Lost Evidence: Saipan (You Tube)

There are five video clips in this topic.

D-day on Saipan. This will be an attack on what was considered Japanese territory, making it the first attack of that kind in the war.

The Japanese defensive perimeter, with Saipan right on the outermost skirts.

There were 30,000 Japanese troops on the island. The video also talks about the Tokyo Rose broadcasts.

One guy talks about the fighting and how a guy had been killed by a Japanese soldier in a chamber in the ground, so the U.S. soldiers started using grenades. One of the holes a grenade was thrown in ended up containing a bunch of schoolgirls.

Day 2, at night, 44 Japanese tanks spearhead a Japanese counter-attack. This was the most powerful tank force used by the Japanese in the entire war.

The attack fails.

Tojo sends the Japanese troops a message by radio to keep holding on at all costs.

The Japanese Navy moved to try to stop the Saipan operation, but it ended up with The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot where the Japanese planes were shot down relentlessly. The Japanese fleet had nine aircraft carriers along with other ships. There were also 500 aircraft.

While planes of both sides moved towards each other, two of the Japanese carriers are destroyed by U.S. subs. The Japanese lose around 300 of their planes in the air battle.

The next day the U.S. attacks the Japanese carriers. The Japanese lose all but 35 of their original 500 planes, and another carrier is sunk and two more damaged.

The U.S. general running things is displeased that the Army isn't moving as fast as the Marines, and he fires the guy leading the Army attack.

The Japanese general orders an all-out banzai attack. One guy has been keeping a diary of all of this.

The Japanese attack has around 3000 men in it. The attack fails, although a lot of Americans are killed or wounded during it.

A lot of the civilians had believed Japanese propaganda that the U.S. would rape and torture them, and so they committed suicide.

Tojo is removed from power.



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