The Navy, supported by the Royal Canadian Air Force, landed elements of 7th Infantry Division on Attu in order to retake the Japanese occupied island. The resulting battle was the only land battle on American territory during World War Two and the only battle between the US and Japan in the Arctic.
Fighting would cover two weeks with the Japanese putting up a stout defense. The Japanese Navy formed a task force to relieve the island but the Allies took it before it cold depart Tokyo Bay. Knowing that they would not be relieved, the Japanese forces went down on May 29 in a banzai charge. Of the entire Japanese garrison of over 2,800 men, only 28 survived.
The 7th Infantry Division was committed to the war in the Pacific for the balance of World War Two, and would have occupation duty in Japan and Korea after the war. It was stationed in Japan when the Korean War broke out. During the Korean War, the then under strength division took on an international character, incorporating very large numbers of South Korean troops, as well as Columbian and Ethiopian solders.
Secretary of the Navy publically stated that "Possession of Sicily by the Allies would obviously be a tremendous asset" leading to fears that he'd blow the success of Operation Mincemeat. Instead, it convinced the Germans that he was trying a "smoke screen".
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