(4/5) Pacific The Lost Evidence Saipan Episode 5 World War II

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Seven American battleships and 11 destroyers shelled Saipan and Tinian for 2 days before the landings, firing 15,000 16-inch and 5-inch shells at the islands along with 165,000 other shells of other caliber. To even begin to comprehend the magnitude of this onslaught, one needs to realize that a single 16-inch round weighs slightly more than a Volkswagen Beetle, besides being packed with high explosives. On the second day of the bombardment, this force was joined by 8 more battleships, 6 heavy cruisers and 5 light cruisers. The islands were ringed by American warships with their guns blazing. Shells rained down on the island, its villages, inhabitants, and defenders, gouging huge craters in the sand and coral. The earth trembled under the tremendous explosions of naval bombardment and simultaneous air attacks.

The main invasion force landed along 4 miles of beach at Chalan Kanoa. Twenty-eight U. S. tanks were destroyed the first day alone. The Japanese positioned colored flags in the lagoon to mark the range of the landing force and to register their howitzers on the invaders from locations behind Mount Fina Susu, and their shell fire rained down on the advancing American force every 15 seconds in a deadly cauldron of exploding steel. By nightfall of the first day, the Second Marine Division had sustained 2,000 casualties. The fighting continued until July 9th, when organized resistance on Saipan ceased. When the fighting ended, American losses on Saipan were double those suffered on Guadalcanal. Of the 71,034 U. S. troops landed on Saipan, 3,100 were killed, 13,100 wounded or missing in action. Out of the 31,629 Japanese on Saipan, approximately 29,500 died as a result of the fighting, and only 2,100 prisoners survived. Fighting between the Japanese and the Americans was by no means completely mechanized; while ships, aircraft, artillery, and tanks inflicted the largest amount of damage to the combatants, a great deal of the fighting was hand-to-hand. Besides machine guns, flame throwers, rifles, and pistols, deadly skirmishes were fought with bayonets, swords, bamboo spears, clubs, stones and fists.

The ratio of battle dead was 9.5:1 during the 24 days of fighting. Place names given the rugged Saipan terrain such as Death Valley, Purple Heart Ridge and Harakiri Gulch testified to the bitter fighting. One of the most lamentable events of the battle for Saipan involved the mass suicide of hundreds of families, many of whom jumped to their deaths from the high cliffs at the island's northernmost point. This tragic event could not be stopped, despite efforts by Americans and indigenous Saipanese using loudspeakers to try to convince the Japanese that surrender would be. (Navy Site Online)

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[Eye4Lites]

@tomster73

Marines are not reckless. Our job is to get ashore and smash the enemy as fast as possible. This is done to keep the Navy ships from sitting around the island as targets. The faster we are done, the faster we can all be safe. The Army believes in slow, methodical advances. Thats fine for large land battles but not island warfare.

Semper Fi !!

[EagleMarine2012]

thumbs up if the banzai charge gave you chills

[d8654474]

@d8654474 i meant did not fully secure Henderson field.

[d8654474]

@StonewallJackson26 the Marine did an outstanding job fighting the Japanese in Guadalcanal, especially at one point the Navy abandon them after the Jap fleet came in and attack U.S fleet but the Marine fail to capture Henderson field, one of the main objective. the battles between the Marine and Jap were at best a stalemate/tie at best. Despite what the Marine say, it not clean up or mop operation. The Army came in and finally defeated and push the Japanese out.

[StonewallJackson26]

@d8654474 The Army can in as relief, after 1 Marine Division had fought alone for 4 months.

[d8654474]

@Toddinfantry Marine NOT READY FOR THE TRUTH YET. AND PROBABLY NEVER WILL.

[d8654474]

@Toddinfantry your a Marine DICK-RIDER making up stories as you see fit. Get the fuck outta here with your Somalia comparing shit. it took one Ranger company to do the jobs of 27,000 Marine with all it support element. Somalia was a humanitarian mission at first not combat mission. Jarhead were sent to give out foods and water.FYI, Ranger (one company) were sent to fight.

[d8654474]

@StonewallJackson26 Assholes the Army have to come in and finally defeated the Jap on Guadalcanal. FYI, stop pulling shit out of your ass

[Trialbystone17]

300,000 Germans get surrounded, they surrender.

1 starving Japanese soldier with nothing but a loin cloth and a sharp stick of bamboo gets surrounded... he will fight to the death. That is some hardcore shit right there.

[octchung]

Japs = evil monsters. thank you for cleaning it up

[TheRapper10000]

@EagleMarine2012 The banzai charge makes me sick along with the sucidal and murderous attacks the Japanese did in ww2.

[kishaba1980]

@TheRapper10000 marines fight battles, the Army fights wars