A Japanese plane is shot down during the Battle of Saipan in 1944.

A Japanese plane is shot down during the Battle of Saipan in 1944.

The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June–9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was launched. The U.S. 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and the Army's 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant GeneralHolland Smith, defeated the 43rd infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito.