Battle of Saipan
1944 battle during the Pacific Campaign of World War II / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Battle of Saipan was an amphibious assault launched by the United States against the Empire of Japan during the Pacific campaign of World War II between 15 June and 9 July 1944. The battle resulted in the American occupation of the island, putting the Japanese home islands within the range of United States Army Air Forces B-29 bombers and precipitating the resignation of Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tōjō. It also triggered the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which effectively destroyed Japanese carrier-based airpower.
Battle of Saipan | |||||||
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Part of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign of the Pacific Theater (World War II) | |||||||
Marines take cover behind an M4 medium tank while clearing Japanese forces in northern Saipan, 8 July 1944. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States | Japan | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Richmond K. Turner Holland Smith |
Chūichi Nagumo † Yoshitsugu Saitō † | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
V Amphibious Corps | 31st Army | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Assault: 71,034 Garrison: 23,616 Total: 94,650[1] |
Army: 25,469 Navy: 6,160 Total: 31,629[2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Land forces:[3] 3,100–3,225 killed 326 missing 13,061–13,099 wounded Ships personnel:[4] 51+ killed 32+ missing 184+ wounded |
25,144+ dead (buried as of 15 August) 1,810 prisoners (as of 10 August) Remaining ~5,000 committed suicide, killed/captured later, or holding out[5] | ||||||
8,000[6]–10,000[7] civilian deaths |
Saipan was the first objective in Operation Forager, the campaign to occupy the Mariana Islands that got underway at the same time the Allies were invading France in Operation Overlord. After a two-day naval bombardment, the U.S. 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and the Army's 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith landed on the island and defeated the 43rd Infantry Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saitō. Organized resistance ended when at least 3000 Japanese soldiers died in a final gyokusai attack, and afterward about 1000 civilians committed suicide.
The capture of Saipan pierced the Japanese inner defense perimeter and left the Japan vulnerable to strategic bombing. It forced the Japanese government to inform its citizens for the first time that the war was not going well. The battle claimed more than 46,000 military casualties and at least 8,000 civilian deaths. The high percentage of casualties suffered during the battle influenced American planning for future assaults, including the projected invasion of Japan.
American strategic objectives
Up to early 1944, Allied operations against the Japanese military in the Pacific were focused on securing the lines of communications between Australia and the United States. These operations had recaptured the Solomon Islands, eastern New Guinea, western New Britain, the Admiralty Islands, and the Gilbert and Marshall Islands.[8] To defeat Japan, Admiral Ernest J. King, Commander in Chief, United States Fleet for the United States, sought to execute War Plan Orange,[9] which the Naval War College had been developing for four decades in the event of a war.[10] The plan envisioned an assault through the Central Pacific that originated from Hawaii, island-hopped through the Micronesia and the Philippines, forced a decisive battle with the Japanese navy, and brought about an economic collapse of Japan.[11]
General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area, objected to King's proposed offensive.[12] MacArthur argued that it would be costly and time-consuming, and it would pull resources away from his drive in the Southwest Pacific toward the Philippines.[13] The Joint Chiefs of Staff decided in favor of King's plan,[14] seeing it as strategically promising. MacArthur could continue his campaign, but priority was given to a Central Pacific drive led by Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas.[15]
King had decided that with the capture of the Gilberts and Marshalls, the Marianas would be the next objective.[16] This goal been formally endorsed by the Allies at the Cairo Conference in November 1943, which set their invasion for 1 October 1944.[17] The occupation of these islands–specifically Saipan, Tinian and Guam–would cut the sea and air route from the Japanese home islands to the western Pacific.[18] King also thought that the strategic importance of the Marianas could draw the main Japanese fleet out for a major naval battle.[19] General Henry H. Arnold, Chief of the Army Air Forces, supported the idea:[20] The Marianas could provide secure airfields to sustain a strategic bombing offensive, as much of Japan's population centers and industrial areas were in the 1,600 mi (2,600 km) range of the new B-29 bomber.[21]
The invasion the Marianas, codenamed Forager,[22] was originally scheduled for October–November 1944.[23] After the rapid conquest of the Marshall Islands, the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided on 12 March to moved the timetable for the invading the Marianas up to 15 June.[24] The invasion fleet, consisting of over 500 ships and 300,000 men,[lower-alpha 1] got underway days before the Allied forces in Europe invaded France in Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944.[25][lower-alpha 2] Nimitz assigned Admiral Raymond Spruance, commander of the Fifth Fleet, to oversee the operation. Spruance put Rear Admiral Richmond Turner in charge of the amphibious fleet and Major General Holland Smith in charge of the ground forces of the V Amphibious Corps.[30] These consisted of the 2nd and 4th Marine Division. Additionally, the 27th Infantry Division was held in reserve to be available for use anywhere in the Marianas.[31]
Japanese defensive preparations
American intelligence had estimated that there would be between 15,000 and 18,000 Japanese troops on Saipan at the time of the invasion.[32] In actuality, there were double that number.[33] Nearly 32,000 Japanese military personnel were on the island, including 6,000 naval troops.[34] The Japanese hurriedly reinforced the island before the invasion, but many of the troop transports were sunk by U. S. submarines.[35] For example, five of seven ships transporting the Japanese 43rd Division were sunk.[36] Most of the troops were saved, but most of their equipment–including hats and shoes–were lost, which reduced their effectiveness.[37] Other soldiers were stranded survivors headed to other islands when their ships were sunk.[38] There were also about 80 tanks on the island, substantially more than the Americans had encountered in previous battles with the Japanese.[39]
The Japanese defenses were set up to defeat an invading force at the beaches, when the invading troops were most vulnerable.[40] These defenses focused on the most likely invasion locations, the western beaches south of Garapan. [41] This made the defenses brittle. If an invading force broke through the beach defenses, there was no organized fallback position: the Japanese troops would have to rely on Saipan's rough terrain, especially its caves, for protection.[42] The original plans called for a defense in depth that fortified the entire island[43] if time allowed,[44] but the Japanese were unable to complete their defenses by the time of the invasion. Much of the building material sent to Saipan, such as concrete and steel, had been sunk in transit by American submarines,[45] and the timing of the invasion surprised the Japanese, who thought they had until November to complete their defense.[42] As of June, many fortifications remained incomplete, available building materials were left unused, and many artillery guns were not properly deployed.[46]
Japanese leadership on the island suffered from poor command coordination. Although Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, Commander of the Central Pacific Area Fleet, had nominal oversight of the defenses in the Central Pacific. Lieutenant General Hideyoshi Obata, the commander of the Thirty-first Army who was responsible for the army's defense of the Marianas, refused to subordinate his command to a naval officer.[47] Because Obata was not on the island when the invasion started, command of Saipan's army units fell to the senior army officer on the island, Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saitō, commander of the 43rd Division.[48] But Obata's chief of staff, Major General Keiji Igeta, maintained a separate headquarters that was often out of touch with Saitō.[49]
Unlike the small, flat coral atolls of the Gilberts and Marshalls,[45] Saipan is a volcanic island with diverse terrain well suited for defense.[50] It is approximately 47 sq mi (122 km2),[51][lower-alpha 3] and has a volcanic core surrounded by limestone.[53] In the center of the island is Mount Tapotchau, which rises to 1,554 ft (474 m). From the mountain, a high ridge ran northward about seven miles to Mount Marpi.[54] This area was filled with caves and ravines concealed by forest and brush,[55] and the mountainous terrain would force tanks to stay on the island's few roads, which were poorly constructed.[56]
The southern half of the island was where the principal airfield of the Marianas, Aslito Field, was located.[57] It served as a repair stop and transit hub for Japanese aircraft headed toward other parts of the Pacific.[58] This half of the island was flatter but covered with sugar cane fields[59] because the island's economy became focused on sugar production after the Japanese government had taken over Saipan from Germany in 1914,[60] Seventy percent of Saipan's acreage was dedicated to sugar cane.[61] It was so plentiful that a narrow-gauge rail was built around the perimeter of the island to facilitate its transportation.[62] These cane fields were an obstacle to attackers: they were difficult to maneuver in and provided concealment for the defenders.[63]
Saipan was the first island of the war where the United States forces encountered a substantial Japanese civilian population,[64] and the first where U. S. Marines encountered large urban centers.[65] Approximately 26,000[6] to 28,000[7] civilians lived on the island primarily serving the sugar industry.[61] The majority of them were Japanese subjects, most of whom were from Okinawa and Korea; a minority were Chamorro people.[62] The largest towns on the island–the administrative center of Garapan with its population of 10,000, Charan Kanoa, and Tanapag– were on the western coast of the island, which was where the best landing beaches for an invasion were.[63]
United States
US Fifth Fleet
Admiral Raymond A. Spruance
- Northern Attack Force (Task Force 52)
- Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner
- Expeditionary Troops (Task Force 56)
- Lieut. General Holland M. Smith, USMC
- Approx. 59,800 officers and enlisted
- V Amphibious Corps (Lt. Gen. Smith)
- 2nd Marine Division (Maj. Gen. Thomas E. Watson, USMC)
- 4th Marine Division (Maj. Gen. Harry Schmidt, USMC)
- Expeditionary Troops reserve (Lt. Gen Smith)
- 27th Infantry Division (Army) (Maj. Gen. Ralph C. Smith, USA)
- V Amphibious Corps (Lt. Gen. Smith)
Japan
Central Pacific Area Fleet HQ
Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo
Approx. 6,200 navy personnel
- Thirty-first Army
- Lieut. General Hideyoshi Obata
- Defenses of Saipan
- Lieut. General Yoshitsugu Saitō
- Approx. 25,500 army personnel
- 43rd Division (Lt. Gen. Saitō)
- 47th Independent Mixed Brigade
- Miscellaneous units