The Mariana Islands were made up of the islands of Saipan, Tinian, Aguijan, Rota, and much to the soreness of the American military, the island of Guam. Admiral Chester Nimitz had long waited to launch his Operation Forager to reclaim Guam and defeat the Japanese garrison at these islands. From the airfields at the Mariana Islands, future operations against the Philippine Islands, Taiwan, and even the Japanese home islands would be supported from the skies.
ww2dbaseSaipan
13 Jun-7 Jul 1944
ww2dbaseThe island of Saipan was defended by two officers of equal rank. Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito represented the Army, while Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo represented the Navy. Nagumo was the former victorious commander of the Mobile Fleet, but since had lost his face at the major defeat at Midway, and demoted to lead this local flotilla. Bearing with his shame, Nagumo mainly allowed Saito to make all the command decisions. Saito had his own 43rd division under his charge, as well as a mixed brigade, the 47th Independent, supported by various Army and Navy personnel. This group of defenders was twice the size reported by American intelligence, so that when the Americans came ashore, the resistance was greater than they had expected. Fortunately, as the Americans would later find out, most of the supplies Saito's garrison badly needed were taken away from him, thanks to the American submarine campaign and air superiority. The transport ships simply could not reach the Marianas in one piece. Regardless, Saito, as well as Tokyo, knew the importance of the Marianas. From there, 1,100 miles south of Tokyo, the new American B-29 "Super Fortress" bombers could reach the Japanese Home Islands and would have enough fuel for the return trip. A careless American operation over the Solomons resulted in a B-29 shot down, and the pilot captured and interrogated. In Tokyo, the IGHQ was starting to feel the pressure, if they had not felt it before when Americans defeated them at southern Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the Gilbert Islands, and the Marshall Islands.
