Battle of Saipan

Battle of Saipan
	Part of World War II, Pacific War
	; LVTs heading for shore on 15 June 1944. USS Birmingham in foreground; the cruiser firing in the distance is USS Indianapolis
Date	15 June 1944 – 9 July 1944
Location	Saipan, Mariana Islands
Result	American Victory
Belligerents
; United States	; Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Richmond K. Turner; Holland Smith	Yoshitsugu Saito †; Chuichi Nagumo †; Takeo Takagi †; Matsuji Ijuin †
Strength
71,000	31,000
Casualties and losses
2,949 killed; 10,364 wounded	24,000 killed; 5,000 suicides; 921 prisoners
	22,000 civilians dead (mostly suicides)

Template:Fix bunching

Template:Fix bunching The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June 1944 to 9 July 1944. The invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was launched. The United States 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith, defeated the 43rd Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito.

Background

In the campaigns of 1943 and the first half of 1944, the Allies had captured the Solomon Islands, the Gilbert Islands, the Marshall Islands and the Papuan peninsula of New Guinea. This left the Japanese holding the Philippines, the Caroline Islands, Palau Islands and Mariana Islands.

It had always been the intention of the American planners to bypass the Carolines and Palaus and to seize the Marianas and Taiwan. From these latter bases communications between the Japanese homeland and Japanese forces to the south and west could be cut. In addition, from the Marianas Japan would be well within the range of an air offensive relying on the new B-29 Superfortress long-range bomber with its range of 1,500 miles (2,400 km).

While not part of the original American plan Douglas MacArthur, commander of the Southwest Pacific Area command, obtained authorization to advance through New Guinea and Morotai toward the Philippines. This allowed MacArthur to keep his personal pledge, made in his "I shall return" speech, to liberate the Philippines, and also allowed the active use of the large forces built up in the southwest Pacific theatre.

The Japanese, expecting an attack somewhere on their perimeter, thought an attack on the Caroline Islands most likely. To reinforce and supply their garrisons, they needed naval and air superiority, so Operation A-Go, a major carrier attack, was prepared for June 1944.

Battle

A Marine talks a terrified Chamorro woman and her children into abandoning their refuge

Bombardment of Saipan began on 13 June 1944. Fifteen battleships were involved, and 165,000 shells were fired. Seven modern fast battleships delivered 2,400 sixteen-inch (406 mm) shells, but to avoid potential minefields, fire was from a distance of 10,000 yards or more, and crews were inexperienced in shore bombardment. The following day the eight pre-Pearl Harbor battleships and eleven cruisers under Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf replaced the fast battleships but were lacking in time and ammunition.^[2]

The landings began at 07:00 on 15 June 1944. More than 300 LVTs landed 8,000 Marines on the west coast of Saipan by about 09:00. Eleven fire support ships covered the Marine landings. The naval force consisted of the battleships USS Tennessee and California. The cruisers were Birmingham and Indianapolis. The destroyers were Norman Scott, Monssen, Colahan, Halsey Powell, Bailey, Robinson and the Albert W. Grant. Careful Japanese artillery preparation — placing flags in the bay to indicate the range — allowed them to destroy about 20 amphibious tanks, and the Japanese strategically placed barbed wire, artillery, machine gun emplacements, and trenches to maximize the American casualties. However, by nightfall the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions had a beachhead about 6 miles (10 km) wide and 1/2 mile (1 km) deep.^[3] The Japanese counter-attacked at night but were repulsed with heavy losses. On 16 June, units of the U.S. Army's 27th Infantry Division landed and advanced on the Aslito airfield. Again the Japanese counter-attacked at night. On 18 June Saito abandoned the airfield.

The invasion surprised the Japanese high command, which had been expecting an attack further south. Admiral Toyoda Soemu, commander-in-chief of the Japanese Navy, saw an opportunity to use the A-Go force to attack the U.S. Navy forces around Saipan. On 15 June, he gave the order to attack. But the resulting battle of the Philippine Sea was a disaster for the Imperial Japanese Navy, which lost three aircraft carriers and hundreds of planes. The garrisons of the Marianas would have no hope of resupply or reinforcement.

Without resupply, the battle on Saipan was hopeless for the defenders, but the Japanese were determined to fight to the last man. Saito organized his troops into a line anchored on Mount Tapotchau in the defensible mountainous terrain of central Saipan. The nicknames given by the Americans to the features of the battle — "Hell's Pocket", "Purple Heart Ridge" and "Death Valley" — indicate the severity of the fighting. The Japanese used the many caves in the volcanic landscape to delay the attackers, by hiding during the day and making sorties at night. The Americans gradually developed tactics for clearing the caves by using flamethrower teams supported by artillery and machine guns.

The operation was marred by inter-service controversy when Marine General Holland Smith, unsatisfied with the performance of the 27th Division, relieved its commander, Army General Ralph C. Smith. However, General Holland Smith had not inspected the terrain over which the 27th was to advance. Essentially it was a valley surrounded by hills and cliffs under Japanese control. The 27th took heavy casualties and eventually, under a plan developed by General Ralph Smith and implemented after his relief, had one battalion hold the area while two other battalions successfully flanked the Japanese.^[4]

By 7 July, the Japanese had nowhere to retreat. Saito made plans for a final suicidal banzai charge. On the fate of the remaining civilians on the island, Saito said, "There is no longer any distinction between civilians and troops. It would be better for them to join in the attack with bamboo spears than be captured." At dawn, with a group of a dozen men carrying a great red flag in the lead, the remaining able-bodied troops — about 3,000 men — charged forward in the final attack. Amazingly, behind them came the wounded, with bandaged heads, crutches, and barely armed. The Japanese surged over the American front lines, engaging both Army and Marine units. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 105th U.S. Infantry were almost destroyed, losing 650 killed and wounded. However, the fierce resistance of these two battalions, as well as that of Headquarters Company, 105th Infantry, and elements of 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines (an artillery unit) resulted in over 4,300 Japanese killed. For their actions during the 15-hour Japanese attack, three men of the 105th Infantry were awarded the Medal of Honor – all posthumously. Numerous others fought the Japanese until they were overwhelmed by the largest Japanese Banzai attack in the Pacific War.^[5]

By 16:15 on 9 July, Admiral Turner announced that Saipan was officially secured.^[6] Saito, along with commanders Hirakushi and Igeta, committed suicide in a cave. Also committing suicide at the end of the battle was Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, the naval commander who led the Japanese carriers at Pearl Harbor and Midway Atoll, who had landed on Saipan to help lead the ground defense.

File:MARINE~1.png

A U.S. Marine retrieves a living baby from a cave full of corpses. June 1944.

In the end, about 22,000 Japanese civilians died. Almost the entire garrison of troops on the island — at least 30,000 — died. For the Americans, the victory was the most costly to date in the Pacific War. 2,949 Americans were killed and 10,364 wounded, out of 71,000 who landed.^[7]^[8]

Among the wounded was the actor Lee Marvin. He was injured in the buttocks by Japanese fire which severed his sciatic nerve. He received a medical discharge.^[9]

Civilian surrenders and suicides

Saipan had been seized by Japan after World War I, and thus a large number of Japanese civilians lived there—at least 25,000.^[10] The US erected a civilian prisoner encampment on 23 June that soon had more than 1,000 inmates. Electric lights at the camp were conspicuously left on overnight to attract other civilians with the promise of three warm meals and no risk of accidentally being shot in combat.^[10]

Emperor Hirohito personally found the threat of defection of Japanese civilians disturbing.^[10] Much of the community was of low caste, and there was a risk that live civilians would be surprised by generous U.S. treatment. Native Japanese sympathizers would hand the Americans a powerful propaganda weapon to subvert the "fighting spirit" of Japan in radio broadcasts. At the end of June, Hirohito sent out an imperial order encouraging the civilians of Saipan to commit suicide.^[10] The order authorized the commander of Saipan to promise civilians who died there an equal spiritual status in the afterlife with those of soldiers perishing in combat. General Tojo intercepted the order on 30 June and delayed its sending, but it went out anyway the next day. By the time the Marines advanced on the north tip of the island, from 8–12 July, most of the damage had been done.^[10] Over 10,000 Japanese civilians committed suicide in the last days of the battle to take the offered privileged place in the afterlife, some jumping from "Suicide Cliff" and "Banzai Cliff".

Weapons and the tactics of close quarter fighting also resulted in high civilian casualties. Civilians shelters were located virtually everywhere on the island, with very little difference noticeable to attacking Marines. The standard method of clearing suspected bunkers was with high-explosive and/or high-explosives augmented with petroleum (e.g. gelignite, napalm, diesel fuel). In such conditions, high civilian casualties were inevitable.^[11]

In the end, about 22,000 Japanese civilians died. Almost the entire garrison of troops on the island — at least 30,000 — died. For the Americans, the victory was the most costly to date in the Pacific War. 2,949 Americans were killed and 10,364 wounded, out of 71,000 who landed.^[12]^[13]

Guy Gabaldon

PFC Guy Gabaldon, a Mexican-American from Los Angeles, is officially credited with capturing more than 1,000 Japanese prisoners during the battle. PFC Gabaldon, who was raised by Japanese-Americans, used a combination of street Japanese and guile to convince soldiers and civilians alike that U.S. troops were not barbarians, and that they would be well treated upon surrender. For his outstanding bravery, Gabaldon received a Silver Star, which was upgraded to the Navy Cross.^[14]

During the war, his commanders had requested that he receive the Medal of Honor for his actions; however, his initial award was the Silver Star. In 1998, efforts were re-initiated to secure the Medal of Honor for PFC Gabaldon.^[15] The effort is ongoing.^[16]

Aftermath

For the Japanese, the defeat in the battle made the futility of the War in the Pacific all the more apparent. A meeting of senior generals and admirals decided that a symbolic change of leadership should be made and that Prime Minister Hideki Tojo should resign. In addition, the Emperor should move away from day-to-day affairs so as to avoid looking too directly involved with the now losing war, which could instead be blamed on the war "shogun" Tojo.^[10] Tojo agreed and submitted his resignation immediately. Emperor Hirohito rejected it at first, considering Tojo the strongest war leader Japan had. Tojo considered trying to shuffle the Cabinet but encountered so much hostility he gave up.^[10] On 18 July, Tojo resubmitted his resignation, this time unequivocally; his entire cabinet also resigned.^[17]

After the battle, Saipan became an important base for further operations in the Marianas, and then for the invasion of the Philippines in October 1944. Bombers based at Saipan attacked the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands and Japan.

A group of Japanese soldiers, led by IJA Captain Sakae Oba, held out in the mountains until 1 December 1945. A total of 46 men laid down their arms when the final order to surrender reached them.

After the war concluded, apologists for Hirohito asserted that the order encouraging the civilians of Saipan to commit suicide for benefits in the afterlife had in fact been forged, along with other incriminating orders. Historian David Bergamini considers this unlikely, writing that "half the staff of the palace [...] would have felt obliged to cut open their bellies if the sacred seals of the Throne had ever been misapplied."^[10]

Notes

^ Battle of Saipan – The Final Curtain, David Moore
^ "U.S. Army in World War II: Campaign in the Marianas, Ch. 5". United States Army Center of Military History. Retrieved 13 October 2006.
^ "Selected June Dates of Marine Corps Historical Significance". This Month in History. History Division, United States Marine Corps. Retrieved 7 June 2006.
^ Harold Goldberg, D-Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan, Indiana University Press, 2007. pp. 160–164
^ Harold Goldberg, D-Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan, Indiana University Press, 2007. pp. 167–194
^ John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1936–1945, Random House, 1970, p. 516
^ John Toland, ibid, p. 519.
^ Battle of Saipan – The Final Curtain, David Moore
^ Lee Marvin – Biography
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Bergamini, David (1971). Japan's Imperial Conspiracy. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. pp. 1012–1014.
^ [1] ^{[dead link]}
^ John Toland, p. 519.
^ Battle of Saipan - The Final Curtain, David Moore
^ Burlas, Joe (24 September 2004). "Pentagon salutes military service of Hispanic World War II veterans". Army News Service. Retrieved 24 March 2006.
^ Burbeck, James (1998). "An Interview with Guy Gabaldon". War Times Journal. Retrieved 6 March 2006.
^ "PFC Guy Gabaldon, WWII, The Pacific". America USA. Retrieved 6 March 2006.
^ Hoffman, p. 260.