The Battle of Okinawa extended from April 1, 1945 till June 22, 1945 the battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest battle. On April 1, 1945—Easter Sunday—the Navy’s Fifth Fleet with more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops attacked on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. The invasion in Okinawa island was part of Operation Iceberg, a complex plan to invade and occupy the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa. Though it resulted in an Allied victory, Japanese fighters, rainy weather and fierce fighting on land, sea and air led to a great death toll on both sides.
Okinawa Island
By the time American troops landed on Okinawa island, the war on the European front was going to end. Allied and Soviet troops had taken control much of Nazi-occupied Europe and were just weeks away from forcing Germany’s unconditional surrender.
In the Pacific theater, however, American forces were still painstakingly taking control of Japan’s Home Islands, one after another. After finishing off Japanese troops in the brutal Battle of Iwo Jima, they set their next attack on the isolated island of Okinawa, their last stop before reaching Japan’s motherland.
Okinawa had 466 square miles of dense forest, hills and trees made it the perfect location for the Japanese High Command’s last chance to protect their motherland. They knew if Okinawa would be in control of US, so would Japan. The Americans knew securing Okinawa’s airbases which would make it difficult launching a successful Japanese invasion.
Landing on the Beachheads
Soldiers and Army brass alike expected the beach landings to be a massacre worse than D-Day. But the Fifth Fleet’s offensive onslaught was almost pointless and landing troops could have literally swum to shore—surprisingly, the expected mass of awaiting Japanese troops wasn’t there to protect the Okinawa island.
On D-Day, American troops fought hard for every inch of beachhead—but troops landing on Okinawa’s beaches surged inland with little resistance. Wave after wave of troops, tanks, ammunition and supplies went ashore almost effortlessly within hours. The troops quickly secured both Kadena and Yontan airfields.
The Enemy Waits
Japan’s 32nd Army, some 130,000 men strong and commanded by Lt. Gen. Mitsuru Ushijima, defended Okinawa. The military force also included an unknown number of conscripted civilians and unarmed Home Guards known as Boeitai.
As they moved inland, American troops wondered when and where they’d finally encounter enemy resistance. What they didn’t know was the Japanese Imperial Army had them just where they wanted them.
Japanese troops had been instructed not to attack on the American landing forces but instead watch and wait for them, mostly in Shuri, a rugged area of southern Okinawa where General Ushijima had set up a triangle of defensive positions known as the Shuri Defense Line.
Battleship Yamato
Kamikaze Warfare
The kamikaze suicide pilot was Japan’s most ruthless weapon. On April 4, the Japanese unleashed these well-trained pilots on the Fifth Fleet. Some drove their planes into ships at a speed of 500 miles per hour causing catastrophic damage.
American sailors tried desperately to shoot the kamikaze planes down but were often sitting as audience with nothing to do against enemy pilots. During the Battle of Okinawa, the Fifth Fleet suffered with:
• 36 sunk ships
• 368 damaged ships
• 4,900 men killed or drowned
• 4,800 men wounded
• 763 lost aircraft
Hacksaw Ridge
The Maeda Escarpment, also known as Hacksaw Ridge, was located atop a 400-foot vertical cliff. The American attack on the ridge began on April 26. It was a brutal battle for both sides.
To defend the escarpment, Japanese troops hid down in a network of caves and dugouts. They were determined to hold the ridge and decimated some American platoons until just a few men remained.
Much of the fighting was hand-to-hand and particularly ruthless. The Americans finally took Hacksaw Ridge on May 6.
All Americans who fought in the Battle of Okinawa were heroic, but one soldier at the escarpment stood out—Corporal Desmond T. Doss. He was an army medic and Adventist who refused to raise a gun against enemy.
Suicide or Surrender
Most Japanese troops and Okinawa citizens believed Americans took no prisoners and they’d be killed on the spot if captured. As a result, countless took their own lives.
To encourage their surrender, General Buckner initiated propaganda warfare and dropped millions of leaflets declaring the war was all but lost for Japan.
About 7,000 Japanese soldiers surrendered, but many chose death by suicide. Some jumped from high hills, others blew themselves up with grenades.
When faced with the reality that further fighting was futile, General Ushijima and his Chief of Staff, General Cho, committed ritual suicide on June 22, effectively ending the Battle of Okinawa.
Battle of Okinawa Death Toll
Japanese losses were even greater—about 110,000 Japanese soldiers lost their lives. It is estimated between 40,000 and 150,000 Okinawa citizens were also killed.
Who Won The Battle of Okinawa?
Winning the Battle of Okinawa put Allied forces within striking distance of Japan. But wanting to bring the war to a swift end, and knowing over 2 million Japanese troops were awaiting battle-weary American soldiers, Harry S. Truman chose to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6.
Japan didn’t give in immediately, so Truman ordered the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9. Finally, Japan had had enough. On August, 14, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender, marking the end of World War II.