The Battle of Attu, fought in May 1943 during World War II, was a grueling clash in the remote Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Japanese forces had seized Attu in June 1942 as a diversionary tactic during Midway, marking the only WWII occupation of U.S. soil. American troops, numbering around 15,000, launched a counteroffensive against 2,600 entrenched Japanese defenders. The "frozen hell" nickname stems from the island's brutal subarctic conditions: relentless fog, gale-force winds, freezing temperatures, and treacherous terrain that caused more casualties from frostbite, trench foot, and disease than combat. Fighting was fierce, with hand-to-hand combat and banzai charges. After 19 days, U.S. forces prevailed, but at a high cost—over 500 Americans killed and 1,100 wounded, while nearly all Japanese died, many by suicide. This forgotten battle secured the North Pacific, highlighting the war's global reach and the horrors of environmental warfare.
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