Did you know about The Only Land Battle Fought on U.S. soil in WWII?

[Litwin]

Did you know about
The Only Land Battle Fought on U.S. soil in WWII? i sick of same WW2 stories why not make films about Aleutian Islands ?

 

[Thunk]

I've seen documentaries on it...but not a "movie".

 

[blackhawk]

Yes I knew about it.

 

[Sunni Man]

When the fighting took place Alaska wasn't a state. ...

 

[konradv]

I could never figure out why we bothered. Why not just blockade the island and let them starve? Would have saved some American lives.

 

[Ringel05]

Did you know about
The Only Land Battle Fought on U.S. soil in WWII? i sick of same WW2 stories why not make films about Aleutian Islands ?

It's mostly forgotten because it was a side show, as claimed by some it was a Japanese diversion for the main assault on Midway. Others claim it was a separate assault to secure Japan's northern flank. It was also overshadowed by the simultaneous timing of the US assault on Guadalcanal. There really wasn't much in the way of fighting, the weather conditions on Attu caused more US casualties than the Japanese did.

 

[konradv]

When the fighting took place Alaska wasn't a state.

Neither was Pearl Harbor. What's your point? It was still American territory, just like any other before it became a state.

 

[Ringel05]

I could never figure out why we bothered. Why not just blockade the island and let them starve? Would have saved some American lives.

It was a matter of honor for the US. The population's reaction to the invasion was one of shock then determination to expel the invaders. Public opinion pretty much drove that campaign.

 

[Sunni Man]

I could never figure out why we bothered. Why not just blockade the island and let them starve? Would have saved some American lives.

It was political theater for the benefit of the public to show we could beat the Jap's, because there hadn't been much good news coming out of the war in the Pacific. ...

 

[rightwinger]

Alaska was a US territory like the Philippines.

Many battles were fought in the Philippines

 

[Litwin]

Did you know about
The Only Land Battle Fought on U.S. soil in WWII? i sick of same WW2 stories why not make films about Aleutian Islands ?

It's mostly forgotten because it was a side show, as claimed by some it was a Japanese diversion for the main assault on Midway. Others claim it was a separate assault to secure Japan's northern flank. It was also overshadowed by the simultaneous timing of the US assault on Guadalcanal. There really wasn't much in the way of fighting, the weather conditions on Attu caused more US casualties than the Japanese did.

Did not Japan plan to occupy Alaska ? and occupation of Aleutian Islands was just the first step ?

 

[Ringel05]

Did you know about
The Only Land Battle Fought on U.S. soil in WWII? i sick of same WW2 stories why not make films about Aleutian Islands ?

It's mostly forgotten because it was a side show, as claimed by some it was a Japanese diversion for the main assault on Midway. Others claim it was a separate assault to secure Japan's northern flank. It was also overshadowed by the simultaneous timing of the US assault on Guadalcanal. There really wasn't much in the way of fighting, the weather conditions on Attu caused more US casualties than the Japanese did.

Did not Japan plan to occupy Alaska ? and occupation of Aleutian Islands was just the first step ?

There is no evidence Japan wanted to use the Aleutians as a springboard to attack/occupy Alaska or any other part of the US. Heck the attack on Pearl Harbor was nothing more than an attempt to completely destroy the American surface fleet which was to include destroying the US carriers. The attack on Midway was to occupy Midway and draw the American carriers out of Pearl (where they thought the carriers were) and destroy them. The Japanese determined that by occupying Midway and destroying the American carriers the US would be forced to sue for peace on Japanese terms. They never really had any realistic desire or realistic plan to attack the US west coast in force.

 

[Sunni Man]

The Japanese invaded and occupied the Aleutian Islands as a way to draw U.S. forces away from the main fighting in the Pacific, and also to deter an invasion of Japan from the north. ...

 

[konradv]

Did you know about
The Only Land Battle Fought on U.S. soil in WWII? i sick of same WW2 stories why not make films about Aleutian Islands ?

It's mostly forgotten because it was a side show, as claimed by some it was a Japanese diversion for the main assault on Midway. Others claim it was a separate assault to secure Japan's northern flank. It was also overshadowed by the simultaneous timing of the US assault on Guadalcanal. There really wasn't much in the way of fighting, the weather conditions on Attu caused more US casualties than the Japanese did.

Did not Japan plan to occupy Alaska ? and occupation of Aleutian Islands was just the first step ?

No, it was a diversion. Trying to invade Alaska would have been ridiculous.

 

[Litwin]

Did you know about
The Only Land Battle Fought on U.S. soil in WWII? i sick of same WW2 stories why not make films about Aleutian Islands ?

It's mostly forgotten because it was a side show, as claimed by some it was a Japanese diversion for the main assault on Midway. Others claim it was a separate assault to secure Japan's northern flank. It was also overshadowed by the simultaneous timing of the US assault on Guadalcanal. There really wasn't much in the way of fighting, the weather conditions on Attu caused more US casualties than the Japanese did.

Did not Japan plan to occupy Alaska ? and occupation of Aleutian Islands was just the first step ?

There is no evidence Japan wanted to use the Aleutians as a springboard to attack/occupy Alaska or any other part of the US. Heck the attack on Pearl Harbor was nothing more than an attempt to completely destroy the American surface fleet which was to include destroying the US carriers. The attack on Midway was to occupy Midway and draw the American carriers out of of Pearl (where they thought the carriers were) and destroy them. The Japanese determined that by occupying Midway and destroying the American carriers the US would be forced to sue for peace on Japanese terms. They never really had any realistic desire or realistic plan to attack the US west coast in force.

good post i am planing to see it today, can you write couple of world about Japan WW2? was it that bad, evil and nasty like the majority westerners think tpday ?

 

[Litwin]

Did you know about
The Only Land Battle Fought on U.S. soil in WWII? i sick of same WW2 stories why not make films about Aleutian Islands ?

It's mostly forgotten because it was a side show, as claimed by some it was a Japanese diversion for the main assault on Midway. Others claim it was a separate assault to secure Japan's northern flank. It was also overshadowed by the simultaneous timing of the US assault on Guadalcanal. There really wasn't much in the way of fighting, the weather conditions on Attu caused more US casualties than the Japanese did.

Did not Japan plan to occupy Alaska ? and occupation of Aleutian Islands was just the first step ?

No, it was a diversion. Trying to invade Alaska would have been ridiculous.

" Trying to invade Alaska would have been ridiculous. " why ?

 

[Ringel05]

Did you know about
The Only Land Battle Fought on U.S. soil in WWII? i sick of same WW2 stories why not make films about Aleutian Islands ?

It's mostly forgotten because it was a side show, as claimed by some it was a Japanese diversion for the main assault on Midway. Others claim it was a separate assault to secure Japan's northern flank. It was also overshadowed by the simultaneous timing of the US assault on Guadalcanal. There really wasn't much in the way of fighting, the weather conditions on Attu caused more US casualties than the Japanese did.

Did not Japan plan to occupy Alaska ? and occupation of Aleutian Islands was just the first step ?

There is no evidence Japan wanted to use the Aleutians as a springboard to attack/occupy Alaska or any other part of the US. Heck the attack on Pearl Harbor was nothing more than an attempt to completely destroy the American surface fleet which was to include destroying the US carriers. The attack on Midway was to occupy Midway and draw the American carriers out of of Pearl (where they thought the carriers were) and destroy them. The Japanese determined that by occupying Midway and destroying the American carriers the US would be forced to sue for peace on Japanese terms. They never really had any realistic desire or realistic plan to attack the US west coast in force.

good post i am planing to see it today, can you write couple of world about Japan WW2? was it that bad, evil and nasty like the majority westerners think tpday ?

The Japanese decided they needed an empire mostly to control areas that provided all the raw materials they needed to build that empire. They also wanted to drive all the western powers out of Asia They euphemistically called their expansion the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It's not like all Japanese wanted this but the radical members of the Army basically controlled the government so were they inherently evil? Not according to them, they were doing what thought was best for Japan, the Emperor and the Empire. What made them evil in western eyes was the way they treated everyone who wasn't Japanese, how they dealt with civilian populations and prisoners of war. Many of the Japanese believed completely in the Bushido Code, surrender was the greatest dishonor one could bring upon one's self and anyone who did surrender was considered less than human. The western powers obviously saw it differently. It was the strict adherence of most to the Bushido Code by the Japanese that drove the western powers to not take Japanese prisoners at first, attempting to take a Japanese soldier prisoner could easily get you killed. The war in the Pacific basically became a no holds barred, kill or be killed affair.

 

[Ringel05]

Did you know about
The Only Land Battle Fought on U.S. soil in WWII? i sick of same WW2 stories why not make films about Aleutian Islands ?

It's mostly forgotten because it was a side show, as claimed by some it was a Japanese diversion for the main assault on Midway. Others claim it was a separate assault to secure Japan's northern flank. It was also overshadowed by the simultaneous timing of the US assault on Guadalcanal. There really wasn't much in the way of fighting, the weather conditions on Attu caused more US casualties than the Japanese did.

Did not Japan plan to occupy Alaska ? and occupation of Aleutian Islands was just the first step ?

No, it was a diversion. Trying to invade Alaska would have been ridiculous.

" Trying to invade Alaska would have been ridiculous. " why ?

Geographic space, logistics, number of troops required, available naval support, etc. After their defeat at Midway with the loss of 4 carriers the Japanese were in no position to invade mainland Alaska. They also lost one light carrier and had a heavy carrier severely damaged during the Battle of the Coral Sea. After their defeat at Midway the Japanese were basically on the defensive in the Pacific for the rest of the war.

 

[konradv]

Did you know about
The Only Land Battle Fought on U.S. soil in WWII? i sick of same WW2 stories why not make films about Aleutian Islands ?

It's mostly forgotten because it was a side show, as claimed by some it was a Japanese diversion for the main assault on Midway. Others claim it was a separate assault to secure Japan's northern flank. It was also overshadowed by the simultaneous timing of the US assault on Guadalcanal. There really wasn't much in the way of fighting, the weather conditions on Attu caused more US casualties than the Japanese did.

Did not Japan plan to occupy Alaska ? and occupation of Aleutian Islands was just the first step ?

No, it was a diversion. Trying to invade Alaska would have been ridiculous.

" Trying to invade Alaska would have been ridiculous. " why ?

Whole lot of nothing there in a military or industrial sense. It would be like invading Russia from the east. You'd have to go through the breadth of Siberia before getting anywhere important.

 

[mamooth]

" Trying to invade Alaska would have been ridiculous. " why ?

The Japanese could have conceivably landed there. But ...

There was nothing useful on mainland Alaska The Japanese only needed an airbase, and they could build that on Attu or Kiska.

Japan couldn't maintain a supply line to Alaska. It was much closer to the USA and Canada, so US air and submarines would have destroyed any convoys.

And well-supplied Americans and Canadians could come in overland and push them out. The Alaskan Highway was usable by Fall 1942.

As far as movies go, it's hard to script a female romantic interest into the Aleutians campaign.