Banzai Charges

From these highlands, Japanese forces launched massive counterattacks. The banzai attack on the night of July 25, 1944, was not simply a wild suicide charge but a carefully organized effort to drive the Americans back into the sea. Some Japanese soldiers infiltrated deep behind American lines near Asan Point, but the bloody assault ultimately failed. Lieutenant John J. “Jack” Eddy of the 9th Marine Regiment said the Japanese attacked with all they had because they knew that unless they broke through, the island would for all intents and purposes be lost. Lieutenant General Takeshina Takeshi of the Imperial Japanese Army commanded the Japanese forces on Guam and planned the July 25-26 counterattack at Asan Beach.