North Sea Expeditionary Force:Aleutians

[Peter H]

Kiska had portable steel pillboxes as well,only encountered elsewhere at Tarawa:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=119172

[JoeB]

Accroding Brian Garfields "Thousand-Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians" no tanks was used during the entire campagin and the japanese soldiers on the picture look like they have a nice hot day (something that dont exsist on the aleutian islands), so it cant be from the aleutian islands.

Im not even sure that the top picture, the one with a artillary gun being fired are from the aleutian islands...

Actually small Marmon-Herrington type tanks were used in the invasions of Attu and/or Kiska per several sources, their only operational use by the US. And, here's a photo said to show a "US tank in the Aleutians". But this is an M3A1, unlike the early production rivetted turret M3 in the Japaness photo, and was probably taken in a rear area or perhaps the Alaskan mainland. The only real land battle in the Aleutians was the US invasion of Attu which was typical short fierce and suicidal for the Japanese, island battle. There were almost no US forces on Attu and Kiska when the Japanese originally took them, and they abandoned Kiska before the US landed. So there was no time or opportunity for leisurely photo's of captured US Army heavy equipment in the Aleutians, even with the right climate and dress!

That photo is from "Alaska's Digital Archives':
http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm4/results.ph ... TART=1,141

Also there were some Japanese tanks apparently, Aberdeen Proving Ground Museum's Type 95 Light Tank is said to have been captured on Attu
http://www.armourarchive.co.uk/japanese.pdf

But while there may have been tanks in the Aleutians, as you and the previous poster already said, the captured tank in the photo is almost certainly an M3 of the Provisional Tank Group in the Philippines 1941-early '42. The only other place AFAIK the Japanese ever captured M3's was in Burma and those had the typical British stowage modifications, based on a photo in a Japanese book (and a rolled, not rivetted turret in that particular photo as well).

I find the artillery photo puzzling as to what kind of weapon that is. It doesn't appear to have trails or wheels, yet doesn't seem to be a muzzle loading mortar. If we knew the kind of weapon, the place would be easier to figure out.

Joe

[Peter H]

The forty-five Aleuts on Attu were interned in Hokkaido,Japan:

http://www.hlswilliwaw.com/aleutians/Al ... s-wwii.htm

At this time Attu's population consisted of several Blue Fox, forty-five native Aleuts, and two Americans: Charles Foster Jones, a sixty year old ham radio operator and weather observer, and his 62 year old wife Etta Jones, a teacher and trained nurse....

...For a short time, the Japanese occupational forces maintained the services of the Aleut fishermen to supply them with food. As the Japanese forces became more entrenched on Attu, Mrs. Jones and the entire Aleut population of the little village of Chichagof was transported in the hold of a freighter to Hokkaido, Japan for internment. Additional information indicates that Mrs. Jones was separated from the native Aleuts and interred at Yokohama (along with U.S. Navy personnel captured by the Japanese on Kiska), while the Aleuts were interred at Otaru, Hokkaido. The Japanese garrison now had the island of Attu entirely to themselves, and began setting up defensive positions.

[Peter H]

Does anyone know what happened to Major Matsutoshi Hozumi who commanded the intial landing force?

[Akira Takizawa]

Does anyone know what happened to Major Matsutoshi Hozumi who commanded the intial landing force?

Hozumi and his unit moved to Kiska. After the battle of Attu, he and other soldiers on Kiska evacuated from Kiska by IJN vessels and returned to Japan.

After returned to Japan, he was attached to Northern Army HQ for a while, then moved to an unit in Japan homeland. I don't know about him after that.

Taki

[JoeB]

Hozumi and his unit moved to Kiska. After the battle of Attu, he and other soldiers on Kiska evacuated from Kiska by IJN vessels and returned to Japan.

After returned to Japan, he was attached to Northern Army HQ for a while, then moved to an unit in Japan homeland. I don't know about him after that.

Do you have any opinion what kind of artillery weapon that is in the opening photograph of the thread?

Joe

[Akira Takizawa]

Do you have any opinion what kind of artillery weapon that is in the opening photograph of the thread?

It is Type 88 75mm AA Gun.

Taki

[Peter H]

Does anyone know what happened to Major Matsutoshi Hozumi who commanded the intial landing force?

Hozumi and his unit moved to Kiska. After the battle of Attu, he and other soldiers on Kiska evacuated from Kiska by IJN vessels and returned to Japan.

After returned to Japan, he was attached to Northern Army HQ for a while, then moved to an unit in Japan homeland. I don't know about him after that.

Taki

Thanks Taki!

Matsutoshi Hozumi mentioned here as well:

http://www.anchoragemuseum.org/ag_detai ... 1&offset=3

[JoeB]

It is Type 88 75mm AA Gun.

Thanks. Of course that makes sense. I had it stuck in my mind that this photo was also in the Philippines, since the tank picture is I believe, and was therefore of some weapon bombarding the US coast defences in Manila Bay. But it's probably just a Type 88 engaging US planes at Kiska.

Joe

[Major Major]

I agree with Steen........

Virtually all (100%) of the countless books that cover/discuss the strategic aspects of World War II among the Allies say that Stalin was constantly pleading with or alternately threatening both Churchill and Roosevelt to open a "second front" in the West (i.e., France) with utmost speed, preferably in 1942. He continued pleading for this throughout 1942 and 1943 and when it didn't happen, he sent thinly veiled threats to both the PM and the president accusing them of fighting World War II with Russian blood. I have never seen a credible historian, regardless of nationality, tell the story any other way.

As for Stalin intentionally passing damaging intelligence to the Japanese, why in the world would he do that when he was receiving a very large share of the Lend-Lease hardware and supplies by way of a logistics pipeline that stretched across the North Pacific to Vladivostok and other warm-water ports in Siberia? I've read many, many books on intelligence during the war and I've never seen that claim made before.

"In 1945, Japan knew of Australia's military plans in advance during the latter part of World War II because Moscow was giving Tokyo information provided by Soviet agents in Canberra."

From Louis Kruh, "The KGB in Australia, 1944-1950" [Cryptologia, April 2000], a review of Breaking the Codes: Australia's KGB Network, 1944-1950 by Desmond Ball and D. M. Horner

Much of this comes from the Canberra VENONA decrypts -- the same source that confirmed Vladimir Petrov, a few years later.

[Peter H]

Nakajima Suisen,Kiska

From: http://www.plays.jp/board/next10.cgi
Owner: Jim Landsdale

[Peter H]

From AsahiGraph,15 July 1942

[JoeB]

Nakajima Suisen,Kiska

From: http://www.plays.jp/board/next10.cgi
Owner: Jim Landsdale

That photo is also in the article "The Fighting Floatplanes of the Imperial Japanese Navy" Air Enthusiast No. 31 (which it so happens I got a copy of from Jim Landsdale). It depicts pilots of the 5th (later 452nd) Kokutai, small unit (usually less than 1/2 dozen) of Type 2 Float Fighters, A6M2-N, 'Rufe', organized to defend Kiska. The unit's highest claiming pilot is second from left in rear row, PO3c Yoshiiki Sasaki. Based on the article and a little further research his claims and US losses in the same engagements:

14 Sep 1942 (US side of the intl dateline): claims 3 P-38's and an F4U, though his fighter is holed so badly it sinks on landing; one other P-38 claimed. Two 54th FS P-38's collided with one another (not with Rufe's as the article says). The singles were P-39's, none lost.

2 Oct: Claims 1 P-38. No US a/c lost.

30 Dec: 4 Rufes incl Sasaki's claim a P-38; two P-38's failed to return.

24, 25, 27 Jan: leads 2 plane bombing attacks (with 2*60kg) v Amchitka; last caused 3 casualties per US, P-38's arrive too late or depart too early to intercept.

13 Feb: shares credit for 1 P-38; none lost.

18 Feb: leads another 2 plane raid on Amchitka, both planes shot down by 18th FS P-40's, Sasaki KIA.

Joe

[Peter H]

Thanks Joe.

Any idea what happened to these Aviators?

Regards
Peter

[Peter H]

More photos here:

http://www.geocities.jp/torikai007/war/1943/attu.html