Battle of Saipan 1944: Total War in the Pacific (Documentary)

In June 1944, an armada of warships and landing craft is getting ready for D-Day. Thousands of American soldiers are about to attack a prepared enemy with formidable defenses. But this isn't Normandy. This is the island of Saipan, and the bloody battle there will bring total war to the Pacific. By late 1943, the Japanese are on the back foot in the Pacific. In September, they withdraw to a national defense zone as part of a plan to keep most of their conquered territories, recover their military strength, and protect vital supply routes to Japan and island garrisons. Their new operational policy dictates that islands must be defended to the last. U.S. Southeast Pacific Area Commander General Douglas MacArthur would prefer to liberate the Philippines before making a push towards Japan. But U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest King sees strung-out Japanese-occupied islands, some of which could base long-range B-29 bombers, as stepping stones in a more direct route towards the Japanese home islands. Eventually, the U.S. tries both routes with Admiral Chester Nimitz leading the Central Pacific Offensive. Fifth Fleet prepares to move against Japanese-held islands in the Marianas- Carolines-Palau area. Although they'll bypass some major Japanese garrisons, they need to capture the few islands fit for air bases. Suitable islands could almost be counted on the fingers of two hands. These, naturally, the Japanese had developed as bases, and there were no more. So when we moved across the Pacific and needed an air base, there was no alternative. We simply had to take one away from the Japanese. It's just that simple. The Mariana Islands stretch for roughly 750 kilometers across the Central Pacific and are at the core of the Japanese National Defense Zone, with air bases on Guam, Saipan, and Tinian. Saipan and Tinian are pre-war Japanese colonies geared towards sugarcane cultivation, although large-scale Japanese settlement has turned the indigenous Chamorro people into a minority. Japan invaded and occupied Guam, a U.S. territory, in 1941. Fifth Fleet commander Admiral Raymond Spruance plans to capture Saipan and Tinian first, establish U.S. air bases there, and then move on to Guam. The 5th Amphibious Corps, consisting of 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions with the supporting 27th Infantry Division and 24th Corps Artillery, will assault Saipan. U.S. planners select four beaches, codenamed Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow, on the southwestern coast for the landings. However, the two assaulting Marine Divisions will be separated by a fetna point, while reefs near the beaches limit landing craft. Instead, the assault waves prioritize LVTs, Landing Vehicles Tracked, which can drive over reefs and onto the beaches. Unusually, 5th Amphibious Corps orders the Marines to ride the LVTs inland instead of dismounting on the beaches. Although the 4th Marine Division accepts the plan, the 2nd Marine Division is skeptical. They know LVTs struggled with rugged terrain on Guadalcanal, although their rivalry with the LVTs' army drivers also contributes to the tensions. 5th Amphibious Corps commander General Holland Smith expects the Marines to reach the objective one line, 1.3 km inland, by the end of D-Day. He anticipates the south will be captured quickly before a final push north. All told, around 95,000 U.S. troops are available to assault and garrison the island. Japanese Admiral Chuichi Nagumo is tasked with defending the Mariana Islands. He'd previously led the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Midway and has since fallen out of favor with the Imperial Navy. The local garrison under General Yoshitsugo Saito has around 32,000 men of the 43rd Division, 41st Independent Mixed Brigade, as well as some Air and Navy units, but they're poorly prepared. There's high ground inland for artillery observation and rear lines, but the Japanese lack transport, troops, and coordination. Reinforcements do arrive in May, but U.S. submarines sink some supply ships and troop transports. This worsens the already rocky relationship between the Japanese Navy and Army. Even so, Saito divides Saipan into four defensive zones and positions his artillery on the high ground to counter a landing. He assumes the U.S. will land in the southwest, and prepares the 9th Tank Regiment to rapidly counterattack any U.S. landings. While the Japanese Army plans the island's defense, the Navy develops Operation Ago. The 1st Mobile Fleet, including the most modern carriers, will sail to the Marianas and attack the U.S. invasion fleet. With the aid of land-based aircraft on the islands, Japan hopes it can deliver a mortal blow to Allied operations in the Pacific. Spruance is concerned about such an attack, and orders Task Force 58, his fast carrier force, to remain defensive, much to the annoyance of its commander, Admiral Mark Mitchell, who prefers aggressive action. And so, only a week after Allied troops land in Normandy, U.S. troops in the Pacific prepare their own D-Day. In terms of firepower, the Saipan naval armada is even stronger than that of Operation Overlord in Europe. On D-Day-3, U.S. warships and aircraft bombard Japanese airfields and defenses on Guam, Tinian, and Saipan. U.S. forces also fire white phosphorus into Saipan's sugarcane fields in a failed attempt to burn them clear. Japanese civilian Shizuko Miura witnesses the bombardment on Saipan. I gazed at the sky for the enemy plane. It was a great formation which seemed to consist of hundreds, no, many thousands. Until war came to Saipan, I had never seen a dead man's face, so I might not have known death. But before my eyes, these two soldiers lay dead as if to teach me, look, this is death itself. U.S. firepower levels the towns of Garapan and Charankanoa, destroys coastal guns, and disrupts communication between Japanese units. But overall, the battleship's fire proves disappointing, they've been trained to hit targets on the sea. While the ships are firing, underwater demolition teams survey landing beaches and mark channels for larger vessels carrying tanks. Before the main invasion on June 15, the Marines launch feints to the north to confuse the Japanese, but the defenders are not fooled. At around 8.40am, the first assault wave of Marines, with support from the army's amphibious tractor battalions, heads for the beaches. Around 700 landing craft and LVTs, including amphibious tank versions and gunboat, rocket, and command and control variants, will land 8,000 Marines in the first wave. Vessels and aircraft maintain fire support until LVTs are 100 meters from shore, but already the plan goes wrong. Japanese fire increases as LVTs cross the reef, while unexpected tides shift the 2nd Marine Division north, meaning units land at the wrong beaches, creating gaps and traffic jams. As LVTs crowd the beaches, pre-sighted Japanese artillery and mortars, many well camouflaged and untouched by the bombardment, inflict the most casualties. Still, within 20 minutes, the first wave of Americans is on shore, but rocky and swampy terrain, as well as the need to close gaps, limit their progress. Although 98% of 4th Marine Division's LVTs land, only half make it 300 meters inland. US amphibious tanks also struggle. Heavy swells immobilize some offshore, and others bog down fighting in Char and Kanoa. Although they destroy 11 counter-attacking Japanese tanks, few reach the line on schedule. Meanwhile, Marine Depot companies, including many African-American Marines, are established on shore to handle logistics, but quickly find themselves under fire from Japanese mortars and bypass defenders in hidden positions. While some Americans attempt to push through inland marshes, others struggle to link the two Marine Divisions. Two battalions of the 8th Marines fight across Green 2 Beach to assault Afetna Point. Half of 8th Marine's G Company is armed with shotguns, both for close quarters fighting and to limit firing into friendlies coming from Blue Beach. Saipan was not the last time Marines would use shotguns during island assaults. We talked to Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries, about the Model 12 shotgun. Hello everyone, Jonathan here at the Royal Armouries, and I have in front of me the Winchester Model 1912, or by this point, this is made as a combat shotgun in the Second World War, the Winchester Model 12, just a change in name that took place. It's kind of doubly iconic for being, well, it's a pump-action shotgun. It's a working in the traditional pump-action fashion, so single shot, you have to cycle the action between shots. You have an eight-round tube magazine underneath. This is just standard to the civilian commercial version, of which an awful lot were made. What makes this a military weapon? Well, the markings. We have US service markings, US and the flaming bomb of the US Ordnance Department on there, which denotes the gun itself as a military issue piece of kit. A lot of them have a flat grey finish that looks very World War II American. This is a blued one, but the real star of the show with this thing is the bayonet. So this is the standard service bayonet for the Model 1917 Enfield rifle of the prior conflict, because this bayonet mount and actually the heat shield as well, it's all one unit that can be removed and refitted if necessary, was designed for the Winchester 1897. Really more of a shotgun for guarding prisoners with, funnily enough. It's thought to be a combat shotgun. Didn't see a huge amount of combat in the First World War, despite the famous German protests. But the Second World War successor, the Winchester Model 12, absolutely did see routine military action. So this has the scabbard on there, we'll just remove that. And this really makes it a truly, whether you are keeping prisoners of war in order, or whether you are charging the beaches or the trenches, this is a formidable weapon. The bayonet itself is pretty terrifying and gives you quite a bit of reach. And of course the buckshot, the eight shots of buckshot ammunition coming out of this is pretty devastating, at closer range. Now we're used to, from popular culture, basically we get shotguns wrong all the time. Whether that's people getting blown two meters away from the shot, blown through windows, blown through walls, or whether it's to do with the of shot being absolutely huge. Some video games, the effect is essentially, it's like the shot has hit an invisible wall and you're not able to do damage beyond that. These are actually better at distance than people give them credit for, and they would have been, they would allow the soldier to reach out a bit further if he needed to. That said, the effective range, roughly, of something like this is really no more than 20 meters, I would say, in terms of having enough effect to be truly fight-stopping. It's not a substitute for a rifle. There were, I believe on Saipan, the marines were carrying their rifle, and like one in every two marines was also carrying one of these shotguns. Unwieldy, heavy, not ideal, but it gave you the ability to fight very, very competently at close quarters, and then reach out with the rifle. But broadly speaking, you're going to be stuck with one or the other. Now, the other issue here is ammunition. So, back in Gradel Canal in 43, 44, they had encountered issues with the paper. It's a thick paper shell, was the original type of ammunition for this, which was standard at the time in the civilian world as well. Works perfectly well out on a grouse moor or shooting turkeys out in the mountains or whatever, not so great in a hot and humid climate as at Gradel Canal. So, the shells would swell and stick, and you might not be able to load them into the magazine tube underneath here, and if you did, they'd been in there overnight, and you cycle the gun, you may have a stoppage. And it was recommended at that time that the rounds be changed to a sheet brass shell, hull. But that, as far as I can tell, was not enacted, or at least it wasn't enacted quickly enough. So, I believe that at Saipan, they were still using the paper cartridges that could swell and stick, which is not ideal. So, a niche weapon, a limited weapon in some ways, but if you are in a trench or even storming a beach, working your way through breastworks, the open trenches that were at Saipan, this thing is fantastic. Getting out, if you get outside the other side of those trenches, you're going to want your rifle back, even if, as a Marine, that might still be the bolt-action 1903 Springfield, rather than the semi-automatic M1 Garand. And then there's the combat shotgun, the Model 12 specifically, and then combat shotguns in general, have carried on to the present day with a very niche application, be that blowing hinges off doors to gain entry to somewhere, or actual fighting shotguns, which we saw used in the Afghanistan conflict. These are still a realistic proposition today. But even with new tactics, the Marines fail to clear a Fetna point and link up the divisions by nightfall. At the end of D-Day, US forces occupy only half the objective area, with around 2,000 US casualties, especially officers. Although units reach the base of Mount Finasusa, they withdraw to safer positions for expected Japanese counterattacks overnight. Japanese troops do attack, but they're disorganized and desperate. In one attack, Japanese troops advance behind women and children as human shields. American tanks, artillery, and naval gunfire stop all of the attacks. On D-1, the 27th Infantry Division lands with more artillery as Marines consolidate the beachhead, make modest advances, and link up the divisions. In the early hours of D-2, a major Japanese armored counterattack targets the 2nd Marine Division. Poorly organized and forced by terrain to advance in columns, the Japanese break into US positions, but US tanks, half-track mounted AT guns, and bazookas stop them. Japanese infantry riding the tanks suffer heavily, and US fire destroys at least 24 of 44 attacking tanks. Tank crewman Shiro Shimoda recalls, Most of the infantrymen on our tanks were killed or simply abandoned us. The leading parts of the columns advanced deeply into the US lines, and a confused fight developed. Star shells were lighting up our tanks, and American gun and bazooka fires were destroying them. American M4 Sherman tanks suddenly appeared, and we opened fire on them, but our shells bounced off them like baseballs. The battle is the largest tank-on-tank engagement of the Pacific War. By D-3, the 4th Marine Division cuts the island in two, while the 27th Infantry Division capture Aslito Airfield, creating a Japanese pocket on Nafutan Point. The Japanese 43rd Division has lost half its battalions and two-thirds of its artillery. General Saito, Radio Tokyo. Have received your honorable Imperial words. By becoming the bulwark of the Pacific with 10,000 deaths, we hope to acquire Imperial favor. While the fighting rages on Saipan, US submarines track the Japanese 1st Mobile Fleet. Spruance worries they might try to distract his larger protective ships and sneak through fast destroyers in a night attack against the invasion armada. In reality, the Japanese plan a decisive air attack on Task Force 58's own carriers. On June 18, Japanese land-based bombers attack Task Force 58 with little effect. The next day, at a range of around 570 kilometers, Mobile Fleet Commander Ozawa launches his carrier planes. It's too far for them to return, so they plan to land on Guam after their attack and allow Ozawa's carriers to stay out of range of Task Force 58. Ozawa sends the roughly 450 carrier planes in smaller waves while the US scrambles all available fighters to meet them. Japanese aircraft often meet double the number of US planes, along with anti-aircraft fire over Task Force 58. The result is the so-called Great Marianas Turkey Chute. More powerful, modern US planes like the F6F Hellcat inflict heavy losses. Few Japanese aircraft mount attacks on the fleet, and no US ship suffers serious damage. At the end of the raid, the Japanese lose 358 carrier planes and the US only 33. US submarines also attack the fleet, sinking the carriers Taiho and Shokaku. Ozawa accepts his failure and withdraws on June 20. Mitcher is allowed to pursue, but Spruance's previous defensive orders mean Ozawa gets a significant head start. When Mitcher launches his planes at a range of about 480 kilometers, he knows they don't have enough fuel to return, but he hopes his carriers will catch up with them during the battle to shorten their return flight. 216 US aircraft attack the Japanese fleet, which now has little fighter cover. Grumman TBF Avengers from the carrier Bellow would sink the carrier Hiyo. The carrier below looked big, tremendous, almost make-believe. I had a moment of real joy. I'd often dreamed of something like this. Then I was horrified with myself. I must be crazy. I was straight up and down now in my dive. I was right in the middle of all those white puffs, and for the first time I could see where they were coming from. From each side of the carrier below seemed to be a mass of flashing red dots. I thanked whoever it was who laid on the last one, as it had stopped the carrier right up and down in my sights. Navy aircraft also damage three other ships, but not all make it back. 80 aircraft either ditch into the sea or crash on flight decks from a lack of fuel. US ships recover 143 of the 177 aircrew that do ditch. The Battle of the Philippine Sea is a decisive US victory. The Japanese lose three carriers, including their largest and most modern, to zero US naval losses. And Japan's remaining carriers have only 35 aircraft between them, rendering them useless. Including land-based planes, the Japanese lose 476 aircraft and 445 pilots, losses they can hardly replace. The US loses around 130 aircraft, most to non-combat causes. Overall, Japan loses around 3,000 men, compared to the US's 109. So the US is victorious at sea, but Mitcher is frustrated Spruance held him back. Spruance's defenders, though, argue that given the Japanese skill at stealthy night attacks, his defensive stance makes sense. Back on Saipan on D-Day plus 7, US forces start their push north to the heights of Mount Tipopale, Mount Tapu Chau, and Hill 600. But the terrain is rugged, and their advance slows to a crawl. Where they can't use vehicles, the soldiers start using local oxen to transport equipment. The 2nd Marine Division and 27th Infantry Division struggle against ravines and ridges dubbed Death Valley, Hell's Pocket, and Purple Heart Ridge, while the 4th Marine Division has more success in the east. Marine Commander Lt. Gen. Holland Howland Mad Smith accuses the 27th Infantry Division of lacking aggressiveness and successfully pushes to relieve its commander. However, this makes little difference. Some argue the 27th Infantry Division are fighting through the others claim the Army's slow, methodical approach is unsuitable for this kind of battlefield. Still, Japanese resistance is crumbling. US destroyers prevent Japanese reinforcements from Tinian, and Japanese units can't function coherently. Roughly 2,000 to 3,000 troops remain in the north, but Saito can only communicate with around 950 of them. With all artillery captured, Saito messages Tokyo again, Please apologize deeply to the Emperor that we cannot do better than we are. Meanwhile, US troops are able to more effectively communicate and coordinate their attacks. Supporting the Marines are Native American code talkers, specially trained radio men who use a code derived from the Navajo language to quickly and securely communicate tactical information. Whereas it could take mechanical equipment 30 minutes to encrypt and decrypt three lines of English text, code talkers could do it in about 20 seconds. On D-11, the six Marines bypass enemy positions to capture a ridge linking the two mountains. At night, the isolated Japanese troops in Nafutan Point infiltrate out and attack the airfield, where the Americans eliminate them. Marine units also adapt to the nature of the battlefield. At night, they send aggressive recon units ahead and successfully pre-empt Japanese night infiltrations. They clear the Japanese out of the caves with a mix of small arms, bazookas, and M3A1 Satan flamethrower tanks. The superhot flames reached 60 to 80 yards, deep within caves, and lapped over the top and sides of cliffs. If the flames didn't make contact, concealed troops were often asphyxiated. Captain Ed Ballard and Lieutenant Brendan just shook their heads in disbelief over how precious life could become so cheap in this enlightened age. Coordination between Marines, Army, Navy, and Air Forces also improves as they learn the other's limitations. On D-12, by exploiting the success of the 4th Marine Division, the 2nd Marine Division and 27th Infantry Division are finally able to surround Hell's Pocket, allowing for gains in Death Valley and Purple Heart Ridge. By D-15, the Japanese withdraw to their last line of defense. As the Battle of Saipan reaches its final days, Japanese soldiers and civilians alike refuse to be taken alive. Between D-16 and D-19, US forces advance north, capturing Garapan and Tanapeg Harbor and breaching the final defenses. On D-20, the 27th Infantry Division take over the west of the line around the coast. The Japanese Navy promises reinforcements and encourages Saito to conduct guerrilla warfare, but with the US advancing on his command post, Saito issues his final orders, "...whether we attack or whether we stay where we are, there is only death. However, in death there is life. We must utilize this opportunity to exalt true Japanese manhood. I will advance with those who remain to deliver still another blow to the American devils and leave my bones on Saipan as a bulwark in the Pacific." In the early hours of July 7, Saito orders a Banzai attack against the 27th Infantry Division's 105th Infantry, with up to 3,000 men, many of them unarmed, and the last three tanks. Officially, Saito orders the charge to recapture Garapan and push for Nafutan Point, where he believes isolated Japanese troops remain. Considering this unrealistic objective, others claim the attack is in fact a gyokusai, or suicide charge, with no tactical goal. The charge, advancing in three columns, overruns two US Army battalions who hadn't incorporated the advanced scouting method from the Marines. They fall back and attempt to form new perimeters as the Banzai fans out into the valley. But these perimeters fail, as Japanese troops continue their charge, overrunning Marine artillery and attempting to surround the headquarters at Tanepeg. US troops create a perimeter and call in artillery, firing 2,700 rounds at Japanese formations in a single hour. However, shells also hit isolated US troops, some of whom swim offshore to be rescued by destroyers. At around 8am July 7, the charge is now exhausted, disorganized, and falling apart. US reinforcements arrive, and a US tank platoon pushes through to the Banzai's staging area, eliminating the remaining Japanese. Despite his orders, Saito did not join the charge himself, but committed ritual suicide beforehand. Afterwards, US troops count 4,311 Japanese dead in the area, although it's unclear how many were directly involved. US casualties are 451 killed and 594 wounded. Some Japanese officers, such as Captain Sakai Oba, also consider the charge a waste and refuse to join, instead infiltrating back into the central highlands. Generally, however, the charge ends the Japanese resistance on Saipan, but tragedy continues. As US forces move north, Japanese civilians and remaining troops commit suicide with explosives or by jumping off of cliffs. American attempts via loudspeakers and interpreters to convince them to surrender achieve little. In many cases, civilians are likely coerced into killing their families by Japanese troops, some of whom forbid surrender. Japanese propaganda claims the US tortures and murders prisoners, and US actions such as indiscriminate firing, mutilating bodies, and displaying remains on vehicles may add to this impression. Ultimately, the close nature of fighting on Saipan makes surrender dangerous, and makes it hard for troops to differentiate between military and civilian targets. Marine Lieutenant Lewis Myers recalls, We knew we would find thousands of civilians beyond the beaches, but we did not count on meeting them in the midst of battle, especially the little children. Marines, many with children at home and pictures in their wallets, find it hard to fit these kids into the battle. Throwing grenades at Japs is what you were there for, but you hate to find babies in the same holes and caves from which the Japs have been firing. On July 9, D plus 24, Smith declares Saipan secure, although mopping up takes months. Captain Oba and his unit only surrender in December 1945, after more than a year of harassing and killing American soldiers on the island. During the invasion, the US Army and Marines lose 3,142 killed, 13,208 wounded, and 335 missing. 20% of these casualties occur in the first two days. Of the 31,600 Japanese troops, 29,500 are killed, about 6,000 of which remain in collapsed caves and bunkers. The US capture 1,810, half of them Koreans fighting with Japanese forces. An estimated 22,000 civilians are killed, with an additional 14,700 interned in US camps. Soon after Saipan, US forces invade Tinian and Guam. Much like on Saipan, the Japanese garrisons are unprepared but determined to fight to the last. The Marines apply their expertise from Saipan. LVTs with ramps get off the beach quicker, and aircraft based on Saipan drop new napalm bombs. On Tinian, the Marines feign to landing against the main Japanese defenses, but then land further north and successfully attack the Japanese flanks. Tinian's flatter terrain and fire support from Saipan and the fleet allows the Americans to advance quickly despite the start of the typhoon season. On Guam, the landing zones allow for a US pincer movement around the port and the airfield, but heavy Japanese resistance, tough terrain including jungle-like conditions, and poor weather slow the US advance. On both islands, Japanese soldiers hide among civilians and eventually force them into mass suicides, although in one case, American interpreters do prevent deaths. By early August, the US secures both islands at a cost of 9,500 US, 24,000 Japanese, and 3,200 civilian casualties. Some Japanese soldiers retreat to fight a guerrilla war or simply hide, in some cases, for decades. The Saipan landing was just a week after D-Day in Normandy, and it was just as decisive in the theater. The Americans pierced the Japanese defensive barrier, recovered Guam, and now had a clear path towards Japan's home islands. The fact the US was able to conduct such an ambitious operation while simultaneously launching the invasion of Europe is testament to the sheer scale of its military build-up and strategic reach by 1944. Historian James D. Hornfisher also claimed the Marianas ushered in total war to the Pacific. There was no explaining away what thousands of Marines had observed with their own disbelieving eyes in the Marianas. The ritual suicides of the Japanese garrisons and their predatory brainwashing and murder of the innocent unarmed have been insufficiently considered as a turning point that shaped the war's final year. The first direct US experience of total war occurred in the Marianas, and it renewed the will to win, and to win totally, using all means available without restraint. As the fighting moved closer to Japan, it also became more radical, as Japanese commanders compensated for a lack of material or strategic options with renewed concepts of spiritual and racial superiority. As resistance, however ill-fated, increased, the boundaries of war extended and the lines between civilians and soldiers became blurred for both sides. Japanese civilian Shinozuka Yoshitaro recalled, A soldier told me, We are no longer soldiers. You are no longer civilians. We are all just Japanese and we all suffer the same. By late 1944, though, the war on the Pacific is far from over. US planners think an invasion of Japan is likely in 1946 or even 1947. Japan, despite the latest defeats, is unwilling to accept unconditional surrender and still believes a major victory against the US is needed for meaningful negotiations. US strategists are also looking for their next major target, and both sides find it in the Philippines. Videos like this one wouldn't be possible without the ongoing support from our community over on Patreon. If you want to support us here at Real Time History, an independent history production company, go to patreon.com slash realtimehistory. Supporters get access to ad-free versions of our videos and to our Discord server, and your support allows us to make better videos for everyone. We want to thank the Royal Armouries for their help with this video. If you have even a passing interest in historic firearms and their history, check out their YouTube channel and see what Jonathan Ferguson finds in the depths of their collection. As usual, you can find the sources for this video in the description below. If you are watching this video on Patreon or Nebula, thank you so much for the support. We couldn't do it without you. I'm Jesse Alexander and this is a production of Real Time History, the only history channel that would absolutely join any Banzai charge that it ordered.