Battle of Okinawa
Part of World War II, the Pacific War
U.S. Marines storm out of a landing craft to establish a beachhead on Okinawa.
Date March 18, 1945–June 23, 1945 Location Okinawa, Japan Result Allied victory
Combatants
United States  United Kingdom  Canada  Australia  New Zealand Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... For other uses, see Pacific War (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Okinawa Island heads up the Ryukyu islands chain, a part of Japan. ... This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ... Image File history File links US_flag_48_stars. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Canadian_Red_Ensign_1921. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ...	Empire of Japan
Commanders
Simon B. Buckner † Joseph W. Stilwell Ray Spruance Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan_-_variant. ... Anthem Kimi ga Yo Imperial Reign Capital Tokyo Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1868–1912 Emperor Meiji  - 1912–1926 Emperor Taishō  - 1926–1989 Emperor Shōwa Prime Minister  - 1885-1888, 1892-1896, 1898, 1900-1901 Itō Hirobumi  - 1888-1889 Kuroda Kiyotaka  - 1889-1891 Yamagata Aritomo  - 1906-1908, 1911-1912 Saionji Kinmochi... Image File history File links US_flag_48_stars. ... Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. ... Temporary grave of an American machine-gunner during the Battle of Normandy. ... Image File history File links US_flag_48_stars. ... Stilwell with Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. ... Image File history File links US_flag_48_stars. ... Raymond Spruance Raymond Ames Spruance (July 3, 1886 - December 13, 1969) was a United States Navy admiral in World War II, and commanded US naval forces at the turning point of the Pacific War, the Battle of Midway. ...	Mitsuru Ushijima † Isamu Cho † Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan_-_variant. ... Mitsuru Ushijima (牛島満, 1887 - June 22, 1945) was the Japanese general at the Battle of Okinawa, leading the primary resistance in the south. ... Temporary grave of an American machine-gunner during the Battle of Normandy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan_-_variant. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Temporary grave of an American machine-gunner during the Battle of Normandy. ...
Strength
548,000 soldiers, 1,300 ships,  ? aircraft	100,000 regulars and militia,  ? ships,  ? aircraft
Casualties
12,513 dead or missing, 38,916 wounded, 33,096 non-combat losses, 79 ships sunk and scrapped, 763 aircraft destroyed	66,000 dead or missing, 17,000 wounded, 7,455 captured, 16 ships sunk and scrapped, 3,130 aircraft destroyed, 150,000 civilians dead or missing

The Battle of Okinawa, fought on the Japanese island of Okinawa, was the largest amphibious assault during the Pacific campaigns of World War II.^[1] It lasted from late March through June 1945. Combatants  United States  Empire of Japan Commanders Holland Smith Tadamichi Kuribayashi â€  Strength 110,000 21,000 Casualties 6,821 dead 19,189 wounded,[1] 494 missing[1] Total: 26,504 20,703 dead,[1] 216 captured[1] Total: 20,919 yeah it was touching. ... Combatants United States Empire of Japan Commanders Marc A. Mitscher Seiichi Ito â€  Strength 11 aircraft carriers 386 aircraft 1 battleship 1 light cruiser 8 destroyers Casualties 10 aircraft destroyed 12 dead 1 battleship sunk 1 light cruiser sunk 4 destroyers sunk 3,700 dead Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign Iwo... Okinawa Island heads up the Ryukyu islands chain, a part of Japan. ... It has been suggested that Landing operation be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Pacific War (disambiguation). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...

The battle has been referred to as the "Typhoon of Steel" in English, and tetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or tetsu no bōfū ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese. The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of gunfire involved, and sheer numbers of Allied ships and armoured vehicles that assaulted the island. Okinawa had a large civilian population, of whom at least 150,000 were killed during the battle, while the Japanese army attempted to defend the island. This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ...

The Allies were planning to use Okinawa as a staging ground for Operation Downfall, the invasion of the Japanese mainland; however, after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 and the Soviet Union's declaration of war on Japan, Japan surrendered and World War II ended. Operation Downfall was the overall Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet Unions declaration of war against Japan. ... The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after the dropping of Little Boy. ... The Japanese representatives, Mamoru Shigemitsu and Yoshijiro Umezu, on board USS Missouri during the surrender ceremonies on 2 September 1945. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Japanese Defenses

Realizing that he could never defend the entire island, General Mitsuru Ushijima centered his defense around the historical capital, Shuri Castle, a medieval fortress of the ancient Ryukyuan kings, and the steep ridges on which it was built. This provided the Japanese with a heavy defense line that could be flanked only from the sea. Mitsuru Ushijima (牛島満, 1887 - June 22, 1945) was the Japanese general at the Battle of Okinawa, leading the primary resistance in the south. ... The main building of Shuri Castle Shureimon Shuri Castle (Okinawan: sui ugusiku, Japanese: 首里城 Shurijo) is a gusuku (Ryukyuan castle) in Shuri, Okinawa. ... “Flanking” redirects here. ...

For the first time in the Pacific War, the Japanese had ample time to dig elaborate fortifications, much as they had on Iwo Jima, and they also had large numbers of tanks and artillery pieces. This relative abundance of materiel—matched with thousands of troops and the knowledge of three years fighting the U.S.—ensured that the Okinawa defenses would be the hardest that the U.S. faced during the war. Ushijima knew the Allies could not be stopped, but he wanted to make them pay for every yard of advance. "Massive numbers of caves masked heavy artillery which could be rolled out on railroad tracks, fired, and rolled back in. Naha, Okinawa had been the site of Japan's artillery school for years. Every gully, every crossroads, every ravine in the south had been pinpointed by the defenders." (William Manchester, Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War, p. 406.) For other uses, see Iwo Jima (disambiguation). ... Material (from the French matérial for equipment or hardware, related to the word material) is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management. ...

Order of battle

Land

The U.S. land campaign was controlled by the Tenth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. The army had two corps under its command, III Amphibious Corps under Major General Roy Geiger, consisting of 1st and 6th Marine Divisions, and XXIV Corps under Major General John R. Hodge, consisting of the 7th and 96th Infantry Divisions. The 2nd Marine Division was an afloat reserve, and Tenth Army also controlled the 27th, earmarked as a garrison, and 77th Infantry Divisions. In all, Tenth Army contained 102,000 Army, 88,000 Marine Corps, and 18,000 Navy personnel. The US Tenth Army was the last Army level command established in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. ... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. ... This article is about a military unit. ... The III Marine Expeditionary Force, is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps that is forward-deployed and able to deploy rapidly and conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to amphibious assault and high intensity combat. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Roy Geiger Roy Stanley Geiger (January 25, 1885 - January 23, 1947) was a United States Marine Corps general who, during World War II, became the first Marine to lead an army. ... The 1st Marine Division is the oldest, largest (active duty), and most decorated division in the United States Marine Corps representing a combat-ready force of more than 19,000 men and women. ... The 6th Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps was a short-lived unit created during World War II for the Battle of Okinawa and a planned invasion of the Japanese home islands. ... XXIV Corps (24th Corps) was a U.S. Army Corps-level command during World War II and the Vietnam War. ... John R. Hodge, full name John Reed Hodge, (June 12, 1893 - November 12, 1963) was a military officer of the United States Army. ... The 7th Infantry Division (Light), nicknamed Lightfighters and sometimes referred to as the The Bayonet Division is a reserve combat division of the United States Army currently made up of National Guard units. ... The 96th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War II. // Activated: 15 August 1942. ... The U.S. 2nd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps, which forms the ground-force component of the II Marine Expeditionary Force. ... Shoulder sleeve patch of the 27th Infantry Division. ... The 77th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II. // Activated: 18 August 1917 Overseas: March 1918 Major Operations: Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Oise-Aisne. ... The United States Army is the largest and oldest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the United States military responsible for providing power projection from the sea,[1] utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. ... USN redirects here. ...

The Japanese land campaign (mainly defensive) was conducted by the 77,000 strong Japanese Thirty-Second Army. It initially consisted of the 9th, 24th, and 62nd Divisions, and the 44th Independent Mixed Brigade. The 9th Division was moved to Taiwan prior to the invasion, resulting in shuffling of Japanese defensive plans. Primary resistance was to be led in the south by Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima, his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Isamu Cho and his chief of operations, Colonel Hiromichi Yahara. Yahara advocated a defensive strategy, whilst Cho advocated an offensive one. In the north, Colonel Takehido Udo was in command. The Japanese Thirty-Second Army of the Imperial Japanese Army was formed in April 1943 and was activated on 1 April 1944 for the defense of Okinawa. ... Mitsuru Ushijima (牛島満, 1887 - June 22, 1945) was the Japanese general at the Battle of Okinawa, leading the primary resistance in the south. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Colonel Hiromichi Yahara (1902-1981) was the senior staff officer in charge of operations of the 32nd Japanese Army at Okinawa during the American invasion of that island during World War II. // His Okinawa Kessen (Battle for Okinawa), first published in Japanese in 1973, was an account of his first... Takehido Udo was a Japanese general who served at the Battle of Okinawa. ...

Sea

U.S. Navy

A map of U.S. operations during the battle

The U.S. Navy contributed the bulk of the ships and airplanes involved in the operation. Most of the air-to-air fighters and the small dive-bombers and strike aircraft were U.S. Navy carrier-based airplanes. The Japanese had used kamikaze tactics since the Battle of Leyte Gulf, but for the first time, they became a major part of the defense. Between the American landing on Easter Sunday and May 25, seven major kamikaze attacks were attempted, involving more than 1,500 planes. Almost a score of American ships were sunk and twenty-five others damaged.^[2] The total strength of the Allied fleet at Okinawa was 1,300 ships, including 40 carriers, 18 battleships, and 200 destroyers. The U.S. Navy sustained greater casualties in this operation than in any other battle of the war. Image File history File links Battle_of_Okinawa. ... Image File history File links Battle_of_Okinawa. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... Four aircraft carriers, (bottom-to-top) Principe de Asturias, amphibious assault carrier USS Wasp, USS Forrestal and light V/STOL carrier HMS Invincible, showing size differences of late 20th century carriers An aircraft carrier is a warship designed to deploy and in most cases recover aircraft, acting as a sea... USS Bunker Hill was hit by Ogawa (see picture left) and another kamikaze near KyÅ«shÅ« on May 11, 1945. ... Combatants  United States  Australia Empire of Japan Commanders William Halsey, Jr (3rd Fleet) Thomas C. Kinkaid (7th Fleet) Takeo Kurita (Centre Force) Shoji Nishimura â€  (Southern Force) Kiyohide Shima (Southern Force) Jisaburo Ozawa (Northern Force) Strength 17 aircraft carriers 18 escort carriers 12 battleships 24 cruisers 141 destroyers and destroyer escorts... is the 145th day of the year (146th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Four aircraft carriers, (bottom-to-top) Principe de Asturias, amphibious assault carrier USS Wasp, USS Forrestal and light V/STOL carrier HMS Invincible, showing size differences of late 20th century carriers An aircraft carrier is a warship designed to deploy and in most cases recover aircraft, acting as a sea... For other uses, see Battleship (disambiguation). ... USS McFaul underway in the Atlantic Ocean. ...

British Commonwealth

Although Allied land forces were entirely composed of U.S. units, the British Pacific Fleet (BPF; known to the U.S. Navy as Task Force 57) provided about 20% of Allied naval air power. The fleet was a combined British Commonwealth carrier group with British, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian ships and personnel. Their mission was to neutralize Japanese airfields in the Sakishima Islands. The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a multinational Allied naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II. The fleet was comprised mainly of British Commonwealth naval vessels. ... The Commonwealth of Nations as of 2007 Headquarters Marlborough House, London, UK Official languages English Membership 53 sovereign states Leaders  -  Queen Elizabeth II  -  Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma Appointed 24 November 2007 Establishment  -  Balfour Declaration 18 November 1926   -  Statute of Westminster 11 December 1931   -  London Declaration 28 April 1949  Area  -  Total... The Sakishima Islands (先島諸島 Sakishima shotō) are an island chain located at the south end of the Japanese Archipelago. ...

Naval battle

USS Bunker Hill burns after being hit by two kamikaze in 30 seconds

The British Pacific Fleet was assigned the task of neutralizing the Japanese airfields in the Sakishima Islands, which it did successfully from March 26 until April 10. On April 10, its attention was shifted to airfields on northern Formosa. The force withdrew to San Pedro Bay on April 23. Although by then a commonplace event for the U.S. Navy, this was the longest time that a Royal Naval fleet of that size had been maintained at sea. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 742 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1378 × 1113 pixel, file size: 173 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Description: USS BUNKER HILL hit by two Kamikazes in 30 seconds on 11 May 1945 off Kyushu. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 742 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1378 × 1113 pixel, file size: 173 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Description: USS BUNKER HILL hit by two Kamikazes in 30 seconds on 11 May 1945 off Kyushu. ... USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, nicknamed Holiday Express for her many attacks launched around the end of the year. ... USS Bunker Hill was hit by Ogawa (see picture left) and another kamikaze near KyÅ«shÅ« on May 11, 1945. ... The Sakishima Islands (先島諸島 Sakishima shotō) are an island chain located at the south end of the Japanese Archipelago. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 100th day of the year (101st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 100th day of the year (101st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the history, geography, and people of the island known as Taiwan. ... is the 113th day of the year (114th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

From May 4, BPF returned to action, subduing the airfields as before, this time with naval bombardment as well as aircraft. Several kamikaze attacks caused significant damage, but since the British used armored flight decks on their aircraft carriers, they only experienced a brief interruption to their force's objective. is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... USS Bunker Hill was hit by Ogawa (see picture left) and another kamikaze near Kyūshū on May 11, 1945. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In the two month battle for Okinawa, the Japanese flew 1,900 kamikaze missions, sinking dozens of Allied ships and killing more than 5,000 U.S. sailors.

Operation Ten-Go

Battleship Yamato explodes

Main article: Operation Ten-Go

Perhaps the most dramatic action of the naval campaign occurred far from Okinawa: the attempted kamikaze attack by a strike force of Japanese surface vessels led by the battleship Yamato. The Yamato and other vessels in Operation Ten-Go were intercepted shortly after leaving Japanese home waters. Japanese battleship Yamato exploding Origin Taken on: 7 April 1945 from a US Navy aircraft, north of Okinawa From: US Navy National Archives http://www. ... Japanese battleship Yamato exploding Origin Taken on: 7 April 1945 from a US Navy aircraft, north of Okinawa From: US Navy National Archives http://www. ... Yamato (大和), named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... Combatants United States Empire of Japan Commanders Marc A. Mitscher Seiichi Ito â€  Strength 11 aircraft carriers 386 aircraft 1 battleship 1 light cruiser 8 destroyers Casualties 10 aircraft destroyed 12 dead 1 battleship sunk 1 light cruiser sunk 4 destroyers sunk 3,700 dead Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign Iwo... Yamato (大和), named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... Combatants United States Empire of Japan Commanders Marc A. Mitscher Seiichi Ito â€  Strength 11 aircraft carriers 386 aircraft 1 battleship 1 light cruiser 8 destroyers Casualties 10 aircraft destroyed 12 dead 1 battleship sunk 1 light cruiser sunk 4 destroyers sunk 3,700 dead Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign Iwo...

Under attack from more than 300 carrier aircraft over a two day span, the world's largest battleship sank on April 7, 1945, long before she could reach Okinawa, where the battleship had been ordered to fight her way through enemy naval forces, then beach herself and fight from shore; using her guns as artillery and her crewmen as naval infantry. U.S. torpedo bombers were instructed to only aim for one side to prevent effective counter flooding by the battleship's crew, and hitting preferably the bow or stern, where armor was believed to be the thinnest. Part of the Yamato's screening force, which included one cruiser, was also sunk. After the sinking, the Japanese Navy ceased operations and was not a participant in the remainder of the war. April 7 is the 97th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (98th in leap years). ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... For other uses, see Artillery (disambiguation). ... France Marines is the name of a commune in the département of Val dOise, France. ...

Land battle

The land battle took place over about 87 days from 26 March 1945. March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...

The first Americans ashore were soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division, who landed in the Kerama Islands (Kerama Retto), fifteen miles west of Okinawa on March 26, 1945. Subsidiary landings followed, and the Kerama group was secured over the next five days. In these preliminary operations, the 77th Infantry Division suffered 31 dead and 81 wounded, while Japanese dead and captured numbered over 650. The operation provided a protected anchorage for the fleet and eliminated the threat from suicide boats. On March 31 marines of the Fleet Marine Force Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion landed without opposition on Keise Shima, four islets just eight miles west of the Okinawan capital of Naha. 155 mm Long Toms went ashore on the islets to cover operations on Okinawa. The Kerama Retto consists of six islands grouped near one another and located about 30 km west of Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the 77th Infantry Division. ... is the 90th day of the year (91st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The 155 mm M1 Long Tom and M2 (later M59) were 155 millimeter calibre field guns used by the United States armed services during World War II. The M1 Long Tom replaced the Canon de 155 mm GPF in United States service. ...

Northern Okinawa

Marines pass through a destroyed small village where a Japanese soldier lies dead

The main landing was made by XXIV Corps and III Amphibious Corps on the Hagushi beaches on the western coast of Okinawa on L-Day, April 1, which was both Easter Sunday and April Fools' Day in 1945. The 2nd Marine Division conducted a demonstration off the Minatoga beaches on the southeastern coast to confuse the Japanese about American intentions and delay movement of reserves from there. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the Christian festival. ... April Fools Day and April Fools Day redirect here. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Tenth Army swept across the south-central part of the island with relative ease by World War II standards, capturing the Kadena and the Yomitan airbases. In the light of the weak opposition, General Buckner decided to proceed immediately with Phase II of his plan—the seizure of northern Okinawa. The 6th Marine Division headed up the Ishikawa Isthmus. The land was mountainous and wooded, with the Japanese defenses concentrated on Yae-Take, a twisted mass of rocky ridges and ravines on the Motobu Peninsula. There was heavy fighting before the Marines finally cleared the Motobu Peninsula on April 18. “Kadena” redirects here. ... Lajes Airbase in the Azores islands, Portugal An Airbase, sometimes referred to as a military airport or airfield, provides basing and support of military aircraft. ... is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Meanwhile, the 77th Infantry Division assaulted Ie Shima, a small island off the western end of the peninsula on April 16. In addition to conventional hazards, the 77th Infantry Division encountered suicide bombers, and even Japanese women armed with spears. There was heavy fighting before Ie Shima was declared secured on April 21 and became another air base for operations against Japan. is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 111th day of the year (112th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Few U.S. soldiers encountered the feared Habu snake and soon discarded the cumbersome leggings designed to protect them from snakebite. Species T. okinavensis T. elegans T. flavoviridis T. tokarensis A Habu is any of four species of venomous snakes found in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. ...

Southern Okinawa

A Marine of the 1st Marine Division fires on a Japanese sniper with his Tommy gun as his companion ducks for cover.

A Marine demolition crew watch explosive charges detonate and destroy a Japanese cave.

F4U Corsair fighter firing rockets in the support of the troops on Okinawa.

U.S. flag raised over Shuri Castle.

While the Marines cleared northern Okinawa, XXIV Corps wheeled south across the narrow waist of Okinawa. The 7th and 96th Infantry Divisions encountered fierce resistance from Japanese troops holding fortified positions on high ground and engaged in desperate hand-to-hand fighting in west-central Okinawa along Cactus Ridge, about five miles northwest of Shuri. By the night of April 8 the XXIV Corps had cleared these and several other strongly fortified positions. They suffered over 1,500 battle casualties in the process, while killing or capturing about 4,500 Japanese, yet the battle had only just begun, for it was now realized they were merely outposts guarding the Shuri Line. Download high resolution version (1386x1105, 235 KB)A Marine of the 1st Marine Division draws a bead on a Japanese sniper with his tommy-gun as his companion ducks for cover. ... Download high resolution version (1386x1105, 235 KB)A Marine of the 1st Marine Division draws a bead on a Japanese sniper with his tommy-gun as his companion ducks for cover. ... The 1st Marine Division is the oldest, largest (active duty), and most decorated division in the United States Marine Corps representing a combat-ready force of more than 19,000 men and women. ... For other uses, see Sniper (disambiguation). ... Tommy Gun redirects here. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 492 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1113 × 1357 pixel, file size: 159 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Description: Corsair fighter looses its load of rocket projectiles on a run against a Japanese stronghold on Okinawa. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 492 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1113 × 1357 pixel, file size: 159 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Description: Corsair fighter looses its load of rocket projectiles on a run against a Japanese stronghold on Okinawa. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Flag ratio: 10:19; nicknames: Stars and Stripes, Old Glory The flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars... The main building of Shuri Castle Shureimon Shuri Castle (Okinawan: sui ugusiku, Japanese: 首里城 Shurijo) is a gusuku (Ryukyuan castle) in Shuri, Okinawa. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The next American objective was Kakazu Ridge, two hills with a connecting saddle that formed part of Shuri's outer defenses. The Japanese had prepared their positions well and fought tenaciously. Fighting was fierce. Japanese soldiers hid in caves armed with hidden machine guns and explosives; American forces often lost many men before clearing the Japanese out from each cave or other hiding place. The Japanese would send the Okinawans at gunpoint out to acquire water and supplies for them, which induced casualties among civilians. The American advance was inexorable but resulted in massive casualties sustained by both sides.

As the American assault against Kakazu Ridge stalled, General Ushijima, influenced by General Cho, decided to take the offensive. On the evening of April 12 32nd Army attacked American positions across the entire front. The Japanese attack was heavy, sustained, and well organized. After fierce, close fighting the attackers retreated, only to repeat their offensive the following night. A final assault on April 14 was again repulsed. The entire effort led 32d Army's staff to conclude that the Americans were vulnerable to night infiltration, but that their superior firepower made any offensive Japanese troop concentrations extremely dangerous, and they reverted to their defensive strategy. is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 104th day of the year (105th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The 27th Infantry Division, which had landed on April 9 took over on the right, along the west coast of Okinawa. General Hodge now had three divisions in the line, with the 96th in the middle, and the 7th on the east, with each division holding a front of only about a mile and half. is the 99th day of the year (100th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Hodge launched a new offensive of April 19 with a barrage of 324 guns, the largest ever in the Pacific Ocean Theater. Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers joined the bombardment, which was followed by 650 Navy and Marine planes attacking the enemy positions with napalm, rockets, bombs, and machine guns. The Japanese defenses were sited on reverse slopes, where the defenders waited out the artillery barrage and aerial attack in relative safety, emerging from the caves to rain mortar rounds and grenades upon the Americans advancing up the forward slope. is the 109th day of the year (110th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Pacific Ocean theater was one of four major theaters of the Pacific War, between 1941 and 1945. ... A reverse slope defence is a positioning technique characterised by the location of defensive forces on a slope of a hill, ridge, or mountain that descends away from the enemy. ...

A tank assault on Kakazu Ridge, launched without sufficient infantry support in the hope of a breakthrough, failed with the loss of 22 tanks. Although flamethrower tanks cleared many cave defenses, there was no breakthrough, and the XXIV Corps lost 720 killed, wounded or missing. The losses might have been greater, except for the fact that the Japanese had practically all of their infantry reserves tied up farther south, held there by another feint off the Minatoga beaches by the 2d Marine Division that coincided with the attack.

At the end of April, the 1st Marine Division relieved the 27th Infantry Division, and the 77th Infantry Division relieved the 7th. When the 6th Marine Division arrived, III Amphibious Corps took over the right flank and Tenth Army assumed control of the battle.

On May 4 32nd Army launched another counter offensive. This time Ushijima attempted to make amphibious assaults on the coasts behind American lines. To support his offensive, the Japanese artillery moved into the open. By doing so they were able to fire 13,000 rounds in support but American counter-battery fire destroyed nineteen guns on May 4 and forty more over the next two days. The attack was a complete failure. is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The term counter-battery fire refers to the concept of detecting the source of artillery (shells or rockets) landing on friendly forces and firing back at them with artillery, suppressing or destroying them in order to protect the friendly forces and reduce enemy artillery strength. ... is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Buckner launched another American attack on May 11. Ten days of fierce fighting followed. On May 13 troops of the 96th Infantry Division and 763d Tank Battalion captured Conical Hill. Rising 476 feet above the Yonabaru coastal plain, this feature was the eastern anchor of the main Japanese defenses and was defended by about 1,000 Japanese. Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, the 6th Marine Division fought for "Sugar Loaf Hill". The capture of these two key positions exposed the Japanese around Shuri on both sides. Buckner hoped to envelop Shuri and trap the main Japanese defending force. is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

By the end of May monsoon rains which turned contested slopes and roads into a morass exacerbated both the tactical and medical situations. The ground advance began to resemble a World War I battlefield as troops became mired in mud and flooded roads greatly inhibited evacuation of wounded to the rear. Troops lived on a field sodden by rain, part garbage dump and part graveyard. Unburied Japanese bodies decayed, sank in the mud, and became part of a noxious stew. Anyone sliding down the greasy slopes could easily find their pockets full of maggots at the end of the journey.^[4] “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

On May 29, Major General Pedro del Valle, commanding the 1st Marine Division, ordered Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines to capture Shuri Castle. Seizure of the castle represented both strategic and psychological blows for the Japanese and was a milestone in the campaign. Del Valle was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership in the fight and the subsequent occupation and reorganization of Okinawa. However the castle was outside the 1st Marine Division's zone, and only frantic efforts by the commander and staff of the 77th Infantry Division prevented the Marines from being subjected to an American air strike and artillery bombardment. is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Lieutenant General Pedro Del Valle (born (August 28, 1893 – April 28, 1978) in San Juan, Puerto Rico) was the first hispanic in the history of the United States Marine Corps to reach the rank of Lieutenant General (three star general). ... 1st Battalion 5th Marines (1/5) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Pendleton, California consisting of approximately 1000 Marines and Sailors. ... The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919. ...

Either by design or the "fog of war", Buckner did not detect the Japanese retreat to their second line of defense, which ultimately led to the greatest slaughter on Okinawa in the latter stages of the battle, including the deaths of thousands of civilians. The fog of war is a term used to describe the level of ambiguity in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations. ...

The island fell on about June 21, 1945, though some Japanese continued fighting, including the future governor of Okinawa prefecture, Masahide Ota. is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... “Okinawa” redirects here. ... Masahide Ota (大田 昌秀 Ōta Masahide, born Okinawa June 12, 1925) is a Japanese academic and politician who served as governor of Okinawa prefecture in the 1990s. ...

Ushijima and Cho committed suicide by seppuku in their command headquarters on Hill 89 in the closing hours of the battle. Major Yahara had asked Ushijima for permission to commit suicide, but the general refused his request, saying, "If you die there will be no one left who knows the truth about the battle of Okinawa. Bear the temporary shame but endure it. This is an order from your army Commander."^[5] Seppuku (Japanese: 切腹, belly-cutting) is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. ...

Yahara was the most senior officer to have survived the battle on the island, and he later authored a book entitled The Battle for Okinawa.

Casualties

U.S. losses were over 72,000 casualties, of whom 12,513 were killed or missing—over twice the number of casualties as at Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal combined. Several thousand servicemen who died indirectly (from wounds and other causes) at a later date are not included in the total. One of the most famous U.S. casualties was the war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who was killed by Japanese machine gun fire on Ie Shima.^[6] U.S. forces suffered their highest ever casualty rate for combat stress reaction during the entire battle, at 48% (compared to 30% in the Korean War). Operation Watchtower On August 7, 1942, the 1st Marine Division performed an amphibious landing east of the Tenaru River. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... Ernie Pyle on board the U.S.S. Cabot. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... Ie-Shima shown in red A view of Ie-Shima from Motobu, Okinawa Ie-shima (伊江島 -island) is an island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, lying a few kilometers off the Motobu Peninsula of Okinawa Honto. ... Image from The Great War taken in an Australian Dressing Station near Ypres in 1917. ... Combatants  United Nations:  Republic of Korea  Australia  Belgium  Canada  Colombia  Ethiopia  France Greece  Luxembourg  Netherlands  New Zealand  Philippines South Africa  Thailand  Turkey  United Kingdom  United States Medical staff:  Denmark  Italy  Norway  Sweden Communist: Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea  Peoples Republic of China  Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee Chung...

A group of Japanese prisoners who preferred capture to suicide wait to be questioned.

There were about 66,000 Japanese combatants killed and 7,000 captured. Some of the soldiers committed seppuku or simply blew themselves up with hand grenades. This was also the only battle in the war in which the Japanese surrendered by the thousands. When the American forces occupied the island, the Japanese took Okinawan clothing to avoid capture. The Okinawans came to the Americans' aid by offering a simple way to detect Japanese in hiding. Okinawan language differs greatly from Japanese; with Americans at their sides, Okinawans would give directions to people in the local language, and those who did not understand were considered Japanese in hiding who were then captured. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Grenade redirects here. ... Okinawan (Okinawan: ʔucināguci) is a Ryukyuan language spoken in Japan on the southern island of Okinawa, as well as the surrounding islands of Kerama, Kume-jima, Tonaki, Aguni, and a number of smaller islands located to the east of the main island of Okinawa. ...

The last picture of Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr.

Just 4 days from the closing of the campaign, General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., was killed by Japanese artillery fire while inspecting his troops at the front line. He was the highest-ranking U.S. officer to be killed by enemy fire during the war. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. ... Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. ...

Buckner's decision to attack the Japanese defenses head-on, although proving to be extremely costly in U.S. lives, was ultimately successful.

Overcoming the resistance on Okinawa was aided by propaganda leaflets, one of which is being read by a prisoner awaiting transport.

Two Marines share a foxhole with an Okinawan war orphan.

At some battles, such as Iwo Jima, there had been no civilians involved, but Okinawa had a large indigenous civilian population. Okinawan civilian losses in the campaign were in excess of 140,000; in addition, it is estimated that more than a third of the surviving civilian population was wounded. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Propaganda (disambiguation). ... Polish soldiers reading a German leaflet during the Warsaw Uprising A pamphlet is an unbound booklet (that is, without a hard cover or binding). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

During World War II, when many Okinawans still spoke a different dialect, Japanese troops treated the locals brutally. In its history of the war, the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum [1] presents Okinawa as being caught in the fighting between America and Japan. During the 1945 battle, the Japanese Army showed indifference to Okinawa's defense and safety, and the Japanese soldiers used civilians as human shields against the Americans. Japanese military also took all their food, and executed these who hid it, leading to a mass starvation. Human shield is a military and political term describing the presence of civilians in or around combat targets to deter an enemy from attacking those targets. ... This article is about extreme malnutrition. ...

With the impending victory of American troops, civilians often committed mass suicide, urged on by fanatical Japanese soldiers. They persuaded locals that victorious American soldiers would go on a rampage of killing and raping. Ryukyu Shimpo, one of the two major Okinawan newspapers, wrote: Mass suicide occurs when a number of people kill themselves together with one another or for the same reason and is usually connected to a real or perceived persecution. ...

There are many Okinawans who have testified that the Japanese Army directed them to commit suicide. There are also people who have testified that they were handed grenades by Japanese soldiers (to blow themselves up)^[7]

Some of the civilians, having been induced by Japanese propaganda to believe that U.S. soldiers were barbarians who committed horrible atrocities, killed their families and themselves to avoid capture. Some Okinawans threw themselves and their family members from the cliffs where the Peace Museum now resides. Other Okinawans were murdered by Japanese to prevent their capture or to steal their food and supplies. Japanese Military Propaganda during World War II was designed to maintain combat morale, prevent defection and perhaps induce the enemy to surrender or to change sides. ...

Japanese-American Military Intelligence Service^[8] combat translators with the U.S. military tried to convince civilians to not kill themselves, even climbing into caves to talk to them. Their efforts had limited success.^[9]

Aftermath

American Sherman tanks knocked out by the Japanese artillery.

Ninety percent of the buildings on the island were completely destroyed, and the lush tropical landscape was turned into "a vast field of mud, lead, decay and maggots".^[10] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The M4 Sherman was the primary tank produced by the United States for its own use and the use of its Allies during World War II. Production of the M4 Medium tank exceeded 50,000 units, and its chassis served as the basis for thousands of other armored vehicles such...

The military value of Okinawa "exceeded all hope". Okinawa provided a fleet anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields in close proximity to Japan. After the battle, the U.S. occupied Okinawa and set up the Government of the Ryukyu Islands. Significant U.S. forces remain garrisoned there, and Kadena remains the largest U.S. air base in Asia. The Government of the Ryukyu Islands(ja琉球政府) or U.S. Military government of the Ryukyu Islands(ja 琉球軍政府) is the government in Okinawa, Japan after the World War II until 1972. ...

Some military historians believe that Okinawa led directly to the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A prominent holder of this view is Victor Davis Hanson, who states it explicitly in his book Ripples of Battle: The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ... For other uses, see Hiroshima (disambiguation). ... Nagasaki ) ( ) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ... Victor Davis Hanson giving a lecture at Kenyon College. ...

"...because the Japanese on Okinawa, including native Okinawans, were so fierce in their defense (even when cut off, and without supplies), and because casualties were so appalling, many American strategists looked for an alternative means to subdue mainland Japan, other than a direct invasion. This means presented itself, with the advent of atomic bombs, which worked admirably in convincing the Japanese to sue for peace, without American casualties. Ironically, the American conventional fire-bombing of major Japanese cities (which had been going on for months before Okinawa) was far more effective at killing civilians than the atomic bombs and, had the Americans simply continued, or expanded this, the Japanese would likely have surrendered anyway. Nevertheless, the bombs were a powerful symbolic display of American power, and the Japanese capitulated, obviating the need for an invasion of the home islands."

Cornerstone of Peace Memorial with names of all who died in the Battle of Okinawa.

In 1945, Winston Churchill called the battle "among the most intense and famous in military history." B-29 bombers were used to drop hundreds of thousands of tons of explosives onto Japanese cities during the war. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Cornerstone of Peace (沖縄戦跡国定公園, or 平和の礎 for short)[1] in Okinawa Honto is a secular war memorial for the victims of the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. It was erected in 1995 in memory of the 50th anniversary of the battle. ... Churchill redirects here. ...

In 1995, the Okinawa government erected a memorial named Cornerstone of Peace[2] in Mabuni, the site of the last fighting in southeastern Okinawa. The memorial lists all the known names of those who died in the battle, civilian and military, Japanese and foreign. At present there are 237,318 names listed including 148,136 Okinawans (mostly civilians) and 14,005 Americans. Cornerstone of Peace (沖縄戦跡国定公園, or 平和の礎 for short)[1] in Okinawa Honto is a secular war memorial for the victims of the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. It was erected in 1995 in memory of the 50th anniversary of the battle. ...

Revisionism controversy in Japan

Disagreement continues between Okinawa's local government and Japan's national government over the role of the Japanese military in civilian mass suicides during the battle. In March 2007, the national Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry (MEXT) advised textbook publishers to reword descriptions that the embattled Imperial Japanese Army forced civilians to kill themselves in the war so they would not be taken prisoner by the U.S. military. MEXT prefers descriptions that just say that civilians received hand grenades from the military. In June 2007 the Okinawa Prefectoral Assembly adopted a resolution stating,[3] ...

"We strongly call on the (national) government to retract the instruction and to immediately restore the description in the textbooks so the truth of the Battle of Okinawa will be handed down correctly and a tragic war will never happen again."

Nobel Prize winning author Kenzaburo Oe has written a booklet which states that the mass suicide order was given by the military during the Battle of Okinawa in the closing days of World War II.^[11] He is being sued by others who dispute this claim and want to stop publication of the booklet. At a court hearing on November 9, 2007, Oe testified Kenzaburo Oe Kenzaburo Oe , born January 31, 1935) is a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. ...

Mass suicides were forced on Okinawa islanders under Japan's hierarchical social structure that ran through the state of Japan, the Japanese armed forces and local garrisons. ^[12]

On September 29, 2007 about 110,000 people held a rally in Ginowan, Okinawa to demand that MEXT retract its order to textbook publishers on revising the account of the civilian suicide. The resolution stated, is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Ginowan (宜野湾市; -shi) is a city located in Okinawa, Japan. ...

"It is an undeniable fact that the 'mass suicides' would not have occurred without the involvement of the Japanese military and any deletion of or revision to (the descriptions) is a denial and distortion of the many testimonies by those people who survived the incidents." ^[13]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Battle of Okinawa

• Cornerstone of Peace
• Himeyuri Students
• Ryukyuan people

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Cornerstone of Peace (沖縄戦跡国定公園, or 平和の礎 for short)[1] in Okinawa Honto is a secular war memorial for the victims of the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. It was erected in 1995 in memory of the 50th anniversary of the battle. ... The Himeyuri Monument in Itoman, Okinawa The Himeyuri Students (Himeyuri Gakutotai) was a unit of the nursing in the Battle of Okinawa. ... Ryukyuan people (Japanese: 琉球民族, Chinese: 琉球族) are the indigenous people of the Ryukyu Islands of Japan between the islands of Kyūshū and Taiwan. ...

References

Notes

American soldiers of the 77th Division on Okinawa frontline listen to radio reports of Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 1945.

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The 77th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II. // Activated: 18 August 1917 Overseas: March 1918 Major Operations: Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Oise-Aisne. ... Churchill waves to crowds in Whitehall on the day he broadcast to the nation that the war with Germany had been won, 8 May 1945. ... is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Books

• Appleman, Roy Edgar, Burns, James M., Gugeler, Russel A., and Stevens, John, Gerald (1948). Okinawa: The Last Battle. Washington DC: US Army Center for Military History. ISBN 1-410-22206-3. 
• Astor, Gerald (1996). Operation Iceberg: The Invasion and Conquest of Okinawa in World War II. Dell. ISBN 0-440-22178-1. 
• Feifer, George (2001). The Battle of Okinawa: The Blood and the Bomb. The Lyons Press. ISBN 1-58574-215-5. 
• Fisch, Arnold G (2001). The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II: Ryukyus. US Army Center for Military History. ISBN 0-160-48032-9. 
• Hallas, James H. (2006). Killing Ground on Okinawa: The Battle for Sugar Loaf Hill. Potomac Books. ISBN 1-59797-063-8. 
• Lacey, Laura Homan (2005). Stay Off The Skyline: The Sixth Marine Division on Okinawa—An Oral History. Potomac Books. ISBN 1-57488-952-4. 
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (2002 (reissue)). Victory in the Pacific, 1945, vol. 14 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Champaign, Illinois, USA: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-07065-8. 
• Rottman, Gordon (2002). Okinawa 1945: The last Battle. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-546-5. 
• Sledge, E. B.; Paul Fussell (1990). With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-506714-2. 
• Sloan, Bill (2007). The Ultimate Battle: Okinawa 1945--The Last Epic Struggle of World War II. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743292464. 
• Yahara (2001). Okinawa P. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-18080-7. -Firsthand account of the battle by a surviving Japanese officer.

RAdm Samuel Eliot Morison (1887-1976), USN historian Samuel Eliot Morison, RAdm, USNR (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian, notable for producing scholarly works that were both authoritative and highly readable, an ability recognized with two Pulitzer Prizes. ... The History of United States Naval Operations in World War II is a 15-volume account of the United States Navy in World War II, written by eminent historian Samuel Eliot Morison and published by Little, Brown and Company between 1947 and 1962. ... With The Old Breed is a classic memoir from the Second World War, detailing the experiences of former US Marine, Eugene B. Sledge. ...

External links

Japanese prisoners of war.

• Battle of Okinawa, GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved January 8, 2006.
• US military on the Battle of Okinawa
• New Zealand account with reference to Operation Iceberg
• The battle of Okinawa
• USS Gilbert Islands CVE 107. 1945 {at Okinawa}
• United States Army in World War II The War in the Pacific Okinawa: The Last Battle
• Global Security history of Battle of Okinawa particular combat fatigue figures
• History Online about Battle of Okinawa particular force strengths and casualties on both sides
• Animated History of The Battle for Okinawa
• Soldiers of the 184th Infantry, 7th ID in the Pacific, 1943-1945
• Huber, Thomas M. (May 1990). Japan's Battle of Okinawa, April-June 1945. Leavenworth Papers. United States Army Command and General Staff College. Retrieved on November 20, 2006.- Article about the battle from the Japanese perspective.
• Cornerstone of Peace
• Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum
• Essay for National History Day competition
• A photographic record of aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable, 1944-45, including Operation Iceberg, the attack on the Sakashimas

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Western Europe · Eastern Europe · Africa · Mediterranean · Asia and the Pacific · Atlantic Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Army is the largest and oldest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Combatants  United Kingdom  United States Poland  France Canada Free France  Netherlands  Belgium Germany Italy Commanders Winston Churchill, Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Harold Alexander, Bertram Ramsay, Bernard Montgomery, Lord Gort, Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Franklin Roosevelt,, George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Jacob Devers, WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Anders, WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Sikorski, Stanis... Combatants Soviet Union,[1] Poland, Tannu Tuva (until 1944 incorporation with USSR), Mongolia Germany,[2] Italy (to 1943), Romania (to 1944), Finland (to 1944), Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Spain (to 1943, unofficial) Commanders Joseph Stalin, Aleksei Antonov, Ivan Konev, Rodion Malinovsky, Ivan Bagramyan, Kirill Meretskov, Ivan Petrov, Alexander Rodimtsev, Konstantin Rokossovsky... 219. ... The Mediterranean region. ... For other uses, see Pacific War (disambiguation). ... Combatants Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy United States Navy (1941–5) Kriegsmarine Regia Marina (1940–3) Commanders Sir Percy Noble Sir Max K. Horton Percy W. Nelles Leonard W. Murray Ernest J. King Erich Raeder Karl Dönitz Casualties 30,248 merchant sailors 3,500 merchant vessels 175 warships 28...
Major participants ‹ The template below is being considered for deletion. ...			Timeline For events preceding September 1, 1939, see the timeline of events preceding World War II. This is a timeline of events that stretched over the period of World War II. // 1: The Invasion of Poland begins at 4:30 a. ...		Aspects
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On June 28, 1940 Bessarabia and northern Bukovina were occupied by the Soviet Union. ... Combatants Empire of Japan Vichy France Commanders Akihito Nakamura Takuma Nishimura Maurice Martin Strength 34,000 men 2,000 men Casualties  ? 800 The Invasion of French Indochina ), also known as the Vietnam Expedition, the Japanese Invasion of Vietnam, was an attempt by the Empire of Japan, during the Second Sino... Combatants Italy Albania Greece United Kingdom Commanders Sebastiano Visconti Prasca Ubaldo Soddu Ugo Cavallero Giovanni Messe Alexander Papagos Strength 529,000 men Under 300,000 men Casualties 13,755 dead, 50,874 wounded, 25,067 missing, 12,368 incapacitated by frostbites, ca. ... 1941 • East Africa • Invasion of Yugoslavia • Invasion of the USSR • Middle East • Siege of Leningrad • Attack on Pearl Harbor Combatants United Kingdom Anglo-Egyptian Sudan British Somaliland British East Africa British India Gold Coast Nigeria N. Rhodesia S. Rhodesia Union of S. 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Combatants Germany Spanish Blue Division Soviet Union Commanders Wilhelm von Leeb Georg von Küchler Agustín Muñoz Grandes Kliment Voroshilov Georgiy Zhukov Strength 725,000 930,000 Casualties Unknown Red Army: 332,059 KIA 24,324 non-combat dead 111,142 missing 16,470 civilians 1 million civilians... This article is about the actual attack. ... 1942 • Battle of Midway • Battle of Stalingrad • 2nd Battle of El Alamein • Operation Torch • Guadalcanal campaign Combatants United States Empire of Japan Commanders Chester W. Nimitz Frank J. Fletcher Raymond A. Spruance Isoroku Yamamoto Chuichi Nagumo Tamon Yamaguchi† Strength 3 carriers, ~50 support ships, 233 carrier aircraft, 127 land-based aircraft 4 carriers, 7 battleships, ~150 support ships, 248 carrier aircraft, 16 floatplanes Casualties 1 carrier... Combatants  Germany Romania Italy Hungary  Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Italo Garibaldi Gusztav Jany Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovskiy Rodion Malinovskiy Andrei Yeremenko Strength Army Group B: German Sixth Army # German Fourth Panzer Army Romanian Third... Combatants British Eighth Army: United Kingdom Australia Free French Greece India New Zealand South Africa Panzer Army Africa: Germany Italy Commanders Harold Alexander Bernard Montgomery Erwin Rommel Georg Stumme Ettore Bastico Strength 220,000 men 1,100 tanks[1] 750 aircraft (530 serviceable) 116,000 men[1] 559 tanks[2... Combatants United States United Kingdom Free French Forces Vichy France Commanders Dwight Eisenhower Andrew Cunningham François Darlan Strength 73,500 60,000 Casualties 479+ dead 720 wounded 1,346+ dead 1,997 wounded Operation Torch (initially called Operation Gymnast) was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in... Combatants Allied forces including: United States Australia New Zealand British Solomon Is. ...	1943 • End in Africa • Battle of Kursk • Solomon Islands campaign • Invasion of Sicily • Invasion of Italy5 Combatants United Kingdom United States France Germany Italy Commanders Dwight D. Eisenhower Harold Alexander Keneth Anderson Bernard Montgomery Albert Kesselring Erwin Rommel Hans-Jürgen von Arnim Giovanni Messe The Tunisia Campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia), was a series of World War II battles that took place... Combatants Nazi Germany Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Günther von Kluge Hermann Hoth Walther Model Georgiy Zhukov Konstantin Rokossovskiy Nikolay Vatutin Ivan Konyev Strength 2,700 tanks 800,000 infantry 2,000 aircraft 3,600 tanks 1,300,000 infantry and supporting troops 2,400 aircraft Casualties German... Combatants  United States  Australia New Guinea[1]  New Zealand  United Kingdom Colony of Fiji[2] Solomon Is. ... Combatants  United States  United Kingdom  Canada  Free French  Nazi Germany Italy Commanders Dwight D. Eisenhower Harold Alexander Bernard Montgomery George S. Patton Albert Kesselring Alfredo Guzzoni Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin Strength 160,000 men 14,000 vehicles 600 tanks 1,800 guns 365,000 Italians 40,000 Germans Casualties... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... 1944 • Cassino and Anzio • Battle of Normandy • Belorussia and Ukraine • Warsaw Uprising • Battle of Romania • Liberation of Paris • Operation Market Garden • Battle of Leyte Gulf Combatants United Kingdom United States Poland New Zealand Canada Free France India and others Germany Commanders Harold Alexander Mark Clark Oliver Leese Albert Kesselring Heinrich von Vietinghoff Frido von Senger Strength 105,000 80,000 Casualties 54,000 20,000 The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle... Combatants United States, United Kingdom Germany Commanders Harold Alexander Mark W. Clark John P. Lucas Lucian Truscott Albert Kesselring Eberhard von Mackensen Strength 22 Jan 1944: 36,000 soldiers and 2,300 vehicles End May:150,000 soldiers and 1,500 guns 22 Jan 1944: 20,000 soldiers End May... This article is about the assault phase of Operation Overlord. ... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Ernst Busch (to 28 June), Walter Model (Army Group Centre) Georg-Hans Reinhardt (Third Panzer Army) Hans Jordan (Ninth Army) Kurt von Tippelskirch (Fourth Army) Walter Weiss (Second Army) Georgy Zhukov Konstantin Rokossovsky (3rd Belorussian Front) Hovhannes Bagramyan (1st Baltic Front) Ivan Chernyakhovsky (1st Belorussian... For other uses, see Warsaw Uprising (disambiguation). ... Combatants Soviet Union Germany Romania Commanders Rodion Malinovsky Fyodor Tolbukhin Johannes Friessner Ion Antonescu Strength 1,341,200, 1,874 tanks and assault guns ca. ... Combatants Free French Forces French Resistance Germany Commanders Philippe Leclerc Raymond Dronne Henri Rol-Tanguy Jacques Chaban-Delmas Dietrich von Choltitz # Strength 2nd Armoured Division, French resistance 20,000 Casualties 1,500 dead French resistance 71 dead, 225 wounded Free French Forces[1] 3,200 dead, 12,800 POW The... Combatants  United Kingdom  United States  Canada  Poland  Germany Commanders Bernard Montgomery Brian Horrocks Roy Urquhart James M. Gavin Maxwell Taylor StanisÅ‚aw Sosabowski Walter Model Wilhelm Bittrich Kurt Student Strength 35,000 20,000 Casualties 11,377 dead, wounded or missing 6,946 British MIA 2,000 Killed 6,000... Combatants  United States  Australia Empire of Japan Commanders William Halsey, Jr (3rd Fleet) Thomas C. Kinkaid (7th Fleet) Takeo Kurita (Centre Force) Shoji Nishimura â€  (Southern Force) Kiyohide Shima (Southern Force) Jisaburo Ozawa (Northern Force) Strength 17 aircraft carriers 18 escort carriers 12 battleships 24 cruisers 141 destroyers and destroyer escorts... 1945 • Battle of Okinawa • Battle of Berlin • Germany surrenders • Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Japan surrenders Combatants Soviet Union Poland Nazi Germany Commanders 1st Belorussian Front – Georgiy Zhukov 2nd Belorussian Front – Konstantin Rokossovskiy 1st Ukrainian Front – Ivan Konev Army Group Vistula – Gotthard Heinrici then Kurt von Tippelskirch[2] Army Group Centre – Ferdinand Schörner Berlin Defense Area – Helmuth Reymann then Helmuth Weidling #[3] Strength 2,500... During the Battle for Berlin, the Red Flag was raised over the Reichstag, May 1945. ... The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after the dropping of Little Boy. ... The Japanese representatives, Mamoru Shigemitsu and Yoshijiro Umezu, on board USS Missouri during the surrender ceremonies on 2 September 1945. ... • misc. military engagements USS Lexington explodes during the Battle of the Coral Sea. ... Aftermath and Consequences • Effects • Casualties • Expulsion of Germans • Occupation of Germany • Morgenthau plan • Territorial changes • Occupation of Japan • Franco-Vietnamese War • Cold War • in contemporary culture • Possible World War III The bumsItalic textBold text effects of World War II had far-reaching implications for the international community. ... Military and civilian deaths during World War II for the Allied and the Axis Powers. ... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland // The expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the forced migration of people considered Germans (Reichsdeutsche and some Volksdeutsche) from various European states and territories during 1945 and in the first three years after World War II 1946-48. ... The C-Pennant Occupation zones in Germany (1945) Capital Berlin (de jure) Political structure Military occupation Governors (1945)  - UK zone F.M. Montgomery  - French zone Gen. ... The Morgenthau Plan showing the planned partitioning of Germany into a North State, a South State, and an International zone. ... The Oder-Neisse line (Polish: , German: ) marked the border between German Democratic Republic and Poland between 1950 and 1990. ... Capital Tokyo Language(s) Japanese Political structure Military occupation Military Governor  - 1945-1951 Douglas MacArthur  - 1951-1952 Matthew Ridgway Emperor  - 1926-1989 Hirohito Historical era Post-WWII  - Surrender of Japan August 15, 1945  - San Francisco Treaty April 28, 1952 At the end of the Second World War, Japan was occupied... Combatants France French Indochina Việt Minh Strength 500,000 at least 63,000, but estimates 100,000-950,000 Casualties 94,581 dead 78,127 wounded 40,000 captured 300,000+ dead 500,000+ wounded 100,000 captured The First Indochina War (also known as the French Indochina War... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... The influence of World War II has been profound and diverse, having an impact on many parts of life. ... A nuclear holocaust is often associated with World War III For other uses, see World War III (disambiguation). ...	• Attacks on North America • Blitzkrieg • Comparative military ranks • Cryptography • Home front • Military awards • Military equipment • Military production • Resistance • Technology • Total war Attacks on North America during World War II by the Axis Powers were rare, mainly due to the continents geographical separation from the central theaters of conflict in Europe and Asia. ... This article is about the military term. ... The following table shows comparative officer ranks of major Allied and Axis powers during World War II. For modern ranks refer to Comparative military ranks. ... Cryptography was used extensively during World War II, with a plethora of code and cipher systems fielded by the nations involved. ... Publicity photo of American machine tool worker in Texas. ... Military awards of World War II were presented by most of the combatants. ... // Aircraft List of aircraft of World War II List of World War II military aircraft of Germany List of aircraft of the Armée de lAir, World War II List of aircraft of the USAAF, World War II List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force, World War II... During World War II women worked in factories throughout much of the Western and Eastern United States. ... Members of the Dutch Eindhoven Resistance with troops of the US 101st Airborne Division in front of the Eindhoven cathedral during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. ... Technology during World War II played a crucial role in determining the outcome of the war. ... Total war is a military conflict in which nations mobilize all available resources in order to destroy another nations ability to engage in war. ... Civilian impact and atrocities • Allied war crimes • German war crimes • Italian war crimes • Japanese war crimes • Soviet war crimes • The Holocaust • Bombing of civilians Allied war crimes were violations of the laws of war committed by the Allies of World War II against civilian populations or military personnel of the Axis Armed Forces. ... Germany committed war crimes in both World War I and World War II. The most notable of these is the Holocaust, where millions of people, about half of which were Jews, were murdered. ... This article needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism. ... Soviet war crimes gives a short overview about serious crimes, which probably offend against international law, committed by the Red Armys (1918-1946, later Soviet Army) leadership and an unknown number of single members of the Soviet armed forces during in 1919 - 1990 including those in Eastern Europe in... “Shoah” redirects here. ... Strategic bombing during World War II was greater in scale than any wartime attack the world had previously witnessed. ...
Allies		Axis
at war from 1937  China This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ... This article is about the independent states that comprised the Axis powers. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Republic_of_China. ... entered 1939  Poland  UK  India  France  Australia  New Zealand  South Africa  Canada Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Imperial-India-Blue-Ensign. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa_1928-1994. ... Image File history File links Canadian_Red_Ensign_1921. ... entered 1940  Norway  Belgium  Netherlands  Greece Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...	entered 1941  Yugoslavia  USSR  USA Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: South Slavia, or literary The Land of South Slavs) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links US_flag_48_stars. ... entered 1942  Brazil Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... entered 1943  Italy Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946). ... entered 1944  Romania  Bulgaria  Finland File links The following pages link to this file: Axis Powers Flag of Romania Categories: Flag images ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Bulgaria_(1878-1944). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland. ... Combatants Germany Finland Commanders Lothar Rendulic Hjalmar Siilasvuo Strength 200,000 60,000 Casualties 950 killed 2,000 wounded 1,300 captured 774 killed 3,000 wounded 262 missing The Lapland War (Finnish: ; German: ; Swedish: ) is a name used for the hostilities between Finland and Germany between September 1944 and... • others This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ...	at war from 1937  Japan Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan_-_variant. ... entered 1939  Germany  Slovakia Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... Image File history File links 1stslovakia_flag_large. ... entered 1940  Italy  (to 1943) Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946). ... entered 1941  Bulgaria  (to 1944) Croatia  Hungary  Romania  (to 1944)  Finland  (to 1944) Image File history File links Flag_of_Bulgaria_(1878-1944). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Croatia_Ustasa. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Hungary_1940. ... File links The following pages link to this file: Axis Powers Flag of Romania Categories: Flag images ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland. ... Finnish ski troops in Northern Finland in January 1940 The Military history of Finland during World War II covers the history of Finland from 1939 to 1944. ... entered 1942  Thailand Image File history File links Flag_of_Thailand. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... entered 1943  RSI Image File history File links Flag_of_RSI.svg‎ File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Axis powers of World War II Flag of Italy Italian Social Republic Il Cuore nel Pozzo Kingdom of Italy (Savoy) ... Anthem Giovinezza (The Youth)¹ Capital Salò Language(s) Italian Religion Roman Catholicism Government Republic Head of State Benito Mussolini Historical era World War II  - Established September 23, 1943  - Disestablished April 25, 1945 ¹ External link The Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI) was a Nazi puppet state led by... • others This article is about the independent states that comprised the Axis powers. ...
• Allied Leaders • Axis Leaders • Commanders This article does not cite any references or sources. ... // Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, the leaders of the two main Axis powers in Europe. ... The Commanders of World War II were for the most part career officers. ...
Resistance movements Austria · Baltic2 · Bessarabia1 · Czechia · Denmark · Ethiopia · France · Germany · Greece · Italy · Jewish · Korea · Netherlands · Moldavia1 · Norway · Poland · Thailand · USSR · Slovakia4 · Ukraine3 · Vietnam · Yugoslavia · others Members of the Dutch Eindhoven Resistance with troops of the US 101st Airborne Division in front of the Eindhoven cathedral during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. ... The Forest Brothers (also: Brothers of the Forest, Forest Brethren; Forest Brotherhood; in Estonian: metsavennad, in Latvian meža brāļi, in Lithuanian miÅ¡ko broliai) were Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian partisans who waged guerrilla warfare against Soviet rule and for German Nazis during the Soviet invasion and occupation of... Czech resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II is a scarcely documented subject, by and large a result of little formal resistance and an effective German policy that deterred acts of resistance or annihilated organizations of resistance. ... The Jewish resistance during the Holocaust was the resistance of the Jewish people against Nazi Germany leading up to and through World War II. Due to the careful organization and overwhelming military might of the Nazi German State and its supporters, many Jews were unable to resist the killings. ... The Korean Liberation Army was the armed force of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, and was created on September 17, 1941 in Chongqing, China. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: South Slavia, or literary The Land of South Slavs) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... Members of the Dutch Eindhoven Resistance with troops of the US 101st Airborne Division in front of the Eindhoven cathedral during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. ...
			Lists
			Category · Topics · Conferences // Military engagements For military topics (land, naval, and air engagements as well as campaigns, operations, defensive lines and sieges), please see List of military engagements of World War II. Political and social aspects of the war Causes of World War II Appeasement Occupation of Denmark Netherlands in World War II... List of World War II conferences of the Allied forces In total Churchill attended 14 meetings, Roosevelt 12, Stalin 5. ...
1 Anti-Soviet. 2 Anti-Soviet and anti-Nazi. 3 Anti-Nazi, anti-Polish, and anti-Soviet. 4 Anti-Magyar, anti-Nazi, and anti-Soviet. 5 Lasted to May 1945. Magyar may refer to: The Magyar language The Magyar people This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...		World War II at Wiktionary  WWII textbooks at Wikibooks      WWII quotes at Wikiquote  WWII source texts at Wikisource        WWII media at Commons  WWII news stories at Wikinews