![]() “Our war was lost with the loss of Saipan,” one of Emperor Hirohito’s admiral’s observed.Īmazingly, despite the monumental importance of the Battle of Saipan, few today could even list it as one of the Second World War’s decisive engagements. In fact, the Empire’s defeat there triggered a political crisis that hastened Tokyo’s inevitable collapse a little more than one year later. Marine Corps General Holland Smith called it “the decisive battle of the Pacific.” The Japanese agreed. The struggle for control of Saipan, part of the larger Operation Forager, would rage with bitter intensity for 24 days, creating tens of thousands of casualties, both military and civilian. What followed was one the most savage battles of the Pacific War, a conflict already notorious for its astonishing brutality. ![]() Knowing this, the Japanese fought ferociously to keep the tiny 43-square-mile strip of territory. If Saipan, the largest landfall in the strategically vital Northern Marianas, could be captured, it would put Tokyo within striking range of American B-29 bombers. forces were inching ever closer to Japan itself. And with every new victory, from Guadalcanal to the Gilberts and Marshalls, U.S. As bullets and shells burst around them, the soldiers aboard scrambled ashore and began a desperate fight for a foothold on the tiny South Pacific island.Īt the time, the Unites States was already two years into its Pacific island-hopping campaign. local time on June 15, the first of more than 300 tracked landing craft, each loaded with a platoon of Marines, rolled out of the surf and onto the tropical beaches of Saipan. Now, half a world away, a new front in the war against the Axis was about to open.Īt exactly 7 a.m. Nine days had passed since D-Day and the beginning of the long-awaited liberation of France. ![]() “‘Our war was lost with the loss of Saipan,’ one of Emperor Hirohito’s admiral’s observed.” The bloody campaign to take the island kicked off 75 years ago this month. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |