Aleutian Islands campaign

Aleutian Islands campaign
Part of the American Theater and Pacific War of World War II
American troops hauling supplies through Jarmin Pass on Attu in May 1943. Their vehicles could not move across the island's rugged terrain.
Date 3 June 1942 – 15 August 1943 (1 year, 2 months, 1 week and 5 days) Location Aleutian Islands, Alaska, United States Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United States  • Alaska Territorial Guard  Canada	Japan
Commanders and leaders
U.S. Navy: Thomas Kinkaid Francis Rockwell U.S. Army: Albert E. Brown Archibald Arnold Simon Buckner, Jr. Alaska Territorial Guard: Marvin R. Marston Canadian Army: George Pearkes Harry Foster	I.J. Navy: Boshiro Hosogaya Kakuji Kakuta Monzo Akiyama I.J. Army: Yasuyo Yamasaki †
Strength
144,000[1]	8,500[1]
Casualties and losses
1,481 killed 640 missing 3,416 wounded 8 captured 225 aircraft destroyed[1] 3 warships sunk U.S. Navy vessels heavily damaged:[2] USS Salt Lake City (CA-25) USS Abner Read (DD-526) U.S. Navy vessels lost: USS Worden (DD-352) USS S-27 (SS-132) USS Grunion (SS-216)	4,350 killed 28 captured 7 warships sunk 9 cargo/transport ships sunk[1] Imperial Japanese Navy vessels lost: Arare I-7 I-31 Nenohi Oboro Ro-61 Ro-65
2 civilians killed, 46 captured (16 died in captivity)

The Aleutian Islands campaign was a military operation between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, United States from 3 June 1942 to 15 August 1943 and was a part of the Pacific War during World War II.^[3] A part of one of two attacks on the mainland United States, a small part of Japanese forces had occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska; where isolation, harsh weather and geographical complex delayed a greater Allied forces to drive out the Japanese in a year. The islands' strategic value was the ability to control shipping lanes in the Pacific.^[4]

The Japanese thought that by occuping the islands, they would stop the Americans from the North Pacific. Similarly, the US feared that the islands would be used as bases for full-scale attacks on West Coast cities like Anchorage, Seattle, San Francisco or Los Angeles.