Introduction
The Battle of Okinawa, which has been codenamed Operation Iceberg, was one of the major battles fought between the United States and Japan during World War II. The battle, which was fought within the island of Okinawa saw the United States Marine and Army marshal its efforts towards engaging within the forces allied to the Japanese army. The battle lasted for a period 82 days from April 1, 1945, to June 22, 1945 (Molasky, 2005). One of the unique aspects regarding the Battle of Okinawa was the fact that it was fought on the naval and land fronts with each of the sides suffering severe casualties as a result of the battle. Approximately 160,000 people lost their lives on both sides, which makes it one of the bloodiest battles to have been fought in the Pacific.
Planning and Preliminary Operations
As the war on the European front was nearing its end, the military leaders within the United States were on the forefront in marshaling strong army forces that would help in preparation for Operation Iceberg. The leaders sought to create a plan that would see them invade the island of Okinawa, which was roughly 60 miles long and 20 miles wide. On its part, the Japanese forces under the leadership of Lieut. Gen. Ushijima Mitsuru had fortified the island with an army of approximately 100,000 men as a way of protecting it from any form of invasion. The military leaders in the United States understood the value placed on the island by the Japanese, which sought to build on the need for having to invade it as one of the last actions in World War II.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
It must be noted that the United States military had preceded the invasion of the island as early as October 1944 by carrying out air operations leading to the destruction of hundreds of planes belonging to the Japanese army. However, this did not have any significant impact on the ability of the Japanese forces to take up action in their bid to engage with the Americans through air power. The Japanese also adopted the idea of using suicide attacks to serve as one of the ways through which to define the overall viability of the attacks that it conducted against the United States forces. On March 26, the Japanese gathered a fleet of 350 small boats that it sought to use as part of its suicide attacks against the United States as one of its strategies towards ensuring that it would be able to protect the island of Okinawa.
Invasion
The invasion of Okinawa was marked by the landing of U.S. ground troops at Hagushi, which was on the west coast of central Okinawa, as a way of ensuring that the United States would gain control of the island. By April 4, the U.S. ground troops had managed to cut the island into two with no viable counterattack from the Japanese forces on the island. That changed on April 6 following suicide attacks by approximately 350 kamikaze planes and the Yamato battleship. According to Masaaki (2008), the initial expectation for the Japanese forces was to use of the suicide attacks as a way of having to limit the capability of the United States fleets, which would, in turn, weaken the ground troops significantly. The use of the suicide attacks was seen as a significant approach towards ensuring that the Japanese forces would be able to inflict as much casualty as possible.
Naval Battle
From a naval front, it was clear that the battle had had severe implications for both sides within the first few days of engagement taking into account that the continued use of suicide attacks by the Japanese resulted in a dwindling number of vessels for the United States. However, most of the vessels that the United States lost as a result of the attacks were small vessels numbering approximately 20, which had been sunk, and 157 destroyed as a result of the attacks between the between of March 26 and April 30 (Hein, 2001). The United States used the outcome of the attacks by the Japanese as a way of creating structured approaches that would allow them to develop new plans on how to continue with their invasion of the island of Okinawa, which was part of their mission in the Pacific.
Land Battle
The battle was also fought on land taking into account that the Japanese forces had aligned themselves within different parts of the island expecting attacks from the United States military. Using its ground troops, the United States was able to marshal its operations within the island resulting in a situation where it was able to separate the island into two significant parts. That gave the United States the authority of having to fight against the resistance that they faced from the Japanese forces. Additionally, this also worked as one of the ways through which to cripple the efforts by the Japanese forces in their bid to engage as part of the battle on the island of Okinawa.
Casualties from the Battle
The Battle of Okinawa is viewed as one of the bloodiest battles that have ever occurred in the Pacific taking into account the number of people affected by the war. The number of people that died during the battle was not only from the two major countries, the United States and Japan, but smaller numbers were from countries that included South Korea, the United Kingdom, North Korea, and Taiwan. The signing of the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, meant that the killings as a result of the invasion would stop with the number of deaths recorded being considered as part of combat deaths (Eldridge, 2013). On the other hand, it must also be noted that the occurrence of the battle also paved the way for a wide array of atrocities that have been documented in different reports by both the United States and Japan. Some of these atrocities include forced suicides, rape, and torture among other key inhumane acts that may have occurred as a result of the attacks.
Conclusion
The Battle of Okinawa, which has been codenamed Operation Iceberg, was one of the major battles fought between the United States and Japan during World War II. It must be noted that the United States military had preceded the invasion of the island as early as October 1944 by carrying out air operations leading to the destruction of hundreds of planes belonging to the Japanese army. From a naval front, it was clear that the battle had had severe implications for both sides within the first few days of engagement taking into account that the continued use of suicide attacks by the Japanese resulted in a dwindling number of vessels for the United States. The battle was also fought on land taking into account that the Japanese forces had aligned themselves within different parts of the island expecting attacks from the United States military.
References
Eldridge, R. D. (2013). The origins of the Bilateral Okinawa Problem: Okinawa in postwar US-Japan relations, 1945-1952 . Routledge.
Hein, L. E. (2001). Introduction: The territory of identity and remembrance in Okinawa. Critical Asian Studies , 33 (1), 31-36.
Masaaki, A. (2008). Compulsory Mass Suicide, the Battle of Okinawa, and Japan's Textbook Controversy. Japan Focus .
Molasky, M. S. (2005). The American occupation of Japan and Okinawa: Literature and memory . Routledge.
