JoAnna Wass
American and Canadian troops landed on Kiska Island together in 1943, but the Japanese withdrew all, causing Allied soldiers to shoot each other because of the fog.
In the summer of 1943, the US-Canadian coalition launched a landing codenamed "Cottage" on the island of Kiska in the northern Pacific to retake the last imperial-controlled base in North America.
The location of the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea Photo: Arsof
Kiska belongs to the Aleutian Islands, a volcanic island chain stretching from the Alaskan mainland to the western edge of the Bering Sea.
The location of the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea.
Despite this, Japan is very interested in the Aleutian Islands because of its geographical location.
The Japanese occupied Kiska and Attu islands of the Aleutian Islands on June 7, 1942.
US forces gathered before the attack to regain Kiska island Photo: US Navy
On May 30, 1943, the US recaptured Attu and began to plan with the Canadian army to regain Kiska Island.
However, from the end of July, the Japanese strategists noticed that Kiska Island was no longer defensible and began to plan to evacuate the garrison.
But the US and Canadian army commanders still decided to open a campaign to retake Kiska Island.
Before the landing, US Admiral Thomas Kinkaid confidently declared the campaign "a good maneuver for training purposes".
Canadian soldiers aimed at shooting Japanese positions on Kiska island Photo: Th? vi?n Qu?c h?i M?
On that day, the American troops consisting of the 7th Infantry Division, the 4th Infantry Regiment, the 87th Son Infantry Regiment, and the 1st Commanding Unit landed on the island, while the Mountain Infantry Brigade numbered
The amphibious forces slipped deep into the island for the next two days without any resistance, though they estimated there were about 11,000 Japanese on the island defending.
In the thick fog, American and Canadian soldiers mistook each other for Japanese troops, so they fought fiercely, resulting in great casualties for both sides without knowing that they landed on the uninhabited island.
A total of 32 soldiers were killed and 121 were injured by mistaken shooting and various reasons after days of searching on the uninhabited island.
Operation Cottage ended when US-Canadian forces confirmed control of the entire island, they recorded a total of 313 casualties, most of which were due to shooting wrong teammates.
