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The Aleutian Islands campaign was a military campaign fought between 3 June 1942 and 15 August 1943 on and around the Aleutian Islands in the American Theater of World War II during the Pacific War. It was the only military campaign of World War II fought on North American soil. For veterans who served during this operation from March 26 to June 2, 1943, the US Navy recognized their service with campaign stars worn on the Asia-Pacific Theater ribbon, marking their participation in one of the war's most challenging and unique theaters of operation.
The islands' strategic value was their ability to control Pacific transportation routes as US General Billy Mitchell stated to the U.S. Congress in 1935, "I believe that in the future, whoever holds Alaska will hold the world. I think it is the most important strategic place in the world." The Japanese reasoned that their control of the Aleutians would prevent a possible joining of forces by the Americans and the Soviets and future attack on Japan proper via the Kuril Islands.
Japanese Occupation Timeline:
CINCPAC on 21 May 1942 established Task Force Tare under the command of Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald. Admiral Theobald was given control of all Army, Navy, and Canadian forces in the Alaskan-Aleutian theater and was ordered to prepare to defend the area against Japanese attack.
Task Group 16.6 Organization:
|
Ship Type |
Name |
Class |
Commander |
|
Heavy Cruiser |
USS Salt Lake City (CA-25) |
Pensacola-class |
Captain Bertram J. Rodgers |
|
Light Cruiser |
USS Richmond (CL-9) |
Omaha-class |
Captain Theodore Waldschmidt |
|
Destroyer |
USS Bailey (DD-492) |
Benson-class |
|
|
Destroyer |
USS Dale (DD-353) |
Farragut-class |
|
|
Destroyer |
USS Coghlan (DD-606) |
Benson-class |
|
|
Destroyer |
USS Monaghan (DD-354) |
Farragut-class |
|
Key US Commanders:
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto provided the Japanese Northern Area Fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral BoshirÅ Hosogaya, with a force of two non-fleet aircraft carriers, five cruisers, twelve destroyers, six submarines, and four troop transports, along with supporting auxiliary ships.
Japanese Heavy Units:
The Army Air Force's Eleventh Air Force consisted of 10 B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers and 34 B-18 Bolo medium bombers at Elmendorf Airfield, and 95 P-40 Warhawk fighters divided between Fort Randall and Fort Glenn.
Aircraft Inventory by Type:
Critical Advantage: On 29 May 1942, 25 P-38s began operating in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. The fighter's long range made it well-suited to the campaign over the almost 1,200-mile (1,900 km)-long island chain, and it was flown there for the rest of the war.
The Japanese in contrast never had more than 14 effective planes at any time. Their aviation consisted primarily of:
The March 26, 1943 Battle of the Komandorski Islands marked the last attempt by the Japanese to resupply Kiska and Attu by convoy for the remainder of the war. It was also the longest naval gun battle of the war and the last pure ship-to-ship battle in modern naval history.
Battle Statistics:
When dawn broke on the morning of March 26, the American task force was east of the International Date Line, (so it was actually March 27) 180 miles west of Attu and a hundred miles south of the Russian Komandorski Islands, sweeping north by east, strung out in a scouting line six miles long.
Key Moments:
Turning Point: Then, in a move that stunned McMorris and every American sailor with him, the Japanese warships broke contact shortly after noon and retreated from the battle area.
On May 11, 1943, the U.S. North Pacific Force, commanded by Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, USN, landed and supported U.S. Army 7th Infantry Division at two major landings on Attu Island. One landing was west of Holtz Bay on the northern side of the island, and the other in Massacre Bay on the southern side.
Landing Forces Organization:
Japanese Garrison Command Structure:
Col. Yamasaki knew he was outmanned and outgunned, so he opted not to fight on the landing beaches. Instead, Japanese forces withdrew to prepared positions in the island's mountainous interior.
On 29 May 1943 without warning the remainder of Japanese forces attacked near Massacre Bay. Recorded as one of the largest banzai charges of the Pacific campaign, Yamasaki penetrated so deep into U.S. lines that Japanese soldiers encountered rear-echelon units of the Americans.
Casualties and Outcome:
USS Salt Lake City Main Battery:
Destroyer Armament:
Heavy Cruiser Armament:
Ground Defense Weapons:
Weather: The Invisible Enemy
More Lightnings were lost due to severe weather and other conditions than enemy action; cases occurred where Lightning pilots, mesmerized by flying for hours over gray seas under gray skies, simply flew into the water.
Weather-Related Statistics:
Combat Reality: Ultimately, there were more casualties caused by the cold than by the Japanese.
Operation Cottage: The Kiska Anticlimax (August 15, 1943)
On 15 August 1943 an invasion force of 34,426 Canadian and American troops landed on Kiska. However, in one of the war's most ironic turns, the massive invasion force discovered that the Japanese had withdrawn from the island on 29 July.
Invasion Force Composition:
In an unprecedented maneuver, over 5,100 troops embarked in less than an hour, and slipped away, undetected. The Japanese evacuation was one of the most successful retreat operations of the war, conducted entirely under cover of fog.
The Eleventh Air Force flew 297 missions and dropped 3,662.00 tons of bombs. One hundred and fourteen men were killed in action, another forty-two were reported missing in action and forty-six died as a result of accidents. Thirty-five aircraft were lost to combat and another 150 to operational accidents.
Notable Air Achievements:
P-38 Lightning Advantages:
Operational Challenges:
Territory Reclaimed:
Japanese Losses:
With its loss of Attu to U.S. forces, Japan was deprived of its only remaining airstrip in the Aleutians, a disadvantage that it could not compensate for because Japanese aviation units were entirely ground-based.
Long-term Impact:
Veterans who served in the Aleutian Operation from March 26 to June 2, 1943, earned the right to wear a campaign star on their Asia-Pacific Theater ribbon, recognizing their participation in this unique and challenging campaign.
Citation Requirements:
The campaign is known as the "Forgotten Battle" because it has been overshadowed by other events in the war. Despite its relative obscurity, the Aleutian Campaign represents several significant "firsts" and "lasts" in naval warfare:
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
Government Archives
Additional Reading
