Battle of Attu

Battle context

The Battle of Attu was the concluding engagement of the American effort to retake the western Aleutian Islands, pitting roughly 15,000 U.S. troops against a Japanese garrison of approximately 2,600. The Japanese force was effectively destroyed: 2,351 Japanese died against 1,148 U.S. casualties. The battle eliminated Japanese ground presence on Attu and advanced the broader Aleutian Islands campaign, which aimed to remove the only Axis foothold on North American soil. Retaking Attu also positioned Allied forces to move against the remaining Japanese-held island of Kiska, completing the campaign to secure the Aleutian chain and the approaches to Alaska. The engagement is notable as the only land battle of the Pacific war fought in snowy, subarctic conditions rather than the tropical terrain that characterized most U.S.-Japanese ground combat.