles, the largest of all Pacific islands between Japan and New Guinea.
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