The Battle of Okinawa

Iwo Jima was known for one of the most bloody battles in not just the Marine but American history too. The battle began on February 19, 1945 as part of the campaign of the Pacific theatre, and lasted for thirty-six days. Around twenty six-thousand Marines were wounded, which caused Union losses during the battle at Gettysburg. Near the beginning of summer of 1944, American B-29 bombers were ruining the islands. “Iwo Jima proved itself an indispensable asset to the Pacific command.” “Thousands of fighters took off from its runways, and this ‘stepping stone’ served as a staging ground for countless Allied advances.”

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 Battle of Midway was fought with a variety of naval ships such as battleships, destroyers, aircraft carriers, as well as naval planes and submarines. Many of these ships and planes were lost during this battle especially for the Japanese.(Cressman, Robert J., "No End Save Victory", Naval Historical Center, June 1998)

​Manchester's Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of All is an essay that argues how war is overly romanticized and that Patriotism has decreased over the years due to the reality of war. He composes his argument in four sections, where he explains how the reality of war changes everyone. How in war we are all mirror images of each other, blinded by the censorship of war. Manchester’s thesis revolves around the Romanization of war and the effects it has on everyone due to the reality of it. His essay tries to argue many points but doing so takes away from developing a clear argument, or point he is trying to make. Though I do I agree with his argument his structure to make it a point is disorganized and at times

The fight for control of Iwo Jima lasted thirty eight days. Over that course of time the U.S. lost almost six thousand Marines with another eighteen thousand men wounded. The Japanese however lost around twenty one thousand men. This was the only battle during the war with Japan when the U.S. suffered more casualties than the Japanese. Being one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the taking of Iwo Jima served as a valuable lesson for the upcoming Okinawa campaign. In the weeks following, the battle fell under heavy scrutiny from the press and the public. Many viewed it as an unnecessary fight and loss of

he Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest and fiercest battles of the Second World War in which the US Armed Forces captured the Iwo Jima Island from the Japanese. More than 6800 American servicemen lost their lives in the battle and thus the battle has come to known as the deadliest battle in Marine Corps history. Iwo Jima was an island strategically positioned and highly fortified as its three airfields were used to stage attacks on the US at the Pacific War. It was therefore Americas target to capture the island and use it to stage attacks on Japans mainland and use the airfields as emergency landing strips for the US Navy planes damaged during war. According to The Washington Post a small group gathered on Thursday February 18th

The battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were two of the most important American operations in the Pacific Theatre against the Empire of Japan during World War Two. The goal of the two operations was to secure strategically important islands close to Japan to use for bombing campaigns. The battles for Iwo Jima(February-March 1945) and Okinawa f(April-June 1945) killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians and helped to win the war for the United States.

' 'No one who was at Iwo Jima can analyze the battle objectively. The carnage was so horrifying that the blood and agony of the struggle saturated one 's mind . . . Iwo was unlike any war I had ever seen. It was a fight to the finish, with no man asking for quarter until he was dead . . . all except a few score of the

The Battle of Midway was not the first battle or the last battle of the Second World War, but there is not question that it was the most decisive battle of World War II in the Pacific. Midway is nothing special—just a small string of islands six miles across built up to form coral—however its location and resources are important. If the United States of America had not been in possession of Midway, the Empire of Japan could have easily attacked Pearl Harbor, or possibly even the west coast of the United States. I believe the possession of the Island of Midway was a key ingredient to winning the war in the Pacific. Japan, which has almost no natural resources, would

There were 26,000 casualties and 6,800 dead Americans at Iwo Jima, with 20,000 casualties and 1083 dead Japanese. (1. "Battle for Iwo Jima, 1945." The Navy Department Library) At Okinawa there were 65,000 American casualties and 14,000 dead, while the Japanese lost 70,000 soldiers out of the 130,000 stationed on Okinawa. (2. "Battle of Okinawa." History.com) The bloodshed from these two battles gave the Americans a taste of the militaristic Japanese, and that a battle for the homeland of Japan would be astronomically worse. The Japanese were prepared to use any means necessary to stop the Americans because of “Yamato Damashii”, which was a virtue of the samurai that went hand in hand with the Bushido code, and it made the Japanese value the country and the emperor above all else, and that fighting to the death was greater than surrender. and it came in the form of Kamikaze attacks, suicide troops, and guerilla warfare. At Okinawa, 193 kamikaze attacks were launched at the Americans damaging 368 ships and destroying 36. (3. "The Battle of Okinawa." History Learning Site) The Japanese were prepared to sacrifice everything they had to destroy American ships and troops. The Japanese also used their own people to fight against the Americans.

On December 7, 1941 -- the day that will always be commemorated as “the date which will live in infamy” by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- the Japanese unexpectedly attacked the United States’ naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This crippling attack caused many American casualties, and American citizens quickly became filled with fury and abhorrence; the detestation that swallowed the hearts of the American citizens was shown through President Roosevelt’s expeditious appeal to Congress to declare war against Japan. The attack on Pearl Harbor was an unforgettable day in history and directly affected the United States involvement in World War Two and the patriotism of the United States’ citizens.

The Americans began to tire from the constant deaths and destruction to their bombers and began to see this little island even more vital to their success in this battle . There were two other reasons as well that the island would be of such strategic importance and why they needed to gain full control of Iwo Jima. The first being the Japanese having radar capabilities there that would allow them to predict attacks as much as two hours in advance. In addition to this and the most important reason for the Americans, were the airstrips that the island was equipped with. The airstrips would permit the United States much safer and more direct access to their bombing targets as well as allow them a well-located location to refuel and rest. The airfields were of key strategic importance also because of their size and location. The Japanese had put together three airfields along the central plateau of Iwo Jima, two of the airfields were built in the form of an X and were approximately 5,225 and 4,425 feet and the third was just a single strip and would never become operational. As you can see without these airstrips and the success in securing Iwo Jima, the United States would have a much more difficult time achieving their goals in the Pacific.

This battle was used to support the case for bringing the war to an end by means other than invading mainland Japan (Willbanks). If the original invasion of Okinawa by the Allies did not go as planned, the war would have dragged on for years and both sides would eventually lose supplies and men to fight with. The extended time period of the war would have brought further damage to Okinawan citizens. Okinawa also influenced the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan after the nation refused to surrender (Willbanks). After the end of the war, the Allies had a continuous presence on the island, which the battle exemplified greatly, for the Japanese could have invaded the island once more, despite the surrender (Padden). The presence of Allied forces on the island created Japanese efforts to reinvigorate its defeated army (Padden). The Battle of Okinawa was by far the costliest battle for the Americans of the Pacific war

The battle of Okinawa began on April 1, 1945 and ended June . It took place over 82 days and fought on the grounds of Ryukyu, Islands of Okinawa.Okinawa was the second most deadliest battle fought in WW2. The battle was a stepping stone for an in invasion to get closer to the mainland, The battle involved the Japanese Army, minimal navy power and American and British navy support, along with Joint services of U.S Army, Marine Corps, and Navy.

World War II consisted of many devastating battles in both the European and the Pacific Theater. The Battle of Okinawa was fought in the Pacific theater. In the beginning of the battle there was little opposition from the Japanese soldiers but as the American troops traveled more inland the more resistance they met. Eventually, the 10th Army came against the fierce challenge of the intricate defense lines the Japanese held up. Many caves and pillboxes in the hills created a formidable challenge for American troops. Slowly though the Allies gained ground and continued to push back the defensive lines of General Ushijima and his troops. The Japanese tried to use kamikaze air and land attacks as successful offensive measures, these