| 11 May 1943 U.S. Forces Land on Attu |
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| Attu and Kiska had been under Japanese control for
nearly a year, and while strategically the islands were of little value, their liberation was a
matter of prestige—after all, the Aleutian Islands were a part of Alaska, which had been
U.S. territory since 1867. Aerial bombing of Japanese positions on Attu and Kiska, from an airbase
on nearby Amchitka Island, began in February, and after a brief naval engagement in late March
the islands were effectively cut off from resupply. U.S. troops landed on Attu on May 11, but quickly
ran into stiff resistance from the Japanese, made worse by the mud and heavy fog that was so common
to the Aleutians in springtime. The Americans suffered heavy casualties, and did not finally secure
the island until May 30.
Expecting similar resistance on Kiska, the Allies assembled a force of more than 34,000 U.S. and Canadian soldiers for an invasion of that island. Those troops landed on August 15, but to their surprise they encountered no resistance; as it turned out, the Japanese had begun evacuating the island in June, and by the end of July they had withdrawn entirely. Histories: Photographs: |
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