- 79 - Pacific War - Fall of Attu, May 23-30, 1943

Last time we spoke about the battle of Attu. The American forces were gradually taking the high grounds from the Japanese. The stalemate at Jarmin’s pass had caused severe casualties upon the Americans, but they managed to get the Japanese to withdraw from the Pass by May 17th. Jarmin’s Pass would receive its name after Captain John Jarmin and his platoon died fighting atop it on May 14th. We also spoke about the silent service and how the Mark 14 torpedo was gradually fixed so the submariners would be better equipped to strangle Japan of her lifeblood, her merchant fleet. Lastly we spoke about the horrifying Changjiao Massacre that occurred during the West Hubei Offensive and the plight of the common Chinese people during the brutal second sino-japanese war. But today we are going to finish up the story of the battle for Attu.  This episode is the Fall of Attu Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800’s until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  So we left off in the Frigid Northern island of Attu on May 16th, with General Brown being relieved of command of the 7th division by the Aleutian veteran Brigadier General Eugene Landrum. Given the evidence on hand today, it seems Brown had really irritated Admiral Kinkaid and his other military superiors, coupled with miscommunication or better said lack of. The misunderstandings that arose saw Brown kicked out, but before he departed he had the chance to speak to Landrum. Landrum was shocked when he saw the situation for what it really was and sympathized with Brown. He ordered all of Brown's plans to continue as they were.  Now back on Attu, the Northern Force of Colonel Culin was making a major breakthrough by cutting off Lt’s Goto and Honna and their forces in Jarmin Pass. They were forced to abandon their positions during the night of the 16th, slipping away and successfully eluding all the American forces as they joined Colonel Yamasaki’s main body at Chichagof. The following morning the Americans failed to realize off the bat that they were no longer facing any Japanese atop Jarmin Pass, as a result of the thick fog. Eventually the lack of bullets coming down upon them brought the realization that the brutal massacre valley struggled which had to this point claimed 1100 American casualties had ended. Over in the south Colonel Wayne Zimmerman walked atop the crest of Jarmin pass where he stumbled upon the corpse of Captain John Jarmin and the bodies of his comrades surrounded by mangled bodies of dead Japanese. The pass which was called Massacre-Holtz pass was renamed after Jarmin who died on the 14th. The pass would receive a renaming There was an eerie silence over the pass that day. On May 18th the various Americans forces finally established contact through Jarmin Pass and now looked towards Chichagof where the Japanese were looking to make a stand. Despite successfully dislodging them, the Japanese had managed to withdraw in order, establishing yet again well-prepared defenses on the jagged heights of Chichagof Valley.  Landrum decided to give the men another day to recuperate and plan out their attack and as he noted later “I know this country and my heart bled for the boys. I had to send them up there. I know how cold and bitter it was on the mountains. But I knew death was bitt