Austria-Bohemia-Hungary wrote:Western Pacific Territories wrote:Beats me. Maybe the Japanese managed to gather enough troops/civilians for the zerg rush to become effective? The charge at Saipan was the largest ever performed by the Japanese. And it's possible the American battalions were so damaged they were erased in the fight.
Remember this was done by everybody in WWI against probably the most sophisticated trench system the world has ever seen for about 3 years until somebody figured out infiltration tactics, and just about some times when enough men were thrown against the machine guns the enemy trenches would be taken.
It says more about the Japanese than anything else. They required 4,300 KIA to take two National Guard battalions with >10:1 loss exchange ratio against. This would qualify as a "win" for the US in RAND's 1990s models.
Western Pacific Territories wrote:Schwere Panzer Abteilung 502 wrote:During the Battle of Saipan, how was it that the Japanese troops' final bayonet charge into the US lines was successful in destroying multiple American battalions when banzai charges were almost always cut to pieces in most other battles when they were performed?
Beats me. Maybe the Japanese managed to gather enough troops/civilians for the zerg rush to become effective? The charge at Saipan was the largest ever performed by the Japanese. And it's possible the American battalions were so damaged they were erased in the fight.
They lacked sufficient quantity of machine guns and mortars to kill all the Japanese. That's about it.
It wasn't a super high speed, competent operation like the PLA in Korea or anything. The 105th IR actually stopped them, they and the MUHREENS just couldn't cover the ground with enough bullets and shells fast enough to keep the Japanese from running through the regimental HQ and hitting the howitzers behind it. By the time they got to those howitzers, though, it was probably less than 400 dudes. Out of ~4,500-5,000 or so at the start.
The Japanese just had enough bodies to run through the combined kill zone of the 105th IR, their tanks, and the Marines' howitzers. They achieved this and were so depleted by the firepower of the Americans that they were beaten back by second-line artillerists (every
sailor Marine a rifleman!) with carbines.
It was completely ineffectual at achieving anything.