Planners had to see to it that 59 troopships and 64 LSTs could land three divisions’ worth of men and equipment on an island 2,400 miles from the base at Guadalcanal and 3,500 miles from Pearl Harbor. The logistical demands of the invasion of Saipan were dizzying. The Navy’s involvement bookended the operation: naval vessels and personnel ferried Marines and Soldiers to the beaches and then, after ground combat was over, took leading positions in the administration of the occupation. They set D-day for 15 June, when Navy Sailors would deliver Marines and Soldiers to Saipan’s rugged, heavily fortified shores. The Americans decided that the best course of action was to invade Saipan first, then Tinian and Guam.

Since the fall of the Marshall Islands to the Americans a few months earlier, both sides began to prepare for an American onslaught against the Marianas and Saipan in particular. 1 And when it was over, the United States held islands that could place B-29 bombers within range of Tokyo.

When it happened, in June and July 1944, the conquest of Saipan became the most daring-and disturbing-operation in the U.S.

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