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As we’ve seen, June 5th of 1944 was “get it moving” day for the massive invasion fleet crossing the English Channel to its date with destiny on the French coasts of Normandy. We’ve alluded to how much effort was required to make the landings of Operation Overlord even possible, much less successful. And that was to move 160,000 assault troops little more than 100 miles.
But June 5th was also the day another invasion force left port. But it didn’t face a 100-mile journey to its landing beaches. This invasion force was for Operation Forager, and it departed from Pearl Harbor. Its destination was the island of Saipan…nearly 3,000 miles away. And so, while Overlord saw a much larger assault force landed on its first day, Forager’s invasion fleet was actually larger (to carry nearly all the supplies for the entire operation).
Headed up by Admiral Kelly Turner and Marine General “Howlin’ Mad” Smith, the invaders of Saipan would comprise the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions and the Army’s 27th Infantry Division. These men would face Yoshitsugo Saito’s 30,000-man 43rd Infantry Division. But of special significance to the Americans was the presence on Saipan of Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, who led the attacks on Pearl Harbor and Midway.
The invasion force arrived on the June 13th, and the battleships and cruisers began their pre-invasion bombardment. But as we know, shelling an enemy hidden in caves is difficult…and shelling an enemy hidden in caves of coral is even more difficult. In addition, the ships (fearing large artillery and mines) fired from 5 miles or more away, which affected their accuracy.
And the Japanese, who had long known that Saipan might be a likely target for invasion, had carefully laid out their defenses. They ranged their guns, putting little flags in the ground (and in the water) to mark the distances. So when the 2nd & 4th Marines hit the beaches just after 7:00am on June 15, 1944, the enemy was waiting with a bunch of men and guns not silenced by the Navy’s bombardment.
The Marines had to fight through murderous fire and barbed wire but, by evening, had established a beachhead. And that night, as in so many of these island invasions, a large banzai counter-attack was launched. But while terrifying to behold, these attacks were generally easily repulsed with solid machine gun and mortar fire.
The Marines were on Saipan to stay…but subduing the Japanese would be far more difficult and take much longer than the estimated three days.
Recommended Reading: D-Day in the Pacific
