The Bloodiest Battle
The Battle of Okinawa (codenamed Operation Iceberg) proved to be the deadliest battle on the Pacific side of World War II. The battle involved six countries and more than 180,000 casualties. It became the last campaign in the Pacific and changed the course of history.
In part of the island hopping campaign, the United States knew in order to invade mainland Japan, they would need the last piece of the puzzle. Okinawa was the last island needed to be taken in order to serve as a base where the Americans can launch invasions on mainland Japan. The United States assembled a great fleet including forty aircraft carriers, 18 battle ships, 200 destroyers, and 180,000 men. The force all together consisted of over 1,300 US ships. The Japanese on the other hand were outnumbered by 60,000 and did not have the massive fleet as they used to have prior to the Battle of Midway. With the European side of the war almost over, the Americans could start to concentrate their forces on the Japanese.
Admiral Nimitz in charge of planning the whole operation decided on the strategy to ‘soften’ up the beaches and then proceed to quickly invade and take over the airfields necessary for the victory of Okinawa and the invasion of Japan. He would also use the fleet to cut sea lanes limiting Japan’s mobility of forces. The Japanese strategy on the other hand, was to consolidate and fortify their position south of the Island and conserve as much of their force as possible so that by the time the weakened Americans arrived, they would easily be defeated. Colonel Yahara, a senior Japanese officer, best describes Japan’s position, “Japan was frantically preparing for a final decisive battle on the home islands, leaving Okin...
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In January 1965, Caputo, now an officer, is sent to Okinawa, Japan with men in the Third Marine Division. While waiting for the call to join the war, the young men start getting antsy and discouraged by the long delay of battle. Two months later, on March 7, 1965, Caputo’s company, along with many others, are assigned to a war location, D...
Okihiro, Gary Y. Whispered Silences: Japanese Americans and World War II. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996.
'Even with all the mental anguish and struggle, an elemental instinct bound us to this soil. Here we were born; here we wanted to live. We had tasted of its freedom and learned of its brave hopes for democracy. It was too late, much too late for us to turn back.' (Sone 124). This statement is key to understanding much of the novel, Nisei Daughter, written by Monica Sone. From one perspective, this novel is an autobiographical account of a Japanese American girl and the ways in which she constructed her own self-identity. On the other hand, the novel depicts the distinct differences and tension that formed between the Issei and Nisei generations. Moreover, it can be seen as an attempt to describe the confusion experienced by Japanese Americans torn between two cultures.
After a quick examination of the recurring theme of Japanese military arrogance, I will argue that the three most compelling strategies that the Japanese could have pursued in the spring of 1942 were, one – to consolidate the most important resource gains that were already made; two – commence immediate planning for a strong anti-submarine warfare campaign; and three – coordinate significant operations with Japan’s Axis partners, particularly in the Indian Ocean and Southwest Asia theaters of conflict.
The motive for Japan’s plan to attack Midway Island was to claim dominant power over the Pacific Ocean and to...
Myer, Dillon S. Uprooted Americans: The Japanese Americans and the War Relocation Authority During World War II. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1970. Print
This battle was the start of America taking control of the war over the Pacific. This battle took place six months after Japan first struck Pearl Harbor. Many historians say this was the greatest air battle of all time. America not only proved that numbers didn’t matter, but showed that only leaders with clear eyes and soldiers with heart can win a battle of any size. Even before the battle started, America saw his attack coming.
On December 7th 1941, Japanese Planes and submarines attacked the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor. This event singlehandedly brought the U.S from its then neutral stance in World War Two to a fighting member of the “Allied Powers.” Pearl Harbor was the first of a long series of confrontations between the U.S and the Japanese in an effort to gain control of the Pacific. Unlike the “War in Europe” the Pacific strategy was dominated by naval and aerial battles, with the occasional land-based “Island Hopping” Campaign. As such, one of the most important factors in the war in the pacific was Fleet Size, the more ships a country could send to war, the better. Pearl Harbor was the Japanese’s way of trying to deal with the massive U.S Pacific fleet. However, Pearl Harbor was not the turning point of the war. After December 7th the United States began work on numerous technological developments which would ultimately help them in one of the most important battles of WWII, the largest naval confrontation of the war, The Battle of Midway. The battle, which took place from June 4th to June 7th , 1942 is widely considered the turning point of the Pacific Theater (James & Wells). Through the Post-Pearl Harbor desire for “Revenge” and various technological advantages including code breaking and radar, the U.S were able to outsmart the Japanese at Midway and ultimately win the battle, eventually leading to a victory in the Pacific.
Ogawa, D. (1993) The Japanese of Los Angeles. Journal of Asian and African Studies, v19, pp.142-3.
Because it was the last major battle of WWII, the battle of Okinawa used lessons learned and TTP’s from all previous battles with the Japanese to successfully employ combined striking power of the services and techniques of amphibious operations. Operation Iceberg was the official Okinawa campaign name. Because of its strategic importance to both the Japanese and the American’s, the Thirty-second Japanese Army commanded by General Mitsuri Ushijima, was ordered to defend Okinawa at all cost. The Japanese forces would change their typical tactics of strong defensive positions at the beaches and water’s edge as seen in the other pacific battles notable the battle of Iwo Jima. Instead they used burial tombs as forts so the Americans would have to bring the fight to them.
Fuchida, Mitsuo, and Masatake Okumiya. Midway, the Battle That Doomed Japan; The Japanese Navy's Story. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute, 1955. Print.
On June 21, all the loose ends were tied up, and America had won Okinawa. Okinawa was needed by the Allies to attack mainland Japan. After obtaining it, Okinawa would be used as a staging ground for the attack. The several airfields that were on it made it vital if Japan were to be conquered. Before the troops landed on the island, 13,000 rounds were fired at it.
Matsumoto studies three generations, Issei, Nisei, and Sansei living in a closely linked ethnic community. She focuses her studies in the Japanese immigration experiences during the time when many Americans were scared with the influx of immigrants from Asia. The book shows a vivid picture of how Cortex Japanese endured violence, discriminations during Anti-Asian legislation and prejudice in 1920s, the Great Depression of 1930s, and the internment of 1940s. It also shows an examination of the adjustment period after the end of World War II and their return to the home place.
In May of 1942, Japanese Admiral Isorosku Yamamoto devised a plan to draw the US Pacific fleet into battle where he could completely destroy it. To accomplish this master plan of his, he sought out the invasion of Midway Island which would provide a base for the Japan troops to attack Hawaii. Unfortunately for Yamamoto, America decrypted Japanese radio transmissions and Admiral Chester Nimitz was able to establish a counter attack against this offensive. Nimitz sent three aircraft carriers, The USS Enterprise, The USS Hornet and The USS Yorktown to destroy the Japanese. This is just a short overview of The Battle of Midway, or as commonly referred to as, the battle that changed the war. People argue that it had no affect on the war, but those critics couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Battle of Midway was the turning point of the war because it fully enters America into the war, it kicked off the Pacific Campaign, and it had Japan on the defensive, thus preventing them from helping The Axis Forces.
19 February 1945 marked the beginning of one of the fiercest and bloodiest; and more decisively, the most strategically important battles fought during World War II. A total of 6,821 U.S. Marines had lost their lives, along with 19,217 wounded over the five-week span of the battle for Iwo Jima. Of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers on the island, only 212 were taken prisoners. “Iwo Jima was the only battle by the U.S. Marine Corps in which the overall American casualties (killed and wounded) exceeded those of the Japanese, although Japanese combat deaths were thrice those of the Americans throughout the battle (O'Brien, 1987).”