 A battalion was placed along the beach to defend against the landing, but they were meant to merely delay the inevitable American advance inland.Unlike the Japanese, who drastically altered their tactics for the upcoming battle, the American invasion plan was unchanged from that of previous amphibious landings, even after suffering 3,000 casualties and two months of delaying tactics against the entrenched Japanese defenders at the Battle of Biak.On Peleliu, American planners chose to land on the southwest beaches because of their proximity to the airfield on South Peleliu.