Remains of World War II on Kiska

[gwb123]

https://www.archaeology.org/issues/433-2107/letter-from/9780-alaska-wwii-battle?fbclid=IwAR2pk7MOKYzJvNntt2LutwgWdWCTfmMla01fVLWfGVMrSdvPcQFkT2thPi0

 

The Cold Winds of War

A little-known World War II campaign in the Aleutian Islands left behind an undisturbed battlefield strewn with weapons and materiel

 

Just how the Japanese managed to evacuate Kiska without being detected by the Americans can be attributed to equal parts luck, daring, and organizational efficiency. Having failed to remove their troops by submarine, and fearing that a U.S. invasion was imminent, the Japanese boldly opted to send in a surface fleet to do the job. On July 28, 1943, the 5,183 Japanese Army and Navy personnel remaining on the island were all ushered onto eight ships in around an hour. Space was extremely tight, and the troops left behind almost all their weapons and equipment, even dropping their small arms at the water’s edge to lighten their load. Some guns were later found in shallow water by American troops, and Spennemann believes that more must still lie at the bottom of Kiska Harbor. “The Japanese pulling out that number of troops undetected is absolutely unbelievable,” he says, noting that there were no piers on the island at the time, and all these troops had to be ferried out to the ships on small launches. With that, the Japanese had made it off Kiska more than two weeks before the American invasion.

 

[Proud Kraut]

Great read, thanks for sharing. I remember a "Kiska Task Force" patch with a knife I once had in my collection. I have to do some more research...

[Arkaidiyh]

Wonderful material on this all but forgotten "front" of the Pacific War.  Thank you for posting.  

[Scarecrow]

Great read thanks for posting!