The Last Great Banzai: Saipan, 1944 - Paperbackby Bradley Mason Gates (Author) On July 7, 1944, all remaining Japanese forces on Saipan conducted a massive suicide attack against the American forces that had landed on the island several weeks earlier. At approximately 3am, the Japanese forces rushed southward on the Tanapag Plain and overwhelmed the soldiers of the U. S. Army's 27th Infantry Division. Hundreds of Japanese soldiers continued unimpeded for 1,200 yards, where they came upon the U. S.