Battle of Saipan 1944
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 15 June 1944 – 9 July 1944 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1944 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Northern Mariana Islands | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Oceania | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Pacific War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 15.1833, 145.7500 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Saipan was an amphibious assault launched by the United States against the Empire of Japan during the Pacific campaign of World War II between 15 June and 9 July 1944. The initial invasion triggered the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which effectively destroyed Japanese carrier-based airpower, and the battle resulted in the American capture of the island. Its occupation put the major cities of the Japanese home islands within the range of B-29 bombers, making them vulnerable to strategic bombing by the United States Army Air Forces. It also precipitated the resignation of Hideki Tōjō, the prime minister of Japan.
Saipan was the first objective in Operation Forager, the campaign to occupy the Mariana Islands that got underway at the same time the Allies were invading France in Operation Overlord. After a two-day naval bombardment, the U.S. 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and the Army's 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith, landed on the island and defeated the 43rd Infantry Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saitō. Organized resistance ended when at least 3,000 Japanese soldiers died in a mass gyokusai attack, and afterward about 1,000 civilians committed suicide.
The capture of Saipan pierced the Japanese inner defense perimeter, and forced the Japanese government to inform its citizens for the first time that the war was not going well.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Saipan (revision 1375586871), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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Other battles of the Pacific War
- Battle off Horaniu 1943
- Bougainville campaign 1943
- Landing at Nadzab 1943
- Landing at Scarlet Beach 1943
- Landings at Cape Torokina 1943
- Battle of Angaur 1944
- Battle of Biak 1944
- Battle of Leyte Gulf 1944
- Battle of Morotai 1944
- Battle of Ormoc Bay 1944
All 56 battles of the Pacific War →
Browse more: battles in Northern Mariana Islands · Oceania · World War II era battles