The Thousand Mile War - Research Paper Example

The Thousand Mile War Introduction ‘The Thousand Mile War’ by Brian Garfield, right from the time of its publication in 1969, has been very popular, and is postulated as one of the finest accounts of the World War II to be recorded in the form of a book. The author in this book brilliantly combines his narrative skills and interweaves it with the historical Aleutian Islands Campaign of World War II, to spin out a scintillating tale of the war between US and Japan, over the Aleutian Islands (which are a part of Alaska) in the Pacific Campaign. This book takes us on historical journey that traverses a period of fifteen months, and lets us examine in minute details the incidents that eventually led to the plunge in the hopes of a quick Japanese victory, while a dazed America was yet to recover from its shock of the Pearl Harbor disaster. This battle is also known in history as the ‘Forgotten Campaign’, as it was completely eclipsed by the more famous Guadalcanal campaign that took place almost simultaneously. This article will examine the book ‘The Thousand Mile War’ and will trace the events, along with the author, which took place in this Aleutian Campaign. It will focus on the significant military tactics of this battle as US and Japan crossed each other, more than seventy years back. Body Right at the beginning of the book we start the journey on the night of 2nd June 1942, with the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryojo, which moves under chilling Alaskan conditions, with Captain Tadao Kato at its helm. It was escorted by the two heavy cruisers “Takao and Maya, three destroyers and an oiler. And supporting the task group not far to the west were the ships of vice admiral Boshiro Hosogaya’s Northern force…”(Garfield, 3). This light carrier strike force was under the command of Rear Admiral, Kakuji Kakuta and their united aim was to bomb the Dutch Harbor on the Unalaska Island. The target was well chosen, as this island consisted of an US naval base, and being located 100 miles away from the mainland, it would have been difficult for the US troops to get reinforcements. The weather was extremely unfavorable on this particular day, and it was almost impossible for the pilots to see through the dense fog. After waiting vainly for nearly half an hour to let the fog clear away, the pilots were finally given a go ahead signal, whereupon they formed a straight-single line and moved by Dead Reckoning (DR). As Japan launched one of their most ambitious attacks right into the enemy territory on North American soil, little did they know that “the operation would prove to be one of history’s most disastrous strategic mistakes”(Garfield, 5). At about the same time, just three weeks before this attack was to be launched on 15th May, “a team of U. S. Navy crypt-analysts in a Honolulu basement had broken the top-secret Japanese naval code” (Garfield, 9), which revealed the enormous Japanese plans under Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto to destroy the US fleet under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, that was moving towards the Midway Island, and the attack on the Aleutian Islands were to serve as a cover for this assault of a larger scale. As the magnitude of the implications of the decoded message sunk in, Admiral Robert A. Theobald rallied around swiftly to assemble around 10000 men in Unalaska and Umnak. A new runway was constructed on the ground of volcanic ash, which made it extremely unstable, and any plane landing on it with even the slightest error could simply bounce off 30 feet upwards. Owing to the terrible weather conditions, no was aware as to where the Japanese fleet was actually located, and where the attack may come from. There were no questions of going out to search for them either. At around 5.45 am the Japanese planes reached the Dutch Harbor, and as they prepared to run down to start the bombing, US troops immediately retaliated with anti-aircraft guns. Four of the Japanese planes managed to drop 16 bombs, of which 14 hit the barracks, but caused little damage. After this raid, futile efforts by the US air force under Lieutenant Lucius D. Campbellto to track the Japanese fleet were made, and every time they did manage to locate the enemy fleet, all their planes were shot down, with some pilots reportedly missing. On the 4th of June, at around 6pm, the Japanese struck again at the Dutch Harbor US naval base, for the second time with 11 bombers and 10 supporting fighters. This time there were 43 casualties, and 50 were wounded on the US side. As US retaliated with P-40s, they managed to bring down two of the enemy fighter planes and damage a third. On June 5th it was noticed that the Japanese were moving towards the west and simultaneously garbled messages were being send which confused the US code breaking group. On 7th June, the 301st Independent Infantry Battalion of the Japanese army consisting of 2500 soldiers attacked and took over Attu, and on the previous day, that is, on the 6th, they took over the island of Kiska. Here the Japanese army did not meet any resistance from the locals, who all just before this invasion, had already been forcibly removed and kept constrained at the war camps in Alaska Panhandle. Thus, from the perspective of the Japanese army their invasion of the Aleutian territory was completed successfully. In America, this invasion right into their homelands caused great consternation amongst the general civil populace who all demanded immediate retaliating military actions. It was amidst this huge outcry for some sort of army action, with Admiral Ernest J. King proclaiming to be resolved to remove the Japanese intruders from the American soil, the then army spokesperson Major General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. very famously commented “They might make it [to the mainland], but it would be their grandchildren who finally got there; and by then they would all be American citizens anyway” (cited in Harrison, 171). Finally after Admiral Chester Nimitz gave the go ahead signal, America started its counter attack by conducting a series of bombing for three days continuous days. However the weather remained largely bad, and it was almost impossible see through the fog, and the mission remained largely unsuccessful. Various attempts to recapture the island of Kiska by the US army with the help of cruisers did not bear fruit, owing mainly to the unfavorable weather conditions, though they did manage to sink the Japanese destroyer Nenohi and damage two other destroyers. It was in August 1942 that US finally managed to put up a base in Adak, 210 miles from Kiska, which became operational in September. The wild and chilling winds of the Alaskan winter did not deter the brave US army troops, and they managed to destroy many Japanese ships off the coast at Kiska, however, soon it became clear that ground forces were also necessary to win the war. As these troops were being readied, Admiral Theobald wanted to invade Amichitka, an island just 90 miles away from Kiska. The joint army chiefs supported this decision, though most of the general army men were strongly against this move. Later Admiral Theobald was asked to resign to maintain harmony within the army. In March 1943, the US army under Rear Admiral Charles Mcmorris were send on a mission to cut off Japanese supplies, which led to the navy skirmish known as the ‘Battle of Komandorski Island’, after which the Japanese army gave up attempts to send supplies by the surface route and used only subs for the purpose of supplying stocks. After this, efforts to recapture Attu started on May 11th May 1943, but the Japanese army stationed there put up such a fierce fight that the war dragged on till the end of May, before US could claim Attu back. This island claimed many lives, and it was reported that 580 of the US soldiers died here, while 1148 were wounded. The unfavorable weather also affected many, and 1200 were said to be suffering from severe frost bites, while diseases claimed another 614 lives. On May 29th the remaining Japanese troops launched a fierce attack under Colonel Yamasaki at the Massacre Bay (known as the Banzai Charge- the first of its kind in this Pacific campaign), which was completely brutal and a hand to hand fight. The entire Japanese army was almost completely annihilated (2351 buried officially, with many more not found), and the US troops managed to capture only 28 living Japanese soldiers, and with it ended the Japanese conquest of the island of Attu. Finally, on August 15th 1943 US troops reached the island of Kiska with 34000 soldiers, a heavy and a light cruiser, battleships and many more such warfare arms and ammunitions, only to find it completely empty. The Japanese had abandoned the island on the 28th of July, under the cover of the fog. However, 313 soldiers of the allied forces died during this recapture, owing mainly to the extremely hostile climatic conditions, and the booby traps left behind by the Japanese forces before they withdrew. Thus, concluded ‘The Thousand mile war’ that caused much loss of lives and a huge loss of ammunitions. Right from the very beginning it was a difficult fight for the US troops, with extremely harsh weather conditions and an enemy that could never be located. Conclusion This book by Brian Garfield takes up a topic that was not well known to many. Yet, the Aleutian campaign had stories of many brave men who all made great sacrifices to fight the treacherous weather, and an invisible but dangerous enemy. The conditions at that time were the worst for any type of counter attack, be it, by planes, ships and or by ground troops. The sea was extremely rough and choppy; the islands were unwelcoming with their rugged and unfriendly terrains; and the fog, chilling winds, and incessant rains added to further woes. As Garfield lifts much off the fog ("With the whole campaign under a fog figuratively and literally, it is not surprising the records are a little clouded”- Marshall Freerks, cited in Garfield, 194) from this rather painful and forgotten episode, it reveals a story of much courage and bravery that had gone unsung for so many years. Works Cited Garfield, B. The thousand-mile war: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press, 1995. Print. Harrison J. The Age of Global Strife. Philadelphia: Lippincott Publishers, 1952. Print. Read More