On May 11, 1943, American soldiers landed on the island of Attu, which was seized by the Japanese a year earlier.
The westernmost point in the Aleutian Islands is Attu. It was the first time since the War of 1812 that the US had been taken over by a foreign power.
The Japanese troops who landed on the islands were part of a larger operation that included the forces sent to attack and occupy Midway Island. The US sent a huge force to take back the islands after turning back the Japanese.
The battle for Attu turned out to be three weeks long instead of three days.
The Aleutian Islands and Alaska are important to the US as the accessibility of the Arctic is making it a venue for competition with Russia and China.
Six months after seizing Kiska and Attu, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The air raids on Dutch Harbor killed 43 US personnel.
Before the invasion of Midway, Japan wanted to distract the Americans so they wouldn't use the islands as forward outposts.
Thousands of troops were deployed to the islands by the Japanese within months of arrival. The airport and harbor were built on Kiska.
The US military increased its footprint in Alaska due to the lack of defenses there. The Alaska Defense Command had just 24,000 troops when Kiska and Attu were taken. It had 94,000 by January.
Attu and Kiska were bombed by the US by the end of February 1943. The Japanese garrisons were cut off from supplies by the US Navy in March.
The invasion of Attu was approved by US commanders. The goal was to defeat the Japanese garrison on Attu before moving on to Kiska.
Many believed victory was imminent after the first landings on May 11.
The garrison of more than 2,500 Japanese troops had prepared defenses farther inland and waited for the Americans to advance before ambushing them in small groups.
The Americans discovered that they were fighting two enemies, the Japanese and the weather. For about 250 days of the year, Attu is covered in fog, rain, or snow.
The whole thing was rugged, like attacking a pillbox by way of a tightrope.
The Americans pushed the Japanese into a few places along the shore.
On May 29, the last Japanese troops were able to fight were able to seize high ground and retreat back to their fortifications with captured food and supplies.
Some 800 Japanese soldiers penetrated the main American line in what one American soldier described as a madness of noise and confusion and deadlines. The Americans fought back and pushed the Japanese back.
The island was secured by May 30. The Americans recovered and buried more than two thousand Japanese bodies. Many defenders killed themselves rather than accept defeat. There were only 28 soldiers who surrendered.
At the end of July, the Japanese withdrew from Kiska under the cover of darkness. When US and Canadian troops landed on Kiska in August, they took casualties from booby traps, friendly fire, and the harsh environment.
The Aleutian Campaign claimed the lives of 548 US soldiers.
During the Cold War, Alaska was important for air and missile defense, but the memory of the World War II campaign faded over time.
With the US reorienting towards great-power competition and with the region growing more accessible, Alaska's significance for military operations is getting renewed attention.
Russian long-range bomber patrols sometimes enter the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, which is not US territory, in 2007. The intercepts of those flights were the highest since the Cold War.
Russian naval activity has gone up. 50 Russian warships operating in the US exclusive economic zone, which is 200 miles from the US coast, had run-ins with US fishing vessels.
China is interested in the northern part of the world. It is growing its fleet of icebreakers. Four Chinese warships appeared off the Aleutian Islands in August 2021.
The military is increasing its presence in Alaska. The 11th Airborne Division was reestablished and the Army invested in new equipment.
The Air Force has added dozens of fifth- generation fighter jets to bases in the northern part of the country. The Navy wants to build out its operations in Nome with a new deep-water port, while the Marine Corps wants to increase its training in Alaska.
The importance of Alaska is extended to the Aleutians. The US Navy used to hold a major base on Adak Island, which is south of the busy Bering Strait.
Special operators from the US were deployed to Shemya Island in late 2020 to practice securing key terrain and critical infrastructure.
Alaska's importance for the US military will only grow in the years to come, as Russian and Chinese activity increases and the ice in the northern part of the world shrinks.
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