Battle Of Okinawa Essay

Battle of Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle to End World War II

Alan J. Talbot

NCOA

SLC Class 001-23

Lorrance Reid

February 11, 2023 Battle of Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle to End World War II

Despite the Battle of Okinawa is the bloodiest of World War II, the outcome came as a victory for the United States and its Allied forces ending the war. World War II began on 1 September 1939 and ended with the Battle of Okinawa on 21 June, 1945. The United States did not enter World War II until 7 December, 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor. If the United States would not enter World War II the Battle of Okinawa would never have happened. The impact of Army's Air Defense Artillery played a major role in this battle specifically by eliminating

The impact of the Army’s Air Defense Artillery role in the Battle of Okinawa was significant for ground infantry forces by pushing back the Japanese fighters. The Air Defenses were made up of the Tenth Army Division, which used 1.1 million 105-mm howitzer rounds during the battle. One Japanese fighter was quoted saying "I am really surprised at the amount of ammunition that the enemy has" this came out in his diary in late April 1945. (Givens, 2022) Another role the Air Defense Artillery played in the Battle of Okinawa was the Japanese attacks known as the kamikazes. The kamikazes were Japanese fighter pilots who crash their planes into U.S. ships mostly. Their aircraft were loaded with explosives to damage or destroy whatever they crash into. For the Air Defenses to combat these kamikaze fighters the U.S. used rapid-firing automatic antiaircraft guns along with radars that tracked tiny radio waves sent out by the planes. This leads to the next topic of the type of weaponry used by the U.S. Air

not only protects itself but other countries as well. The Air Defenses' modern operations are to intercept ballistic missiles and shoot down aircraft. This helps protect civilian populations from modern-day attacks, such as missile warfare. After World War II the U.S. Airforce and the U.S. Army, both wanted control of the Air Defense branch. The U.S. Airforce went so far in the early 1940s to reconstitute Ground Observer Corps. during World War II (Boyne, 1999). The U.S. Air Force trained 1.5 U.S. citizens for Ground Observer Corps. to operate sea-based platforms called Texas Towers. The Texas Towers resembled oil rigs and were placed 100 miles offshore, but were decommissioned in 1963 (Boyne, 1999) as for this article in 1999 the Air Defense Command is maintained by NORAD, Air Combat, the Air National Guard, and the Air Force