The Battle of Attu — The Only U.S. Territory Captured by the Japanese

Attu Island, in Alaska's Aleutian Islands chain, was the only part of U.S. territory to be occupied by Japanese forces during WWII — the Japanese captured it (along with Kiska Island) in June 1942, just days after the Battle of Midway. The U.S. launched a massive campaign to retake Attu in May 1943. The battle was fought in dense fog, freezing rain, and temperatures barely above freezing. More American soldiers died from exposure, trench foot, and frostbite than from Japanese gunfire. The Battle of the Komandorski Islands (March 1943) that preceded this was one of the last all-gun surface naval battles in history — no aircraft participated. When the Japanese finally realized they couldn't hold Attu, they launched a desperate banzai charge — the largest banzai charge of the Pacific War — killing nearly every remaining Japanese soldier on the island. Only 28 Japanese prisoners were taken. Over 3,900 American casualties resulted from the battle for this remote, uninhabited island.