When Japanese and American Forces Battled for Control of the Aleutian Islands in WWII

In one of the most extreme islands in the world, Japanese and American soldiers battled each other and the elements to gain control of the Aleutian Islands

Though the Japanese strategy to capture a string of Aleutian Islands in June of 1942 is one of constant debate, many are surprised to learn that there was a World War II battle that took place on American soil.

As some of the most remote and challenging islands in the world, the Aleutian Islands seemed a very odd place to launch an offensive. Yet the island of Attu in the Bering Sea, which sits almost equidistant from Tokyo and Juneau, became a strategic objective for the Japanese military in 1942.

With extremes in location and conditions (a regular day on the Aleutian Islands features dense fog, torrential rain, and 100-mph winds), the island of Attu is also believed to be the birthplace of the horrific banzai charge. A charge that would be commonplace in conflicts with Japanese soldiers thousands of miles south in the traditional setting of the Battle of the Pacific.

Invading the Aleutians

Six months following the United States’ entry into World War II the Japanese set out to control the Aleutian Islands. Though the reason for this decision is contested - some believe it a part of a greater strategy to gain control of sea lanes in the Northern Pacific, others believe the Japanese mistakenly perceived the Doolittle Raid originated not from an aircraft carrier, but the islands themselves - one thing is certain: this bloody battle is oft overshadowed amid bigger conflicts in the Pacific theater, but it’s no less interesting.

The 301st Independent Infantry Battalion from Japan’s Northern Army landed without conflict on the island of Attu. Coming on the heels of a Japanese invasion in Kiska, the United States grew concerned that the next step for the Japanese would be the construction of strategic airbases. Having airbases that proximal to the West Coast was alarming as Doolittle-type attacks on major U.S. cities along the coast could become a reality.

The United States response had one objective in mind, retake the island from the Japanese forces. In May of 1943, the Battle of Attu formally began. It would bring with it a campaign full of oddities, failures, and tragedy.

Heavy U.S. navy bombardments did little to uproot the Japanese from their fortified positions. As was often the case in World War II - or any conflict for that matter - it would require boots on the ground to accomplish the mission.

The United States Lands on Attu

Under Major General Albert E. Brown, units from the 17th infantry achieved amphibious landings on Attu. Surprisingly, one of the landing units had been trained not for the Arctic, but for desert warfare. As they trudged through waist-deep snow in leather boots, it wouldn’t be long before frost bite became a crippling problem.

Despite the far superior U.S. Air Force, the strategic advantage was nullified by Attu’s weather and topography. Dense fog cloaked uncharted mountain peaks. Unfortunately those peaks would claim more than one U.S. warplane.

There is a story that a U.S. bomber turned back to base after flying for eight consecutive hours over Attu without ever seeing a single patch of ground. Given the dangers of unseen mountain peaks and the inability to clearly see bombing targets, planes spent much of the conflict grounded.

With air support rendered ineffective and naval shelling efforts only accomplishing so much, the U.S. infantrymen pushed forward to take the island. Fighting hunger (sometimes going days without food) and the relentless elements of the islands, the American soldiers made great progress. But not without loss.

The Beginning of the End

For 19 days the struggle to survive both enemy fire and the natural elements endured. As Americans fell to bouts of combat or the horrific elements they were engulfed in, reinforcements would arrive to sustain the push.

The Japanese had no such luxury. Subject to a naval blockade, despite being dug in and fortified, the Japanese had no prospect for evacuating wounded troops or fresh soldiers and ammunition.

In a classic pincher style strategy, the American forces pushed the Japanese back to Chichagof Harbor on the island’s northeastern shore. Feeling the walls closing in around them, the Japanese commander Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki ordered a raid on nearby Engineer Hill in hopes to replenish supplies. He wrote in his journal, “The last assault is to be carried out. All patients were made to commit suicide…only thirty three of living and I am to die: I have no regrets.”

The Final Raid

Catching American forces by surprise, starved and emboldened Japanese soldiers raided medical tents and began killing wounded soldiers found inside. Many without ammunition resorted to brutal hand-to-hand conflict.

Bayonets and bare fists were the weapons of choice. Those lucky enough to possess grenades or samurai swords created havoc within the U.S. camp. Despite the surprise and fury of the raid, the Japanese momentum was short-lived.

U.S. forces would push the raiders back. Seeing that the effort was failing and believing capture to be dishonorable, the remaining Japanese soldiers with grenades would pull the pins and clutch the explosive close to their chest. On May 30, hundreds would die in violent display of gyokusai - honorable suicide in combat.

American soldiers who lived through the battle of Attu described the carnage. Bodies torn apart by the explosions strewn about on top of one another as if stacks of firewood had been blown over by the winds of the Attu.

The Aftermath at Attu

The failure to hold Attu would be the final action in Japan’s Aleutian Island Campaign. Kiska would be evacuated and by late July 1943, Japanese presence in the Aleutians was no more. Their focus would turn to the traditional Pacific Theater most are familiar with.

It is believed that over 2,500 remains of Japanese soldiers still lie on the island of Attu today. The difficulty the uninhabited island presents - the very same challenges that Japanese and American soldiers battled in decades earlier - make recovery almost impossible.

The remains of planes and vehicles join the island’s grim landscape. So too do countless pounds of unexploded ordnance. The wooden graves that once marked the resting places of the fallen have long since rotted away. Even locals who had been captured by Japanese invaders and deported, when given the chance opted to re-settle elsewhere.

All told, the U.S. would lose 550 soldiers and suffer 1,100 wounded. The Japanese however would suffer over 2,500 deaths. Few realize that by percentage of forces, only Iwo Jima was more costly.

History for the Hurried

January 24, 1848: The California Gold Rush begins with an accidental discovery of the precious metal near Coloma during the construction of Sutter’s sawmill.

January 24, 1972: Shiochi Yokoi, a Japanese soldier from World War II, is discovered in Guam after spending the previous 28 years hiding in the jungle unaware the Second World War had ended.

January 26, 1994: Romania becomes the first former Cold War foe to join NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse.