The Aleutians 1942-43 ― Struggle for the North Pacific

Aleutians 1942–43 is the full story of the forgotten battle to liberate American soil from the Japanese during World War II.

It is often forgotten that during World War II, the Japanese managed to successfully invade and conquer a precious part of American home soil--the first time this had happened since 1815. Capturing the Aleutian Islands, located in Alaska territory, was seen by the Japanese as vital in order to shore up their northern defensive perimeter.

Fighting in the Aleutians was uniquely brutal. It is a barren, rugged archipelago of icy mountains and thick bogs, with a climate of constant snow, freezing rains, and windstorms. These geographic conditions tended to neutralize traditional American strengths such as air power, radar, naval bombardment, and logistics. The campaign to recapture the islands required extensive combined-ops planning, and inflicted on the United States its second highest casualty rate in the Pacific Theater. Featuring the largest Japanese banzai charge of the war, first use of pre-battle battleship bombardment in the Pacific, and the battle at the Komandorski Islands, this is the story of America's forgotten war.

Born in 1981, Brian Lane Herder graduated with a BA in History from the University of Kansas in 2003, and a Masters of Library Science from Emporia State University in 2009. He is a legislative librarian for the Kansas state government and his historical research interests include the US military, naval warfare, and World War II. He lives in Topeka, Kansas, USA.

Singpore born and bred, Dorothy J. Hwee started her career at Imaginary Friends Studios. LucasArts was her first stepping stone into the video game industry as a concept artist, and she has had the privilege of working with some of the great art directors from LucasFilm. She is now a Senior Concept Artist in one of Japan's most well known video game companies, Bandai Namco Studios Singapore and has worked on titles such as, Star Wars: Battle Pod (lead concept artist), Star Wars: 1313, God Eater 2: Rage Burst and Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.