The Last Great Banzai

Saipan, 1944

Bradley Mason Gates

• Publisher: Academica Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781680533248
• eBook ISBN: 9781680533255
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

On July 7, 1944, all remaining Japanese forces on Saipan conducted a massive suicide attack against the American forces that had landed on the island several weeks earlier. At approximately 3am, the Japanese forces rushed southward on the Tanapag Plain and overwhelmed the soldiers of the U.S. Army's 27 th Infantry Division. Hundreds of Japanese soldiers continued unimpeded for 1, 200 yards, where they came upon the U.S. Marine artillerymen of the 3 rd Battalion of the 10 th Marine Regiment of the 2 nd Marine Division. Direct howitzer and machine gun fire slowed, but did not stop, the massive suicide attack. The howitzer batteries, as well as headquarters battery, were overrun, and the Marines banded together in small pockets with rifles and pistols in an effort to hold off the Japanese. Against formidable odds, the Marines withstood continued Japanese attacks for nearly twelve hours until soldiers from other units fought their way forward and finally stopped the charge. The scene of carnage on the Tanapag Plain the next day was indescribable. The Marines who survived the attack were in shock. Those who observed the aftermath of the battle could not believe it had happened, but it was one of the most dramatic days in military history.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Dedication
• Background
• Prelude
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 17
• Introduction to Sources
• Unpublished Sources
• Published Sources
• Personal Interviews and Letters
• Index