The following is a list of resources related to the Battle of Saipan. It includes studies focused on the battle, as well as general works about the Marianas Campaign and the Pacific War that discuss the battle in depth.
The following is a list of resources related to the Battle of Saipan. It includes studies focused on the battle, as well as general works about the Marianas Campaign and the Pacific War that discuss the battle in depth.
The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Campaign Plan Granite II, was an offensive launched by United States forces against Imperial Japanese forces in the Pacific Ocean between June and November 1944 during the Pacific War. The campaign consisted of Operation Forager, which captured the Mariana Islands, and Operation Statemate, which captured Palau. Operation Causeway, the invasion of Taiwan was also planned but not executed. The offensive, under the overall command of Chester W. Nimitz, followed the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign and was intended to neutralize Japanese bases in the central Pacific, support the Allied drive to retake the Philippines, and provide bases for a strategic bombing campaign against Japan.
The 27th Infantry Division was a unit of the Army National Guard in World War I and World War II. The division traces its history from the New York Division, formed originally in 1908. The 6th Division designation was changed to the 27th Division in July 1917.
The Battle of Saipan was an amphibious assault launched by the United States against the Empire of Japan during the Pacific campaign of World War II between 15 June and 9 July 1944. The battle resulted in the American occupation of the island, putting the Japanese home islands within the range of United States Army Air Forces B-29 bombers and precipitating the resignation of Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tōjō. It also triggered the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which effectively destroyed Japanese carrier-based airpower.
The Battle of Tinian was part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was fought between the United States and Japan on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July until 1 August 1944. The Mariana Islands were targeted because of their location astride the Japanese line of communications. Tinian lay too close to Saipan to allow it to be bypassed and remain in Japanese hands. The 9,000-strong Japanese garrison was eliminated, and the island joined Saipan and Guam as a base for Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers.
The Battle of Guam was the American recapture of the Japanese-held island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Mariana Islands captured by the Japanese from the United States in the First Battle of Guam in 1941 during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The battle was a critical component of Operation Forager. The recapture of Guam and the broader Mariana and Palau Islands campaign resulted in the destruction of much of Japan's naval air power and allowed the United States to establish large airbases from which it could bomb the Japanese home islands with its new strategic bomber, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
On 15 June 1944, United States Marine forces landed on the southwest coast of the island of Saipan in the central Marianas chain; these were followed a day later by US Army forces. This invasion was part of Operation Forager, an effort to recapture the entire Marianas chain from the Empire of Japan.
Thomas Eugene Watson was a United States Marine Corps General who served in the Marine Corps from 1912 to 1950. His last command was as commanding general, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific. Previously, he had commanded the Second Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and was commanding officer of the famed Second Division in the battle for Saipan and Tinian during World War II. For outstanding services in this capacity, he was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a second Navy Distinguished Service Medal.
Sakae Ōba was an officer of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. He served in both China and in the Pacific campaign. After Japanese forces were defeated in the Battle of Saipan, he led a group of soldiers and civilians deep into the jungle to evade capture by Allied forces. Under Ōba's leadership, the group survived for over a year after the battle and finally surrendered in December 1945, three months after the war had ended. Following his return to Japan, he became a successful businessman and served on the city council of Gamagōri.
The V Amphibious Corps (VAC) was a formation of the United States Marine Corps which was composed of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions in World War II. The three divisions were the amphibious landing force for the United States Fifth Fleet with two goals, removal of Japanese forces from islands so U.S. Seabees could build advance bases to project US power. In doing this VAC was notably involved in the battles for Tarawa, Saipan, and Iwo Jima. V Amphibious Corps was commanded by General Holland 'Howlin Mad' Smith followed by General Harry Schmidt.
The Japanese 31st Army was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.
Major General Ralph Corbett Smith was a senior officer of the United States Army. After receiving early training as a pilot from Orville Wright he served Brigadier General John J. Pershing's army against Pancho Villa, was decorated for bravery in World War I and commanded the 27th Infantry Division in combat in the Pacific War in World War II. At his death Smith was the oldest surviving general officer of the Army.
20th Marine Regiment was a Composite Engineer Regiment of the United States Marine Corps that fought during World War II.
East Field is a former World War II airfield on Saipan in the Mariana Islands, part of Naval Advance Base Saipan.
The 18th Infantry RegimentHohei Dai-Ju-hachi Rentai was an infantry regiment in the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). Its call sign and unit code was Thunder-3219. The unit was formed in 1884 and based in the city of Toyohashi as a branch of the Nagoya Garrison. Throughout its history, the majority of its soldiers came from the Mikawa region, or eastern Aichi prefecture.
During World War II, a series of Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands took place between November 1944 and January 1945. These raids targeted United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bases and sought to disrupt the bombing of Japan by Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers operating from the islands. The Japanese lost 37 aircraft during this operation, but destroyed 11 B-29s and damaged a further 43. Preparations were also made for commando raids on the bases in early and mid-1945 but these did not go ahead.
West Field is a former World War II airfield on Tinian in the Mariana Islands. Today, West Field is used as the civilian Tinian International Airport. West Field at Tinian Naval Base was a base for Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortress operations against the Japanese Home Islands in 1944–45 and the base for the B-29 Superfortress 58th Bombardment Wing.
Tinian Naval Advanced Base was a major United States Navy sea and air base on Tinian Island, part of the Northern Mariana Islands on the east side of the Philippine Sea in the Pacific Ocean. The base was built during World War II to support bombers and patrol aircraft in the Pacific War. The main port was built at the city and port of San Jose, also called Tinian Harbor. All construction was carried out by the Navy's Seabees 6th Naval Construction Brigade, including the main two airfields: West Field and North FieldUnited States Army Air Forces's long-range Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. The Navy disestablished the Tinian Naval Advanced Base on 1 December 1946.
US Naval Base Marianas was a number of United States Navy bases in the Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean's Micronesia. Most were built by the US Navy Seabees, Naval Construction Battalions, during World War II. Naval Base Guam was lost to the Empire of Japan during the Battle of Guam in December 1941. Guam was retaken by United States Armed Forces on July 21, 1944, now also known as Liberation Day. Naval Station Guam was founded on August 7, 1899, after Spain lost the Spanish–American War.
Robert Bruce Sheeks was an American combat intelligence and Japanese-language officer in the United States Marine Corps Reserve who played an important role in saving the lives of Japanese, Korean and Chamorro people during the invasions of Saipan and Tinian in June–August 1944.
Arthur McKinley Harper was a United States Army general. During World War II he commanded the XXIV Corps Artillery in the Battle of Saipan and Battle of Tinian during the Mariana Islands campaign. After the war he served as deputy commander of the American Mission to Greece during the Greek Civil War and as commandant of the United States Army Field Artillery School at Fort Sill.