Battle of Okinawa
Template:Battlebox The Battle of Okinawa, fought on the island of Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands (south of the four big islands of Japan) was the largest amphibious assault during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was the largest sea-land-air battle in history, running from April through June, 1945.
Neither side expected it to be the last major battle of the war, which it was. The Americans were planning Operation Downfall, the invasion of the main islands of Japan, which never happened, due to the Japanese surrender resulting from the American use of the atomic bomb in August 1945, first in Hiroshima, and a second time in Nagasaki.
The battle has been referred to as "Typhoon of Steel" in English, and "tetsu no ame," "tetsu no bōfū" by Okinawans, which means "rain of steel" and "violent wind of steel" respectively, referring to the intensity of gunfire that characterized this battle.
At some battles such as Iwo Jima, there had been no civilians, but Okinawa had a large indigenous civilian population, and the civilian losses in the battle were at least 130,000. American losses were over 72,000 casualties, of whom 18,900 were killed or missing, over twice the number killed at Iwo Jima, and the Guadalcanal combined. Several thousand soldiers who died indirectly (whether because of wounds, or from other causes), at a later date are not included. About a quarter of the civilian, Japanese, and American populations about, around or upon the island in spring, 1945 were killed. There were about 107,000 Japanese soldiers or civilians killed or captured. Some of the soldiers committed seppuku or simply blew themselves up with grenades. Some of the civilians, having been convinced by Japanese propaganda that the Americans were "barbarians" who committed horrible atrocities, killed their families, and then themselves, rather than being captured.
Generals
The American 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, consisting of 1st and 6th Marine Divisions, with 2nd Marine Division as an afloat reserve, and XXIV Corps, consisting of the 7th, 27th, 77th and 96th Infantry Divisions. At the very end of the campaign, Buckner was killed by ricocheting shell fragments, becoming one of the most senior US casualties in the entire war.
The Japanese land campaign (mainly defensive) was conducted by the 100,000 strong 32nd Army. It consisted of the 9th, 24th, and 62d Divisions, and the 44th Independent Brigade. Primary resistance was led in the south by General Mitsuru Ushijima. He committed suicide at the end. In the less-talked-about north of Okinawa, General Takehido Udo commanded.
But much happened before the land campaign.
United States submarines had, by late 1944, wreaked havoc upon Japanese shipping. The troop ship Toyama Maru was sunk, on its way to Okinawa, by the USS Sturgeon (SS-187). This caused a loss of about 5,600 men. Since this sinking occured nine months before the land campaign, these Japanese deaths are usually not figured in accounts of the battle losses. The Sturgeon escaped, despite being pummelled by depth charges)
Additionally, before the battle, the evacuation ship Tsushima Maru was sunk by the USS Bowfin (SS-287) and 1,484 women and children died.
On October 10 1944, Okinawa gained a dubious shorthand for disaster—the numerals 10-10. Waves of bombers pummelled the nearly-defenseless island, causing untold wreckage on land; over 80% of Naha was destroyed, and more than 65 boats were sunk. Japanese anti-aircraft technology was not up to combatting the nimble American planes.
Shortly before the battle, the Japanese battleship Yamato was sunk, by American aircraft, on her trip to Okinawa in the disastrous Operation Ten-Go. The Japanese had a plan to beach Yamato on Okinawa's shore, and to use her as a land battery. Widespread rumors that the ship was only given enough fuel for a one-way trip are false; Feifer debunks this (references).
The land battle
The land battle took place over about 82 days after April 1, 1945.
The north
The Americans swept across the thin part of the south-central part of the island, with relative ease by World War II standards, soon taking the lightly-held north, though there was fierce fighting at Yae-dake Mountain, and took the Kadena Air Base and the Yomitan Air Bases — as of 2005, Kadena remains the largest American air base in Asia, and its runways can handle big planes.
The Japanese were to dearly regret losing the Kadena and Yomitan air bases, and gave them up with little fight. The entire north fell on April 20.
Few Americans encountered the feared Habu snake, soon discarding their cumbersome leggings. Far worse awaited them in the south, the north was only a "warm-up".
The south
Fighting in the south was hardest: the Japanese soldiers hid in caves; but the American advance was inexorable. The island fell on about June 21, though some Japanese continued fighting, including the future governor of Okinawa prefecture, Masahide Ota.
Aftermath
The most famous American casualty was the war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who was killed by a Japanese sniper on Ie-shima, just off the northwest coast of Okinawa.
U.S. General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. was killed by a Japanese ricocheting artillery shell while inspecting his troops at the front line, just 4 days before the end of the battle. He was the highest-ranking American to die during the war.
Many military historians believe that Okinawa led directly to American 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 theory goes: 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.
In 1945, Winston Churchill called the battle "among the most intense and famous in military history."
External links
References
- Feifer, George (1992), Tennozan (ISBN 0395700663)