Attu
| Attu | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Waters | Pacific Ocean | |
| Archipelago | Near Islands | |
| Geographical location | 52 ° 50 ′ N , 173 ° 11 ′ E | |
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| surface | 896 km² | |
| Highest elevation | Attu Mountain 898 m |
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| Residents | uninhabited | |
| main place | Attu station | |
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Attu is an island in the Aleutian Islands and is part of the Near Islands . Politically, the island belongs to the US state of Alaska and has an area of around 896 km².
The islands of the Aleutian Islands closest to the west are the commanders ' islands 335 km away , which already belong to Russia. Thus Attu can be seen as the westernmost part of the USA - after its small offshore neighboring island Peaked Island . Since Attu is located in the eastern hemisphere by longitude (173 ° East), it can also be considered one of the most easterly points in the United States. At 179 ° 36 ′ east, however, the Aleutian island of Semisopochnoi holds this title .
There is a United States Coast Guard station on the island . This was permanently occupied by around 20 people until 2010, and for the first time since modern records the island has been uninhabited since the crew left. The climate is typical for the Aleutian Islands: there are dense clouds, rain, fog and strong winds. There are only eight to ten sunny days on Attu per year.
history
In 1942 Attu was occupied by Japanese troops as part of the Midway Operation . On May 11, 1943, US forces attacked Attu in an attempt to evict Japanese soldiers from the island. The fighting lasted for about half a month, with the Japanese finally suffering from a blatant lack of material. The Japanese commander of the island, Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki , and 2,638 soldiers were killed, only 27 soldiers were taken prisoner . US troops lost around 600 dead and 1,200 injured. John L. DeWitt , Thomas C. Kinkaid , Albert E. Brown, Eugene M. Landrum, and Archibald V. Arnold commanded US forces.
There is an anecdote about reporting the defeat to the Japanese Tenno . According to the report, the Tenno is said to have issued the order to send the brave fighting soldiers a telegram with his thanks for their courage in the fight. When he was told that the telegram could no longer be received, he is said to have insisted that it be sent.
This battle was the first in which the Japanese practiced " Gyokusai " (broken jewel, mass suicide). They used their last hand grenade against themselves instead of against the enemy, so as not to give them the triumph of having made them prisoners of war.
The battle area was designated a memorial in 2008 as part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument .
additional
The US comedy One year outlawed! was shot on Attu.
Yasuyo Yamasaki (山崎 保 代), commander of the Japanese troops on Attu
US troops in snow and ice (Battle of Attu, May 1943)
The Peace Monument on Attu Island
Topographic map sheet
Indigenous woman with child on Attu, photo by Malcolm Greany , 1941
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Alaska Coast Guard says goodbye to its last LORAN station . publicbroadcasting.net. August 27, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
- ↑ Nebu Tatsuguri: Personal Diary . 1943. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2009.