The Battle of Saipan was fought from June 15 to July 7 in 1944.This battle was fought at Saipan between America and Japan. The area around Saipan had great strategic value to both of these countries.Saipan was a part of the Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean (which has a rich naval history). The Japanese army captured it in the First World War but lost it in World War II. For Americans, this area was important because the capture of this area would give them enough opportunity to build big runways for their B29 Superfortress bombers, which could provide them with an easy way of reaching the Japanese mainland and home islands. It held equal importance for the Japanese, as the construction of runways by Americans would mean that Japanese forces in the south of Saipan would lose contact with the mainland. Americans wanted to win Saipan at any cost, but knowing the importance of the island, the Japanese also saw the importance of it and were fully prepared to defend it until death.Having such crucial importance, the Saipan Battle was very bloody. A heavy two-day bombardment by the US Navy preceded an amphibious corps landing on the island. On the beaches where the attacking marines were to land, about 165,000 shells were shot at Japanese forces. The first assaults on Saipan occurred at seven a.m., and 8,000 US Marines were on the island by nine a.m. However, they fought every step of the way as the Japanese troops had set up barbed wire, ditches, and machine gun stations immediately behind the beaches. Men of the second and fourth Marine Divisions had advanced nearly 0.5 mi (804.67 m) by midnight, creating a 6 mi (9.65 km) wide beachhead.This battle was commanded by Richmond K. Turner and Holland Smith on the side of the United States of America, and by Yoshitsugu Saitō, Chūichi Nagumo, Takeo Takagi, and Matsuji Ijuin from the Empire of Japan.For more insight and knowledge on the major battles of human history, you can read Battle of Gallipoli and Battle of France articles on our website.Battle Of Saipan SummarySaipan is a small island off the coast of Japan, about 1300 mi (2092 km) away. It’s a small island, only 5 mi (8 km) wide and 18 mi (29 km) long, but it was very important to the United States during World War II.This small island was not only significant because of its location, which placed it between Japan and the Central Pacific garrisons, but also because it provided an excellent staging area for Japan’s aviation attacks. The Americans would also have the advantage of being able to mount an attack on Tokyo and the Japanese home islands from there. The Japanese were taken aback by the onslaught on Saipan because they had expected an attack further south.The Japanese, perceiving an easy chance to strike US forces, launched a fast attack, but the ensuing fight was disastrous for the Japanese Navy, which lost three aircraft carriers and hundreds of planes. The battle of Saipan would be futile for the Japanese soldiers if supplies could not be obtained; yet, the Japanese were prepared to fight to the death. The Japanese took advantage of many of the caverns and the rocky terrain, but soon the Americans devised an efficient counter-offensive, clearing the caves with artillery, flamethrowers, and machine guns. The Japanese eventually ran out of options and were given orders to carry out a banzai charge. The Japanese force even persuaded the civilian populace that death was preferable to capture.Battle Of Saipan CasualtiesBoth sides suffered a lot of casualties, and this battle was deadly. For the United States, around 2,949 people were killed, and 10,364 were wounded. For the empire of Japan, the casualties were heavier. Around 24,000 were killed, 5,000 committed suicides, 921 were taken as prisoners of war, and among the 22,000 Japanese civilians who died, most were mass suicides from the banzai cliff, which came to be known as the suicide cliff.The invasion force along the American lines gave nicknames to the defenses, such as Death Valley, Hell’s Pocket, and Purple Heart Ridge; this made the Japanese admiral confused about the Japanese position and where the Americans would attack next. Japanese soldiers made many counter-attacks on the naval forces of America, but the American forces fought all of the Japanese counter-attacks. The Japanese commander then came up with the strategy to attack the US from the sea, which resulted in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. This way, they would be able to support the Japanese defenders on the islands from the Japanese positions. The Japanese responded with an alternative, but the planning of the Battle of the Philippines Sea did not go as planned. The war proved to be a suicide mission for Japan as they lost three aircraft carriers and a lot of aircraft. Americans also lost many of their aircraft, but soon they got replacements as they had a huge industrial base, and it was easy for them to get a new task force and reinforcements; Japan did not have that. Because of the loss of their carriers, it was evident that the Japanese forces could not get any army reinforcements as they did not have any aircraft carriers.Realizing this, General Saito ordered his army to fight along the defensive line near Mt. Tapotchau in the center of Saipan. This area was an excellent base for the Japanese as it had caves, and it made it easier for them to have successful raids on the enemy power. However, the Americans already had an alternative to this. They used flamethrowers to force Japanese soldiers to come out of the caves and kill them. Those soldiers who came out faced the artillery, and those who didn’t faced the fire inside. This made the Japanese commander realize that they did not have any more alternatives to save themselves. Approaching the end, he ordered all of his remaining men to commit suicide. They made another attempt to push towards the American front line, and that was a surprise to the American forces. However, the American forces defeated them, which resulted in 4,000 deaths of Japanese people, including civilians.Battle Of Saipan SignificanceSaipan is located in the Northern Mariana Islands of the Central Pacific. There are also two other islands in the south of Saipan: Tinian and Guam. The northern Marianas was critical for two reasons, which were the B-29 Superfortress bombers and their location. These islands were 1500 mi (2414 km) away from central Australia and the same distance from the south of Japan’s mainland. They were also 1600 mi (2575 km) west of the Philippines. Japan had no base within the 1500 mi (2414 km) range of these islands. Having control over this region became crucial to winning any Pacific war. The B-29s deployed in this region could use them for non-stop flight to Japanese positions and the Philippines. The United States Military Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to capture the Northern Marianas in 1943 after learning about the range of the B-29 bombers that were being produced.Who won the battle of Saipan?After the banzai charge by the American forces, they finally won a victory over Saipan, and the battle over Saipan officially ended on July 9. This battle not only took the lives of many but was also the most costly battle for the Americans in the Pacific War. Around 30,000 Japanese civilians and soldiers died. For America, the casualty was much fewer; nearly 2,700 Americans died, and over 10,000 were wounded heavily. This battle was fatal for civilians as well. This island was captured by Japan in World War I, and most of the population living there was Japanese (around 25,000). The emperor of Japan was worried about the defection of its civilians to the army and navy of the US. Because of this, he encouraged the civilians there to commit suicide or fight in the war and said it was better than being captured by the enemies. Approaching the final days, over 1,000 people of that islands committed suicide, and in total, 20,000 Japanese civilians died in the whole Battle of the Saipan.This loss wasn’t just a military loss; it shook the morale of the country of Japan. After this, the emperor of Japan started to distance himself from war-related activities to save himself from the blame of any in the future. This war and island played a significant role in ending World War II. Saipan was very close to mainland Japan, which played a very important strategic role.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked learning Battle of Saipan facts, then why not take a look at our articles on the Battle of Jutland or Battle of Chancellorsville?
The Battle of Saipan was fought from June 15 to July 7 in 1944.
