news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

the battle of saipan (サイパンの戦い) was a battle fought between the united states and japan on the island of saipan in the mariana islands from june 15 to july 9, 1944 during the pacific war of world war ii.

the attacking u.s. troops were the 2nd marine division (22,702 men), the 4th marine division (21,618 men) and the 27th infantry division (16,404 men) of the v amphibious corps. as a result of the battle, 2,949 men were killed, 477 were missing, and 10,364 were injured.

fifth marine corps emblem

the japanese troops defending the island were the 43rd division of the 31st army and the navy, totaling 43,582 people (including approximately 28,518 army soldiers and 15,164 navy soldiers), and 41,244 people were killed in the battle.

this article will introduce in detail the japanese army and navy units destroyed in this battle

this article was written by maddog3, a special author of this account. he was a great figure in the early chinese military websites and was the moderator of the domestic military history bbs war salon forum. he is fluent in english, german, japanese and russian, has a huge reserve of historical materials, and has published more than 300 articles on military history. the average number of readings of many articles previously authorized to be reprinted by this account exceeded 10,000, and they were widely praised by readers.

illustrations and postscript (the downfall of ikki kiyonao) written by the führer guard

chain of command

on february 25, 1944, the imperial headquarters reached a central agreement between the army and the navy: the 31st army was placed under the command of the combined fleet, the first time a large army force was placed under navy command; ground operations on the islands were commanded by the army.

the army is responsible for transporting its troops, and the navy is responsible for subsequent routine supplies. the navy is also responsible for supplying the army's general military supplies and materials, and the army's unique military supplies (such as ammunition) are borne by the army.

in theory, the 31st army headquarters is also under the command of vice admiral chuichi nagumo of the central pacific command, but in reality it belongs to a parallel command system. in addition, there are many senior commands on saipan island.

chuichi nagumo

43rd division:it was formed in nagoya on july 10, 1943, and the division commander was lieutenant general prince tsunehiro kayo. after the decision to send the 43rd division to saipan on april 7, 1944, in order to prevent the death of royal family members in battle, lieutenant general saito yoshitsugu, the head of the military horse supplement department, was temporarily transferred to replace it. saito's previous highest military position in the combat unit was the commander of the cavalry regiment.

prince kayomiya tsuneken, a member of the japanese imperial family, the eldest son of prince kayomiya kuninen, the chief priest of ise shrine, and the second head of kayomiya

saito yoshiji

the 43rd division is part of the marine division. the artillery regiment, the baggage regiment and the engineer regiment of this type of division were disbanded and evenly distributed among the three infantry regiments, so each regiment has relatively strong manpower and equipment and strong independent combat capabilities.

the infantry regiment is composed of 3 infantry battalions, 1 artillery battalion, 1 engineer squadron, 1 communications squadron, 1 supply squadron, and 1 medical squadron.

each battalion is composed of 3 infantry squadrons and 1 infantry artillery squadron (2 rapid-fire guns and 2 infantry guns)

the regiment has a total of 6 type 94 rapid-fire guns, 6 type 92 infantry guns, 12 type 94 field guns, 18 type 92 heavy machine guns, 108 light machine guns, 108 heavy grenade launchers, and 12 trucks.

in theory, two of the three regiments are responsible for island defense missions, and one is responsible for maritime mobile counterattack missions (amphibious operations) - such as the 15th regiment of the 14th division and the 18th regiment of the 29th division. however, the 43rd and 46th divisions have no regiments for counterattacks, and all three are garrison regiments.

the division had 253 people, and the headquarters was set up on the south side of mount tapocha, the highest peak on the island. in the end, there were only four survivors. on july 6, the division commander, saito yoshiji, committed suicide in the cave with the 31st army acting commander and army chief of staff major general igeta keiji and vice admiral nagumo chuichi. after saito committed seppuku, he was shot in the head by his senior adjutant, lieutenant colonel suzuki jiro.

u.s. marine corps holds funeral for saito yoshiji

(shizuoka prefecture) 118th infantry regiment: 3,295 people, 82 survivors

from march to may 1944, in order to strengthen the absolute defense circle, the japanese army launched the matsu transport operation and sent hundreds of transport ships to the mariana islands and the caroline islands. as a result of the japanese navy's all-out efforts, the main force of the 43rd division finally arrived at saipan on may 19 without any damage.

after the transportation of song was completed, the remaining 118th infantry regiment of the 43rd division would also go to saipan as the second echelon. the 3530th fleet was selected as the transport force (the name of the fleet was based on the naming convention of the yokosuka naval prefecture. the thousandth digit '3' means departure from tokyo to saipan, and "530" means setting sail on may 30). the entire fleet consisted of 3 army cargo ships (takaoka maru, haburu maru, katsukawa maru), 5 navy requisitioned ships (tamahime maru, kashimayama maru, katori maru, kamishika maru, sugiyama maru), and 2 special service ships (kitsaki supply ship, no. 1 transport ship).

in addition to the 118th regiment of the 43rd division, there is also the 29th division maritime transport team heading to palau, 2 independent mortar battalions, 2 independent tank squadrons, 1 airport battalion (responsible for airport security, maintenance and supply), and 1 airport setting team (responsible for airport construction and repair).

the escort force was a bit shabby, consisting of one torpedo boat (hong) from the 2nd maritime escort squadron and three anti-submarine boats (17, 33, and 50) from the 21st anti-submarine squadron of the combined fleet. the commander of the 21st anti-submarine squadron served as the commander of the escort force.

the convoy left yokohama on may 29. on june 4, it was discovered by a wolf pack of three submarines (senpachi, shark, and spanish mackerel) from task force 17.12 of the u.s. navy, and the u.s. military launched an attack.

funae

shark

atlantic mackerel

all the torpedoes fired by uss pilotfish (ss386) were lost.

the uss shark (ss-314) made its first attempt to attack the anti-submarine ship in front of it, but failed to gain position and passed 180 yards from the port side of the anti-submarine ship. at 1529, shark fired four torpedoes, and the 6,886-ton katsukawa maru of kawasaki kisen kaisha was sunk. about half of the 2,884 men of the 29th division of the japanese army and the 14th and 17th independent mortar battalions on board were killed.

after evading the attack of the escort ships, the shark surfaced and continued tracking, catching up with the convoy in the afternoon and firing six torpedoes at 16:45, three of which hit the 7,006-ton takaoka maru of the nippon yusen kaisha and one hit the 3,080-ton gyokusen maru of the hamane kisen kaisha.

both ships sank, with the takaoka maru sinking to the bottom of the sea in just 11 minutes. on board were the 118th infantry regiment headquarters, the 1st and 2nd battalions and the artillery battalion, and the 23rd field airfield establishment team, totaling 3,272 people.

the attack resulted in the deaths of 2,240 people including colonel ito go, commander of the 118th regiment. after the escort ships counterattacked, the shark failed to catch up with the convoy.

on june 6, the uss pintado (ss-387) attacked two targets in the waters of 16 degrees 28 minutes north latitude and 142 degrees 16 minutes east longitude. the 2,825-ton kashimayama maru of mitsui kaisha (43 people died) and the 5,652-ton haburu maru of osaka shosen kaisha (with 2,816 people on board, including the 3rd battalion of the 118th regiment, half of the 17th mortar battalion, and the 9th independent maintenance team, with 91 deaths) were sunk.

on june 9, the fleet arrived at saipan. during the entire operation, four of the seven transport ships were sunk (all three of the army's transport ships were sunk), and nearly 4,000 of the 9,000 officers and soldiers on board were killed.

half of the 1,000 survivors of the 118th regiment were injured, and their weapons and clothing were basically all lost. after landing on the island, the remnants were commanded by the surviving commander of the 3rd battalion, major otsuka.

on june 13, it was deployed behind the 316th independent infantry battalion of the 47th brigade in chalanganno. in the counterattack on june 17, major yamazaki, the commander of the 1st battalion, and almost all of his remaining troops were killed in the battle.

june 22 - the 3rd battalion fights at the division headquarters, and acting regiment commander otsuka and almost all of his men are killed.

battle of saipan on june 15th

june 26 - captain kanda's troops retreated to the highest peak in the center of saipan - mount tapotchau, 474 meters above sea level. in the end, he and the remaining 27 soldiers were killed in the battle, and all members of the 118th regiment were "destroyed in battle".

mount tapocha

(nagoya) 135th infantry regiment: 4,045 people, 172 survivors,

after arriving at saipan on may 19, it was responsible for the defense of the northern region. on the 31st, the 1st battalion was withdrawn to garrison tinian island.

on june 17, they reinforced the us landing point and served as the cover for the 136th regiment, which was defeated by the us army. on june 19, they were cut off south of mount tapocha, and broke through. by july 2, there were only 400 people left. in the end, 172 people surrendered.

japanese soldiers killed on the beach by the 27th infantry division

(gifu prefecture) 136th infantry regiment: 4,055 men, 129 survivors

the 1st battalion was deployed in graban, the 2nd battalion was deployed in woleai, and the 3rd battalion was trained as a maritime counterattack force southeast of mount tapocha.

on june 15, the u.s. troops landed. most of the 1st and 2nd battalions were annihilated by the 2nd marine division near the landing site. on june 19, the remaining troops held death valley under the cover of the 135th regiment. on july 4, the survivors were surrounded by the u.s. troops when they retreated to the north side of mount tapocha. the commander of the regiment, colonel ogawa yukimatsu, and 27 others were all killed.

battle of saipan june 20-24

43rd division supply team, 97 people, 2 survivors,

the division's communications team had 225 people, 14 of whom survived.

103 members of the weapons service team, 4 survivors

there were 613 people in the field hospital, and 4 survived. on july 6, all the staff including the director of gokura valley committed suicide with grenades. the most famous one among the self-determination personnel was nurse shizuko miura, who was seriously injured by the grenade explosion and was rescued by the us military.

2,629 members of the division management service team, 80 survivors

the main force of the service team, the 3530th convoy that traveled with the 118th regiment, was sunk midway and the death toll is unknown.

the 25th anti-aircraft artillery regiment, 1,117 personnel, 40 survivors, deployed in saipan harbor, 600 people were killed in the two-day air defense operation starting from the air raid on june 11, most of the anti-aircraft guns were damaged, and some anti-aircraft guns were lost in the us landing on june 15. on june 17, the last three anti-aircraft guns were destroyed by the us military when they were firing horizontally. except for the 1st squadron, the remaining personnel used grenades to carry out a suicide attack. on the 18th, the survivors of the 1st squadron carried out a suicide attack on astoria airport.

there was a naval short 20cm anti-aircraft gun set up unobstructed on the beach, and a concrete bunker could be seen in the distance.

there were 105 people in the 44th field machine gun squadron, and 5 survivors.

the 43rd independent anti-aircraft artillery squadron had 112 men and 5 survivors. the squadron was deployed on the high ground near tanapeig harbor, with 3 anti-aircraft guns and 3,000 rounds of ammunition. it had no results in the air raid on june 11, but claimed to have shot down 3 planes on june 12 and 13. two anti-aircraft guns were destroyed by naval guns, and the remaining one was destroyed by naval guns after it shot down an observation plane on the landing day.

9th tank regiment: 990 people, 20 survivors.

the 1st and 2nd squadrons of the wing were deployed in guam, and the 4th squadron was completely destroyed on the landing day.

the wreckage of the type 97 medium tank belonging to the 4th squadron

captain yoshimura, the leader of the 4th squadron, sitting in a car

the remaining 44 tanks of the 3rd and 5th squadrons were destroyed in the assault on the 17th, and all 500 people including the regiment commander colonel masaru goto were killed in the battle.

the wreckage of the tanks of the 9th tank regiment on saipan today

the remains of the type 97 tank belonging to the 9th tank regiment at the wakashishiji shrine in fujinomiya city, shizuoka prefecture today

7th independent engineer regiment, 775 people, 40 survivors

independent motor vehicle squadron 264, 181 people, 9 survivors.

on july 1, there were only 3 trucks and 40 people left, and they were all wiped out on the 3rd.

278th independent motor vehicle squadron, 187 people, 4 survivors

the 3rd independent mountain artillery regiment has 689 men, and its commander is lieutenant colonel nakajima yoshitaka

1st battalion, 12 type 94 mountain guns, battalion commander captain katsuki araki

the 2nd battalion (captain major hiroki kuroki) had 12 type 4 15mm howitzers and 289 men. the battalion did a very good job of concealment and camouflage, and did not lose a single gun during the 4-day air raid. the battalion's artillery observation post was located in a place that could see all the landing beaches, and the battalion's communications soldiers repaired the telephone lines as soon as the u.s. artillery preparations were made. on the day of the landing, they waited until 16:00 when the u.s. planes returned before they began firing. the battalion carried 6,200 artillery shells, and the gun barrels were all burned red due to continuous firing. on the second day, the frames of two type 4 15mm howitzers were broken due to continuous firing (this is an old problem with the type 4, insufficient structural strength).

in the end, the us military suffered 2,000 casualties, which is a very high efficiency and can be said to be a model of seizing opportunities. in the absence of suitable positions, this kind of artillery unit can not survive for long, and firing the artillery shells in the most favorable state is a good choice.

on the 17th, the battalion lost its last type 4 15mm howitzer. that night, the survivors formed an infantry formation and followed the tank regiment to join the assault. all of them, including kuroki hirokage, were killed.

the 2nd battalion was originally the 2nd battalion of the 9th field heavy artillery regiment stationed in dongning. it was transferred to the 3rd independent mountain artillery regiment in february 1944, and the original 2nd battalion was assigned to the 8th independent mixed regiment in the southern kuril islands.

152mm gun on the beach

47th independent mixed brigadein 1944, the 3rd battalion of the 10th field artillery regiment of the 10th division, the 40th infantry regiment of the 25th division, the 14th infantry regiment of the 10th division, a battalion from the 89th infantry regiment of the 24th division, and the 3rd squadron of the 25th engineer regiment were incorporated into the 1st detachment and arrived in saipan. they were later reorganized into the artillery, engineer, 315th, 316th and 317th battalions respectively.

the 315th independent battalion was composed of one squadron each from the 14th and 89th regiments, and two squadrons from the 40th regiment.

the 316th independent infantry battalion was composed of the remaining troops of the 3rd battalion of the 14th regiment.

the 317th independent infantry battalion was composed of the remaining personnel of the 3rd battalion of the 87th regiment. this battalion of 629 people was deployed at astoria airport. on june 26, the last remaining personnel launched a suicide charge on the airport and were wiped out.

the 9th detachment (headquarters of the 24th infantry regiment, the independent garrison 12th battalion, the 14th battalion, and the 28th battalion), with a total of 2,274 people, traveled to palau with the 3503rd fleet. their scheduled final destination was yap island. on the way, the hiyori maru they were on was sunk, killing 332 people. most of the remaining survivors were left without even their weapons. the survivors were transferred to saipan. among them, the 12th battalion, which suffered the least personnel losses, was sent to yap island again. the remaining thousand people were reorganized into the independent 318th battalion, which was involved in the battle of saipan a month later.

when the battle broke out, the brigade commander, colonel yoshiro oka, had a total of 2,600 men.

the artillery team consists of 324 people, 14 ten-gun howitzers and 8 type 95 field guns.

the troops passing through saipan;

14th field aviation repair team: 123 people, 11 survivors

16th ship engineer regiment: 1,035 people, 81 survivors,

680 troops in the 23rd field airfield setting force, 25 survivors

160 people from the 2nd ship communications squadron, 125 survivors

49 people from the 59th anchorage command, 29 survivors

there were 131 people in the 60th anchorage command and 10 survivors.

24th infantry regiment headquarters: 196 people, 9 survivors

14th independent garrison infantry battalion, 631 men, 22 survivors

625 men from the 28th independent garrison infantry battalion, 31 survivors

the 12th independent garrison battalion had 103 men and 7 survivors.

the above-mentioned troops of the former 9th detachment were reorganized into the independent infantry battalion 318 after landing on saipan. on average, there was one gun for every five people, and two grenades per person. they were completely wiped out in the counter-assault on june 16.

stranded personnel of the 3530th convoy:

806 men of the 150th infantry regiment, ushiyama squadron, 35 survivors, captained by captain ichirō ushiyama, a member of the 150th regiment's supplementary personnel, scheduled to sail to truk, arrived at saipan on april 23, and is waiting for the ship

the 14th independent mortar battalion had 649 people and 20 survivors.

634 people from the 17th independent mortar battalion, 38 survivors

94 people from the 3rd independent tank squadron, 1 survivor

80 people from the 4th independent tank squadron, 3 survivors

360 people from the 29th division's maritime transport team, 33 survivors

480 people from the 115th airport brigade, 10 survivors

the 9th independent maintenance team had 112 people and 12 survivors.

some of the above troops and their heavy equipment were lost in the sea. after landing, there was an average of 3 people with one gun.

naval forces

the central pacific command of the navy has 210 people, with vice admiral chuichi nagumo as the commander-in-chief and major general hideo yano as the chief of staff.

saipan naval garrison officer, chuichi nagumo (the one in white in the first row) with yano hideo on his left

vice admiral takeo takagi, headquarters of the 6th fleet

rear admiral hiroshi nakagawa, commander of the 3rd mine warfare squadron

1st joint communications team, commander major general ito yasunoshin

all five of the above committed suicide between july 6 and 8.

southeast air force factory, director lieutenant general sato genzo.

takagi takeo

ito yasunoshin

the 5th communications team, the 261st air force has 630 people, the 265th air force, and the 207th battalion has 2,500 people.

5th base team 1,170 people, commander major general tsujimura takehisa

55th guard corps 1,760 people, colonel takashima miharu

41st guard corps 1030 people, colonel yutaka sugimoto

yokosuka 1st special marine corps:900 people

this is the most elite marine corps of the navy, consisting of 3 squadrons and 1 artillery team. it is the navy's first airborne unit. all members are equipped with pistols, as well as type 100 submachine guns, type 89 grenade launchers, type 96 light machine guns, type 38 muskets and other army weapons. it is also equipped with some anti-tank magnetic grenades, and the communication equipment is mainly radio.

japanese navy airborne

the marine corps attempted a night attack on the night of the u.s. landing day. first, the battle formation was hit by 31 rounds of 127mm naval guns from the u.s. navy battleship "california" at 5:12 pm. at 3 a.m., it was covered by 127mm guns from three destroyers during the assault. later, the cruiser "louisville" also joined the bombardment. the impact reached its climax at sunrise at 5:45. finally, five u.s. marine corps tanks appeared and completely stopped the japanese attack. commander lieutenant colonel karashima tatsuo and 700 others were killed in the battle.

the 1st special marine corps' type 2 inner boat

soldiers of the 1st special marine corps who died in action

in 2017, 93-year-old italian-american marine veteran of world war ii marvin strombo returned the flag he found on the battlefield of saipan 73 years ago. strombo met with the family of the original owner of the flag, japanese soldier sadao yasue who died in the war, including his brothers and sisters (who were about 90 years old at the time). the flag was signed by 180 of yasue's relatives and friends.