Battle of Okinawa

Overview

The Battle of Okinawa , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by the United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army. The initial invasion of Okinawa on 1 April 1945 was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The Kerama Islands surrounding Okinawa were preemptively captured on 26 March 1945 by the U.S. Army 77th Infantry Division. The 82-day battle on Okinawa lasted from 1 April 1945 until 22 June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were planning to use Kadena Air Base on the island as a staging point for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands, 340 mi (550 km) away.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Fought over 82 days from 1 April to 22 June 1945, the operation involved U.S. Army and Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army in a grinding campaign that produced severe casualties on both sides — approximately 50,000 U.S. casualties against over 94,000 Japanese. The battle's strategic purpose was to secure Kadena Air Base as a staging point for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands roughly 340 miles away. Control of Okinawa would have placed Allied air power within direct range of Kyushu, making it an essential prerequisite for the final phase of the Pacific War. The scale of losses sustained at Okinawa directly informed Allied assessments of the probable cost of invading the Japanese home islands, contributing to deliberations over the use of atomic weapons and the ultimate end of the war.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (19)