Battle of Saipan

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A major battle of the Pacific War, the Battle of Saipan was fought between 15 June 1944 and 8 July 1944. The U.S. objective in taking it, and nearby islands such as Tinian, was to establish a main base for the strategic bombardment of the Japanese homeland.

Not realized by the Americans, the Japanese considered Saipan a key part of their innermost defensive line. Its capture caused the fall of the Tojo Government and its replacement with a less pro-war Prime Minister. Imperial Japanese Navy officers also increasingly regarded the war as unwinnable.