Pictured: Japanese Patrol Boat No.32 and Patrol Boat No.33 beached and burning in attempt to land an amphibious invasion force on Wake Island in December of 1941.

The Battle of Wake Island is often referred to as the loneliest battle of World War II. On December 8, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor surprised American military forces in Hawaii an occupied much of America’s collective imagination. However, the attack on Pearl Harbor was only one of a collection of offensives the Japanese conducted on that day. Stranded nearly 2,500 miles away from Hawaii, halfway to Japan, a small assembly of Marines held back a fierce amphibious assault by Japanese forces as they awaited reinforcements. The frustrated Japanese Navy would have to call in a second invasion force while the US’s naval Task Force 14 raced to relieve the island...



Dark Docs brings you cinematic short military history documentaries featuring the greatest battles and most heroic stories of modern warfare, covering World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and special forces operations in between.

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