American troops discover Japanese civilians on Saipan.

American troops discover Japanese civilians on Saipan. American troops advancing on Saipan reassure Japanese civilians who had been hiding in a cave. In the background a U.S. soldier helps one of the civilians out of the mouth of the cave. More than 1,600 Japanese soldiers surrendered to U.S. forces during the battle for Saipan, which ended with American victory on July 8, 1944. In the enemy homeland, the crisis resulting from the loss of the Central Pacific bastion was revealed in the resignation of the entire Japanese cabinet.