Aleutians 1942-43 is the full story of the forgotten battle to
liberate American soil from the Japanese during World War II.
It is often forgotten that during World War II, the Japanese managed to
successfully invade and conquer a precious part of American home
soil--the first time this had happened since 1815. Capturing the
Aleutian Islands, located in Alaska territory, was seen by the Japanese
as vital in order to shore up their northern defensive perimeter.
Fighting in the Aleutians was uniquely brutal. It is a barren, rugged
archipelago of icy mountains and thick bogs, with a climate of constant
snow, freezing rains, and windstorms. These geographic conditions tended
to neutralize traditional American strengths such as air power, radar,
naval bombardment, and logistics. The campaign to recapture the islands
required extensive combined-ops planning, and inflicted on the United
States its second highest casualty rate in the Pacific Theater.
Featuring the largest Japanese banzai charge of the war, first use of
pre-battle battleship bombardment in the Pacific, and the battle at the
Komandorski Islands, this is the story of America's forgotten war.