 The 5th Marines—after having secured the airfield—were sent to capture Ngesebus Island, just north of Peleliu.Ngesebus was occupied by many Japanese artillery positions, and was the site of an airfield still under construction.The tiny island was connected to Peleliu by a small causeway, but 5th Marines commander Harris opted instead to make a shore-to-shore amphibious landing, predicting the causeway to be an obvious target for the island's defenders.