ABSTRACT Archaeological and historical investigation of WWII battles fought in the Micronesian archipelago of the Mariana Islands has generally concentrated on the fierce struggles for Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. Smaller islands that were neutralised during the U.S. thrust to establish air bases for the bombing campaign over Japan beginning in 1944 have received less attention, but were a strategic link in the Absolute National Defence Sphere. This paper examines the archaeological evidence of Japanese military planning for the defence of the island of Pagan situated north of Saipan, a battle that was never fought. The strategy based on an analysis of fixed weaponry emplacement appears to have been conceived in terms of engagement evolving from a ‘defence-at-the-waters-edge’ tactic in the southern Mariana Islands towards a ‘defence-in-depth’ posture faced in Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

中文翻译：

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异教徒：二战考古学从未在北马里亚纳群岛打过仗

摘要 对在马里亚纳群岛密克罗尼西亚群岛进行的二战战斗的考古和历史调查通常集中在塞班岛、天宁岛和关岛的激烈战斗上。在美国为 1944 年开始的对日本的轰炸行动而建立空军基地期间被压制的较小岛屿受到的关注较少，但它们是绝对国防领域的战略纽带。本文考察了日本军事计划防御塞班岛北部异教徒岛的考古证据，这是一场从未打过的战斗。