Battle of Saipan

Battle of Saipan
	Part of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign of the Pacific Theater (World War II)
	; Marines take cover behind an M4 Sherman tank while clearing Japanese forces in northern Saipan, 8 July 1944.
Date	15 June – 9 July 1944 (24 days)
Location	Saipan, Mariana Islands
Result	American victory
Belligerents
United States	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Richmond K. Turner; Holland Smith	Chūichi Nagumo †; Yoshitsugu Saitō †
Units involved
V Amphibious Corps	31st Army
Strength
Assault: 71,034; Garrison: 23,616; Total: 94,650	Army: 25,469; Navy: 6,160; Total: 31,629
Casualties and losses
Land forces:; 3,100–3,225 killed; 326 missing; 13,061–13,099 wounded; Ships personnel:; 51+ killed; 32+ missing; 184+ wounded	25,144+ dead; (buried as of 15 August); 1,810 prisoners; (as of 10 August); Remaining ~5,000 committed suicide, killed/captured later, or holding out
	8,000–10,000 civilian deaths

The Battle of Saipan was an amphibious assault launched by the United States against the Empire of Japan during the Pacific campaign of World War II between 15 June and 9 July 1944. The battle resulted in the American occupation of the island, putting the Japanese home islands within the range of United States Army Air Forces B-29 bombers and precipitating the resignation of Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tōjō. It also triggered the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which effectively destroyed Japanese carrier-based airpower.

Saipan was the first objective in Operation Forager, the campaign to occupy the Mariana Islands that got underway at the same time the Allies were invading France in Operation Overlord. After a two-day naval bombardment, the U.S. 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and the Army's 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith landed on the island and defeated the 43rd Infantry Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saitō. Organized resistance ended when at least 3,000 Japanese soldiers died in a final gyokusai attack, and afterward about 1,000 civilians committed suicide.

The capture of Saipan pierced the Japanese inner defense perimeter and left Japan vulnerable to strategic bombing. It forced the Japanese government to inform its citizens for the first time that the war was not going well. The battle claimed more than 46,000 military casualties and at least 8,000 civilian deaths. The high percentage of casualties suffered during the battle influenced American planning for future assaults, including the projected invasion of Japan.

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