Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Audiobook1 hour
The Aleutian Islands Campaign: The History of Japan's Invasion of Alaska during World War II
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by David Zarbock
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Fought over bitterly cold flecks of rock and tundra scattered across the remote waters marking the boundary between the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean, the Aleutian Islands campaign represented one of the strangest encounters of World War II. Curving southwestward from the southwest coast of Alaska like the tail of a stingray, the rugged, volcanic Aleutians belong to both the United States and Russia. The westernmost island, Attu, lies much closer to Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula than to Alaska; the distance to Anchorage, Alaska measures approximately 2,000 miles.
The moral impact of the Doolittle Raid in response to Pearl Harbor far outweighed the relatively minor material damage it inflicted; Japan lost face and the faith of its people in ultimate victory declined sharply. Americans responded with delight and a fresh upsurge of hope. Despite interrogating the eight American aircrew they captured (and butchering tens of thousands of Chinese civilians in reprisal for assisting the rest in their escape), the Japanese leadership remained divided in their opinions about the bombers' origin.
Many believed that the Americans had indeed devised a method of launching such large aircraft from an ordinary aircraft carrier. Many others, however, insisted the B-25s came from a land base, and only the Aleutians lay within a medium bomber's operational range. In any case, Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku planned a move against Midway. Attacking the Aleutians provided an excellent diversion, in his opinion, permitting him time to take Midway and organize land-based strike aircraft there. He could then take his carriers to annihilate America's Pacific Fleet, caught between the Aleutian Islands and Midway.
Due to the belief that the Aleutian Islands might support the airfields from which the Doolittle bombers launched, Navy Order Eighteen from Imperial general HQ included a section decreeing “the invasion and occupation of the western Aleutians... in order to prevent enemy forces from attacking the homeland” (Garfield, 1978, 7).
In the event, the secondary operation to the Aleutian Islands proved more successful than the main thrust at Midway Island. In a triumph of cryptanalytic skill and poker-player daring, codebreaker Joseph Rochefort and his team at “Hypo” cracked Japanese messages proving the main effort aimed at Midway. The U.S. Navy intercepted Yamamoto's fleet at Midway and smashed its carriers in one of the most decisive actions of the Pacific Theater on June 3rd to 7th, 1942.
The Aleutians invasion, on the other hand, gave Japan a foothold on American territory that required almost a year to dislodge. In the end, however, by one of the ironies of war, the Japanese attempt to prevent land-based bombers from striking at Japan from the Aleutians backfired. Once the U.S. Army finally evicted the IJA from the islands, the Americans built considerably larger airfields there, from which regular sorties struck the Japanese-held Kurile Islands and shipping along the northern Japanese coast.
The Aleutian Islands Campaign: The History of Japan’s Invasion of Alaska during World War II chronicles one of the most famous and unique campaigns in the Pacific.
The moral impact of the Doolittle Raid in response to Pearl Harbor far outweighed the relatively minor material damage it inflicted; Japan lost face and the faith of its people in ultimate victory declined sharply. Americans responded with delight and a fresh upsurge of hope. Despite interrogating the eight American aircrew they captured (and butchering tens of thousands of Chinese civilians in reprisal for assisting the rest in their escape), the Japanese leadership remained divided in their opinions about the bombers' origin.
Many believed that the Americans had indeed devised a method of launching such large aircraft from an ordinary aircraft carrier. Many others, however, insisted the B-25s came from a land base, and only the Aleutians lay within a medium bomber's operational range. In any case, Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku planned a move against Midway. Attacking the Aleutians provided an excellent diversion, in his opinion, permitting him time to take Midway and organize land-based strike aircraft there. He could then take his carriers to annihilate America's Pacific Fleet, caught between the Aleutian Islands and Midway.
Due to the belief that the Aleutian Islands might support the airfields from which the Doolittle bombers launched, Navy Order Eighteen from Imperial general HQ included a section decreeing “the invasion and occupation of the western Aleutians... in order to prevent enemy forces from attacking the homeland” (Garfield, 1978, 7).
In the event, the secondary operation to the Aleutian Islands proved more successful than the main thrust at Midway Island. In a triumph of cryptanalytic skill and poker-player daring, codebreaker Joseph Rochefort and his team at “Hypo” cracked Japanese messages proving the main effort aimed at Midway. The U.S. Navy intercepted Yamamoto's fleet at Midway and smashed its carriers in one of the most decisive actions of the Pacific Theater on June 3rd to 7th, 1942.
The Aleutians invasion, on the other hand, gave Japan a foothold on American territory that required almost a year to dislodge. In the end, however, by one of the ironies of war, the Japanese attempt to prevent land-based bombers from striking at Japan from the Aleutians backfired. Once the U.S. Army finally evicted the IJA from the islands, the Americans built considerably larger airfields there, from which regular sorties struck the Japanese-held Kurile Islands and shipping along the northern Japanese coast.
The Aleutian Islands Campaign: The History of Japan’s Invasion of Alaska during World War II chronicles one of the most famous and unique campaigns in the Pacific.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Dorothy Dandridge: The Life and Legacy of One of Hollywood’s First Successful Black Actresses Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Midwest: Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in America's Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProject MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Vandals: The History and Legacy of Antiquity's Most Famous Barbarians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient and Medieval Conspiracy Theories: The History of the World’s Most Persistent Conspiracy Theories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related to The Aleutian Islands Campaign
Related audiobooks
Victory in Papua Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Submarines and the World Wars: The History of Submarine Warfare in World War I and World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Battle of Leyte Gulf: The History and Legacy of World War II's Largest Naval Battle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Iwo Jima: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miracle at Midway Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pacific Carrier War: Carrier Combat from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5South Pacific Cauldron: World War II's Great Forgotten Battlegrounds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Morning Star, Midnight Sun: The Early Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign of World War II August–October 1942 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5South Pacific Destroyer: The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of Wake Island Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5World War II: Carrier War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lions of Iwo Jima: The Story of Combat Team 28 and the Bloodiest Battle in Marine Corps History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pacific Thunder: The US Navy's Central Pacific Campaign, August 1943–October 1944 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saipan: The Beginning of the End Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Commanding the Pacific: Marine Corps Generals in World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan 1942-1945 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Turning the Tide: How a Small Band of Allied Sailors Defeated the U-Boats and Won the Battle of the Atlantic Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Last Man Standing: The 1st Marine Regiment on Peleliu, September 15-21, 1944 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Okinawa: A Decorated Marine's Account of the Last Battle of World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Dawn Like Thunder: The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Abandon Ship!: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, the Navy's Greatest Sea Disaster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5John F. Kennedy and PT-109 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Pearl Harbor Collection: At Dawn We Slept; Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History; Dec. 7, 1941 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Silver State Dreadnought: The Remarkable Story of Battleship Nevada Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Wars & Military For You
77 Days of February: Living and Dying in Ukraine, Told by the Nation’s Own Journalists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kill Anything That Moves Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unbroken Bonds of Battle: A Modern Warriors Book of Heroism, Patriotism, and Friendship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Korean War: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of Anne Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Invisible Generals: Rediscovering Family Legacy, and a Quest to Honor America's First Black Generals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin - Book Summary: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead And Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Saved: A War Reporter's Mission to Make It Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine: From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Watchmaker's Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related podcast episodes
Encore: The WWII Home Front | Arsenal of Democracy | 1 0% found this document usefulS3E2: Pappy Boyington Part 1: The Flying Tigers 0% found this document usefulS3E2: Pappy Boyington Part 2: The Blacksheep 0% found this document usefulS2E2: Captain Marion Carl, USMC, F4F Wildcat pilot, Navy Cross at Midway and Guadalcanal, World War 2 0% found this document usefulEp. 5: Maj James Howard, USAAF, P-51B Mustang, 9th Air Force, World War 2 0% found this document usefulS2E5: Marines over Guadalcanal, WW2: Part 5 - 1st Lt Jefferson DeBlanc, USMC, F4F Wildcat pilot 0% found this document usefulEpisode 1: Currahee (with Ron Livingston) 100% found this document usefulS2E6: 67th Fighter Squadron at Guadalcanal 100% found this document usefulEp 2.2: 1st Lt William Lawley, USAAF, B-17 Flying Fortress pilot, 8th Air Force, World War 2 0% found this document usefulAttila the Hun Part 1: The Sword of Mars 0% found this document usefulThe Battle of Britain 0% found this document usefulS2E1: Major John L. Smith, USMC, F4F Wildcat pilot, Guadalcanal, World War 2 0% found this document usefulEp 4: Thunderbolt! The P-47 and 8th Air Force Fighter Command 1943 0% found this document usefulYellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 | Outbreak | 1 0% found this document usefulDan Explains: Operation Mincemeat: Did the success of the Sicily invasion came down to this one act of deception? 0% found this document usefulCUSTER'S LAST STAND : THE LAST MAN STANDING 100% found this document usefulMACV-SOG: A Conversation with John Stryker Meyer (Part II) 0% found this document useful
Related articles
‘Midway’ Turns The Ww II Battle Into A Cartoon AppleMagazineArticle
‘Midway’ Turns The Ww II Battle Into A Cartoon
Nov 15, 2019
3 min readFrom Sea To Land World War IIArticle
From Sea To Land
Oct 26, 2021
3 min readMachine Of Death History of WarArticle
Machine Of Death
Feb 26, 2020
1 min readShot Heard Round the World Military HistoryArticle
Shot Heard Round the World
Nov 23, 2021
3 min readA View Of Mount Suribachi History of WarArticle
A View Of Mount Suribachi
Feb 20, 2020
3 min readEyes On The Sand the Long Range Desert Group At El Alamein History of WarArticle
Eyes On The Sand the Long Range Desert Group At El Alamein
Oct 27, 2022
7 min readApple Tv+ To Produce Masters Of The Air, The Second Band Of Brothers Sequel TechLife NewsArticle
Apple Tv+ To Produce Masters Of The Air, The Second Band Of Brothers Sequel
Mar 13, 2021
3 min readReconquistadors History of WarArticle
Reconquistadors
Apr 15, 2021
3 min readCarlos Hathcock 1942-1999 Sporting RifleArticle
Carlos Hathcock 1942-1999
Jun 27, 2019
One of the things I feel most fortunate about when travelling the places I do is meeting extraordinary people along the way. It never ceases to amaze me just how small the world of hunting and conservation is, and it normally doesn’t take much to mak
2 min readBeyond Hawaii History of WarArticle
Beyond Hawaii
Feb 26, 2020
6 min readPearl Harbor 80 Years 1941-2021 History of WarArticle
Pearl Harbor 80 Years 1941-2021
Nov 25, 2021
8 min readPacific Typhoon History of WarArticle
Pacific Typhoon
Feb 26, 2020
14 min readThe Enemy Below War at SeaArticle
The Enemy Below
Nov 26, 2021
11 min readBattle Of midway Turning Point Of The Pacific War History of WarArticle
Battle Of midway Turning Point Of The Pacific War
May 12, 2022
10 min readThe Bloodbath And The Bomb BBC History MagazineArticle
The Bloodbath And The Bomb
Mar 19, 2020
9 min readLeyte Gulf History of WarArticle
Leyte Gulf
Oct 6, 2022
12 min readMidway History of WarArticle
Midway
May 14, 2020
11 min readWrecks Of The Solomon Islands Wreck Diving MagazineArticle
Wrecks Of The Solomon Islands
Dec 30, 2017
16 min readThe DIVINE WIND of DEATH History of WarArticle
The DIVINE WIND of DEATH
Feb 26, 2020
2 min readAlways Prepare For The Unexpected The Critic MagazineArticle
Always Prepare For The Unexpected
Apr 1, 2022
8 min readUss Enterprise (cv-6) War at SeaArticle
Uss Enterprise (cv-6)
May 27, 2022
31 min readEnter The Americans History of WarArticle
Enter The Americans
Feb 26, 2020
6 min readAleutian Battleground Military HistoryArticle
Aleutian Battleground
Oct 30, 2018
1 min readIsland Stories Cobblestone American History and Current Events for Kids and ChildrenArticle
Island Stories
Apr 1, 2022
1 min readBattle Of Leyte Gulf All About HistoryArticle
Battle Of Leyte Gulf
Apr 20, 2023
10 min readThe Tragedy Of Being Last World War IIArticle
The Tragedy Of Being Last
Feb 4, 2020
2 min readSink The Belgrano! Military HistoryArticle
Sink The Belgrano!
Jan 1, 2019
9 min readThe All-Out Battle for Guadalcanal Wreck Diving MagazineArticle
The All-Out Battle for Guadalcanal
Aug 5, 2016
11 min readSecret Warfare War at SeaArticle
Secret Warfare
Nov 26, 2021
14 min readUndefended Shore MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military HistoryArticle
Undefended Shore
Nov 7, 2017
18 min read
Reviews for The Aleutian Islands Campaign
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
9 ratings0 reviews