During the Battle of Saipan in the Pacific War, on July 5, 1944, the bodies of Japanese soldiers who had failed to escape to their ships at the water's edge lay on the beach at Tanapag during an onslaught by American forces, while numerous Japanese ships were set aflame offshore.

　　At the end of the Battle of Saipan during the Pacific War, the Japanese garrison on Saipan was split into north and south units and was heavily attacked by American forces. Stranded north of Garapan, some Japanese troops attempted to escape by sea from Tanapag Harbor, but were annihilated under heavy fire from the U.S. On July 5, 1944, the bodies of Japanese soldiers who had failed to escape to their ships at the water's edge lay on the beach at Tanapag. A number of Japanese ships were set afire off the coast.

  From July 2 to 4, the U.S. 2nd Marine Division occupied the ruins of Garapan and its harbor. The U.S. 4th Marine Division quickly moved north up the west coast in the face of light Japanese resistance. As the Japanese forces collapsed, they eventually withdrew to the west coast north of Tanapag near the village of Makungsha; on July 4, the U.S. 27th Infantry Division and 4th Marine Division invaded to the northwest. The 2nd Marine Division no longer faced organized Japanese resistance, and on July 5, the U.S. 27th Infantry Division encountered strong Japanese resistance in a narrow canyon on the east coast north of Tanapag, where a two-day battle broke out. The order was given for the surviving units to carry out a final suicide attack to annihilate as many U.S. troops as possible.

　From July 7 to 9, at least 3,000 Japanese soldiers participated in the all-out Gyokusai attack. On July 8, the U.S. Army's 2nd Marine Division, armed with three tanks, support mortars, and machine guns, as well as bayonet sticks, knives, and grenades, launched one of the most devastating crushing raids of the Pacific War. On July 8, the U.S. 2nd Marine Division invaded the Tanapag Plain, searching for stragglers from the Japanese Army who had suffered heavy casualties in the crushing attack. The U.S. 4th Marine Division reached the west coast north of Makung Sha and invaded Malpi Point, near the northernmost tip of Saipan; on the evening of July 9, the U.S. 4th Marine Division reached the northern tip of Saipan and declared the island safe.

　The casualties of the Battle of Saipan were nearly all of the Japanese garrison, some 30,000 men, who died in the fighting. The U.S. forces lost 3,100 killed in action and 13,000 wounded in action out of the 71,000 men who were part of the assault force. The casualty rate exceeded 20%, comparable to the Battle of Tarawa. It was the most costly battle of the Pacific War up to that time for the U.S. military. About 40% of the Saipan civilian population was killed. Approximately 14,000 were captured alive; between 8,000 and 10,000 civilians died during or shortly after the battle.