The Poloa Defensive Fortifications are a set of historic military structures on the island of

Tutuila Tutuila is the main island of American Samoa (and its largest), and is part of the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisbane, Au ...

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

. Consisting of three concrete pillboxes along the beach, these

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

s were built by American Marines as part of a system of defenses against a feared

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

amphibious invasion of Samoa during the early part of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Poloa pillboxes stand out from other emplacements on Tutuila for their relatively less robust construction, possibly reflecting American tactical planning for greater

defense in depth Defence in depth (also known as deep defence or elastic defence) is a military strategy that seeks to delay rather than prevent the advance of an attacker, buying time and causing additional casualties by yielding space. Rather than defeating ...

at this location. The threat of invasion eased by late 1942, and the fortifications never saw combat.. The Poloa fortifications were added to the United States

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2012.

References

United States Marine Corps installations Tutuila Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in American Samoa 1940s in American Samoa Military installations closed in the 1940s World War II on the National Register of Historic Places 1942 establishments in American Samoa {{AmericanSamoa-NRHP-stub

See also

References