Japanese occupation of Kiska

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Japanese occupation of Kiska


caption=Japanese troops raise the Imperial battle flag on Kiska after landing on June 6, 1942.
partof=the Pacific Theater of World War II
date=June 6 1942 – July 28 1943
place=Kiska, off Alaska
result=Inconclusive
combatant1=Allied forces including:
flagicon|United States|1912 United States,
flag|Canada|1921
combatant2=flagicon|Japan|alt Empire of Japan
commander1=United States Navy:
flagicon|United States|1912 Thomas C. Kinkaid
flagicon|United States|1912 Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr.
commander2=Imperial Japanese Navy: flagicon|Japan|naval Boshiro Hosogaya
flagicon|Japan|naval Kiichiro Higuchi,
flagicon|Japan|naval Monzo Akiyama,
Imperial Japanese Army:
flagicon|Japan|alt Takeji Ono
strength1=No ground forces directly involved
strength2=5,400
casualties1=
casualties2=

The Japanese occupation of Kiska took place between June 6 1942 and July 28 1943 during the Aleutian Islands Campaign of the Pacific War in World War II. The Japanese occupied Kiska and nearby Attu Island in order to protect the northern flank of the Japanese Empire.

Reacting to the Japanese occupation, US and Canadian air forces waged a continuous air bombardment campaign against the Japanese forces on Kiska. Also, US warships blockaded and periodically bombarded the island. Several Japanese warships, transport ships, and submarines attempting to travel to Kiska or Attu were sunk or damaged by the blockading forces.

In May 1943, US forces landed on and destroyed the Japanese garrison on Attu. In response, the Imperial Japanese Navy successfully evacuated the Kiska garrison on July 28, 1943, ending the Japanese presence in the Aleutian Islands. Not completely sure that the Japanese were gone, the US and Canada executed an unopposed landing on Kiska on August 15, 1943, securing the island and ending the Aleutian Islands campaign.

ee also

Japanese Occupation Site, Kiska Island

References

Notes

Books

*cite book | last = Cloe | first = John Haile | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1990 | chapter = | title = The Aleutian Warriors: A History of the 11th Air Force and Fleet Air Wing 4 | publisher = Pictorial Histories Publishing Co. and Anchorage Chapter – Air Force Association | location = Missoula, Montana | isbn = 0929521358 | oclc = 25370916
*cite book | last = Dickrell | first = Jeff | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2001 | chapter = | title = Center of the Storm: The Bombing of Dutch Harbor and the Experience of Patrol Wing Four in the Aleutians, Summer 1942 | publisher = Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., Inc. | location = Missoula, Montana | isbn = 1575100924 | oclc = 50242148
*cite book | last = Feinberg | first = Leonard | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1992 | chapter = | title = Where the Williwaw Blows: The Aleutian Islands-World War II | publisher = Pilgrims' Process | location = | isbn = 097106098-3 | oclc = 57146667
*cite book | last = Garfield | first = Brian | authorlink = Brian Garfield | coauthors = | year = 1995 | origyear = 1969 | chapter = | title = The Thousand-Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians | publisher = University of Alaska Press | location = Fairbanks | isbn = 0912006838 | oclc = 33358488
*cite book | last = Goldstein | first = Donald M. | authorlink = | coauthors = Katherine V. Dillon | year = 1992 | chapter = | title = The Williwaw War: The Arkansas National Guard in the Aleutians in World War | publisher = University of Arkansas Press | location = Fayettville | isbn = 1557282420 | oclc = 24912734
*cite book | last = Hays | first = Otis | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2004 | chapter = | title = Alaska's Hidden Wars: Secret Campaigns on the North Pacific Rim | publisher = University of Alaska Press | location = | isbn = 188996364X | oclc =
*cite book | last = Lorelli | first = John A. | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1984 | chapter = | title = The Battle of the Komandorski Islands | publisher = United States Naval Institute | location = Annapolis | isbn = 0870210939 | oclc = 10824413
*cite book | last = Morison | first = Samuel Eliot | authorlink = Samuel Eliot Morison | coauthors = | origyear = 1951 | year = 2001 | chapter = | title = Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, June 1942-April 1944, "vol. 7 of" History of United States Naval Operations in World War II | publisher = University of Illinois Press | location = Champaign | isbn = 0316583057 | oclc = 7288530
*cite book | last = Parshall | first = Jonathan | authorlink = | coauthors = Tully, Anthony | year = 2005 | title = Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway | publisher = Potomac Books | location = Dulles, Virginia | id = ISBN 1574889230 | oclc = 60373935
*cite book | last = Perras | first = Galen Roger | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2003 | chapter = | title = Stepping Stones to Nowhere, The Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and American Military Strategy, 1867 - 1945 | publisher = University of British Columbia Press | location = Vancouver | isbn = 1591148367 | oclc = 53015264
*cite book | last = Urwin | first = Gregory J. W. | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2000 | chapter = | title = The Capture of Attu: A World War II Battle as Told by the Men Who Fought There | publisher = Bison Books | location = | isbn = 080329557X | oclc =
*cite book | last = Wetterhahn | first = Ralph | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2004 | chapter = | title = The Last Flight of Bomber 31: Harrowing Tales of American and Japanese Pilots Who Fought World War II's Arctic Air Campaign | publisher = Da Capo Press | location = | isbn = 0786713607 | oclc =

External links

* [http://www.almc.army.mil/alog/issues/MayJun03/MS778.htm Logistics Problems on Attu] by Robert E. Burks.
* [http://users.commkey.net/fussichen/otdaleu.htm Aleutian Islands Chronology]
* [http://www.explorenorth.com/library/military/aleutian_war-usarmy.html Aleutian Islands War]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-C-Aleutians/ Aleutian Islands The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II]
* [http://www.alaskainvasion.com/ Red White Black & Blue - feature documentary about The Battle of Attu in the Aleutians during World War II]
**PBS Independent Lens presentation of [http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/redwhiteblackandblue/index.html Red White Black & Blue] - The Making Of and other resources
* [http://www.robsmith.org/184th-inf/ Soldiers of the 184th Infantry, 7th ID in the Pacific, 1943-1945]
* [http://www.army.mil/cmh/brochures/aleut/aleut.htm World War II Campaign Brochure for Aleutian Islands, U.S. Army Center of Military History.]