The battle of Okinawa, codenamed operation Iceberg , formed part of the Pacific war. This battle between the Japanese and the Americans resulted in victory for the allies. it is known to be the bloodiest battle in the Pacific. The battle took place when the US wanted to take the biggest island in the Ryuko islands in Japan in order to make it a base for air operations. The 82 day long battle lasted from 1st April to 22nd June 1945. This battle ended with 24000 deaths. The largest sea-land-air battle in history and last battle in the Pacific. Okinawa is the biggest island of the Ryuku archipelago, even though it only measures 60 miles in length. Surprisingly this island in southern Japan, is one of the most strategical places to attack Japan. It is only 550k away from the main island and it contains four Japanese air bases and 65000 troops controlled by General Ushijima. The main goal for the Allies was to take the main island …show more content…
Buckner. His troops were told to make a landing along the western coast of Okinawa, at Hagushi Bay. The Americans subjected the area to heavy bombardment for some time before making a landing. However, U.S. soldiers were left vulnerable to attack by enemy fighter aircraft, taking off either from the nearby Japanese mainland or from the island of Taiwan. All their decisions were influenced by the lesson they learned at the battle of Iwo Jima. The 1st April the invasion began despite the Kamikaze attacks. Only a fifth of all the 1,500 ships that the US owned were warships, the rest were for transport of people and/or supplies. On April 1, U.S. Marines made their first landing on Okinawa, it was a surprise for them to find only light resistance from the Japanese. By the end of that day there was 60000 US soldiers in the bay of Okinawa. The soldiers started to move north and by 20th April they invaded all