| Battle of Attu | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theAleutian Islands campaign | |||||||
 U.S. soldiers fire mortar shells over a ridge onto a Japanese position on 4 June 1943 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States Canada[1] |  Japan | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 John DeWittThomas KinkaidAlbert BrownEugene LandrumArchibald Arnold |  Yasuyo Yamasaki † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 15,000[1] | 2,600 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 549 killed 1,148 wounded 1,814 frostbitten and sick[2] | 2,351 killed or committed suicide 28 captured ~200 missing or holding out[3] | ||||||
TheBattle of Attu (codenamedOperation Landcrab),[4] which took place on 11–30 May 1943, was fought between forces of theUnited States, aided byCanadian reconnaissance and fighter-bomber support, andJapan onAttu Island off the coast of theTerritory of Alaska as part of theAleutian Islands campaign during theAmerican Theater and thePacific Theater. Attu is the only land battle in which Japanese and American forces fought in snowy conditions, in contrast with the tropical climate in the rest of the Pacific. The battle ended when most of the Japanese defenders were killed in brutalhand-to-hand combat after a finalbanzai charge broke through American lines.
The strategic position of the islands of Attu andKiska off Alaska's coast meant their locations could control the sea lanes across the northern Pacific Ocean. Japanese planners believed control of theAleutians would therefore prevent any possible U.S. attacks from Alaska. This assessment had already been inferred by U.S. GeneralBilly Mitchell who told 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."[5]
On 7 June 1942, six months after the United Statesentered World War II, the 301st Independent Infantry Battalion from theJapanese Northern Army landedunopposed on Attu. The landings occurred one day after theinvasion of nearby Kiska. The U.S. military feared both islands could be turned into strategic Japanese airbases from which aerial attacks could be launched against mainland Alaska and the rest of theU.S. West Coast.
InWalt Disney's 1943 filmVictory Through Air Power, the use of the Aleutian Islands for American long-range bombers to bomb Japan was postulated.[6]
On 11 May 1943, units from 17th Infantry, of Major GeneralAlbert E. Brown's7th U.S. Infantry Division made amphibious landings on Attu to retake the island fromJapanese Imperial Army forces led by ColonelYasuyo Yamasaki. Despite heavy naval bombardments of Japanese positions, the American troops encountered strong entrenched defenses that made combat conditions tough.Arctic weather andexposure-related injuries also caused numerous casualties among U.S. forces. After two weeks of relentless fighting, however, American units managed to push the Japanese defenders back to a pocket aroundChichagof Harbor.
On 21–22 May a powerful Japanese fleet assembled inTokyo Bay in preparation for a sortie to repel the American attempt to recapture Attu. The fleet included the carriersZuikaku,Shōkaku,Jun'yō,Hiyō, the battleshipsMusashi,Kongō,Haruna, and the cruisersMogami,Kumano,Suzuya,Tone,Chikuma,Agano,Ōyodo, and eleven destroyers. The Americans, however, recaptured Attu before the fleet could depart.[7]
On 29 May, without hope of rescue, Yamasaki led his remaining troops in abanzai charge. The surprise attack broke through the American front line positions. Shocked American rear-echelon troops were soon fighting in hand-to-hand combat with Japanese soldiers. The battle continued until almost all of the Japanese were killed. The charge effectively ended the battle for the island, although U.S. Navy reports indicate that small groups of Japanese continued to fight until early July 1943, and isolatedJapanese survivors held out until as late as 8 September 1943.[8] In 19 days of battle, 549 soldiers of the 7th Infantry Division were killed and more than 1,200 injured. The Japanese lost over 2,351 men, including Yamasaki; 28 prisoners were taken.[2]
Attu was the last action of the Aleutian Islands campaign. The Japanese Northern Army secretly evacuated its remaining garrison from nearby Kiska, ending the Japanese occupation in the Aleutian Islands on 28 July 1943.
The loss of Attu and the evacuation of Kiska came shortly after the death of AdmiralIsoroku Yamamoto, who was killed by American aircraft inOperation Vengeance. These defeats compounded the demoralizing effect of losing Yamamoto on the Japanese High Command.[9] Despite the losses,Japanese propaganda attempted to present the Aleutian Island campaign as an inspirational epic.[9]
The 42 Aleut inhabitants who survived the Japanese invasion were taken to a prison camp nearOtaru,Hokkaido. Sixteen of them died while they were imprisoned.[10] After the war, surviving Attuans were barred from returning to the island since the U.S. military believed it would be too costly to rebuild the island. The survivors were then relocated toAtka Island, about 200 miles away. The last former Attu captive died in 2023.[11]
In recent years there have been renewed calls for reparations. One individual leading these calls is Helena Pagano, an advocate for Attuan cultural preservation. Pagano’s great-grandfather was the last Alaska Native chief of Attu Island in the Bering Sea and he died of starvation as a prisoner of war after Japanese forces invaded. While Japan offered survivors $4,000 annually for three years in 1951, Pagano’s grandmother rejected the payment, deeming it insufficient for the suffering endured. Her call for justice reignited after a 2024 visit to Attu, where Japanese officials, as part of ongoing efforts to recover soldiers’ remains, exhumed two sets of human bones from a former Attu village site which is currently owned by theAleut Corporation. Pagano's calls for reparations request not only further financial restitution but also the establishment of a cultural center for Attuans in Alaska, an environmental cleanup of wartime debris on Attu, and greater inclusion of Attuans in memorial efforts. Japanese government officials claim they have not received recent requests for additional restitution from Attuan descendants.
Efforts to recover the remains of Japanese soldiers who died during World War II have intensified as war veterans and their relatives age, with Japan incorporating DNA testing to aid in identification. Of the approximately 2.4 million Japanese troops who died outside Japan, the remains of just over half have been recovered. On Attu Island, Japan's first recovery mission took place in 1953, yielding the remains of about 320 soldiers, which were repatriated and stored at theChidorigafuchi National Cemetery. Efforts to locate additional remains have faced delays, largely due to U.S. environmental regulations governing excavation activities on the island. In 2009, the U.S. required an environmental assessment, further postponing recovery operations for more than a decade.[12][13] During an August 2024 visit, limited excavation under U.S. supervision led to the recovery of two sets of human remains, believed to be Japanese soldiers. These remains were sent to Anchorage for preliminary evaluation, with plans to transfer samples to Japan for DNA testing if they are confirmed as likely Japanese.[14]
IJA 2nd District, North Seas Garrison (Hokkai Shubitai) – Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki[15][16]
US Landing Force Attu (US 7th Infantry Division) – Major General Albert Brown, Brigadier General Eugene M. Landrum from 16 May[17][16]
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Originally Published in Esprit de Corp Magazine, Volume 9 Issue 4 and Volume 9 Issue 5
52°52′44.67″N173°9′24.80″E / 52.8790750°N 173.1568889°E /52.8790750; 173.1568889
