The+Battle+of+Saipan

BATTLE OF SAIPAN The Battle of Saipan began on June 13th, 1944.The Japanese had clearly marked there territory on Saipan, which was part of the Mariana Islands. Americans wanted to capture this island because it would allow them to build runways big enough for its B29 Superfortress bombers to reach mainland Japan. Both Japanese and American forces were prepared to fight. This battle proved to be very bloody. The battle eventually ended on July 7th, 1944. In the end the Americans were victorious. //__ Location __// Saipan, Mariana Islands //__Soldiers__// //__ Engaged __// Allies: 71,000 Japanese: 31,000 //__Casualties__// Allies: 3,426 killed and 10,364 wounded Japanese: 24,000 killed, 5,000 suicides, 921 prisoners

M A P S  MORE INFORMATION   After the arrival on the island there was an intense two day bombardment carried out by the U.S Navy. Over 165,000 shells were fired at the Japanese. The U.S had to fight every inch of the way as the Japanese had placed barbed wire just behind the beaches along the trenches and had machine gun posts. The U.S. Marines fought off counter-attacks. Japanese soon realized that they would not be resupplied. The Japanese commander, General Saito ordered that his men would fight to the last along a defensive line. //__ Commanders/Generals __// Allies: Richmond K. Turner Holland Smith Japanese: Yoshitsugu Saito Chuichi Nagumo Takeo Takagi The end of the battle occurred on July 7th. Saipan was declared secure on July 9, 1944.

media type="custom" key="25419830" media type="custom" key="25419842" *Links: Retrieved Information about the Battle of Saipan from © 2000-2013 HistoryLearningSite.co.uk; on March 16th. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_saipan_1944.htm Retrieved Information about the Battle of Saipan from Weirder History Network on March 16th. http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-saipan //**__4 Possible Test Questions:__**// 1) Where is Saipan Located? 2) When did this battle begin? 3) When did this battle end? 4) Who was victorious?