| Battle Of The Aleutian Islands |
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The Battle of the Aleutian Islands was a struggle over the Aleutian Islands , part of Alaska , in the Pacific Campaign of World War II . A small Japan ese force occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska , but the remoteness of the islands and the difficulties of weather and terrain meant that it took nearly a year for a large U.S. force to eject them. The islands had very little strategic value for either side, but control of the Aleutians would prevent a possible U.S. attack across the Northern Pacific . Similarly, the U.S. feared that the islands would be used as bases from which to launch aerial assaults against the West Coast , and it became a matter of national pride to expel the invaders from American soil. But Japan lacked both a long-range bomber and the resources to establish and operate an air base in the Aleutians. The battle, overshadowed by the simultaneous Guadalcanal Campaign , is known as the "Forgotten Battle." It is described in mainstream histories as a diversionary attack during the Battle Of Midway and was in fact launched simultaneously under the same overall commander, Isoroku Yamamoto . Historians Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully made strong arguments in their 2005 book, '' Shattered Sword '', against the theory that Operation AL was merely a diversion. JAPANESE ATTACK On June 3 1942 , Japanese bombers attacked Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island using Kate ( Nakajima B5N ) bombers from the carriers '' Junyō '' and '' Ryūjō ''. In bad weather, only half the planes found the target, and little damage was done. The Japanese invasions of Kiska on June 6 , 1942 , and Attu on June 7 initially met little resistance from the local Aleut s. Much of the native population of the islands had been forcibly evacuated before the invasion and interned in camps in the Alaska Panhandle . ALLIED RESPONSE In August 1942, the United States established an Air Base on Adak Island and began bombing Japanese positions on Kiska. A naval force under Rear Admiral Charles McMorris was assigned to interdict the Japanese supply convoys. After a naval battle known as the " Battle Of The Komandorski Islands ," the Japanese abandoned attempts to resupply the Aleutian garrisons with surface vessels. From then on, only Submarine s were used for Japanese resupply runs. On s and friendly fire. On May 29 , the last of the Japanese forces suddenly attacked near Massacre Bay in one of the largest Banzai Charge s of the Pacific campaign. The charge, led by Colonel Yamasaki, penetrated U.S. lines far enough to encounter shocked rear-echelon units of the American force. After furious, brutal, close-quarter, and often Hand-to-hand Combat , the Japanese force was killed almost to the last man: only 28 prisoners were taken, none of them an officer. U.S. burial teams counted 2,351 Japanese dead, but it was presumed that hundreds more had been buried by bombardments over the course of the battle. On August 7 , 1943 , an invasion force of 34,426 Allied troops, mainly from 7th Infantry Division , including 5,300 Canadians, landed on Kiska, only to find the island abandoned. Under the cover of fog, the Japanese had successfully removed their troops on July 28 without the Allies noticing. The Army Air Force had been bombing abandoned positions for more than a week. Allied casualties during the invasion nevertheless numbered 313, all from friendly fire, booby traps set out by the Japanese, disease, or frostbite. AFTERMATH Although plans were drawn up for attacking northern Japan, they were not executed. Over 1,500 sorties were flown against the Kuriles before the end of the war, including the Japanese base of Paramushiro , diverting 500 Japanese planes and 41,000 ground troops. As Of 2007 , the Battle of the Aleutian Islands was the last military engagement between sovereign nations to be fought on U.S. soil. VETERANS The 2006 documentary film ''Red White Black & Blue'' features two veterans of the Attu Island campaign, Bill Jones and Andy Petrus. It is directed by Tom Putnam and debuted at the 2006 Locarno International Film Festival in Locarno , Switzerland on August 4 , 2006 . SEE ALSO
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