Attu

National Archives #80-G-50921

Attu (173.174E 52.939N) is an island near the western end of the Aleutians chain, some 740 miles west of Dutch Harbor and just 650 miles from Paramushiro in the Japanese-controlled Kuriles. It is about 38 miles (61 km) long and 14 miles (23 km) wide. Like most of the Aleutians, it is mountainous and barren, with a maximum elevation of 3084' (940 meters) towards the west end of the island. The few beaches are narrow and steep and there are numerous offshore rocks and strong currents. There are, however, some small protected anchorages, at Holtz Bay, Chichagof Harbor, and Massacre Bay. Massacre bay was named for the frequent slaughter of seals by hide hunters that took place here early in the century; it would prove an ill omen for the coming battle. The only inhabitants were 39 Aleuts and an elderly white couple serving as schoolteachers at the village of Chicagof.

Attu's garrison in early 1942 consisted of a few weather observers with a single pistol between them. Japanese forces under Omori Sentaro seized the island on 7 June 1942, during the Midway operation, in order to extend the Japanese defense perimeter beyond the Kuriles. When the Japanese presence was discovered a few days later (bad weather had hindered air reconnaissance), American reinforcements were rushed to Alaska. However, Marshall recognized that the horrible climate and utter lack of facilities in the Aleutians meant that the Japanese were unlikely to mount a major effort any time soon, and American resources were needed elsewhere.

The Japanese considered Attu a secondary base and put their main force on Kiska. The Attu garrison was withdrawn in September 1942 as an unnecessary diversion of resources, but it was ordered back on 29 October in response to the American landings at Adak and elsewhere, which seemed to indicate to the Japanese that the Americans were considering an invasion of northern Japan from the Aleutians.

The American reconquest of Attu (Operation LANDCRAB) was finally mounted in May of 1943, following the victory at the Battle of the Komandorski Islands in March. The original target of the operation was to be Kiska, but a lack of shipping led the planners to shift the objective to the less heavily garrisoned Attu. The invasion force was built around 7 Division (Albert Brown), with 4 Regiment in reserve; was supported by land-based aircraft; and was escorted by the battleships Pennsylvania, Idaho, and Nevada and escort carrier Nassau. The Provisional Scout Battalion, a handpicked special force, made the first landing from submarine in the early hours of 11 May 1943. The main landings took place a few hours later at points north and south of the Japanese base at Chicagof Harbor. Brown's plan was for the Scouts to clear the pass above Chicagof, then join with the north and south pincers to box the Japanese in and push them into the sea.

All the landings were initially unopposed, but the 2350 defending Japanese (organized around 303 Independent Infantry Battalion) were well dug in on the ridges surrounding their base, and the invasion quickly bogged down. This led to Brown's relief by Kinkaid. There is reason to question the fairness of this action. Brown had been training his division for action in North Africa when it was reassigned to the Attu campaign with but three month's notice. Kinkaid later admitted that he would not have relieved Brown had he had better information on conditions on the ground. The American forces finally cleared the ridges around Chicagof on 29 May. The remaining Japanese staged a suicide charge that night, which chanced upon a portion of the American line whose defenders had just been pulled back for rest and recovery. A unit of engineers hurried to meet the Japanese charge, stopping it below what would thereafter be known as Engineer Hill. The surviving Japanese killed themselves with grenades, bringing an end to the campaign.

The Americans took just 28 prisoners, none of whom were officers. American casualties totaled 3829, of whom 549 were killed and 1148 wounded. The remaining casualties were mostly from cold weather or disease. Only in the battle of Iwo Jima would the Americans suffer a greater proportion of casualties to the number of troops engaged.

The Attu invasion was an early example of the leapfrog strategy. Attu was located west of the larger Japanese base at Kiska, which the Japanese evacuated after losing Attu.

Following the invasion, American airfield engineers concluded that the uncompleted Japanese strip at Chicagof was poorly sited, and began construction of a new strip on Massacre Bay. This was ready by 8 June 1943.

U.S. order of battle

Japanese order of battle

References

Garfield (1965)

Morison (1951)

Rottman (2002)

United States Strategic Bombing Survey (1946; accessed 2011-8-22)

The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007-2008, 2010-2011 by Kent G. Budge. Index

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