Aleutian Islands Campaign — Forgotten History

Cold black mud is smeared all over your uniform, the freezing winds whip through your thin field jacket, and though you aren’t sure, your afraid you’re coming down with pneumonia. High above in the rocky crags the unseen enemy rains fire down on you and your platoon. Each time you try to advance they beat you back. Your only hope comes from the hum of the plane engines when they make a bombing run, but even this is cut short as the thick fog covers them and dulls their sound. It’s a desolate place, not where you expected to be when you joined.

The Aleutians

Purchased by the U.S. Government from Russia in 1867 the Aleutian Islands are a chain of 14 large and 55 small islands that jut out from Alaska’s southern peninsula into the Pacific Ocean. If one were to fly above these jagged islands they would see an arc of broken up rocky land dotted with volcanoes and white capped mountains with little vegetation. That is if they are able to even see them. Thick, heavy fog is common here along with unpredictable snowstorms and blizzards that make it difficult to traverse the islands. Earthquakes are also common as they can be caused by both the active tectonic plates and by erupting volcanoes.

To no one’s surprise these islands are sparsely populated, being home to mostly natives, scientists, and a few military bases. The natives have been on these islands for hundreds of years and are known as the Unangax̂ (u-nān-gă-ex) or the Aleuts. They are a rugged people who have come to love the open islands.

Mountains on one of the Aleutian Islands. Courtesy of TIME.

Japanese Invasion

On April 18, 1942 the city of Tokyo, Japan was bombed by 16 American B-25 bombers that launched from the aircraft carrier Hornet. Japanese officials were unsure of where the attack came from but speculated that its origin was the Aleutian Islands which lie just under 3,000 miles away. The Japanese Imperial High Command started closely examining the islands and took an active interest in capturing them. Island hopping was a common tactic for the Japanese so Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, one of Japan's greatest commanders, began making a simple plan to capture the Aleutians. Yamamoto believed that by subjugating the islands he could draw out the already weakened American Pacific Fleet and destroy what was left before the damage done at Pearl Harbor could be repaired.

Bombing at Pearl Harbor. Courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica.

His plan was relatively simple. A small force would be sent to capture the Aleutians and the American Pacific Fleet would be forced to leave safe harbor to protect them. As they head for the Aleutians, Yamamoto would then attack the American island of Midway, a strategically important island that was needed to control the Pacific. The American fleet headed towards Alaska would have to turn around to protect Midway and waiting for them would be the largest concentration of warships ever assembled by Japan. Yamamoto would then attack the U.S. fleet and destroy it, thereby giving Japan free reign over the Pacific.

Admiral Robert A. Theobald. Courtesy of Find A Grave.

Unfortunately for Yamamoto, the U.S. had broken Japanese naval codes and knew about his plan. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was in charge of U.S. Naval Command in the Pacific, retained most of his force to fight the Japanese at Midway and even went ahead and met them there before Yamamoto could concentrate his forces. Instead Nimitz sent a small force called Task Force 8 to defend Alaska. This task force was led by Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald and consisted of 5 cruisers, 14 destroyers, and 6 submarines. Their orders were to protect Dutch Harbor, a naval base, at all costs and to prevent the Japanese from gaining a foothold in the area.

Map of important islands in the North Pacific. Courtesy of U.S. Army Center of Military History.

At the start of June 1942, only six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya led 2 small aircraft carriers, 5 cruisers, 12 destroyers, 6 submarines, and 4 troop transports, along with support ships to the Aleutians. Admiral Theobald arrived in Alaska at about the same time and took command of all naval and air assets within the territory upon his arrival. Major General Simon B. Buckner was the commander of all ground assets in Alaska and remained as such even after Theobald arrived. This did cause some hold ups in command as the ground, naval, and air forces had to go through two commanders to coordinate with each other, but fortunately this did not hamper effectiveness as much as originally thought. Admiral Theobald set his fleet up at Kodiak Island, roughly 700 miles East of Dutch Harbor, electing to let aircraft from ground bases do most of the fighting for the time being. He ordered that reconnaissance missions be flown to locate the incoming Japanese fleet, and in the afternoon of June 2, a naval patrol plane spotted them. Theobold put his ships on high alert and ordered that bombers be launched to sink Hosogaya’s two aircraft carriers. Once they were sunk, Theobold’s fleet would move in and attack the other ships. However bad weather rapidly set in and U.S. planes were unable to locate the enemy fleet.

Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya. Courtesy of US Navy Archives.

Then the next day, June 3, the Japanese launched an early morning airstrike on Dutch Harbor. Only about half of the attacking planes reached their target as the others became confused in the heavy fog and either returned to the carrier or crashed into the sea. The ones that did reach Dutch Harbor were met with heavy anti-aircraft fire and were surprised by U.S. fighters that they did not expect. This forced the Japanese to drop their bombs prematurely and only perform a quick strafing run before fleeing. The harbor suffered minimal damage but American scout planes were still unable to locate the enemy fleet.

The day after, June 4, the Japanese launched another attack on Dutch Harbor. This time they were much better prepared and organized and knew what to expect. In this attack the Japanese were able to blow up the bases oil storage tanks, bomb part of a hospital, and hit a beached ship that was serving as a barracks. In all there were 43 deaths during the raid, 33 soldiers and 10 civilians along with 64 wounded. The Japanese also shot down 11 U.S. planes, they themselves lost 10. This time the U.S. was able to locate the enemy fleet and attempted to attack the aircraft carriers, but it was no use as bad weather again obscured their sight and caused them to lose the fleet. Task Force 8 did not take part in either of the attacks as they remained positioned at Kodiak Island.

Damage done to Dutch Harbor. Courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command

On June 5 Admiral Theobald did send the task force closer to Dutch Harbor to investigate reports of enemy ships in the area, instructing commanders on land to use all available aircraft to locate and attack Hosogaya’s fleet. However they were again unable to find it due to heavy cloud cover. There were reports from six B-17 bombers equipped with radar technology that they had scored hits on enemy vessels, but it was later found that they had actually hit several small uninhabited islands.

Fires from Japanese bombing of Dutch Harbor. Courtesy of History Channel.

After these initial attacks the Japanese moved quickly, taking over Kiska Island on June 6, and then the island of Attu on the 7. They set up garrisons on both islands and settled in for the coming winter. The Battle of Midway also ended on June 7, resulting in a Japanese defeat, but the public in Japan was not told about this and instead were told about the taking over of the Alaskan islands. Even though they faced no opposition they told the Japanese public back home that these were great victories. With the defeat at Midway the Japanese Imperial Headquarters needed a new plan for the Pacific. They decided to send two more aircraft carriers to the Aleutians, hoping that this would force Nimitz to send the rest of his fleet to liberate the islands. Of course the Japanese transmissions were intercepted and decoded by the U.S. so Nimitz knew their plan and kept his fleet away.

Map showing strategically important islands in the Pacific. Courtesy of U.S. Army Center of Military History

After the defeat at Midway the Japanese did not have much of a reason to hold on to the Aleutians. Originally they were a good flanking point for the rest of the Pacific but now that Midway was lost it served no real strategic value and the Japanese planned on pulling out before winter set in, but decided against this and wanted to keep troops there in order to prevent America from using it to attack mainland Japan. Even though some U.S. generals did propose mounting an attack on Japan through the island chain it was never a serious plan.

During this time the U.S. Military began evacuating the natives of nearby islands. In all 881 native Aleuts were evacuated and relocated to dilapidated camps in other parts of the country. Unfortunately they lost much of their culture during this time as many were not used to the outside world and the very old died of diseases, killing traditions along with them. When they were evacuated, they had to leave most of their possessions as well and the military burned down their homes and churches to prevent them from falling into Japanese hands. Despite this poor treatment more than 20 joined the military and three were even present during the battle to retake Attu.

Aleuts in native dress. Courtesy of RootsWeb.

American Reaction

Americans were shocked when they found out about the Japanese invasion. Many did not like the idea of them being on American soil, no matter how remote it was. Newspapers did a good job of telling the public about the attack on Dutch Harbor and about the island takeovers which only made people want to force the Japanese out even more. Many feared that this was the first step to Japan invading mainland Alaska or even the Pacific Northwest. The West Coast was somewhat lightly defended which added to the likelihood of this being the case.

Newspaper showing the Japanese attack of Alaska on the front page. Courtesy of Rare Newspapers.

Despite public fears military planners took little notice of the invaders as they were still recovering from Pearl Harbor, and were busy allocating resources to the South Pacific and to units that would soon be sent to Europe. For the first few months of the occupation the only action taken against the Japanese were occasional bombing raids. U.S. generals did agree however that the invaders needed to be pushed off of American soil, even if it was for psychological reasons more than anything. The only real fear that U.S. military leaders had was that the Japanese would use the Aleutians as a point to launch an attack through the Bering Strait and into the back of the Soviet Union.

Preparations to retake both islands did begin relatively quickly. Both General Buckner and Admiral Theobald agreed that they needed airfields closer to the seized islands, so on August 30, 4500 U.S. troops landed on Adak Island unopposed and began building a base and runway there. In just two weeks engineers had the airfield up and running and on September 14, U.S. B-24 heavy bombers launched from Adak and bombed the Japanese held Kiska, just a little over 200 miles away. Repeated bombings on Kiska and Attu showed the Japanese that America would not allow them to stay on the islands. This forced the Japanese bring in more troops and supplies to reinforce both Attu and Kiska.

Troop barracks on Adak Island. Courtesy of TIME.

Even though the U.S. was preoccupied with sending resources elsewhere by January 1943 the U.S. Army forces in the Alaska Command had grown from 45,000 to 94,000 soldiers and 13 additional bases had been built, many in the Aleutians. Much of these new troops were native Alaskans and they proved to be tremendously helpful with living on the islands. They taught other soldiers how to keep warm and prevent hypothermia. They also helped with acquiring food since it was not easy to transport to the islands. These native soldiers caught fish and smoked them to keep for winter and many carried a .22 caliber revolver with them in order to kill small game. The native Alaskans were the unsung heroes that helped operations run smoothly.

On January 11, U.S. forces made a landing on Amchitka Island, only 50 miles from Kiska. Amchitka had terrible weather and the evening after the first landings a violent squall started, crushing many of the boats the troops had landed in. A day later a blizzard set in that lasted for two weeks and stalled the engineers from making any real progress. Once the storm let up a Japanese scout plane saw that Americans had taken over the island and strafing runs and bombings harassed engineers until they completed the runway in mid-February.

Soldiers playing football on Amchitka Island. Courtesy of The American Warrior.

Ultimately the Aleutians invasion was more of an annoyance than anything to U.S. military leaders and was a huge mistake by Yamamoto and the Japanese High Command. Since the Japanese code was broken, taking the Aleutians achieved nothing that they had hoped for and in reality took resources away from Yamamoto’s fleet that could have been greatly used during the Battle of Midway. Even worse for Japan was that since they decided to keep troops there and not withdraw them they had to continually supply them, however this was about to change.

Blockade

Around March 1943 U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, who replaced Admiral Theobald in January, set up a blockade around the Japanese held islands in order to restrict the flow of supplies to them. Several Japanese supply ships were either turned away or sunk by American warships during this period. On March 6, 1943 Japanese ships attempted to bring reinforcements and supplies to the islands but were spotted by U.S. vessels on patrol. The two sides started firing at each other and began what is now known as the Battle of the Komandorski Islands. The Japanese fleet was led by Hosogay himself and was larger than the American one. Hosogaya inflicted heavy damage on them, but after several hours he abruptly withdrew his forces. Later it was found out that they were running low on fuel and ammunition and were unaware that they had inflicted such heavy damage on the U.S. ships.

Smoke rises from naval guns and battered ships during the Battle of the Komandorski Islands. Courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command.

Japanese soldiers on Attu and Kiska were now isolated for the most part as they could not receive supplies, save for what little could be sporadically delivered by submarine. There was also little food on the islands and unlike the Americans, they did not have natives to show them where to find what food there was. Restricting Japanese supply lines the U.S. now prepared to land troops on the islands.

Battle of Attu

Originally Kiska was to be retaken since it was more important militarily as it had an operational airfield and a better harbor. However Kinkaid was not able to secure enough transports for the amount of soldiers needed to retake it. Therefore he shifted his focus to Attu where it was believed there were only 500 enemy soldiers and it would require much less manpower. Taking Attu would also cut off what little supplies were flowing into Kiska and cut off its communication to other Japanese forces. Before the battle for Attu, codenamed Operation SANDCRAB started, U.S. ships and planes would bombard both islands several weeks in advance of the landing. Though Attu was the initial target, most of the ships and planes focused their fire on Kiska since Attu was perpetually covered in thick fog. Further reconnaissance of the island was also done and U.S. commanders shifted their guess of 500 enemy soldiers to 1500. They requested more troops and even though they had doubled the amount of active soldiers in Alaska much of the forces were spread thin throughout the territory, so the 7th Infantry Division from California was sent. This Division was trained and prepared for desert fighting, not for cold weather, but they were one of the few units that could be spared. The division quickly underwent beach landing training and were immediately shipped out to Alaska.

On May 11, 1943 the U.S. landed 3,500 soldiers unopposed on Attu. It was a two pronged assault with the Americans making landings on the North and South sides of the island. The Japanese were greatly outnumbered and Colonel Yamasaki that instead of facing U.S. forces head on, to withdraw his forces to higher ground. The main objective was Chichagof Harbor where the main Japanese base was located. This harbor was at the Eastern end of the island and in order to reach it American troops would have to fight through steep mountain climbs full of hidden enemies.

Map showing the routes of attack of American forces. Courtesy of U.S. Army Center of Military History.

The first landings took place on the Northern section of the island. (Refer to above map.) Soldiers landed on Beach SCARLETT and advanced through the valley towards the Southwest. They would come in behind Hill X and attack it from the rear. The next landings on the Northern side were at Beach RED. Soldiers here had to scale a steep slope before advancing towards the front of Hill X. Here they received heavy fire from enemies dug in on Hill X and their attack was quickly halted.

At the Southern end of the island there were two seperate landings at Beach BLUE and Beach YELLOW. These landings were side by side and both battalions slowly advanced up Massacre Valley together before becoming separated by a hogback. Just short of reaching their objective at Jarmin Pass the two battalions came under fire from either side of the valley. Heavy fog prevented the American troops from seeing exactly where the enemy was at. The Japanese defenses, aided by the fog, would prevent American troops on both ends of the island from capturing their objectives that day.

The next day started with General Brown, commander of the ground forces on Attu, arriving on the island and soldiers in the Southern sector attempting frontal assaults in an attempt to reach Jarmin Pass. They were unsuccessful despite air and naval support. The attacks were stopped and scouts were sent out to find where exactly the enemy was dug in at.

US troops traversing mountains on Attu. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

On the other side of the island, American forces at the front of Hill X had a difficult time assaulting it, but the troops that landed at Beach SCARLETT were able to climb to the top of the mountain behind the Japanese defenses and secure a foothold. The enemy remained dug in but now faced attacks coming from both above and below them. More reinforcements came in but even with their help neither American force would accomplish its objectives that day. By that evening the first casualty report was available. 44 Americans had been killed since the invasion of Attu had began the day before.

On June 13, heavy fighting ensued on both fronts. The troops to the South once again attempted to reach Jarmin Pass but their progress remained the same as on the first day of the assault. To the North the Japanese viciously attacked American troops at the top of Hill X but were unable to push them off the peak. More soldiers landed on Beach RED and reinforced the battalion at the top of Hill X. Throughout the day naval and air power continued to help troops on the ground as best they could but fog continued to obscure their sight of the defenders.

The next day, June 14, air support was almost nonexistent as the fog thickened and enveloped the entire island. Despite this the attacks went on as commanders were desperate to reach their objectives. The new plan was to have the reinforced troops on Hill X push the Japanese defenders off the mountain, seize Moore Ridge, and then attack Jarmin Pass from the rear and help the soldiers in the Southern sector break through. Unfortunately for American forces each attack in both sectors quickly bogged down. Soldiers to the South continued to be beaten back by Yamasaki’s defenses. To the North the troops at the bottom of Hill X were still unable to gain a foothold, while those at the top could not force the Japanese from their position. In a report to headquarters that evening Brown summarized the fighting by saying that, “progress through passes will, unless we are extremely lucky, be slow and costly, and will require troops in excess to those now available to my command.”

Soldiers on Attu carrying a stretcher. Courtesy of the National Park Service.

Through most of the next morning, June 15, no progress was made until the fog cleared and the soldiers to the North could see that Japanese forces withdrew from Hill X to Moore Ridge. This allowed both forces at the top and bottom of Hill X to finally come together and quickly advance on Moore Ridge, but the clear sky allowed the defenders to rain accurate fire down on them and stall their assault. The attack came to a standstill when a friendly pilot accidentally released his payload on the advancing troops. Attacks to the South remained the same as the previous days.

That same day Admiral Kinkaid reported that he would have to withdraw his ships from the island by June 16, 17 at the latest, due to fears of Japanese submarines. One ship had already been attacked unsuccessfully and at least one other sub had been sunk by aircraft. This would take away much of the fire support that troops on the ground desperately needed. That same day Kinkaid and Dewitt both agreed that Brown needed to be replaced as he was unable to make any progress. They decided that the next day Major General Eugene M. Landrum would take control of ground forces on Attu.

The same day that General Landrum arrived, June 16, American forces to the North were able to gain a foothold on the Northern end of Moore Ridge, giving them a clear line of sight on the Japanese defenders. That night Yamasaki’s forces withdrew to Chichagof Harbor where they would make their final stand. On June 17, soldiers to the North and South were able to advance forward, discovering the abandoned Japanese positions and promptly taking them. The next day American forces from the North and South would meet each other and combine to take on the remaining defenders.

Remains of a Japanese soldier on Attu. Courtesy of TIME.

Intense fighting would last for another two weeks as American troops slowly cleared Japanese machine gun nests and fortified positions scattered throughout the mountains, but this was the turning point of the battle and American victory was certain. Progress was slow and engagements were quick and intense as the scoured the island for snipers, booby traps, and hidden enemies. The end of organized resistance came on the night of May 29, when Colonel Yamasaki and his remaining 700-1000 troops fanatically charged into American lines. U.S. forces were taken by surprise and the attack even reached support troops to the rear of the front. The desperate attempt did not go far however as U.S. forces launched a counter attack on May 30. Mopping up operations would last for a few more weeks as the remaining defenders were cleared out, but Attu was back under American control.

When the dust settled there were 2,351 dead Japanese soldiers, and it is believed that a few hundred more were buried by the Japanese before their defeat. In total only 28 Japanese soldiers surrendered. There were roughly 15,000 American troops that took part in retaking Attu and out of that 549 were killed, 1,148 were wounded, and 2,100 were taken out of action due to disease or other non battle related injuries. The harsh weather took a massive toll on the soldiers as they were not equipped with the proper uniform for the cold climate. Many suffered from hypothermia, gangrene, trench foot, and other weather related illnesses. The thick cold mud that the troops referred to as “black muck” especially bogged soldiers down and added to the reasons for the slow going and mounting casualties.

The Battle of Attu would be the first and last battle fought on American soil during World War Two.

Soldier next to a grave marker. Courtesy of TIME.

Battle of Kiska

Code named Operation COTTAGE the battle for Kiska was set to begin on August 15, 1943. U.S. commanders had learned from the previous battle and made sure that their troops were well supplied and had proper clothing for the harsh conditions. They also made sure to use soldiers suited for this type of fighting, using only those who had fought at Attu or were trained back on Adak in the type of fighting seen there. They were expecting to face many more enemy troops there than they did on Attu, guessing there were roughly 10,000 of them on Kiska.

American soldier looks at the remains of a Japanese bunker on Kiska. Courtesy of JTK Americana INC.

The seas were quiet and the weather was oddly clear as the roughly 35,000 strong American and Canadian forces landed on Kiska. U.S. soldiers searched the island but found that the whole Japanese garrison had evacuated under the cover of heavy fog a few weeks earlier. There were casualties however as several friendly fire incidents occurred and some were killed and wounded by booby traps left by the Japanese. By the time they finished scouring the island there were 313 casualties total. On August 24, Kiska Island was declared secure, bringing an end to the Aleutian Islands campaign.

Going Forward

After their defeat in the Aleutians the Japanese feared that American forces would invade mainland Japan through the Alaskan Peninsula. Japan sent troops to the Kuril Islands which lay between Alaska and Japan in the North Pacific in order to cover their flank. This decision took troops and resources away from where the fighting was actually being done in the South Pacific, and by the end of the war the Japanese had as much as ⅙ of their air power stationed in the Northern region. In order to keep Japan wary of invasion from the North, American planes would occasionally carry out bombing raids on Japanese controlled islands in the region.

The battle on Attu also helped to give American forces experience in beach landings that would later be used in other campaigns in the Pacific. Unfortunately the Japanese evacuation at Kiska gave U.S. commanders a belief that the Japanese would retreat easily when instead the Japanese mostly fought like they did on Attu. To the last man with undying fanaticism.

If you would like to learn more about the battle then consider using my affiliate link to check out these books as it helps support what I do:

Check out this link for a nice slideshow of pictures from the campaign: https://time.com/22030/aleutian-islands-campaign-rare-and-classic-photos-from-wwii/

Personal Thoughts

I remember watching a documentary on the History Channel about the Aleutians campaign when I was like 12 and I’ve never forgotten about it. I find island battles, especially ones on barren landscapes very interesting. The Falklands War is one of my favorites to learn about and any battle/war like that holds my attention well. It’s sad that this is one of the forgotten fronts of the war.

Yamamoto’s plan was not a bad one, he just did not take everything into account. He didn’t come up with a plan in case the U.S. broke their code and the element of surprise was lost, he didn’t take into account Americas willingness to fight and believed the Pacific Fleet would have to be coaxed out of harbor. It was a good plan but was very one sided.

Sources

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-aleutian-islands

https://time.com/22030/aleutian-islands-campaign-rare-and-classic-photos-from-wwii/

https://history.army.mil/brochures/aleut/aleut.htm

https://www.nps.gov/aleu/learn/historyculture/stories.htm

https://www.abmc.gov/news-events/news/remembering-aleutian-campaign-world-war-ii

Sep 6 Aleutian Islands Campaign