June 1942 : attack on the Aleutian Islands chain

from Victory in the Pacific by Julie Klam

When the Japanese launched

their attack against Midway

in June 1942, they also sent

an invasion force north to

capture Attu and Kiska, the

two westernmost islands in

the Aleutian Islands chain of

Alaska.  Though the Japanese

were defeated at Midway, they

were successful in capturing

Attu and Kiska.

Strategically, the islands

weren't that important.  They

were too far north and west to

be an effective air base for an

attack on America.  But politically

they were very important.  Americans

were afraid that if the Japanese

weren't kicked off the islands,

they'd fight their way closer and

threaten the West Coast.

Because the region was so remote

and underdeveloped, it took the

Americans almost a year to construct

the bases, transport the troops,

and build up the supplies needed for

the liberation.  Finally on May 11,

1943, the combined U.S. and Canadian

liberation force landed on Attu.  The

defending Japanese garrison fought

hard, but in less than a month, it

was defeated.  Because the fighting

on Attu was so hard, a larger invasion

force was assembled to liberate Kiska.

But when the Allied troops landed on

Kiska on August 15, 1943, they discovered

that the Japanese garrison had evacuated.

The island was deserted!

It took more than a year, but the Allies

had reclaimed the Aleutian Islands Chain!