Last week, we covered the start of the Battle of Attu, a very important engagement that would
bring the Aleutian Islands Campaign to its final conclusion. But concurrent to the North Pacific
engagement, the Japanese had also been planning to embark on a new offensive in Central China,
aiming to avenge their long string of casualties suffered against the staunch Chinese defenders.
We’ll recall that the invaders had recently won an important victory during their Operation North
of the Yangtze, so their aim was now to secure the river by clearing the defenders from their
positions to the south. Thus, we’ll not only continue to cover the pivotal Battle of Attu,
but today we’ll also turn to China to cover the start of this new bloody offensive.
Don’t forget to check out our long podcast on the topic, the link is in the description.
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Before we turn to the China theater, we first need to analyze the war of attrition that was happening
at sea in the Pacific Ocean. As we all know, merchant fleets are important economic assets for
nations, specially those that have limited natural resources or a relatively small industrial base,
such as it is the case of Japan. As such, starting in 1942, the US directed its submarine force to
wage an increasingly effective campaign against the Japanese merchant shipping and the IJN.
This increase in effectiveness would only really start in late 1943, as the problems of the
defective Mark 14 torpedo began to be fixed ; yet the Japanese would still incur substantial damage
by the start of the year, having suffered the loss of more than one million tons of shipping.
Although the Japanese were also making many additions to replace the lost ships,
the situation had deteriorated so much that there was an increased demand for shipping to
be used in the transportation of men, munitions, and the necessary raw materials required for the
production of munitions back in the homeland. As a result, there was no shipping available
for secondary theaters like China or the North Pacific, so the Japanese commanders in China
had to acquire the necessary resources by any other means. At Yichang, for instance,
there were approximately 20000 tons of steamer tonnage for inland river navigation,
which could alleviate the problem of supply in the China theater, but the Chinese control of the
southern bank of the Yangtze River prevented them from moving the ships forward to Wuhan.
For this purpose, General Hata Shunroku deemed necessary to advance into the southern bank of
the Yangtze in West Hubei to occupy the general area between Yichang and Yueyang in order to
open the river for navigation and to crush the enemy's fighting strength located there.
It’s important to remember that during the February-March Operation North of the Yangtze,
the 11th Army of General Yokoyama had managed to occupy the Yangtze River bank from Jingzhou
to Yueyang. As a preliminary for the West Hubei offensive, Yokoyama also ordered the 40th Division
to advance from Shishou to the neighborhood of Huarong , successfully capturing the line
running east and west of this town between April 9 and 15. By the start of May, the 40th thus sent
the Koshiba Detachment to the west to prepare for an attack against the town of Nan while
the 3rd Division and the 17th Independent Mixed Brigade deployed on Shishou to assault the main
Chinese base at Anxiang . Additionally, the 34th Division’s Harigaya Detachment at Yueyang was
to make a wide flanking movement to strike at the Chinese defenses south of Nan and Anxiang.
If the first phase of the operation was successful, then the 3rd Division was to
continue west and attack both flanks of the enemy at Zhijiang and Gongan , supported by
the 58th Division’s Nozoe Detachment and the bulk of the 13th Division. On May 5, the West Hubei
offensive finally started, with the 3rd Division and the 17th Brigade immediately crossing the
Yangtze and advancing southwards as they broke through the enemy defenses of the 26th Army.
Meanwhile, the units of the 40th Division also started their movements south and east to secure
their control over the Yueyang area, with the Toda Detachment rapidly attacking the Chinese positions
around Yushanzhen . Further east, the Harigaya Detachment crossed the Dongdongting Lake with
haste and managed to destroy the enemy positions and obstacles near the Hengling Hu , supported
by the main force of the 44th Air Regiment. So relentless and strong was the Japanese advance
that the defenders never stood a chance against them, rapidly starting to withdraw south and west.
By May 8, the 3rd Division had defeated the enemy trying to escape towards the area west of Anxiang,
successfully intercepting their route of retreat westwards while the 17th Brigade occupied Anxiang
itself. Further east, Nan was likewise captured by the Koshiba Detachment; and additionally, the
Chinese positions to the south were successfully destroyed by the combined attacks of the Toda and
Harigaya Detachments. It’s important to mention that at the town of Changjiao , the ruthless
invaders carried out possibly the second largest massacre of Chinese civilians in the entire war,
completely slaughtering around 30000 civilians in the next four days. With the satisfactory
conclusion of the first phase of the operation, the 3rd Division then ascended the Songzi River
and assembled at once around Tuochuanbu while the 17th Brigade moved to the vicinity of Lixian
to protect the Japanese rear left flank. To the north, the 13th Division and the Nozoe
Detachment also assembled in the area east of Xiaoting to prepare for an attack on Zhijiang.
On May 12, the second phase of the operation finally started,
with the 13th Division immediately crossing the Yangtze to attack Zhijiang while the 3rd Division
moved with speed to trap the almost 50000 Chinese soldiers of the 87th Army at Gongan.
Once again, the Chinese forces were completely unprepared to face the effective Japanese pincer
maneuver, with the invaders rapidly defeating the main force of the Chinese army on both flanks
and pursuing the fleeing defenders towards Songzi . By May 18, the Songzi position had
fallen and the defenders had escaped south after suffering many casualties, leaving only the 18th
Army in the path of the Japanese to victory. But now, we have to turn to the North Pacific,
where the Battle of Attu was still raging. As we last saw, Colonel Zimmerman’s Southern Force
was pinned down at Massacre Valley, just in front of the Jarmin Pass; while both Colonel
Culin’s Northern Force and Captain Willoughby’s Scout Battalion had made some progress in the
Holtz Bay area and were preparing to launch a full-scale assault towards the mountains.
The weather was bad, visibility was poor and the fog continued to conceal the Japanese positions.
Even worse, losses from exposure were mounting, as the clothing issued in San Francisco was
not nearly warm enough for Attu’s trenches. Thus, the men were found to be frostbitten,
feverish and unconscious, and they streamed to the rear by the score, and then by the hundreds.
Furthermore, their artillery was stuck far away from the battlefield,
the supply situation was critical and the air force was grounded at Adak and Amchitka.
Despite this, General Brown decided to feel out the enemy defenses with another assault on May 14,
throwing Zimmerman’s 3rd Battalion against the Jarmin Pass with the support of carrier aircraft.
Yet Nassau’s Wildcats would be caught by a williwaw early in the morning, losing three
fighters; and the troops would likewise run into a rain of fire that caused such severe casualties
that Zimmerman was forced to relieve the battered unit with the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Regiment.
Further south, the newly-arrived 1st Battalion, 32nd Regiment was still bogged down on the
overcrowded beach, as the unloading of transports had been carried out with a lack of efficiency.
In contrast, Northern Force managed to keep the flow of supplies moving smoothly
across Beach Red and up the front, a remarkable achievement that contributed to Culin’s success.
The worrying situation at the south also forced Brown to reluctantly request to bring General
Buckner’s 4th Regiment from Adak, yet Admirals Rockwell and Kinkaid refused because of the
congestion at the beach, something that didn’t sit well with the Army officers . Additionally,
that morning, Rockwell’s battleships had exhausted all their bombardment ammunition from afar so they
could go back to Adak to rearm, leaving Brown with a crucial lack of bombardment support.
On the other side, Kinkaid was also unhappy at the Army’s lack of progress, so he requested Brown to
write a report on the situation. Unfortunately, the PBY carrying the reports accidentally dropped
them into the sea , so Kinkaid and Rockwell would grow angry with Brown’s silence.
In the meantime, Culin’s men fired and withstood mortar and artillery barrages as they consolidated
their position, successfully inflicting many casualties on the desperate defenders ; and
in the mountains, Willoughby’s Scouts fought an all-day series of grim firefights in the
intense cold while very low on ammunition and with no food for the third day straight.
By evening, nearly half his men were casualties , but they had to keep crawling forward,
as their only hope of survival was to break through the enemy lines.
Luckily for them, Colonel Yamasaki would decide to withdraw his forces to the Moore
Ridge on the far side of Holtz Valley, leaving behind large stores of ammunition and food.
Evidently, they retreated to avoid getting caught between Northern Force and the Scout Battalion.
Thus, on the morning of May 15, Culin’s forces marched into Holtz Valley and spent
the afternoon securing the area. With the enemy gone, Willoughby’s straggling men also
limped across the ridges, finally stumbling down into Holtz Bay and their salvation.
About 80 men were left behind in rearguard positions, but the remaining 320 Scouts would
manage to join Northern Force. Although only 11 men had been killed, Willoughby’s strength was
down to 165 Scouts, most of them suffering from gangrene and bandaged at their feet and knees.
Meanwhile, Culin readied his battalions to move east during the night, hoping to push back the
Japanese from Moore Ridge to the Chichagof Valley in an effort to cut off the Jarmin Pass defenders.
Further south, Zimmerman led yet another frontal assault against the pass;
but like the others, it fell back under a cruel fusillade from three directions.
That noon, Rockwell also decided to pull out of Attu with his vessels within the next 24 hours,
as his North Pacific Force was a sitting duck. But meanwhile, Brown and Rockwell continued to argue
over the transportation of the 4th Regiment. Communications were so bad and confusing that
Brown would have to board Rockwell’s flagship to discuss the matter personally, leaving General
Arnold in temporary command ashore. Luckily, Brown managed to convince Rockwell as he made his plea,
so Rockwell would ultimately send a message to Kinkaid endorsing Brown’s request for the
4th Regiment. Additionally, they requested road-equipment for Colonel Benjamin Talley’s
Engineers, including fuel and construction supplies to last for 60 days, as they wanted
to build roads to clear the jam on the beach. But unfortunately, Brown and Rockwell didn’t foresee
that their hastily-worded message to Kinkaid left itself open to misinterpretation, as Kinkaid
saw the Engineer’s request as an indication that Brown expected the battle to last for sixty days.
It’s important to remember that the original plan was to capture Attu in three days,
and we were now in the fifth day of the battle. Furthermore, the message made it appear Brown
had gone on the defensive and proposed to sit still until he got his reinforcements.
This completely angered Kinkaid, who then decided to consult with Generals Buckner and DeWitt on
what to do, both of whom never liked Brown in the first place. Thus, it would be ultimately decided
to replace Brown because of his inexperience with the Aleutians ; in his stead, General Landrum
would be appointed to command the 7th Division, as he had already led with success the Adak landings.
On May 16, as they were informed of this decision, both Rockwell and Brown were shocked to learn this
news, but there was not much they could do about it, as Landrum was already en route.
In the meantime, Brown was still in command, so he ordered yet another head-on assault against
Jarmin Pass by Zimmerman’s forces. But once again, the attack would fall back without making a single
dent in the effective enemy defenses, suffering so many losses that the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Regiment
had to be relieved by the reformed 3rd Battalion, 17th Regiment. To the north, however, Culin’s
battalions had crossed the Holtz Valley under the cover of night and were putting much pressure on
the Moore Ridge positions. Heavy fire from the rim pinned the attackers to the valley floor,
but although the Japanese were defending Moore Ridge with great ferocity , Culin would cunningly
send some platoons out along the beach to his left in a flanking movement that successfully
allowed the Americans to climb the steep seaside ends of the ridges. Against the tough opposition,
they advanced from hump to hump and charged into several hours’ savage hand-to-hand fighting,
eventually securing a foothold on the ridge by nightfall. At this point, General Landrum had
arrived to relieve Brown , and after an awkward meeting in which Landrum made it clear that
he found no fault with what Brown had done and that he would continue with his tactical plans,
the former 7th Division commander took his last look at Attu and began his return to the States.
Without his knowledge, General DeWitt would later give him an unfavorable officer
efficiency report , which blocked Brown’s promotion chances later on in his career.
On Moore Ridge, meanwhile, the Japanese were subsisting on one meal a day, usually a single
ball of cold rice. Some broke under the strain of the cold and hunger, breaking away from
the rest and attacking American positions in order to be shot and put out of their misery.
With such weakened forces , Colonel Yamazaki ultimately decided to abandon Moore Ridge
and the Holtz Bay area and retreat into the Prendergast and Fish Hook Ridges during the night.
This move also left the Jarmin Pass defenders in an untenable position, so the 303rd Independent
Battalion would be ordered to pull back and defend the Clevesy Pass instead, just as Culin
and Brown had expected. Shortly after midnight on May 17, Culin launched a night attack to take
the rest of Moore Ridge, and after a couple hours of cautious advance, the 3rd Battalion,
32nd Regiment reached the ridge top to find that the Japanese had withdrawn from Holtz Valley,
leaving behind large stocks of supplies and equipment including their artillery guns.
Unbeknownst to them, however, the carrier Nassau had launched a bombing-strafing attack against
the ridge Culin had just taken, unfortunately wounding several men. As a result, Kinkaid
would decide to send Colonel Eareckson to Attu to coordinate air strikes with ground operations.
Northern Force would spend the rest of the day consolidating their positions in Holtz Bay, which
now allowed the Americans to move their ships into the west arm of Holtz Bay and use the good harbor
facilities there instead of the little strip at Beach Red. Additionally, Captain Willoughby sent
some patrols to link with Southern Force at Jarmin Pass, which would arrive there the next morning.
Further south, the fog prevented Zimmerman from noticing that the enemy had retreated.
As he sent some patrols to the pass, which effectively found the enemy gone, he would
finally occupy the Jarmin Pass with a fresh company by the end of the day. As a last note,
the 1st Battalion, 4th Regiment would also arrive from Adak on this day, further increasing the
strength of the attackers after the Holtz Bay breakthrough. On May 18, Admiral Rockwell thus
declared the end of the amphibious phase of the battle, at last taking with him the bulk of his
naval forces back to Adak. Now, it was time to transition to a phase of full mountain warfare.
But we’ll have to wait for that until next week, when we finally bring this bloody battle to its
final conclusion. If you don’t want to miss any episodes, make sure you are subscribed and pressed
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