June 1944 (3)
15-20 June – H-hour for the landing on Saipan was 0840 hours. A protective reef, some distance offshore made it necessary to use amphibian tractors (amtracs), for the landing. The US Army 534th and 773rd Amphibian Tractor battalions, along with the Marine amtracs (making it 350 vehicles), put 4,000 4th Marines ashore in the first 20 minutes. The US Army 708th Armored Amphibian Battalion spearheaded the landing and blasted a path to a ridge-line running parallel to the shoreline. Gen. Saito’s 43rd Division was not prepared for all this.
When opposition did come it was artillery fire from Hill 500 on the slopes of Mount Tapotchau and heavy casualties resulted. At 0300, the evening of 15-16 June, about 1,000 of the enemy came charging down the hill with 36 tanks. Gen. Saito sent a signal to Tokyo announcing his counterattack to “annihilate the enemy in one swoop.” But the US destroyers delivered such accurate shell fire, the assault was halted and 15 Japanese aircraft were shot down as they attempted to hit the ships. Saito decided to await assistance from the Imperial Navy before taking on another offensive. On the 16th, the US Army 27th Infantry Division landed.
Despite serious opposition, the US troops captured the Aslito airfield in the southern area (later called Iseley). Adm. Spruance sailed to join up with Lee’s battleships and the returning TF-58. As the 5th Fleet Commander, he radioed out: “OUR AIR WILL FIRST KNOCK OUT ENEMY CARRIERS… THEN WILL ATTACK ENEMY BATTLESHIPS AND CRUISERS… LEE’S BATTLE LINE WILL DESTROY ENEMY FLEET… ACTION AGAINST A RETREATING ENEMY MUST BE PUSHED BY ALL HANDS…”
Radio direction findings spotted the Japanese force 600 miles west of Guam heading straight for the patrol line of 6 US submarines. Their orders came directing from CINCPAC: “SHOOT FIRST AND REPORT LATER.” During the battle, the USS Albacore torpedoed the largest carrier of the Imperial Navy, the IJN Taiko. One hit caused gas fumes to build up like a bomb. The Taiko would continue to sail for 3½ hours, then she blew apart. The second torpedo was spotted by Warrant Officer, Akio Komatsu, who dove his plane into it.
The submarine USS Cavalla, under Commander Herman Kessler, moved in on the IJN Shokaku and released six torpedoes – 3 of which hit.
Adm. Ozawa believed his battle plan would be supported by 500 land-based aircraft, when in fact, Adm. Kurita had sent his planes out to dispense any diversionary attacks. US Adm. Mitscher’s TF-58 Hellcats and Avengers hit Guam in what would be labeled by the pilots as “The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.”
US aircraft had shot down 25 of the enemy force of 68 before they reached the fleet. Those 43 that did get through were met by hellish anti-aircraft fire and only 27 escaped.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Russell ‘Buck’ Adkins – Sweetland, WV; US Army, WWII, PTO, Engineers
Anthony Baldino – Dania, FL; US Navy, WWII
William Bolin Crow – Abilene, TX; US Army, Korea, 1st Sgt., 187th RCT
John Eresman – Fox Valley, CAN; RC Army, WWII, Prince of Wales Rangers
Nona Gabriel – St. John, KY; US Army WAC, WWII, ETO, 11th Field Hosp., nurse
James Hankins – Memphis, TN; US Navy, WWII, USS Bradford
Donnie Hendrickson – Janesville, WI; US Army, Korea, Cpl., KIA
Richard Pittman – Stockton, CA; USMC, Vietnam, MSgt. (Ret. 21 years), Medal of Honor
Victor VanFleet – Kalamazoo, MI; US Navy, WWII
Burton Wallace – Plymouth, IN; US Army, WWII, medic
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Posted on October 20, 2016, in Uncategorized, WWII and tagged 1940's, Army, History, Marines, Military, Military History, Navy, Pacific, Saipan, veterans, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 36 Comments.
Bravo! 👏🏾 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
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Thank you very much.
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Great historical piece gp, always something new in your posts, there must be a great story behind that picture of sipping wine atop the Eagles nest, those guys must have had great story’s to tell.
Cheers.
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I found that picture in computer images along with the original group who captured Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest, 7th regiment/3rd division,
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Reblogged this on Ancien Hippie.
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Thank you, Penny. These men deserve our remembrance.
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Danke lieber Freund wünsche dir ein schönes Weekend alles liebe GISLINDE
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Danke mein Freund.
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I always enjoy old documentaries “The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot” on them. Those pilots must have loved it too.
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Agreed, John. A lot of people have no idea what that refers to, but sometimes you see an old vet smile at the term!
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“The US Army 708th Armored Amphibian Battalion spearheaded the landing and blasted a path to a ridge-line running parallel to the shoreline.” – I hadn’t known this and it seemed so fascinating that I read up on the Battle of Saipan and the commander of the operation, General Holland McTyeire Smith, dubbed Father of Modern Amphibious Warfare. So fascinating, brave and innovative. Thank you for the history lessons!
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You are very welcome, but what I’m happiest about is the fact that you continued to research!! I hope with each post that I may cause someone to have the curiosity about any subject to carry it even further! You’ve made my day!!
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I just don’t like to show my hand
But your posts
Have reopened my relationship with father
I thought I had dealt with
but I never talk to him about his service
As always Sheldon
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I’m very happy to hear that. His generation usually felt they had to try and deal with all they saw and did by themselves, if he won’t open up to you, perhaps having another veteran with you might help. Best of luck and ‘if at first you don’t succeed…….’
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Every time someone puts out another Saipan picture I have fun looking at the faces to see if my dad is in one. Thanks.
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I know what you mean, I do the same thing for New guinea, the P.I., and Okinawa. Despite dad telling me he used to avoid cameramen so his mother wouldn’t see him in combat, I still have to look!
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I also was struck by the line about the guy diving in front of the torpedo. They were enemies but some were also heroes.
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Most definitely, John. That’s what made them such a formidable enemy.
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CINCPAC: “SHOOT FIRST AND REPORT LATER.”
I love it — leaving it to the ‘boots on the ground’ to get on with the job, none of this ‘micro-management’ by folks out of sight!
That kamikaze pilot has my respect too …
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Thanks [also for correcting my typo!!]
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Boom boom~! 🙂 🙂
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Pretty impressive that the “US aircraft had shot down 25 of the enemy force of 68 before they reached the fleet.”
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Yes, it was impressive, that’s how the saying came about – the Marianas Turkey Shoot.
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🙂
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Even though I know the ‘ending’, this continues to read like a really exciting book. The fighting in the Marianas and on Saipan shows the Japanese beginning to get really desperate.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes, “Bansai” charges are seen more often, but as Dan brought up, we still needed to fight for more than another year. The Japanese could not be defeated easily.
Thanks for reading today.
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struggle with a lot of victimes
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Yes, Mary Lou, unfortunately.
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They maybe could read the writing, but our guys would fight for another full year. I was struck by the line: “The second torpedo was spotted by Warrant Officer, Akio Komatsu, who dove his plane into it.” Even if he was fighting for the enemy, you have to acknowledge the sacrifice of such a brave and selfless man.
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I most certainly do, Dan. The Allies had underestimated their opponent. The Japanese were considered by all who came in contact that they were a very formidable enemy. I slip in posts about some of their troops for just that reason.
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I find myself (as a nitpicker) wondering if his sacrifice wasn’t in vain—torpedoes fairly scamper along, it takes time for the bubbles of passage to come to the surface … he’d have had to have allowed enough deflection by crashing down a fair distance ahead of where he saw it (unless it was set to run extremely shallow). Brrrrr …
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Hard to know, but no question about bravery. The ship was doomed either way.
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While June, 1944 was not a good month for Germany, it seems like it was also pretty bad for Japan.
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I do believe some of the enemy were beginning to read the writing on the wall!!
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Thank you.
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