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Description
With only 68 kilometers (42 mi) long, and from 3 to 6 km (1.9 to 3.7 mi) wide, the island of Amchitka was quiet small in comparison to others, even along the Aleutian Islands. The Americans had fortified the island as the Japanese occupied Attu and Kiska west of it. The 15,000 Americans on Amchitka started to build three airstripes, as well as a number of roads, buildings, trenches and bunkers across the island. They did their best to build these defences quick, as they hoped to precent the Japanese from taking any further islands in the Aleutians from the Alaska territory. The Japanese quickly moved to stop these American base on Amchitka, as they realized the danger it posed to their own occupations on Attu and Kiska, but only 9,052 of the original Japanese landing force managed to occupy the northwestern tip of the island. The Battle of Amchitka would soon be known as the Northern Guadalcanal, as over the next months 1,843 Americans would die, 2,301 would be wounded during the Battle for the Island, while 4,276 Japanese and Co-Prosperity Sphere would die, as either side tried to reinforce their position and drive of the enemy from Amchitka Island. The Japanese Northern Striking Force with the support of either the Shokaku and Zuikaku from time to time, whenever one of them managed to operate away from the general central Pacific front against the Japanese. To support the Battle on Amchitka, the Americans started to set up a airfield on nearby Adak Island in September 1942. Nearly 6,000 American military men were stationed on Adak Island, to support the Battle of Amchitka.

The cold, foggy, windy weather, mud, no trees and a vulcano that partly would issue puffs of smoke made the fighting on Amchitka hard as even fresh food was a rarity. As the trenches and bunkers on Amchitka quickly turned into a confuzing maze, friendly fire killed nearly 327 American soldiers and mines were placed all over the small frontline. Bad rainy weather further made the fighting unberable for many American and Japanese soldiers during the fighting over Amchitka. Once the Battle of Midway was over, the Americans tried to hold onto their northern Front at Amchitka, but the Japanese naval superiority in the region made their task difficult. With the ongoing stalemate in Siberia and the Russian Far East against the Red Army in the Soviet Union, the Japanese transferred first two, then four battle-hardened, winter-acclimated divisions of the Kwantung Army and the Manchurian 1st and 2nd Armies were transferred to the Aleutians Islands in hopes of continuing the Japanese advance against the Americans there. With the help of the Imperial Japanese Navy and air support from nearby Attu and Kiska, they shelled and bombed the American trenches and bunkers on the island.

Still the Battle of Amchitka was long, bloody and confusing, as some foxholes, trenches, posts and bunkers were filled with assaulting Japanese forces during the chaotic fighting, while the next ones could be filled with defending Americans. This meant that close-cpmbat with bajonettes and hand grenades was common during the fight for the island, even if the Americans and the Japanese brought small and medium tanks, artillery, anti-tank and anti-air guns to Amchitka. The battle lasted months and in the end the Americans only retreaded to nearby Adak Island, because the Japanese started to shell their positions from every seaside and with their fighters and bombers that got reinforced with skilled pilots from the Siberian Frontline, were the Co-Prosperity Sphere advance was stopped for now. Instead of simply celebrating their victory, the Japanese quickly expanded the bunkers, trenches and tunnels on Amchitka in preparation of a awaited American counter-invasion from Adak Island. While records after the Second Great War would show that the Naval superiority and with it the air superiority, decided the Battle of Amchatka for the Japanese together with skilled forces from Siberia, it is undeniable that the Japanese supply for their forces was far worse and nearly endangered the operation as a whole. So dire was the situation, that the Japanese High Command even questioned if following the Aleutian Islands towards Alaska was the best and easiest way to reach the American West Coast and force the United States out of the war. What helped the Japanese stay in the fight and win the battle, was looted American supplies, used American clothing for additional warmth against the cold and most of all the fact that they started to eat the fallen Japanese and Americans because of the devastating supply shortage during the hardest weeks. In the end the Japanese lost twice as much soldiers overall compared to the American losses on Amchitka.

Description
With only 68 kilometers (42 mi) long, and from 3 to 6 km (1.9 to 3.7 mi) wide, the island of Amchitka was quiet small in comparison to others, even along the Aleutian Islands. The Americans had fortified the island as the Japanese occupied Attu and Kiska west of it. The 15,000 Americans on Amchitka started to build three airstripes, as well as a number of roads, buildings, trenches and bunkers across the island. They did their best to build these defences quick, as they hoped to precent the Japanese from taking any further islands in the Aleutians from the Alaska territory. The Japanese quickly moved to stop these American base on Amchitka, as they realized the danger it posed to their own occupations on Attu and Kiska, but only 9,052 of the original Japanese landing force managed to occupy the northwestern tip of the island. The Battle of Amchitka would soon be known as the Northern Guadalcanal, as over the next months 1,843 Americans would die, 2,301 would be wounded during the Battle for the Island, while 4,276 Japanese and Co-Prosperity Sphere would die, as either side tried to reinforce their position and drive of the enemy from Amchitka Island. The Japanese Northern Striking Force with the support of either the Shokaku and Zuikaku from time to time, whenever one of them managed to operate away from the general central Pacific front against the Japanese. To support the Battle on Amchitka, the Americans started to set up a airfield on nearby Adak Island in September 1942. Nearly 6,000 American military men were stationed on Adak Island, to support the Battle of Amchitka.

The cold, foggy, windy weather, mud, no trees and a vulcano that partly would issue puffs of smoke made the fighting on Amchitka hard as even fresh food was a rarity. As the trenches and bunkers on Amchitka quickly turned into a confuzing maze, friendly fire killed nearly 327 American soldiers and mines were placed all over the small frontline. Bad rainy weather further made the fighting unberable for many American and Japanese soldiers during the fighting over Amchitka. Once the Battle of Midway was over, the Americans tried to hold onto their northern Front at Amchitka, but the Japanese naval superiority in the region made their task difficult. With the ongoing stalemate in Siberia and the Russian Far East against the Red Army in the Soviet Union, the Japanese transferred first two, then four battle-hardened, winter-acclimated divisions of the Kwantung Army and the Manchurian 1st and 2nd Armies were transferred to the Aleutians Islands in hopes of continuing the Japanese advance against the Americans there. With the help of the Imperial Japanese Navy and air support from nearby Attu and Kiska, they shelled and bombed the American trenches and bunkers on the island.

Still the Battle of Amchitka was long, bloody and confusing, as some foxholes, trenches, posts and bunkers were filled with assaulting Japanese forces during the chaotic fighting, while the next ones could be filled with defending Americans. This meant that close-cpmbat with bajonettes and hand grenades was common during the fight for the island, even if the Americans and the Japanese brought small and medium tanks, artillery, anti-tank and anti-air guns to Amchitka. The battle lasted months and in the end the Americans only retreaded to nearby Adak Island, because the Japanese started to shell their positions from every seaside and with their fighters and bombers that got reinforced with skilled pilots from the Siberian Frontline, were the Co-Prosperity Sphere advance was stopped for now. Instead of simply celebrating their victory, the Japanese quickly expanded the bunkers, trenches and tunnels on Amchitka in preparation of a awaited American counter-invasion from Adak Island. While records after the Second Great War would show that the Naval superiority and with it the air superiority, decided the Battle of Amchatka for the Japanese together with skilled forces from Siberia, it is undeniable that the Japanese supply for their forces was far worse and nearly endangered the operation as a whole. So dire was the situation, that the Japanese High Command even questioned if following the Aleutian Islands towards Alaska was the best and easiest way to reach the American West Coast and force the United States out of the war. What helped the Japanese stay in the fight and win the battle, was looted American supplies, used American clothing for additional warmth against the cold and most of all the fact that they started to eat the fallen Japanese and Americans because of the devastating supply shortage during the hardest weeks. In the end the Japanese lost twice as much soldiers overall compared to the American losses on Amchitka.