Operational Analysis on Battle for Leyte Gulf

The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army Air Forces started naval bombardments against the island. About seventy-thousand U.S. Marines and eighteen-thousand Japanese soldiers were in the battle. When the Navy opened up on Iwo Jima it caused D-Day to happen on which Allied forces invaded northern France. 19 American B-24 bombers based in Guam, Mariana Islands attacked Iwo Jima on January 29th. 28 American P-51 Mustang and 12 P-61 Black Widow aircraft landed on

Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, the Okinawa campaign (April 1—June 22, 1945) involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan ("Battle of Okinawa," 1996). The Battle of Okinawa remembered more for its iconic photograph of US Marines raising the US flag on Okinawa more so than any other war or battle ever fought. Okinawa the largest of the Ryukus islands played a major role in the American forces overall strategic efforts to advance to the mainland’s of Japan. Because it was the last major battle of WWII, the battle of Okinawa used lessons learned and TTP’s from all previous

The Allies identified five separate beaches for the invasion of Normandy. The Americans would assault the two beaches in the west, named Utah and Omaha. In the east, British and Canadian forces would assault Gold, Juno, and Sword Beaches. Airborne units would be deployed to land on the flanks of Utah and Sword beaches. The main objectives planned for the first day would be to consolidate the beaches into one beach head, secure the main avenues of travel to and from the beaches, and secure the city of Caen. The following days would include fortification and expansion of the beach

Just after midnight on June 4th,1942, the United States attacked a fleet of Japanese transport ships. One American torpedo plane took out fleet tanker "Akabono Maru". Later that morning at about 6:30am, Japanese planes began bombing midway island installations, though causing minimal damage to the U.S. naval

“A successful military operation against the Gallipoli peninsula must binge upon the ability to fleet…. To dominate the Turkish defences with gunfire and to crush their field troops during that period of helplessness while an army is disembarking, but also to cover the advance of the troops once ashore” This source describes that plan of the attack, and how the operation was successful during the Gallipoli.

On February 19th, at 8:30 in the morning, the invasion started. At least 90,000 marines stormed the volcanic sands of the beachheads with huge casualties. Unable to protect themselves on the open

Slowly but surely the American soldiers made progress and secured some of the airfields because by the beginning of March, two thirds of the island was captured by American soldiers because they had a strong Marine base and were able to push the Japanese back.

Iwo Jima remains the Marine Corps’s deadliest campaign. February 19, 1945 was the day of the initial assault on Iwo Jima. That morning nearly eight hundred vessels, ranging from battleships, cruisers, and destroyers to

The American forces plan consisted of a “divide and conquer” methodology. The U.S. focused on landing its assault force expediently and quickly and securing Mt. Suribachi and dominant high ground of the island. The Americans expected victory in less than a week. Their forces consisted of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions. The 4th and 5th Marine Divisions were to land on the eastern beaches the 4th on the right and the 5th on the left. The 3rd Marines would either land on the eastern beaches or assume a defensive role, which ever was called (Planning for the Battle of Iwo Jima, n.d.).

When the Allies heard that the Japanese were moving troops in onto the island, they began to do the same. On that night, was when the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal began. On November 14th, two days later CAF and an aircraft from the USS Enterprise found seven of Tanka’s transports. Once spotted, CAF and the aircraft sunk all seven of the transporting carriers. Even though they suffered losses too, American warships turned back to the Japanese on the island the next day. The only four remaining transport boats were beached at Tassafaronga before dusk. Once they were beached, Allied forces quickly took over and destroyed the transport crafts

Japanese Admiral Keiji Shibasaki, confident in his command, reportedly bragged that the U.S. couldn’t take Tarawa with a million men in 100 years.” The two mile long island was covered with Japanese pillboxes, coastal guns, antiaircraft guns, light tanks, and a trench system that allowed efficient defensive movements for the Japanese. Day one of the battle was where the problems arose. The unexpectedly low tide caused problems for the landing Marines because their vehicles could not reach the beach. The Japanese bombarded the stranded Marines and began diminishing their resources. Due to this problem, the landing Marines were forced to leave the safety of their vehicles and walk through chest high water to the beach. This destroyed a lot of the electronics that the Marines were carrying to the beach. Since the Marines were easy targets, the “shore became congested with disabled landing crafts and bloodied bodies, which hindered the dispatching of reinforcements.” On day two of the battle, the tide began to rises allowing the United States Navy to provide bombardment from its destroyers. Finally, the Marines were able to move into the middle of the island and start their offensive. The final day of the battle, November 22nd, 1943, the United States forces were advancing into the Japanese defenses. The Marines kept destroying enemy pillboxes and defensive weapons. By the

Z Hamill 1 The Battle of Guadalcanal was one of the fiercest battles of World War II. About 1,600 Marines and soldiers from the US Army were killed and 4,700 were wounded. For the Japanese, it was an absolute bloodbath; 25,400 were killed. Additionally, both sides lost about 25 major warships.

The Battle of Okinawa The Battle of Okinawa took place in the spring of 1945 in the Pacific Theater during World War Two. The Okinawa Campaign was the last major operation in Japan by the United States during World War Two before the invasion of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Battle of Okinawa was considered the most difficult battle that occurred during the Second World War. The battle required meticulous attention to detail from the Allied forces in order for the mission to be successful (Rottman, et al.).

The first troops deployed into battle were paratroopers. Over thirteen thousand U.S. paratroopers were dropped by an armada of C-47s behind German lines before dawn. Their mission was to seize bridges, disrupt communications, and prevent German soldiers from reinforcing the Normandy beaches as the Allied assault hit the coastline (Alberecht). Heavy cloud coverage made for difficult navigation and forced many of the paratroopers to jump “blind”. This resulted in them being scattered over a 100-square mile radius. Thirty-five percent of these soldiers landed at their designated drop point, while many others died when they landed in fields flooded by the Germans. Despite all of this, the remaining troops were able to secure their intended positions (Dry).

On May 4-6th General Ushijima ordered his troops to commence a land and sea kamikaze air counter offensive. The impossible purpose behind this was to recapture all ground lost to the Allies. All efforts ended in extreme disappointment to the General. The kamikazes were annihilated and their land troops devastated by mortar, artillery, and machine gun fire. Col. Hiromichi