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

Tutuila Tutuila is the largest and most populous island of American Samoa and is part of the archipelago of the Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisba ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

. Consisting of three concrete pillboxes along the beach, these

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 a ...

at this location. The threat of invasion had 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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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