Did you know about the battle where the Allies had 300 casualties without an enemy?

Soldiers coming ashore on Kiska, assisted by Navy Seabees
(Photo: National Museum of the U.S. Navy)

Fog of war, the unavoidable uncertainty in situational awareness, has plagued military commanders since the dawn of time. Not knowing where the enemy is (or isn’t) or what they’re going to do is as much a danger to your own soldiers as machine guns and artillery. In August 1943, for neither the first nor the last time in history, Operation Cottage proved how dangerous the fog of war could be – especially when combined with real fog.

Japan invaded the Aleutian Islands, a part of Alaska, in June 1942. The invasion occurred simultaneously to the Battle of Midway, and both were planned by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (Yamamoto) (Part II). Historians disagree on whether the Aleutian operation was meant to be a diversion for Midway or a genuine attempt to secure Japan’s northern flank.

Japanese forces occupied two islands of the archipelago, Attu and Kiska. Harsh weather, rough terrain and geographical remoteness delayed the American attempt to retake the islands (with the help of Canadian troops) until the summer of 1943. The liberation of Attu in May 1943 was a hard-won victory and made American and Canadian troops slated for the Kiska landings, most of whom were green, nervous about the upcoming fight.

Aerial recon photo of Japanese positions on Kiska
(Photo: U.S. Navy)

The operation got off to an inauspicious start in late July. During preparations for the amphibious landings, a task force led by the battleships Mississippi and Idaho fired 518 shells at unknown radar contacts. They hit nothing, and now we know the nearest Japanese ships were over 200 miles (310 km) away; it’s been speculated that the radar picked up flocks of birds.

Operation Cottage, the actual amphibious landing, got underway on August 15 with 34,000 U.S. and 5,300 Canadian soldiers. Some of the landings ships carrying tanks ran aground and created a traffic jam in the water.

U.S. troops landing on Kiska (Photo: U.S. Navy)

Troops moving inland expected the Japanese to repeat the tactics they employed on Attu and only engage the Allies from a network of caves and bunkers further inland. Thick fog often limited visibility to a few feet, and strong winds caused disorientation and drowned out attempts to communicate by shouting.

Mines, Japanese booby traps and friendly fire incidents in the fog caused over 130 casualties. More than 100 other men were killed or wounded when the destroyer USS Abner Read hit a Japanese sea mine that drifted loose from a mine field and ended up in supposedly safe waters.

Troops coming ashore on Kiska. The earthen ramp was built to help boats avoid rocks (Photo: National Museum of the U.S. Navy)

Adding insult to injury was the complete lack of Japanese soldiers. Knowing that it was impossible to hold the island, the Japanese have evacuated three weeks before the Allied landings. All the American and Canadian soldiers found was discarded equipment, a few base buildings damaged by earlier air raids, and a dog named Explosion. Explosion used to belong to the American weather station crew on Kiska. Once the Japanese captured the station, they continued to look after the dog, leaving him behind when they left a year later.

Explosion the dog with the Kiska weather station crew before the Japanese invasion (Photo: skylerbaileyauthor.com)

Explosion and the relatively recent departure of the Japanese prompted Admiral Ernest King to report to Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox that the only things that remained on the island were dogs and freshly brewed coffee. When Knox asked for an explanation, King said “The Japanese are very clever. Their dogs can brew coffee.”

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