Tarawa is one of the two largest of the Gilbert Islands in the western Pacific Ocean, but it is a very tiny island, with an area of about eight square miles, and a population of about 17,000. Small as it is, three nations fought to control and use it as an air base during World War II. The Japanese took it from the British in 1941, only to lose it to the Americans tow years later after one of the bloodiest (血腥的) battles of the war. Today, the Gilbert Islands having become part of the Kiribati Pepublic, Tarawa is now its capital and major seaport (海港).

塔拉瓦是一个最大的在西太平洋的吉尔伯特群岛，但它是一个非常小的岛屿，有八平方公里的面积，和人口约17000。尽管很小，三个国家为了控制和使用它作为二战期间的一个空军基地。日本把它从英国在1941，只有失去后最血腥的一晚美国人两年(血腥的)战争的战役。今天，吉尔伯特群岛已成为基里巴斯的一部分，塔拉瓦现在是pepublic，首都和主要海港(海港)。