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Battle of the Aleutian Islands

Aleutian Islands Campaign
Part of the American Theater and the Pacific Theater of World War II
Hauling supplies on Attu.jpg
American troops hauling supplies on Attu in May 1943 through Jarmin pass. Their vehicles could not move across the island's rugged terrain.
Date 3 June 1942 – 15 August 1943
Location Aleutian Islands, Alaska Territory
52°5′51.34″N 173°30′4.32″W / 52.0975944°N 173.5012000°W / 52.0975944; -173.5012000Coordinates: 52°5′51.34″N 173°30′4.32″W / 52.0975944°N 173.5012000°W / 52.0975944; -173.5012000
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 United States
 Canada
Empire of Japan Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
United States Thomas Kinkaid
United States Francis Rockwell
United States Albert Brown
United States Archibald Arnold
United States Simon Buckner, Jr.
Canada George Pearkes
Canada Harry Foster
Japan Boshiro Hosogaya
Japan Kakuji Kakuta
Japan Monzo Akiyama
Empire of Japan Yasuyo Yamasaki 
Strength
144,000 8,500
Casualties and losses
1,481 killed
225 aircraft destroyed
640 missing
3,416 wounded
8 captured
US Navy vessels heavily damaged
USS Salt Lake City (CA-25)
USS Abner Read (DD-526)
US Navy vessels lost
USS S-27 (SS-132)
USS Grunion (SS-216)
4,350 killed
28 captured
7 warships sunk
9 cargo transport ships sunk
1 civilian killed, 46 captured

The Aleutian Islands Campaign was a military campaign conducted by the United States in the Aleutian Islands, part of the Alaska Territory, in the American theater and the Pacific theater of World War II starting on 3 June 1942. A small Japanese force occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska, where the remoteness of the islands and the challenges of weather and terrain delayed for nearly a year a larger U.S./Canadian force to eject them. The islands' strategic value was their ability to control Pacific transportation routes, which is why U.S. General Billy Mitchell stated to the U.S. Congress in 1935, "I believe that in the future, whoever holds Alaska will hold the world. I think it is the most important strategic place in the world." The Japanese reasoned that control of the Aleutians would prevent a possible U.S. attack across the Northern Pacific. Similarly, the U.S. feared that the islands would be used as bases from which to launch aerial assaults against the West Coast.

A battle to reclaim Attu was launched on May 11, 1943 and completed following a final Japanese banzai charge on May 29. On 15 August 1943, an invasion force landed on Kiska in the wake of a sustained three-week barrage, only to discover that the Japanese had withdrawn from the island on July 29.

The campaign is known as the "Forgotten Battle", due to its being overshadowed by the simultaneous Guadalcanal Campaign. In the past, many Western military historians believed it was a diversionary or feint attack during the Battle of Midway, meant to draw out the U.S. Pacific Fleet from Midway Atoll, as it was launched simultaneously under the same commander, Isoroku Yamamoto. However, historians Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully have argued against this interpretation, stating that the Japanese invaded the Aleutians to protect their northern flank, and did not intend it as a diversion.


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