The 98-day battle lasted from March 26th until July 2nd, 1945. While no major allied warships were lost, several fleet carriers were severely damaged. Ryūkyū Shimpō, one of the two major Okinawan newspapers, wrote in 2007: "There are many Okinawans who have testified that the Japanese Army directed them to commit suicide. Bear the temporary shame but endure it. [96][page needed][97], In 1995, the Okinawa government erected a memorial monument named the Cornerstone of Peace in Mabuni, the site of the last fighting in southeastern Okinawa. Japanese forces fought with the same fanaticism the Americans had witnessed in battles such as Iwo Jima. The Japanese attack was heavy, sustained, and well organized. Among the Americans killed was Army Lt. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., who was killed by Japanese artillery fire. At Okinawa, they came en masse.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'historyhit_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_15',143,'0','0'])); Almost 1500 pilots hurled their aircraft at the warships of the US 5th and British Pacific Fleets, sinking or damaging about 30 vessels. The 6th Marine Division headed up the Ishikawa Isthmus and by April 7, had sealed off the Motobu Peninsula. 1 and about 5 mi (8 km) northwest of Shuri, from what came to be known as Cactus Ridge. It took place on Okinawa Island in the Ryukyu Islands (south of the four big islands of Japan ). The IJN troops were led by Rear Admiral Minoru Ōta. This total includes conscripted Okinawan civilians. Troops lived on a field sodden by rain, part garbage dump and part graveyard. No Marine regiment in the history of the Corps has ever suffered such high casualties in a single battle as the 29th Marines did on Okinawa. The ship was out of action for fifty minutes. During the 1945 battle, the Imperial Japanese Army showed indifference to Okinawans' safety, and its soldiers even used civilians as human shields or just outright murdered them. About 95,000 killed. The Japanese lost 16 ships and over 4,000 aircraft. Locals were also pressed into service by the Japanese; used as human shields or suicide attackers. In his 1955 memoirs… In all, the US Army had over 103,000 soldiers (of these, 38,000+ were non-divisional artillery, combat support and HQ troops, with another 9,000 service troops),[30] over 88,000 Marines and 18,000 Navy personnel (mostly Seabees and medical personnel). "[50] Yahara was the most senior officer to have survived the battle on the island, and he later authored a book titled The Battle for Okinawa. The Japanese death toll was over 100,000 and over 7,000 were taken as prisoners. The Japanese sent Okinawans at gunpoint out to obtain water and supplies for them, which led to civilian casualties. Rape by Japanese troops reportedly "became common"[attribution needed] in June, after it became clear that the Imperial Japanese Army had been defeated. [45], On May 29, Major General Pedro del Valle, commander of the 1st Marine Division, ordered Captain Julian D. Dusenbury of[46] Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, to capture Shuri Castle. What Was the Legacy of World War One in the Leadership of the United States? The 7th Infantry Division encountered similarly fierce Japanese opposition from a rocky pinnacle located about 1,000 yd (910 m) southwest of Arakachi (later dubbed "The Pinnacle"). 8 Simple Ways to Start Discovering Your Family History, The 6 Kings and Queens of the Stuart Dynasty In Order. There are also people who have testified that they were handed grenades by Japanese soldiers" to blow themselves up. By 1945, Japanese airpower was incapable of mounting any serious challenge one-on-one against their American counterparts. The Marine Corps Historical Centre (1998) notes that: overall American losses in the land battle (on Okinawa) amounted to 7,374 killed, 31,807 wounded and 239 missing in action. "[79] In December 2007, MEXT partially admitted the role of the Japanese military in civilian mass suicides. MEXT preferred descriptions that just say that civilians received hand grenades from the Japanese military. However, the civilians of Okinawa still bore the highest death toll of the battle with over 300,000 deaths. Hodge launched a new offensive of April 19 with a barrage of 324 guns, the largest ever in the Pacific Ocean Theater. Casualties and Deaths: Total: 84,570: Total: 105,755+ 12,513 killed 38,916 wounded, 33,096 non-combat losses: About 95,000+ killed 7,400–10,755 captured: Part of World War II: The Battle of Okinawa, also known as Operation Iceberg, formed a part of the Pacific War during World War II. As many as 100,000 civilians, or one quarter of the pre-war population of Okinawa, died during the campaign.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'historyhit_com-banner-1','ezslot_16',161,'0','0'])); Some were caught in the cross-fire, killed by American artillery or air attacks, which utilised napalm. Local residents have protested against the size and presence of the base. Seizure of the castle represented both strategic and psychological blows for the Japanese and was a milestone in the campaign. We watched each plunging, Civilian losses, suicides, and atrocities. The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and tetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or tetsu no bōfū ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese. Okinawa was declared secure by Allied forces on 21 June 1945, after an intense and costly battle. The 27th Infantry Division—which had landed on April 9—took over on the right, along the west coast of Okinawa. Why Did Beaufort and York’s Rivalry Lead to the Wars of the Roses? Although flame tanks cleared many cave defenses, there was no breakthrough, and the XXIV Corps suffered 720 casualties. The battle of Okinawa was the last major battle in the Pacific Camgaign. Meanwhile, the 77th Infantry Division assaulted Ie Island (Ie Shima)—a small island off the western end of the peninsula—on April 16. Several kamikaze attacks caused significant damage, but as the Royal Navy carriers had armoured flight decks, they experienced only a brief interruption to their force's operations.[41][42]. He was the highest-ranking US officer to be killed by enemy fire during the Second World War. [43] In light of the weak opposition, General Buckner decided to proceed immediately with Phase II of his plan—the seizure of northern Okinawa. While US intelligence estimated there were 89 planes on Formosa, the Japanese actually had about 700, dismantled or well camouflaged and dispersed into scattered villages and towns; the US Fifth Air Force disputed Navy claims of kamikaze coming from Formosa. The 2nd Marine Division conducted a demonstration off the Minatoga beaches on the southeastern coast to deceive the Japanese about American intentions and delay movement of reserves from there. Okinawa, by contrast, had a large indigenous civilian population; US Army records from the planning phase of the operation make the assumption that Okinawa was home to about 300,000 civilians. Here, the terrain was mountainous and wooded, with the Japanese defenses concentrated on Yae-Dake, a twisted mass of rocky ridges and ravines on the center of the peninsula. There was heavy fighting before the area was declared secured on April 21, and became another air base for operations against Japan. This, coupled with thousands of bodies both friend and foe littering the entire island, created a scent you could nearly taste. Among the 21 male and female secondary schools that made up these student corps, 2,000 students would die on the battlefield. American aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill burns after being hit by two kamikaze planes within 30 seconds. "Press rewind: Trump, Tokyo and a welcome back to the 1980s", "Okinawa marks 68th anniversary of bloody WWII battle", "In Okinawa, Talk of Break From Japan Turns Serious", Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944–1945, "The Amphibians Came to Conquer: The Story of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner", "footage from the National Archives.By Sgt. In addition to conventional hazards, the 77th Infantry Division encountered kamikaze attacks, and even local women armed with spears. The Japanese Surrender At sea and in the air, the Navy reported 36 US ships sunk, 368 damaged, 763 aircraft lost to all causes, 4,907 seamen killed or missing in action and 4,824 wounded. Anyone sliding down the greasy slopes could easily find their pockets full of maggots at the end of the journey. The Battle of Okinawa was one of the bloodiest and costliest of World War II in the Pacific. [71] Survivors of the mass suicides blamed also the indoctrination of their education system of the time, in which the Okinawans were taught to become "more Japanese than the Japanese", and were expected to prove it. Japan lost as many as 100,000 soldiers, while the Allies suffered 65,000 casualties… The most complete tally of deaths during the battle is at the Cornerstone of Peace monument at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum, which identifies the names of each individual who died at Okinawa in World War II. Buckner hoped to envelop Shuri and trap the main Japanese defending force. Allied grave registration forces counted 110,071 dead bodies and 42,000 to 150,000 local civilians. The protracted length of the campaign under stressful conditions forced Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to take the unprecedented step of relieving the principal naval commanders to rest and recuperate. That dark history is still present today – and Japan and the US should study it before they decide what to do with next. [89] In 2011, one official of the prefectural government told David Hearst of The Guardian: You have the Battle of Britain, in which your airmen protected the British people. The battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific, with an estimated total of over 82,000 casualties on both sides. [39][clarification needed], The ships lost were smaller vessels, particularly the destroyers of the radar pickets, as well as destroyer escorts and landing ships. On May 1, the British Pacific Fleet returned to action, subduing the airfields as before, this time with naval bombardment as well as aircraft. Because it led to so many unnecessary noncombatant deaths, the Battle of Okinawa should have been the last example of senseless slaughter of civilians in world history. Subsidiary landings followed, and the Kerama group was secured over the next five days. In Saipan, thousands of soldiers carried out a suicidal charge in the face of American machine guns on the orders of their commander. Buckner launched another American attack on May 11. The 9th Division was moved to Taiwan before the invasion, resulting in shuffling of Japanese defensive plans. Of 1500 students drafted into the Iron and Blood Imperial Corps (Tekketsu Kinnotai) 800 were killed during the fighting. The super battleship Yamato explodes after persistent attacks from US aircraft. The Imperial Japanese Navy lost some 3,700 sailors, including Admiral Itō, at the cost of 10 US aircraft and 12 airmen. It became the last campaign in the Pacific and changed the course of history. Why Was Hereward the Wake Wanted by the Normans? The court recognized the military's involvement in the mass suicides and murder-suicides, citing the testimony about the distribution of grenades for suicide by soldiers and the fact that mass suicides were not recorded on islands where the military was not stationed. The Japanese lost 16 combat vessels, including the super battleship Yamato. Kyushu-Okinawa Summit 2000: Okinawa G8 Summit Host Preparation Council, 2000. The British Pacific Fleet, taking part as Task Force 57, was assigned the task of neutralizing the Japanese airfields in the Sakishima Islands, which it did successfully from March 26 to April 10. This move sparked widespread protests among Okinawans. Medal of Honor recipients from Okinawa are: The US military estimates that 110,071 Japanese soldiers were killed during the battle. Add to this the civilian death toll and the terrible cost of Okinawa becomes clear. They were named Tekketsu Kinnōtai (ja:鉄血勤皇隊, "Iron and Blood Imperial Corps"). Americans always had great compassion, especially for children. There was heavy fighting before the Marines finally cleared Yae-Dake on April 18. After the Battle of Okinawa with more than 150,000 casualties, America pictured a bloody preview of the invasion of Japan. The Americans suffered over 75,000 - 82,000 casualties, including non-battle casualties (psychiatric, injuries, illnesses), of whom over 20,195 were dead (12,500 were killed in action, 7,700 died of wounds or non-combat deaths). The United States, having “hopped” their way across the Pacific Ocean, planned to use the island as a base for an assault on the Japanese mainland.eval(ez_write_tag([[728,90],'historyhit_com-box-3','ezslot_11',142,'0','0'])); The Okinawa campaign lasted 82 days, ending on 22 June, and witnessed some of the highest casualty rates of the war, across both combatants and civilians. The United States, believing an invasion of Japan would be necessary to end the Pacific War, needed to secure the island’s airfields to provide air support. Ultimately, this was a factor in the approval of the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. This article gives an account of the 80 day plus battle for the Island of Okinawa which some have described as the typhoon of steel. [67][68] Islands of Discontent: Okinawan Responses to Japanese and American Power by Mark Selden alleges that the Americans "did not pursue a policy of torture, rape, and murder of civilians as Japanese military officials had warned". "The Cornerstone of Peace." The day after Buckner was killed, Brigadier General Easley was killed by Japanese machine gun fire. [101][102], There was a hypnotic fascination to the sight so alien to our Western philosophy. Okinawa also witnessed heavy civilian casualties, perhaps in excess of 100,000. The battle, in which up to one-third of Okinawa’s inhabitants died, has been described as a futile sacrifice ordered by Japan’s military leaders to delay a U.S. invasion of the mainland. It was the largest amphibious landing in the Pacific theater of World War II. The result, whether voluntary or enforced by the Japanese, was mass suicides among the civilian population. Christopher Chant, "The Encyclopedia of Codenames of World War II (Routledge Revivals)", p. 87, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum, ambush and kill three black American soldiers, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands, atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, planned ground invasion of the Japanese mainland, https://history.army.mil/brochures/ryukyus/ryukyus.htm, The National Archives: Heroes and Villains, "HyperWar: US Army in WWII: Okinawa: The Last Battle", "The Cornerstone of Peace – number of names inscribed", "Okinawa: The Final Great Battle of World War II | Marine Corps Gazette", "Planning Iceberg, Chp 2 of Okinawa: Victory in the Pacific by Major Chas. Infantry battalions. [ 59 ] Surrender the battle with over 360 damaged 13, of. 12, the civilians of Okinawa is the largest amphibious landing in the Pacific changed... 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