Operation Cottage

Operation Cottage

American troops landing on Kiska
DateAugust 15, 1943
LocationKiska, Territory of Alaska
Result Japanese tactical victory
Belligerents
 United States
 Canada		  Japan
(not present)
Commanders and leaders
United States Charles Corlett
Canada E.A. Potts		 N/A
Strength

 United States 7th Infantry Division

Canada 6th Infantry Division

 None; all forces evacuated before battle
Casualties and losses
92 killed and 221 wounded (Over 313 Allied casualties)[1][2] None
  • USS Abner Read struck a stray Japanese mine during the operation, totaling 118 casualties.
  • The friendly fire incident left 50 wounded on either side.

Operation Cottage was a tactical maneuver which completed the Aleutian Islands campaign. On August 15, 1943, Allied military forces landed on Kiska Island, which had been occupied by Japanese forces since June 1942.

The Japanese, however, had secretly abandoned the island two weeks prior, and so the Allied landings were unopposed. Despite this, after over two days in thick fog and in a confused state of affairs, U.S. and Canadian forces mistook each other as the Japanese. Allied forces suffered over 313 casualties in total during the operation, due to stray Japanese mines, friendly fire incidents, and battlefield combat.[1]

Background

The Japanese under Captain Takeji Ono had landed on Kiska at approximately 01:00 on June 7, 1942, with a force of about 500 Japanese marines. Soon after arrival, they stormed an American weather station, where they killed two and captured eight United States Navy officers. The captured officers were sent to Japan as prisoners of war. Another 2,000 Japanese troops arrived, landing in Kiska Harbor. At this time, Rear-Admiral Monzo Akiyama headed the force on Kiska. In December 1942, additional anti-aircraft units, engineers, and a negligible number of reinforcement infantry arrived on the island. In the spring of 1943, control was transferred to Kiichiro Higuchi.

Invasion plan and execution

The Allied invasion of Kiska, August 17, 1943

A Consolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft sighted Japanese ships in Kiska. No further identification was visible. To United States naval planners, none was necessary and the orders to invade Kiska soon followed.

Due to the heavy casualties suffered at Attu Island, planners were expecting another costly operation. The Japanese tactical planners had, however, realized the isolated island was no longer defensible and planned for an evacuation.

Although small, there were signs of Japanese withdrawal. Anti-aircraft guns, active during the bombardment of Kiska, did not fire when Allied planes flew over in the days leading up to the invasion.

On August 15, 1943, the 7th Division (U.S.) and the 13th Infantry Brigade (Canada), landed on opposite shores of Kiska.

Both U.S. and Canadian forces mistook each other as the Japanese and, as a result of friendly fire, 28 Americans and 4 Canadians were killed, with wounded on either side.[2] A stray Japanese mine caused the USS Abner Read (DD-526) to lose a large chunk of its stern. The blast killed 71 and wounded 47.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Operation Cottage: A Cautionary Tale of Assumption and Perceptual Bias
  2. 1 2 "The Battle for Kiska", Canadian Heroes, canadianheroes.org, 13 May 2002, Originally Published in Esprit de Corp Magazine, Volume 9 Issue 4 and Volume 9 Issue 5

References

  • Feinberg, Leonard (1992). Where the Williwaw Blows: The Aleutian Islands-World War II. Pilgrims' Process, Inc. ISBN 0-9710609-8-3.
  • Garfield, Brian The Thousand Mile War, Aurum Press, 1995 ISBN 1-84513-019-7
  • Goldstein, Donald M.; Katherine V. Dillon (1992). The Williwaw War: The Arkansas National Guard in the Aleutians in World War. Fayettville, Arkansas, USA: University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1-55728-242-0.
  • Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001) [1951]. Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, June 1942-April 1944, vol. 7 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Champaign, Illinois, US: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-316-58305-7.
  • Perras, Galen Roger (2003). Stepping Stones to Nowhere, The Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and American Military Strategy, 1867 - 1945. Vancouver British Columbia: University of British Columbia Press. ISBN 1-59114-836-7.


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