Battle of Saipan (1944)

8

The Brooklyn Eagle (June 18, 1944)

Marines, Army troops near Saipan airfield

Battle 20,000 veteran Japanese on island – strong U.S. naval force bombards Guam
By William F. Tyree

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (UP) – (June 17)
U.S. Marines and Army doughboys, battling across the cane fields of Saipan against veteran Japanese divisions, have improved their positions and are driving toward Aslito Airfield, only four hours’ flying time from Tokyo, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz today.

While the Leathernecks and Army troops moved forward against 20,000 to 30,000 enemy troops defending the island, battleships and cruisers of one of Adm. Nimitz’s great naval task forces bombarded Guam, the Japanese-held American island 111 miles to the south.

U.S. aircraft carriers at the same time repulsed a Japanese torpedo attack in the spreading battle of the Marianas. No damage was caused to U.S. ships in this enemy raid.

Marines, Doughboys attack together

For the first time, Nimitz disclosed that leathernecks and doughboys had stormed the beaches together. The invasion forces were described in frontline dispatches as “veteran Jap fighters.” Nimitz formally referred to them as “U.S. Marines and elements of an Army division.”

The invaders were now firmly established on Saipan after a bitter opening seesaw battle.

Aslito Airfield is two miles east of Agingan Point at the extreme southern end of Saipan. The field obviously was one of the primary objectives of the drive and the communiqué indicated that assault waves were fighting their way toward the 3,600-foot runway.

New blows at Kurils

New aerial attacks were delivered against the Kurile Islands north of Japan. Eleventh Army Air Force Liberators bombed Matsuwa, Paramushiru and Shimushiru Wednesday.

Heavy naval surface units, some of which had been laying down a protective barrage on Saipan, turned their attention to Guam, shelling the island where the U.S. Navy and Pan American Airways maintained a peacetime station. Guam was the first American territory to fall to the Japanese.

Frontline dispatches indicated our beachhead on Saipan spread over a two-mile front on either side of Charan Kanoa, a sugar mill town, captured by the Americans in street-to-street fighting. Other forces consolidated their positions below the capital city of Garapan.

In another communiqué, the Pacific Fleet Commander-in-Chief announced that a big U.S. carrier task force thrust within 615 miles of the Japanese capital Wednesday to blast the Bonin and Volcano Islands, midway to the Marianas, in support of the invasion forces.

9

U.S. Navy Department (June 18, 1944)

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 56

Our assault troops on Saipan Island have captured Aslito Airdrome and have driven eastward across the island to Magicienne Bay, where we hold the western shore. Two pockets of enemy resistance remain east of Lake Susupe. The enemy continues to counterattack, but all attacks have been suc­cessfully repulsed.

Seabees are at work on the airstrips at Aslito Airdrome.

On June 18 (West Longitude Date), our carrier task force providing cover and support for our amphibious force was subjected to a severe aerial attack which continued for several hours.

The attack was successfully repulsed by our carrier aircraft and anti-air­craft fire. Information presently available indicates that only one of our surface units was damaged, and this damage was minor.

It is believed a portion of the enemy planes were carrier‑based, and used nearby shore bases as shuttle points. However, the effectiveness of this pro­cedure was sharply limited by our systematic bombing and strafing of the airfields at Guam and Rota.

It is estimated that more than 300 enemy aircraft were destroyed by our forces during this engagement. No estimate is yet available of our own air­craft losses.

10

The Free Lance-Star (June 19, 1944)

Japs repulsed in assault on Saipan

Powerful blows being struck over wide area of South Pacific

USPACFLT HQ, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (AP) –
U.S. soldiers and Marines, fighting their way through hot cane fields halfway across Saipan Island in the Marianas after repelling Japanese assaults by tanks and by landing craft, drove down toward the island’s principal harbor and naval base at Magicienne Bay today.

Slightly more than 100 miles southward, U.S. warships bombarded Guam heavily for the first time in the war. Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, in announcing that this former American base had been shelled last Thursday, gave no indication as to whether an invasion was in prospect.

Fifteen hundred miles to the south, just below the equator, Mitchell medium bombers and escorting P-38 fighters temporarily neutralized Japan’s last remaining effective air base in New Guinea. They destroyed 50 enemy planes at Sorong and sank five enemy merchantmen and half a dozen smaller vessels.

Nimitz also announced that Army Liberators and Navy Venturas bombed Matsuwa, Paramushiru, Shimushiru and Shumushu Islands in the Kuril chain Wednesday and Thursday and shot down one of 34 intercepting planes.

Hit other islands

Radio Tokyo reported that hundreds of bombers and fighters attacked two islands in the Kazan group, 750 miles northwest of Saipan, Friday. U.S. planes raided the Kazan and Bonin Islands for the first time on Wednesday, destroying 47 Japanese planes and sinking or damaging more than a dozen ships or small watercraft.

The Saipan beachhead established by Marines, with the support of Army infantry units, at last reports extended from Agingan Point on the southwestern tip, where the Americans landed last Wednesday, five and a half miles up the west coast almost to Garapan, the island’s largest town.

Japanese units strongly counterattacked with tanks before dawn Friday, after the Yanks had pushed north and east for two miles and captured the coastal village and airstrip of Charan Kanoa and the inland town of Hinashisu, more than halfway across the island.

Holding staunchly, the Americans forced the enemy back, inflicting heavy casualties and knocking out 25 Nipponese tanks.

Early Saturday, the Japanese attempted new tactics, a landing assault south of Garapan.

Troop barges sunk

Headquarters said the attempt was smashed and 13 troop-laden enemy barges destroyed. There was no indication whether the barges came from Saipan (where an estimated 30,000 Japanese are entrenched) or from Tinian Island three miles to the south.

U.S. warships shelled the island in support of the invasion. The fighting line at last reports skirted the western edge of the 3,600-foot Aslito Airstrip and was less than three miles from Magicienne Bay on the east coast.

Among the warships protecting the U.S. force on Saipan was a World War I destroyer converted into a destroyer transport. Nimitz said this warship, unaided, sank five enemy coastal freighters. Twenty-nine survivors were captured.

1 Like
11

U.S. Navy Department (June 20, 1944)

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 57

U.S. Marines and Army infantrymen are continuing to advance on Saipan Island closely supported by aircraft bombing by Army and Marine artillery and naval gunfire against severe enemy artillery fire. Our troops now hold the entire southern portion of the island from the southern out­skirts of Garapan across to the center of the western shore of Magicienne Bay. Several strong pockets of enemy resistance within this area are being heavily attacked by our forces.

During June 19 (West Longitude Date), the airfields on Tinian Island were bombed by our aircraft and shelled by our surface units.

12

The Free Lance-Star (June 20, 1944)

Destroy 300 Jap planes at Saipan

Enemy hit in biggest Pacific air battle since Midway

USPACFLT HQ, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (AP) –
U.S. carrier pilots and warship guns have destroyed an estimated 300 Japanese planes off Saipan to win the biggest Pacific air battle since Midway, while a land surge captured a vital airstrip and sealed off the southern end of the island.

In a vicious battle lasting several hours, the offshore task force smashed a sustained Japanese aerial assault Sunday. Adm. Chester W. Nimitz said the first information reported only one U.S. vessel damaged.

Imperial Japanese Headquarters declared, without confirmation, that 300 U.S. planes were destroyed and one battleship, two cruisers, a destroyer and one submarine were sunk during the battle. A broadcast enemy communiqué also said Japanese airmen were still attacking U.S. ships.

With the land battle still raging to their north and southwest, Seabees began preparing the newly-captured Aslito Airstrip, on Saipan’s Central Pacific middle defense arc. Its capture climaxed the long drive toward air bases strategically dominating the oceanic approaches to Tokyo.

Forces cut off

Pushing through tangled cane fields and swamps, U.S. Marines and Army troops traversed the island on a wide front to reach Magicienne Bay on the east coast, three and a half miles from the western landing beach. In this mile-and-a-half advance since Friday, some Japanese forces were cut off in the arrowhead of Nafutan Point, Saipan’s southeastern extremity.

The Japanese aerial thrust – their biggest since Midway – included some planes apparently based on distant carriers and using nearby shore bases for shuttle landings, the U.S. communiqué said.

It added that systematic U.S. bombing and strafing of airfields on Guam and Rota “sharply limited” the effectiveness of the Japanese shuttle land fields. Designation of these two islands, approximately 100 miles south of Saipan, indicated enemy carriers were some distance from the Marianas.

A Tokyo radio broadcast said “it has been announced in Tokyo that the Japanese Navy in the near future will win a great naval victory in the Central Pacific. We are all waiting for the news.” Probably intended solely for domestic propaganda, this announcement might be a hint that now-distant Japanese surface units would close in for action.

U.S. forces hold a five-mile-long coastal strip on the western shoreline, where they have expanded from their original beachhead at Agingan Point.

Japs call Saipan situation grave

By the Associated Press

Japanese fears that Saipan Island, where U.S. invasion forces are now engaging enemy forces, will be used as a base for shuttle bombing missions over Tokyo by B-29 Superfortresses flying from the island to China were expressed in a Berlin broadcast of a Tokyo dispatch today.

The dispatch said:

Competent Japanese sources are fully conscious of the seriousness of the situation. American heavy bombers, especially those of the B-29 type operating from Saipan air bases, would have no difficult in launching systematic attacks on Tokyo only 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) away.

In view of these facts, it is safely assumed that both sides will fight bitterly for possession of Saipan.

13

Völkischer Beobachter (June 21, 1944)

Vor den Marianen –
Schwere feindliche Schiffsverluste

Tokio, 20. Juni –
Das japanische Hauptquartier gab in einer Sondermeldung bekannt:

  • Die die Marianeninseln angreifenden feindlichen Verbände errichteten am 15. Juni einen Brückenkopf und verstärkten ihre Truppen nach und nach. Japanische Besatzungstruppen stellten sich zum Kampf und versetzten ihnen immer größere Schläge.

  • Der Feind zog bei den Marianeninseln zahlreiche Flottenstreitkräfte, bestehend aus Flugzeugträgern und Schlachtschiffen, zusammen, so daß der größte Teil der Pazifikflotte vor den Marianeninseln versammelt war. Gegen diese Flottenstreitkräfte führen japanische Flieger tagtäglich Angriffe.

Soweit bisher bekannt, wurden versenkt: 1 Schlachtschiff, 2 Kreuzer, 1 Zerstörer und 1 Unterseeboot.

4 Flugzeugträger, 2 Schlachtschiffe, 4 Kreuzer, 6 Transporter sowie 1 Kriegsschiff unbekannten Typs wurden beschädigt.

Über 300 feindliche Flugzeuge wurden abgeschossen. Auf japanischer Seite entstanden einige Verluste an Schiffen und Flugzeugen.

14

U.S. Navy Department (June 21, 1944)

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 58

In the afternoon of June 19 (West Longitude Date), carrier-based reconnaissance planes of the Fifth Fleet sighted a Japanese fleet, which included carriers and battleships, approximately midway between the Mariana Islands and Luzon. Aircraft of our fast carrier task force were immediately ordered to attack and made contact with the enemy fleet before dusk. Enemy losses and our own losses have not yet been assessed. Additional details will be made known as they become available.

In the ground fighting on Saipan Island, our assault troops made advances in a northly direction along the western shore of Magicienne Bay and made progress against an enemy strongpoint at Nafutan Point. Severe fighting continues.

15

The Free Lance-Star (June 21, 1944)

U.S. AND JAP FLEETS LOCKED IN BATTLE
Full-scale naval engagement believed in progress off Philippine Islands

U.S. commanders eager to bring enemy to action

USPACFLT HQ, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (AP) –
Giant battle fleets of the United States and Japan faced each other today in the 1,500 miles between the Philippines and Marianas amid indications that preliminary blows may have already opened a history-shaking naval engagement.

“Possibly the entire Japanese fleet” has entered the area, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz disclosed. It was the first report on the whereabouts of the long-sought Navy of Nippon since its crushing defeat at Midway in June 1942.

Eager and ready for battle is the Fifth Fleet with “enough muscle… to take care of everything” in the words of the confident Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet.

A Japanese naval spokesman was quoted in a Berlin broadcast today as saying Nippon’s air and naval forces “have successfully engaged an American fleet,” but Tokyo radio, in another broadcast to the homeland, quoted an Imperial Headquarters communiqué as acknowledging “we have suffered considerable losses of ships and planes.”

Hard land battle

On the embattled Saipan, in the Marianas 1,500 miles southeast of Tokyo, the going is still tough. The Yanks called on planes, artillery and guns of warships to help crack bitter resistance of an estimated 20,000 Japanese, a Nimitz communiqué last night reported.

The communiqué said:

Our troops now hold the entire southern portion of the island from the southern outskirts of Garapan [principal city of 10,000 six miles up the southwest shore] across to the center of the western shore of Magicienne Bay [three and a half miles up the island’s southeast side].

To the south of Saipan, enemy airfield on Tinian were shelled by warships and bombed by planes. Saipan was invaded June 14.

What may prove to have been the first preliminary blow of a showdown naval fight was struck Sunday from enemy aircraft carriers. Their planes, flying from the direction of the Philippines by way of Guam and Rota in the Marianas, paid a frightful cost of 300 aircraft in trying unsuccessfully to sunk U.S. carriers and battleships of the invasion fleet. Last night, Nimitz told a press conference that not one combat ship was sunk.

Then the admiral issued an electrifying hint that the enemy blow was paid back with success Monday. He said cryptically it was possible that damage was inflicted on elements of the enemy fleet that day.

Has abundant power

Nimitz assured a press conference the Fifth Fleet packs sufficient “power to be favorable to us in a decisive engagement,” even if it is massed more than 1,000 miles beyond the U.S. advance naval base in the Marshalls and 3,800 miles from Pearl Harbor.

He said:

We hope the Jap fleet will stay in that [Philippines] area. As long as they stay, we have a chance to get at them.

Ready to figure in a decisive naval engagement is an “unsinkable carrier,” the 3,600-foot Aslito Airdrome captured by Marines and soldiers.

Also ready to send land-based bombers into action is the air arm of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. His planes are poised within bombing range of the Philippines and adjacent ocean area at captured Mokmer Airfield on Biak in the Schouten Islands off North Dutch New Guinea. Today, he announced the capture of two more airfields on Biak.

600 planes destroyed

The destruction of the enemy’s 300 carrier planes, extremely costly because of the long training required for carrier pilots, raised to nearly 600 the total Japanese air losses in the Marianas since the U.S. carrier task force moved against that segment of Nippon’s inner defense perimeter.

Nimitz said:

If we lost 600 naval planes in two or three days, we’d be very unhappy, even with our plane production.

Nimitz emphasized that he had expected Japan’s violent reaction at Saipan because it is in the last island defense line before China and the Philippines.

The 72-square-mile island was invaded “on the assumption the Japanese would bring out everything they possible could.”

He expressed conviction Japan no longer possesses the naval strength to use the Marianas for an offensive, but “the Japs need to hold them to keep us from penetrating west of their island defense line.”

“And north, too,” interposed RAdm. C. H. McMorris, chief of staff, with an eye on the Japanese homeland.

Nimitz said the Aslito Airdrome will promote “control of the air in the immediate Marianas area.” But, considering all the angles, he noted the Japanese hold the advantage of land-based air reconnaissance west of the Marianas and that the first concern of the U.S. Fleet must be to safeguard the Saipan invaders. Even so, he was supremely confident.

He said:

I can’t control Japanese fleet movements. If I did, there definitely would be a naval engagement.

16

Americans seize Saipan airfield

300 enemy planes lost as Japanese are pushed back

Aboard joint expeditionary force flagship off Saipan, Mariana Islands (AP) –
Rolling back remnants of two Japanese divisions, U.S. forces have swept across Saipan Island to seize strong control of the southern part of the island and Aslito Airfield, its greatest prize.

This 3,600-foot field is necessary for protection against developing Japanese air attacks. U.S. land-based planes will soon operate from here, replacing carrier aircraft which so far have done a lone-handed job in keeping the skies clear.

The enemy lost 300 planes in a vain attempt to cripple the amphibious force which stormed ashore six days ago. They did not succeed in sinking a single ship.

The Americans expanded an 8,000-foot beachhead into nearly a third of the island, smashing across it clear to Magicienne Bay and to a short distance south of Garapan. The line from near Garapan skirts the strongly defended Mount Tapochau, the extinct volcano towering over the center of the island. Then the line extends toward Magicienne Bay, thence southwards along the coast, where a small body of Japanese are trapped on rocky Nafutan Point, Saipan’s southeastern extremity.

The landing of Army reinforcements and heavy artillery on the southern beaches in support of hard-pressed Marines, who have borne the brunt of the fighting, paved way for a general attack along the entire line. Supported by coordinated artillery and naval gunfire and powerful aerial strength, the Americans struck the Japs at many points.

The attack around Charan Kanoa, where the Americans were once compelled to withdraw almost to the beach, started in a heavy tropical downpour which drew a rain curtain over the opposing troops.

17

Japanese report big naval battle

Enemy makes fabulous claims of U.S. ships sunk

New York (AP) –
A Japanese broadcast said today that a “fierce naval battle” is raging in the Central Pacific off the Marianas.

The British radio said “a Japanese spokesman was quoted as saying that this battle would have far-reaching effects on the Pacific war situation.” CBS recorded the London report of the Japanese broadcast.

There was no confirmation from Pearl Harbor and no indication when Adm. Chester W. Nimitz might have more to say about the operations.

The Tokyo radio, meanwhile, asserted today than a U.S. battleship listed in a Japanese communiqué yesterday as sunk by planes off the Marianas June 16 was of the 45,000-ton Iowa class.

The enemy broadcast, entirely without confirmation, said another battleship claimed to have been heavily damaged was of the 35,000-ton North Carolina class “and went down to a watery grave the night of June 15 off the Marianas.”

The broadcast went on:

Two out of four United States aircraft carriers which were heavily damaged and set ablaze or left heavily listing the night of June 17 were of the 24,000-ton Essex type while another of the 10,000-ton Independence type which had been converted from a cruiser. A fourth appeared to be also of the Essex type.

Thanks Jap Navy for ‘cooperation’

Navy chief confident U.S. forces can deal with situation

Washington (AP) –
Adm. Ernest J. King, Navy commander-in-chief, declaring appreciation for the “long expected cooperation” of the Japanese Navy in apparently moving into battle position, expressed confidence today in the outcome of a prospective naval engagement in the Western Pacific.

King said:

The sooner the Japanese fleet fights, the better we’ll be satisfied.

He made his statement after Navy Secretary Forrestal had reported that despite strict radio silence from the Pacific there have been some indications that U.S. forces “may have succeeded in catching up with all or a part of the Japanese fleet yesterday.”

Forrestal added that there is, however, “no definite information” as to the prospective engagement.

Forrestal reported that the Japanese fleet has been sighted at “various times during the last few days, milling around from 500 to 800 miles to the westward of Saipan Island” in the Marianas east of the Philippines.

A Japanese broadcast recorded in London said today that a “fierce naval battle” is raging off the Marianas.

Attack from carriers

Forrestal said Japanese planes attacked U.S. naval units near Saipan Sunday and indicated that the planes apparently came from carriers which at that time were some 500 miles to the westward.

The Japanese plan, he continued, seems to have been to launch thew aircraft, with the idea that after attacking they would be able to land for refueling on Guam and Rota, Japanese-held bases in the Marianas.

He continued:

We have no other details of the resulting air battle other than the fact that our forces were ready for the attack.

Our carrier aircraft and ships’ anti-aircraft guns wiped out most of the Japanese planes.

At Pearl Harbor, Adm. Nimitz has reported that the Japanese have lost at least 600 planes since action began in the Marianas.

King, asked about the prospective engagement there, said that the communiqué from Nimitz speaks for itself and, combined with Forrestal’s report, covers the situation “as accurately as we know it.”

Shows no worry

“You are not worried about the outcome?” he was asked. “No,” he replied, shaking his head.

He added that in any major operation, losses must be expected, in fact, are allowed for in preparation and plans for the action. But, King continued, the losses to date in the Marianas “have been less than allowed for.” He said he referred to all types of action in the air, on the sea and among troops fighting on land.

King also disclosed that plans long under consideration had been reviewed again for close cooperation of the British with U.S. forces in the war against Japan when it is possible to swing strength to the Pacific and away from Europe.

18

Völkischer Beobachter (June 22, 1944)

Ein 45.000-Tonnen-Schlachtschiff!

Einzelheiten zu den Erfolgen der Japaner bei den Marianeninseln

Tokio, 21. Juni –
Zu der vom japanischen Hauptquartier am Dienstag gemeldeten Versenkung eines amerikanischen Schlachtschiffes bei den Marianeninseln werden folgende Einzelheiten bekannt:

Es handelt sich um ein 45.000 Tonnen großes modernes Schlachtschiff, das zur Iowa-Klasse gehörte. Die Versenkung erfolgte bei der Insel Guam.

Bei einem der schwerbeschädigten Schlachtschiffe handelt es sich um eines vom Typ Nordcarolina, dass 35.000 Tonnen groß ist. Dieses Kriegsschiff erhielt schwerste Treffer in den Gewässern der Marianen. Zwei der vier Flugzeugträger, die entweder schwer beschädigt oder in Brand geworfen wurden oder schwere Schlagseite aufweisen, gehören zu der 24.000 Tonnen großen Essex-Klasse; bei einem dritten handelt es sich um einen umgebauten 10.000-Tonnen-Kreuzer der Independence-Klasse. Von den beiden versenkten Kreuzern gehört einer zu einer großen Type, während sich unter den vier beschädigten drei schweren Kreuzern befinden.

Wie der Bericht besonders unterstreicht, handelt es steh bei diesen Angaben um sorgfältig überprüfte und bestätigte Einzelheiten.

19

Der Kampf um Saipan

Der Angriff auf Saipan begann am 11. Juni, als von Flugzeugträgern aufgestiegene Maschinen ein heftiges Bombardement der Insel vornahmen. Nachdem dieser Angriff vier Tage lang durchgeführt worden war, begann der Feind am 15. Juni mit Infanterie und Tanks zu landen. Trotz größter Verluste setzte der Feind dieses Unternehmen auch dann fort, als die beiden ersten Wellen seiner Landungseinheiten zurückgeschlagen worden waren. Unter Einsatz stärkster Menschen- und Materialkräfte gelang es dem Feind, auf einem Abschnitt der Insel Fuß zu fassen und weitere Verstärkungen zu landen. In erbitterten Gegenangriffen der japanischen Bodenbesatzung erleidet er dort weiterhin heftigste Verluste.

Wie entscheidend der Besitz von Saipan für den Feind wäre, geht daraus hervor, daß der Besitz eines Stützpunktes auf dieser Insel die Hauptstadt Tokio in einem Flugzeugradius von 2.200 Kilometer bringen würde, das heißt, daß moderne Bomber, die kürzlich auch gegen Nord-Kiuschiu eingesetzt wurden, die Strecke in 5½ Stunden zurücklegen könnten. Um dem Feind die Möglichkeit zu nehmen, seine Offensive bis in die Küstengewässer des japanischen Mutterlandes vorzutragen, kämpfen jetzt die tapferen japanischen Flieger und Bodenbesatzungen mit zäher Verbissenheit gegen die materielle Übermacht des Gegners, ehe dort die Verteidigung zu entscheidendem Gegenschlag ausholt.

20

US-Flugzeugträger schwer beschädigt

Neuer japanischer Erfolg vor den Marianen

Tokio, 22. Juni (DNB) –
Die kaiserlichen Luftstreitkräfte haben ihre Angriffe gegen die feindliche Flotte in den Gewässern der Marianen-Inseln fortgesetzt. Nach soeben eingetroffenen Berichten wurde am Dienstag ein weiterer feindlicher Flugzeugträger schwer beschädigt und in Brand geworfen. Damit erhöht sich die Zahl der in den Gewässern der Marianen-Inseln beschädigten amerikanischen Flugzeugträger auf vier.

21

U.S. Navy Department (June 22, 1944)

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 60

Our troops on Saipan Island have made further advances of more than a mile along the shoreline of Magicienne Bay to the town of Laulau and have advanced about a mile up Mount Tapochau. The pocket of enemy resistance at Nafutan Point has been reduced by one half, and our forces have gained the heights of Mount Nafutan on the east coast. Heavy pressure is being maintained night and day against enemy troop concentrations and defense works by our aircraft, Army and Marine artillery, and naval gunfire.

At night on June 20 (West Longitude Date), several enemy aircraft dropped bombs near our transports and along shore but did no damage. Sporadic fire has been directed against our ships by shore batteries but the enemy emplacements have been quickly knocked out.

22

The Free Lance-Star (June 22, 1944)

Army and Marines score decisive gains on Saipan

Aboard joint expeditionary force flagship off Saipan, Mariana Islands (AP) –
Japan’s fleet after a week of complex maneuvering is still avoiding surface battle with the powerful U.S. Fleet guarding the Saipan invasion.

The Aslito Airdrome on Saipan, the most valuable in the Marianas and only 1,500 miles from Japan and the Philippines, was ready for operation today after Seabees repaired and extended its 3,600-foot main runway.

Shielded by a great U.S. battle fleet standing off the Marianas, Marines and Army troops launched a major attack this morning to wipe out Japanese defending the island. The situation forced upon Japan’s elusive grand fleet the grimmest challenge yet presented it – to come in and fight.

The enemy fleet, still avoiding battle, had the bitter choice oi fighting or abandoning Saipan’s weakening garrison to destruction.

On Saipan, the U.S. attack began shortly after dawn with veteran forces pushing ahead along a four-mile front extending entirely, across the island from the outskirts of Garapan, main town on the western shore, ands eastward along the slopes of Mount Tapochau to Magicienne Bay on the east coast.

At one point, the Marines advanced one mile in the first three hours. In exactly one week of fighting, the Americans had effected a landing across reefs in the face of extremely heavy fire and had captured the southern third of the island, including two airfields.

One of these fields was Aslito, now ready for operation.

The Japanese, who numbered at least 20,000, fought with ferocity and the advantage of entrenched positions along steep ridges, and made the American advance slow during the first several days. They used batteries of mortars and considerable artillery and employed landmines and booby traps.

One hard-fought battle between Marines and Japanese occurred on a hill overlooking Magicienne Bay, where Japanese artillerymen ran their field pieces in and out of caves firing from outside and ducking back into the mountainside.

The Americans finally captured this and similar positions, killing 75 Japanese in one cave. Flamethrowers were used in destroying enemy mountain strongholds.

23

Völkischer Beobachter (June 23, 1944)

Zwischen Philippinen und Marianen –
Schlacht der Hochseeflotten

vb. Berlin, 22. Juni –
Wie aus Tokio und Washington übereinstimmend berichtet wird, ist im Gebiet zwischen den Philippinen und den Marianen eine große Seeschlacht zwischen Teilen der japanischen Hochseeflotte und der US-Pazifikflotte im Gang, über deren vorläufige Ergebnisse beide Seiten noch Stillschweigen bewahren, was bei dem frühen Stadium, in dem sich diese Auseinandersetzung befindet, verständlich ist. Der US-Marineminister Forrestal teilte mit, daß der Oberbefehlshaber der US-Pazifikflotte, Admiral Nimitz, „absolutes Funkschweigen“ bewahre. Es könne daher für einen gewissen Zeitraum nicht mit Einzelheiten gerechnet werden.

Soviel scheint festzustehen, daß diese Seeschlacht in engem Zusammenhang mit den Kämpfen auf der Marianeninsel Saipan steht. In die zurzeit dort zwischen den japanischen Garnisonstruppen und den amerikanischen Landungsstreitkräften heftig tobenden Kämpfe greift, nach einer japanischen Meldung, auch die auf der Tinianinsel stationierte Artillerie ein. Den amerikanischen Truppen gelang es, schwere Artillerie zu landen und aufzufahren. Unter dem Feuerschutz der Artillerie konnten die Alliierten dann am 17. Juni bis in die Nähe des Asreetflugplatzes vordringen, welcher an der südlichen Seite der Insel gelegen ist. Die japanischen Truppen halten auf der anderen Seite wichtige strategische Punkte in ihrem Besitz, von denen aus sie wiederholt heftige Nachtangriffe gegen die Amerikaner durchführen und ihnen im Nahkampf große Verluste zufügen konnten. Die alliierten Verluste scheinen dem Bericht nach zu urteilen, in Zukunft noch höher zu werden, nachdem es den Japanern gelang, weitere schwere Panzereinheiten gegen die feindlichen Landungspunkte einzusetzen.

24

The Free Lance-Star (June 23, 1944)

20,000 Japs seen doomed on Saipan

Men are left to fate by fleet routed in fight this week

USPACFLT HQ, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (AP) –
Twenty thousand Japanese, apparently abandoned to their death by a routed Nipponese fleet, were hit high and low today on Saipan by a U.S. invasion army which now outnumbers the foe.

Sensing almost certain victory in the distant Marianas as the aftermath of a one-sided sea triumph, the reinforced Yanks scaled the heights and probed the flatlands of that island gateway to Japan, China and the Philippines.

The scales were tipped heavily in favor of the United States Monday by “Task Force 58,” a newly-disclosed fast and mighty armada with perhaps 20 of the nearly 100 U.S. carriers in action against Japan.

Saipan’s potential naval support was sent scurrying between Luzon and Formosa into the far China Sea by carrier planes of this specialized group which sank one Japanese carrier, heavily hit three others and damaged a battleship and cruiser. In all, four enemy ships were definitely sunk and 10 others hard hit.

Big assignment

Task Force 58, which Navy officials in Washington said has been assigned “the entire Pacific Ocean to the gates of Japan as its stamping ground,” thus paved the way for a stepped-up drive on Saipan itself. Last night, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz reported that the invasion of that island, 1,500 miles from Tokyo but 3,800 miles from Pearl Harbor, was going well.

Supported by planes operating off captured Aslito Airdrome and outgunning the Nipponese on the ground, the Yanks drove ahead more than a mile on the east side of the island at Magicienne Bay.

In the center, they were scaling 1,540-foot Mount Tapochau. In the southeast tip, they had wiped out half of an unspecified total of trapped Japanese and seized 500-foot Mount Nafutan.

Today Tokyo conceded in a dispatch heard over the German radio that the Yanks are pouring ashore, along with heavy guns, on Saipan.

Nimitz’s communiqué said:

Heavy pressure is being maintained night and day against enemy troop concentrations and defense works by our aircraft, Army, Marine artillery and naval gunfire.

Bombing fails

The only mention of enemy air action was an attempt to bomb U.S. transports but it “did no damage.”

Assessing Monday’s attack far to the west of Saipan on the Japanese fleet, Navy Secretary Forrestal said in Washington:

Our fleet did a magnificent job, but the Navy is not going to be satisfied until the Japanese fleet is wiped out.

He said the Japanese “never came very far to the eastward” and “we were able to send home but one air attack at very long range from our carriers just before dark.”

The dynamite punch of the task force was obviously a painful surprise for the Japanese whose carrier planes, at a cost of 353, superficially damaged two U.S. carriers and a battleship Sunday.

Japs alarmed by Saipan situation

By the Associated Press

Etsuzō Kurihara, chief of the Naval Press Section of Japanese Imperial Headquarters, declared in a formal statement broadcast by Tokyo today that the “battle situation in the Saipan area is the most critical one since the beginning of the war.”

The statement, recorded by the Office of War Information, said a major effort would be necessary to turn back advanced naval elements “centered around more than 20 aircraft carriers and more than a dozen battleships with more than 100 transport ships.”

Kurihara’s statement said:

The enemy’s plan of advance is the greatest since the beginning of the war in the strength of the main force and in the furiousness of the enemy’s fighting morale.

The statement broadcast on the Japanese home radio as well as abroad acknowledged the Saipan operation as an “advance of the enemy into our inner line.”

25

Japs on Saipan fighting thirst

Low water supply may finally break down enemy defenses

At a command post on Saipan, Mariana Islands (AP) – (June 22, delayed)
As the battle for Saipan enters its second week, it begins to appear that lack of drinking water may turn out to be the fatal weakness of this island’s strong defenses.

There is evidence that the water supply is critically low behind the Jap lines. Prisoners invariably beg for water when brought in and many have to be forcibly restrained from snatching the canteens of their American captors.

The naval artillery smashed big Jap water distilling apparatus and fresh water tanks before the first waves of Marines hit the beaches at Charan Kanoa. Since then, the Japan probably have existed on the island’s few wells and rainwater cisterns, most of the latter already empty because of the extremely light rainfall since the invasion.

Promises of plenty of drinking water proved an effective means of getting Japs to come out of their pillboxes and surrender – which they are doing here in large numbers.

“Why die of thirst?” says an American voice in Japanese language through loudspeakers near the frontlines.

You’ve fought as well as any soldier of the Emperor should do. Now come out with your hands up and have a drink of this good water so you’ll be alive to serve your country when the war is over.

U.S. forces are rationed two or three canteens of water daily but the supply on our side of the lines is increasing as more and more distilling plants are set up. Water has been given a number one priority – on a parallel with ammunition.

26

U.S. Navy Department (June 24, 1944)

CINCPAC Communiqué No. 62

Carrier aircraft of the fast carrier task force swept Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands on June 23 (West Longitude Date). Sixty or more enemy air­craft of a force which attempted to intercept our fighters were shot down. Twelve of the enemy planes found our carriers and all of these were shot down by our combat air patrols. We lost four fighters. There was no damage to our surface ships.

Pagan Island in the northern Marianas was attacked by carrier air­craft on June 22. The following damage was inflicted on the enemy:

  • Four small cargo ships and one sampan, sunk.

  • Two small cargo ships and 12 sampans, damaged.

  • Four enemy aircraft destroyed and two probably destroyed on the ground.

  • A flight consisting of one twin‑engine bomber and five Zero fighters Inter­cepted some distance from our carrier force was shot down.

  • A wharf and fuel dumps at Pagan were destroyed and buildings and run­ways were damaged.

We lost one Hellcat fighter and one pilot.

U.S. Marines and Army troops are pushing ahead on Saipan Island and have made new gains along the northern shore of Magicienne Bay. Booby traps and land mines are being extensively employed by the enemy. Two enemy aircraft detected in the Saipan area were shot down by carrier aircraft of the fighter screen on June 21. Coastal guns on Tinian Island have intermittently shelled our ships at anchor of Saipan, but have done little damage. On June 23, the airfields on Tinian Island were heavily bombed and shelled.

The airstrip and buildings at Rota Island were attacked by carrier aircraft on June 22. A medium cargo ship at Rota was sunk by an aerial torpedo. Our planes received no damage.

Shumushu Island in the Kurils was attacked by Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four before dawn on June 23. In the Central Pacific, Army, Navy, and Marine aircraft continued neutralization raids on June 23 against enemy positions in the Marshall and Caroline Islands.

27

The Free Lance-Star (June 24, 1944)

2nd Jap carrier believed sunk

U.S. submarine rammed three torpedoes home in huge flattop

USPACFLT HQ, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (AP) –
A new 28,000-ton Japanese aircraft carrier was believed today to be at the bottom of the Philippine Sea – the latest reported addition to the disaster which beset Nippon’s navy when it hesitantly tried to stay the impending doom of Saipan’s garrison.

A U.S. submarine rammed three torpedoes into the vitals of the costly Shōkaku-class flattop Sunday and the Navy, disclosing the action last night, conservatively stated “the Japanese carrier is regarded as probably sunk.” Sunday was the day Jap carriers loosed a costly, long-distance attack on the U.S. invasion fleet at Saipan.

Sank four ships

The Navy had already announced that U.S. carrier planes, giving chase to the enemy fleet Monday, sank four enemy ships, including a 19,000-ton carrier, and damaged 10 other ships, including a battleship, two 19,000-ton carriers, a light carrier and a cruiser. Last night’s communiqué added a fifth ship, a destroyer, to the carrier and three tankers previously listed as definitely sunk.

Increasing Japan’s shipping woes, Gen. Douglas MacArthur announced today his bombers probably sank an enemy merchantman and destroyed five coastal vessels off northwestern Dutch New Guinea. Yesterday, the Navy in Washington reported submarines recently sank 15 Japanese cargo vessels and a navy auxiliary.

Fighting continues

There was no official word Friday on the invasion of Saipan in the Marianas where steadily reinforced Yanks are striving to wipe out 20,000 Japanese. Howard Handleman, representing the combined Allied press, wrote yesterday aboard a flagship off Saipan that the enemy was believed withholding his best troops for a climax battle at Tanapag Harbor, north of Garapan, a city now under U.S. artillery and warship shelling.