The Aleutian Campaign in World War II: A Strategic Perspective

Abstract

This work is a detailed historical study of the Second World War's little known Aleutian Campaign in the North Pacific, commonly referred to as the "Forgotten War." After describing the events that transpired in the North Pacific throughout the war, this work focuses on the strategic reasons why the United States and Japan decided to dedicate critical and limited resources to a secondary effort in the North Pacific. The strategies are compared to determine which country dedicated a higher percentage of available manpower and resources to the region and which country gained an advantage from their respective propaganda efforts. Despite the United States' tactical and operational victories in the North Pacific, the Japanese benefited at the strategic level. Secondary theaters of operations, like the Aleutians during World War II, produced many lessons that were applied to other theaters during the war and remain relevant today in the Global War on Terrorism.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 17, 2005
Accession Number
ADA437056

Entities

People

  • John A. Polhamus

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Amphibious Operations
  • Combat Areas
  • Employment
  • Landing Fields
  • Military Aircraft
  • Military Applications
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Naval Operations
  • Navy
  • Personnel Management
  • Second World War
  • Terrain
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Economics
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies