Three days after US forces land on Guam, and using Saipan as a staging area, the 4th Marine Division invades Tinian. Feigning a landing on the beaches near the island’s town, the Marines instead establish a beachhead at an undefended spot in the island’s northwest, a spot thought to be too small by the Japanese defenders for an invasion force. The landing’s success led to the island being declared secure eight days later.