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- The island formed the gateway to the Japanese homeland, and for the Japanese, it was to be a desperate, sacrificial effort to stave off looming defeat. Half a million Allied personnel would partake in the epic battle for Okinawa. It was the culmination of World War II’s long, bloody, island-by-island struggle across the Pacific.
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Jun 22, 2021 · At dawn on Easter, April 1, 1945, a fleet of 1,300 U.S. ships and 50 British ships closed in for the invasion of Okinawa, which is an island in Japan’s southernmost prefecture. The Allied landings on the island were relatively unopposed because the Japanese refused to fight on the beaches.
- Reporting From The Front Lines of WWII
“There’s that phrase, something about a lot of monotony and...
- Reporting From The Front Lines of WWII
- Okinawa Island
- Landing on The Beachheads
- Japanese Army Waits
- Battleship Yamato
- Kamikaze Warfare
- Hacksaw Ridge
- Suicide Or Surrender
- Death Toll
- Who Won The Battle of Okinawa?
- Sources
By the time American troops landed on Okinawa, World War II on the European front was nearing its end. Allied and Soviet Union troops had liberated much of Nazi-occupied Europe and were just weeks away from forcing Germany’s unconditional surrender. In the Pacific theater, however, American forces were still painstakingly conquering Japan’s Home Is...
As dawn arrived on April 1, morale was low among American troops as the Fifth Fleet launched the largest bombardment ever to support a troop landing to soften Japanese defenses. Soldiers and Army brass alike expected the beach landings to be a massacre worse than D-Day. But the Fifth Fleet’s offensive onslaught was almost pointless and landing troo...
Japan’s 32nd Army, some 130,000 men strong and commanded by Lt. Gen. Mitsuru Ushijima, defended Okinawa. The military force also included an unknown number of conscripted civilians and unarmed Home Guards known as Boeitai. As they moved inland, American troops wondered when and where they’d finally encounter enemy resistance. What they didn’t know ...
American troops who headed North to the Motobu Peninsula endured intense resistance and over 1,000 casualties but won a decisive battle relatively quickly. It was different along the Shuri Line where they had to overcome a series of heavily defended hills loaded with firmly-entrenched Japanese troops. On April 7, Japan’s mighty battleship Yamato wa...
The kamikaze suicide pilotwas Japan’s most ruthless weapon: On April 4, the Japanese unleashed these well-trained pilots on the Fifth Fleet. Some dove their planes into ships at 500 miles per hour, causing catastrophic damage. American sailors tried desperately to shoot the kamikaze planes down but were often sitting ducks against enemy pilots with...
The Maeda Escarpment, also known as Hacksaw Ridge, was located atop a 400-foot vertical cliff. The American attack on the ridge began on April 26. It was a brutal battle for both sides. To defend the escarpment, Japanese troops hunkered down in a network of caves and dugouts. They were determined to hold the ridge, and decimated American platoons u...
Most Japanese troops and Okinawa citizens believed Americans took no prisoners and they’d be killed on the spot if captured. As a result, countless took their own lives. To encourage their surrender, General Simon Bolivar Bucknerinitiated propaganda warfare and dropped millions of leaflets declaring the war was all but lost for Japan. About 7,000 J...
Both sides suffered staggering losses in the Battle of Okinawa. The Americans bore over 49,000 casualties including 12,520 killed. General Buckner himself was killed in action on June 18, just days before the battle ended. Japanese losses were even greater—about 110,000 Japanese soldiers lost their lives. It’s estimated between 40,000 and 150,000 O...
Winning the Battle of Okinawa put Allied forces within striking distance of Japan. But wanting to bring the war to a swift end, and knowing over 2 million Japanese troops were awaiting battle-weary American soldiers, President Harry S. Truman chose to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshimaon August 6. Japan didn’t give in immediately, so Truman ordered t...
Hellish Prelude at Okinawa. U.S. Naval Institute. Okinawa: The Last Battle. Marine Corps Gazette. Center of Military History, United States Army. Operation Iceberg: The Assault on Okinawa-The Last Battle of WWII (Part 1) April-June 1945. History of War. The Decision to Drop the Bomb. USHistory.org. The Real ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ Soldier Saved 75 Souls Wi...
The Battle of Okinawa (Japanese: 沖縄戦, Hepburn: Okinawa-sen), codenamed Operation Iceberg, [28]: 17 was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army.
DayShipTypeCause19 Mar 45CarrierAir attack, bomb through flight, & hangar ...19 Mar 45CarrierAir attack20 Mar 45CarrierAir attack, two near misses from bombs, ...20 Mar 45DestroyerAir attack, kamikaze- Allied victory
For today’s Navy, the Battle of Okinawa is a stark reminder of the importance of integrated American naval power, the necessity of conducting effective joint operations, and the value of being...
Sep 9, 2024 · Battle of Okinawa (April 1–June 21, 1945), World War II battle fought between U.S. and Japanese forces on Okinawa, the largest of the Ryukyu Islands. The capture of Okinawa was seen as a precursor to an invasion of the Japanese home islands.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Apr 1, 2020 · By April 1945, US forces were ready to launch an assault on Okinawa. An airbase here would bring US B-29 bombers within range of the Japanese home islands. Discover five facts about the Battle of Okinawa and a few highlights from our collection.
Sep 9, 2024 · On May 12, however, U.S. forces broke into Naha’s suburbs and proceeded to enter the city, fighting from house to house. Even more intense was the battle for Shuri, keystone of the Japanese fortifications. Shuri fell on June 1, and the important Naha airfield was in U.S. hands by June 6.
