World War II

World War II (1941-1945). The peace and prosperity of the Japanese period came to an end with the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific.  During the first two years of the war, the Northern Marianas served the Japanese as a staging area for battles fought to the south and east.  By 1944, however, they became front line positions as U.S. naval forces fought their way westward toward the Japanese home islands.  From June to August 1944, U.S. Marines and Army troops conducted amphibious landings on Saipan, Tinian and Guam.  These islands were captured from their determined Japanese defenders after bloody battles that resulted in thousands of military and civilian casualties, including hundreds of indigenous residents. Those civilians who survived the battles were placed in internment camps on Saipan and Tinian.  Once captured, these islands were developed as advance air bases for the very long-range B-29 Superfortress, the world’s first strategic bomber. World War II came to an end following the atomic bomb attacks on Japan flown by Tinian-based B-29s in August 1945. Those wishing to learn more about wartime history in the Northern Marianas are encouraged to visit the American Memorial Park Visitors Center in Garapan.