Capture of Attu, The

The Capture of Attu attempts to put the reader on the battlefield with the ground soldier. Men who fought on Attu, officers, and enlisted men, told their stories to Lieutenant Robert J. Mitchell of the 32d Infantry, one of the regiments engaged. Lieutenant Mitchel was wounded during the latter state of the battle and while convalescing wrote the accounts which are now published as Part Two of the book.

These stories tell of the discomforts and perils, the failures and success, the fear and courage, the many fights between small groups and the occasional humor, of which battle consists. Part One is an introduction in the form of a connected narrative of events leading up to the invasion of the Aleutian Island of Attu and a detailed account of the battle which resulted in the capture of Attu by American forces.