Battle of Saipan

Battle of Saipan
Part of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign of the Pacific Theater (World War II)
Marines take cover behind an M4 Sherman tank while clearing Japanese forces in northern Saipan, 8 July 1944.
Date 15 June – 9 July 1944 (1944-06-15 – 1944-07-09) (24 days) Location Saipan, Mariana Islands Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Richmond K. Turner Holland Smith	Chūichi Nagumo † Yoshitsugu Saitō †
Units involved
V Amphibious Corps	31st Army
Strength
Assault: 71,034 Garrison: 23,616 Total: 94,650[1]	Army: 25,469 Navy: 6,160 Total: 31,629[2]
Casualties and losses
Land forces:[3] 3,100–3,225 killed 326 missing 13,061–13,099 wounded Ships' personnel:[4] 51+ killed 32+ missing 184+ wounded	25,144+ dead (buried as of 15 August) 1,810 prisoners (as of 10 August) Remaining ~5,000 committed suicide, killed/captured later, or holding out[5]
8,000[6]–10,000[7] civilian deaths

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 initial invasion triggered the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which effectively destroyed Japanese carrier-based airpower, and the battle resulted in the American capture of the island. Its occupation put the major cities of the Japanese home islands within the range of B-29 bombers, making them vulnerable to strategic bombing by the United States Army Air Forces. It also precipitated the resignation of Hideki Tōjō, the prime minister of Japan.

Saipan was the first objective in Operation Forager, the campaign to occupy the Mariana Islands that got underway at the same time the Allies were invading France in Operation Overlord. After a two-day naval bombardment, the U.S. 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and the Army's 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith, landed on the island and defeated the 43rd Infantry Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saitō. Organized resistance ended when at least 3,000 Japanese soldiers died in a mass gyokusai attack, and afterward about 1,000 civilians committed suicide.

The capture of Saipan pierced the Japanese inner defense perimeter, and forced the Japanese government to inform its citizens for the first time that the war was not going well. The battle claimed more than 46,000 military casualties and at least 8,000 civilian deaths. The high percentage of casualties suffered during the battle influenced American planning for future assaults, including the projected invasion of Japan.