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Battle of Okinawa

May 06, 2023

For the film, see Battle of Okinawa (film).

Battle of Okinawa
Part of the Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign of the Pacific Theater (World War II)

Davis Hargraves from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines on Wana Ridge provides covering fire with his Thompson submachine gun as Gabriel Chavarria ducks for cover, May 1945.
Date1 April – 22 June 1945[1]
(2 months and 3 weeks)[2]
Location
Okinawa Island and Prefecture, Ryukyu Islands, Empire of Japan
26°30′N 128°00′E / 26.5°N 128°E / 26.5; 128
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Ground forces:
 United States
Naval support:
 United Kingdom 		Japan
Commanders and leaders
Simon B. Buckner Jr. †
Roy Geiger
Chester W. Nimitz
Raymond A. Spruance
William Halsey Jr.		 Mitsuru Ushijima †
Isamu Chō †
Hiromichi Yahara (POW)
Minoru Ōta †
Seiichi Itō †
Units involved

Ground units:
Tenth Army

Naval units:
Fifth Fleet

Ground units:
32nd Army

Naval units:
Combined Fleet

Strength
~541,000 in Tenth Army
~183,000 combat troops[3] rising to ~250,000[4]: 567 		 ~76,000+ Japanese soldiers,
~40,000+ Okinawan conscripts[5]
Casualties and losses

American personnel:~50,000 casualties[6]

  • includes 12,500 killed and missing[7][8][9]
    Materiel:
    153 Tanks destroyed[10]
    13 destroyers sunk
    15 amphibious ships sunk
    8 other ships sunk
    386 ships damaged
    763 aircraft lost[4]: 573 [11]: 473 
 Japanese personnel:
77,166 Japanese soldiers dead[12]
over ~30,000 Okinawan conscripts killed
~110,000 killed total (U.S. estimate)[13]
More than ~7,000–15,000 captured[13]
Materiel:
1 battleship sunk
1 light cruiser sunk
5 destroyers sunk
9 other warships sunk
1,430 aircraft lost[14]
27 tanks destroyed
743–1,712 artillery pieces, anti-tank guns, mortars and anti-aircraft guns[11]: 91–2 
40,000–150,000 civilians perished out of an estimated prewar population of 300,000[13][15]
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Location within Japan
Battle of Okinawa (Pacific Ocean)

The Battle of Okinawa (Japanese: 沖縄戦, Hepburn: Okinawa-sen), codenamed Operation Iceberg,[16]: 17  was a battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army.[17] The initial invasion of Okinawa on 1 April 1945 was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II.[18][19] The Kerama Islands surrounding Okinawa were preemptively captured on 26 March by the 77th Infantry Division. The 82-day battle lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were planning to use Kadena Air Base on the large island of Okinawa as a base for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands, 340 mi (550 km) away.

The United States created the Tenth Army, a cross-branch force consisting of the U.S. Army 7th, 27th, 77th and 96th Infantry Divisions with the 1st, 2nd, and 6th Marine Divisions, to fight on the island. The Tenth Army was unique in that it had its own Tactical Air Force (joint Army-Marine command) and was supported by combined naval and amphibious forces. Opposing the Allied forces on the ground was the Japanese Thirty-Second Army.

The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and kotetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or kotetsu no hageshi kaze ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese.[20][21] The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of Japanese kamikaze attacks and the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle was the bloodiest in the Pacific, with around 50,000 Allied and 84,166–117,000 Japanese casualties,[22][11]: 473–4  including Okinawans conscripted into the Japanese Army.[13][12] According to local authorities, at least 149,425 Okinawan people were killed, died by coerced suicide or went missing, roughly half of the estimated pre-war population of about 300,000.[12]

In the naval operations surrounding the battle, both sides lost considerable numbers of ships and aircraft, including the Japanese battleship Yamato. After the battle, Okinawa provided a fleet anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields in proximity to Japan for US forces, in preparation for a planned invasion of the Japanese home islands. Despite local protests, US forces remain garrisoned on Okinawa.

Order of battle

Main article: Okinawa ground order of battle
See also: Okinawa naval order of battle

Allied

 
A map of US operations at Okinawa

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),[23]: 39  over 88,000 Marines and 18,000 Navy personnel (mostly Seabees and medical personnel).[23]: 40  At the start of the Battle of Okinawa, the US Tenth Army had 182,821 personnel under its command.[23]: 40  It was planned that Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. would report to Vice Admiral Richmond K. Turner until the amphibious phase was completed, after which he would report directly to Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Total aircraft in the US Navy, Marine and Army Air Force exceeded 3,000 over the course of the battle, including fighters, attack aircraft, scout planes, bombers and dive-bombers. The invasion was supported by a fleet consisting of 18 battleships, 27 cruisers, 177 destroyers/destroyer escorts, 39 aircraft carriers (11 fleet carriers, 6 light carriers and 22 escort carriers) and various support and troop transport ships.[24]

The British naval contingent accompanied 251 British naval aircraft and included a British Commonwealth fleet with Australian, New Zealand and Canadian ships and personnel.[25]

Japanese

The Japanese land campaign (mainly defensive) was conducted by the 67,000-strong (77,000 according to some sources) regular 32nd Army and some 9,000 Imperial Japanese Navy troops at Oroku Naval Base (only a few hundred of whom had been trained and equipped for ground combat), supported by 39,000 drafted local Ryukyuan people (including 24,000 hastily drafted rear militia called Boeitai and 15,000 non-uniformed laborers). The Japanese had used kamikaze tactics since the Battle of Leyte Gulf, but for the first time they became a major part of the defense. Between the American landing on 1 April and 25 May, seven major kamikaze attacks were attempted, involving more than 1,500 planes.

The 32nd Army initially consisted of the 9th, 24th and 62nd Divisions and the 44th Independent Mixed Brigade. The 9th Division was moved to Taiwan before the invasion, resulting in shuffling of Japanese defensive plans. Primary resistance was to be led in the south by Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima, his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Isamu Chō and his chief of operations, Colonel Hiromichi Yahara. Yahara advocated a defensive strategy, whilst Chō advocated an offensive one.

In the north, Colonel Takehido Udo was in command. The naval troops were led by Rear Admiral Minoru Ōta. They expected the Americans to land 6–10 divisions against the Japanese garrison of two and a half divisions. The staff calculated that superior quality and numbers of weapons gave each US division five or six times the firepower of a Japanese division. To this, would be added the Americans' abundant naval and air firepower.

  •  

    Japanese commanders of Okinawa (photographed early in February 1945). In center: (1) Admiral Minoru Ota, (2) Lt. Gen. Mitsuru Ushijima, (3) Lt. Gen. Isamu Cho, (4) Col. Hitoshi Kanayama, (5) Col. Kikuji Hongo, and (6) Col. Hiromichi Yahara

  •  

    Japanese soldiers arriving on Okinawa

  •  

    Japanese high school girls wave farewell to a kamikaze pilot departing to Okinawa

  •  

    A US military diagram of typical Japanese hill defensive tunnels and installations

  •  

    A Japanese Type 89 150mm gun hidden inside a cave defensive system

  •  

    A map of Okinawa's airfields, 1945

Japanese use of children

 
Tekketsu Kinnōtai child soldiers on Okinawa

On Okinawa, the Imperial Japanese Army mobilized 1,780 schoolboys aged 14–17 years into front line service as an Iron and Blood Imperial Corps (Japanese: 鉄血勤皇隊, romanized: Tekketsu Kinnōtai), while female Himeyuri students were organized into a nursing unit.[22] This mobilization was conducted by an ordinance of the Ministry of the Army, not by law. The ordinances mobilized the students as volunteer soldiers for form's sake; in reality, the military authorities ordered schools to force almost all students to "volunteer" as soldiers; sometimes they counterfeited the necessary documents. About half of the Tekketsu Kinnōtai were killed, including in suicide bomb attacks against tanks and in guerrilla operations.

Among the 21 male and female secondary schools that made up these student corps, 2,000 students died on the battlefield. Even with the female students acting mainly as nurses to Japanese soldiers, they were still exposed to the harsh conditions of war.[26]

Naval battle

There was a hypnotic fascination to the sight so alien to our Western philosophy. We watched each plunging kamikaze with the detached horror of one witnessing a terrible spectacle rather than as the intended victim. We forgot self for the moment as we groped hopelessly for the thought of that other man up there.

— Vice Admiral C.R. Brown, US Navy[27]: 711 

The US Navy's Task Force 58, deployed to the east of Okinawa with a picket group of 6 to 8 destroyers, kept 13 carriers (7 fleet carriers and 6 light carriers) on duty from 23 March to 27 April and a smaller number thereafter. Until 27 April, a minimum of 14 and up to 18 escort carriers were in the area at all times. Until 20 April, British Task Force 57, with 4 large and 6 escort carriers, remained off the Sakishima Islands to protect the southern flank.[11]: 97 

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. Following the practice of changing the fleet designation with the change of commanders, US naval forces began the campaign as the US 5th Fleet under Admiral Spruance, but ended it as the 3rd Fleet under Admiral Halsey.

Japanese air opposition had been relatively light during the first few days after the landings. However, on 6 April the expected air reaction began with an attack by 400 planes from Kyushu. Periodic heavy air attacks continued through April. During the period 26 March to 30 April, 20 American ships were sunk and 157 damaged by enemy action. By 30 April the Japanese had lost more than 1,100 planes to Allied naval forces alone.[11]: 102 

Between 6 April and 22 June, the Japanese flew 1,465 kamikaze aircraft in large-scale attacks from Kyushu, 185 individual kamikaze sorties from Kyushu, and 250 individual kamikaze sorties from Taiwan, then called Formosa. 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.[28][clarification needed]

The ships lost were smaller vessels, particularly the destroyers of the radar pickets, as well as destroyer escorts and landing ships. While no major Allied warships were lost, several fleet carriers were severely damaged. Land-based Shin'yō-class suicide motorboats were also used in the Japanese suicide attacks, although Ushijima had disbanded the majority of the suicide boat battalions before the battle because of expected low effectiveness against a superior enemy. The boat crews were re-formed into three additional infantry battalions.[29]

  •  

    The super battleship Yamato explodes after persistent attacks from US aircraft.

  •  

    American aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill burns after being hit by two kamikaze planes within 30 seconds.

Operation Ten-Go

Operation Ten-Go (Ten-gō sakusen) was the attempted attack by a strike force of 10 Japanese surface vessels, led by Yamato and commanded by Admiral Seiichi Itō. This small task force had been ordered to fight through enemy naval forces, then beach Yamato and fight from shore, using her guns as coastal artillery and her crew as naval infantry. The Ten-Go force was spotted by submarines shortly after it left the Japanese home waters and was intercepted by US carrier aircraft.

Under attack from more than 300 aircraft over a two-hour span, the world's largest battleship sank on 7 April 1945 after a one-sided battle, long before she could reach Okinawa. (US torpedo bombers were instructed to aim for only one side to prevent effective counter flooding by the battleship's crew, and to aim for the bow or the stern where armor was believed to be the thinnest.) Of Yamato's screening force, the light cruiser Yahagi and 4 of the 8 destroyers were also sunk. The Imperial Japanese Navy lost some 3,700 sailors, including Admiral Itō, at the cost of 10 US aircraft and 12 airmen.

British Pacific Fleet

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 26 March to 10 April. On 10 April, its attention was shifted to airfields in northern Formosa. The force withdrew to San Pedro Bay on 23 April. On 1 May, the British Pacific Fleet returned to action, subduing the airfields as before, this time with naval bombardment as well as aircraft. 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.[30][31]

Land battle

 
The battleship USS Idaho shelling Okinawa on 1 April 1945

The land battle took place over about 81 days beginning on 1 April 1945. The first Americans ashore were soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division who landed in the Kerama Islands, 15 mi (24 km) west of Okinawa on 26 March. Subsidiary landings followed, and the Kerama group was secured over the next five days. In these preliminary operations, the 77th Infantry Division suffered 27 dead and 81 wounded, while the Japanese dead and captured numbered over 650. The operation provided a protected anchorage for the fleet and eliminated the threat from suicide boats.[11]: 50–60 

On 31 March, Marines of the Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion landed without opposition on Keise Shima, four islets just 8 mi (13 km) west of the Okinawan capital of Naha. A group of 155 mm (6.1 in) "Long Tom" artillery pieces went ashore on the islets to cover operations on Okinawa.[11]: 57 

Northern Okinawa

 
US Marine reinforcements wade ashore to support the beachhead on Okinawa, 1 April 1945.

The main landing was made by the XXIV Corps and the III Amphibious Corps on the Hagushi beaches on the western coast of Okinawa on 1 April. 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.[11]: 68–74 

Tenth Army swept across the south-central part of the island with relative ease, capturing the Kadena and the Yomitan airbases within hours of the landing.[16]: 67–9 [11]: 74–5  In light of the weak opposition, General Buckner decided to proceed immediately with Phase II of his plan, the seizure of northern Okinawa. The 6th Marine Division headed up the Ishikawa Isthmus and by 7 April had sealed off the Motobu Peninsula.[11]: 138–41 

Six days later on 13 April, the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Marine Regiment, reached Hedo Point at the northernmost tip of the island. By this point, the bulk of the Japanese forces in the north (codenamed Udo Force) were cornered on the Motobu Peninsula. The terrain was mountainous and wooded, with the Japanese defenses concentrated on Mount Yaedake, a twisted mass of rocky ridges and ravines on the center of the peninsula. There was heavy fighting before the Marines finally cleared Yaedake on 18 April.[11]: 141–8  However, this was not the end of ground combat in northern Okinawa. On 24 May, the Japanese mounted Operation Gi-gou: a company of Giretsu Kuteitai commandos were airlifted in a suicide attack on Yomitan. They destroyed 70,000 US gallons (260,000 L) of fuel and nine planes before being killed by the defenders, who lost two men.

Meanwhile, the 77th Infantry Division assaulted Ie Shima, a small island off the western end of the peninsula, on 16 April. In addition to conventional hazards, the 77th Infantry Division encountered kamikaze attacks and even local women armed with spears. There was heavy fighting before the area was declared secured on 21 April and became another airbase for operations against Japan.[11]: 149–83 

Southern Okinawa

 
US Marines pass a dead Japanese soldier in a destroyed village, April 1945.
 
American soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division listen impassively to radio reports of Victory in Europe Day on 8 May 1945.
 
Soldiers of the 96th Infantry Division attack Japanese positions on Big Apple Ridge.

While the 6th Marine Division cleared northern Okinawa, the US Army 96th and 7th Infantry Divisions wheeled south across the narrow isthmus of Okinawa. The 96th Infantry Division began to encounter fierce resistance in west-central Okinawa from Japanese troops holding fortified positions east of Highway No. 1 and about 5 mi (8 km) northwest of Shuri, from what came to be known as Cactus Ridge.[11]: 104–5  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"). By the night of 8 April, American troops had cleared these and several other strongly fortified positions. They suffered over 1,500 battle casualties in the process while killing or capturing about 4,500 Japanese. Yet the battle had only begun, for it was realized that "these were merely outposts," guarding the Shuri Line.[11]: 105–8 

The next American objective was Kakazu Ridge (26°15′32″N 127°44′13″E / 26.259°N 127.737°E / 26.259; 127.737), two hills with a connecting saddle that formed part of Shuri's outer defenses. The Japanese had prepared their positions well and fought tenaciously. The Japanese soldiers hid in fortified caves. American forces often lost personnel before clearing the Japanese out from each cave or other hiding place. The Japanese sent Okinawans at gunpoint out to obtain water and supplies for them, which led to civilian casualties. The American advance was inexorable but resulted in a high number of casualties on both sides.[11]: 110–25 

As the American assault against Kakazu Ridge stalled, Lieutenant General Ushijima—influenced by General Chō—decided to take the offensive. On the evening of 12 April, the 32nd Army attacked American positions across the entire front. The Japanese attack was heavy, sustained, and well organized. After fierce close combat, the attackers retreated, only to repeat their offensive the following night. A final assault on 14 April was again repulsed. The effort led the 32nd Army's staff to conclude that the Americans were vulnerable to night infiltration tactics but that their superior firepower made any offensive Japanese troop concentrations extremely dangerous, and they reverted to their defensive strategy.[11]: 130–7 

The 27th Infantry Division, which had landed on 9 April, took over on the right, along the west coast of Okinawa. General John R. Hodge now had three divisions in the line, with the 96th in the middle and the 7th to the east, with each division holding a front of only about 1.5 mi (2.4 km). Hodge launched a new offensive on 19 April with a barrage of 324 guns, the largest ever in the Pacific Ocean Theater. Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers joined the bombardment, which was followed by 650 Navy and Marine planes attacking the Japanese positions with napalm, rockets, bombs, and machine guns. The Japanese defenses were sited on reverse slopes, where the defenders waited out the artillery barrage and aerial attack in relative safety, emerging from the caves to rain mortar rounds and grenades upon the Americans advancing up the forward slope.[11]: 184–94 

A tank assault to achieve breakthrough by outflanking Kakazu Ridge failed to link up with its infantry support attempting to cross the ridge and therefore failed with the loss of 22 tanks. Although flame tanks cleared many cave defenses, there was no breakthrough, and the XXIV Corps suffered 720 casualties. The losses might have been greater except for the fact that the Japanese had practically all of their infantry reserves tied up farther south, held there by another feint off the Minatoga beaches by the 2nd Marine Division that coincided with the attack.[11]: 196–207 

At the end of April, after Army forces had pushed through the Machinato defensive line,[32] the 1st Marine Division relieved the 27th Infantry Division and the 77th Infantry Division relieved the 96th. When the 6th Marine Division arrived, the III Amphibious Corps took over the right flank and Tenth Army assumed control of the battle.[11]: 265 

 
Lt. Col. Richard P. Ross Jr., commander of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines braves sniper fire to place the United States' colors over the parapets of Shuri Castle on 30 May. This flag was first raised over Cape Gloucester and then Peleliu.
 
A Japanese prisoner of war sits behind barbed wire after he and 306 others were captured within the last 24 hours of the battle by 6th Marine Division.

On 4 May, the 32nd Army launched another counter-offensive. This time, Ushijima attempted to make amphibious assaults on the coasts behind American lines. To support his offensive, the Japanese artillery moved into the open. By doing so, they were able to fire 13,000 rounds in support, but effective American counter-battery fire destroyed dozens of Japanese artillery pieces. The attack failed.[11]: 283–302 

Buckner launched another American attack on 11 May. Ten days of fierce fighting followed. On 13 May, troops of the 96th Infantry Division and 763rd Tank Battalion captured Conical Hill (26°12′47″N 127°45′00″E / 26.213°N 127.75°E / 26.213; 127.75). Rising 476 ft (145 m) above the Yonabaru coastal plain, this feature was the eastern anchor of the main Japanese defenses and was defended by about 1,000 Japanese. Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, the 1st and 6th Marine Divisions fought for "Sugar Loaf Hill" (26°13′19″N 127°41′46″E / 26.222°N 127.696°E / 26.222; 127.696). The capture of these two key positions exposed the Japanese around Shuri on both sides. Buckner hoped to envelop Shuri and trap the main Japanese defending force.[11]: 311–59 

By the end of May, monsoon rains which had turned contested hills and roads into a morass exacerbated both the tactical and medical situations. The ground advance began to resemble a World War I battlefield, as troops became mired in mud, and flooded roads greatly inhibited evacuation of wounded to the rear. Troops lived on a field sodden by rain, part garbage dump and part graveyard. Unburied Japanese and American bodies decayed, sank in the mud and became part of a noxious stew. Anyone sliding down the greasy slopes could easily find their pockets full of maggots at the end of the journey.[11]: 364–70 

From 24 to 27 May the 6th Marine Division cautiously occupied the ruins of Naha, the largest city on the island, finding it largely deserted.[11]: 372–7 

On 26 May aerial observers saw large troop movements just below Shuri. On 28 May Marine patrols found recently abandoned positions west of Shuri. By 30 May the consensus among Army and Marine intelligence was that the majority of Japanese forces had withdrawn from the Shuri Line.[11]: 391–2  On 29 May the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines (1/5 Marines) occupied high ground 700 yards (640 m) east of Shuri Castle and reported that the castle appeared undefended. At 10:15 Company A, 1/5 Marines occupied the castle[11]: 395–6 

Shuri Castle had been shelled by the battleship USS Mississippi for three days before this advance.[33] The 32nd Army withdrew to the south and thus the Marines had an easy task of securing Shuri Castle.[33][34] The castle, however, was outside the 1st Marine Division's assigned zone, and only frantic efforts by the commander and staff of the 77th Infantry Division prevented an American airstrike and artillery bombardment which would have resulted in many friendly fire casualties.[11]: 396 

The Japanese retreat, although harassed by artillery fire, was conducted with great skill at night and aided by the monsoon storms. The 32nd Army was able to move nearly 30,000 personnel into its last defense line on the Kiyan Peninsula, which ultimately led to the greatest slaughter on Okinawa in the latter stages of the battle, including the deaths of thousands of civilians. In addition, there were 9,000 IJN troops supported by 1,100 militia, with approximately 4,000 holed up at the underground headquarters on the hillside overlooking the Okinawa Naval Base in the Oroku Peninsula, east of the airfield.[11]: 392–4 

On 4 June, elements of the 6th Marine Division launched an amphibious assault on the peninsula. The 4,000 Japanese sailors, including Admiral Ōta, all committed suicide within the hand-built tunnels of the underground naval headquarters on 13 June.[11]: 427–34  By 17 June, the remnants of Ushijima's shattered 32nd Army were pushed into a small pocket in the far south of the island to the southeast of Itoman.[11]: 455–61 

On 18 June, General Buckner was killed by Japanese artillery fire while monitoring the progress of his troops from a forward observation post. Buckner was replaced by Major General Roy Geiger. Upon assuming command, Geiger became the only US Marine to command a numbered army of the US Army in combat; he was relieved five days later by General Joseph Stilwell. On 19 June, Brigadier General Claudius Miller Easley, the commander of the 96th Infantry Division, was killed by Japanese machine-gun fire, also while checking on the progress of his troops at the front.[11]: 461 

The last remnants of Japanese resistance ended on 21 June, although some Japanese continued hiding, including the future governor of Okinawa Prefecture, Masahide Ōta.[35] Ushijima and Chō committed suicide by seppuku in their command headquarters on Hill 89 in the closing hours of the battle.[11]: 468–71  Colonel Yahara had asked Ushijima for permission to commit suicide, but the general refused his request, saying: "If you die there will be no one left who knows the truth about the battle of Okinawa. Bear the temporary shame but endure it. This is an order from your army commander."[27]: 723  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. On 22 June Tenth Army held a flag-raising ceremony to mark the end of organized resistance on Okinawa. On 23 June a mopping-up operation commenced, which concluded on 30 June.[11]: 471–3 

On 15 August 1945, Admiral Matome Ugaki was killed while part of a kamikaze raid on Iheyajima island. The official surrender ceremony was held on 7 September, near the Kadena Airfield.

Casualties

 
Two US Coast Guardsmen pay homage to their comrade killed in the Ryukyu Islands.

The Battle of Okinawa was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War.[36][37] 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. As of 2022, the monument lists 241,686 names, including 149,611 Okinawans, 77,485 Imperial Japanese soldiers, 14,010 Americans,[12] and smaller numbers of people from South Korea (382), the United Kingdom (82), North Korea (82) and Taiwan (34).[12]

The numbers correspond to recorded deaths during the Battle of Okinawa from the time of the American landings in the Kerama Islands on 26 March 1945 to the signing of the Japanese surrender on 2 September 1945, in addition to all Okinawan casualties in the Pacific War in the 15 years from the Manchurian Incident, along with those who died in Okinawa from war-related events in the year before the battle and the year after the surrender.[38] 234,183 names were inscribed by the time of unveiling, and new names are added as necessary.[39][40][41] 40,000 of the Okinawan civilians killed had been drafted or impressed by the Japanese army and are often counted as combat deaths.

Military losses

American

 
Two wounded American soldiers make their way to a medical aid station on Okinawa, 20 April 1945.
 
Two US M4 Sherman tanks knocked out by Japanese artillery at Bloody Ridge, 20 April 1945

The Americans suffered some 48,000 casualties, not including some 33,000 non-battle casualties (psychiatric, injuries, illnesses), of whom over 12,000 were killed or missing. Killed in action were 4,907 Navy, 4,675 Army, and 2,938 Marine Corps personnel; when excluding naval losses at sea and losses on the surrounding islands (such as Ie Shima), 6,316 killed and over 30,000 wounded occurred on Okinawa proper. [9] Other authors such as John Keegan have come up with higher numbers.[42]

The most famous American casualty was Lieutenant General Buckner, whose decision to attack the Japanese defenses head-on, although extremely costly in American lives, was ultimately successful. Four days from the closing of the campaign, Buckner was killed by Japanese artillery fire, which blew lethal slivers of coral into his body, while inspecting his troops at the front line. He was the highest-ranking US officer to be killed by enemy fire during the Second World War. The day after Buckner was killed, Brigadier General Easley was killed by Japanese machine gunfire. War correspondent Ernie Pyle was also killed by Japanese machine-gun fire on Ie Shima, a small island just off of northwestern Okinawa.[43]

 
The last picture of US Army Lt. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. (right), taken on 18 June 1945. Later in the day, he was killed by Japanese artillery fire.
 
The last picture of US Army Brig. Gen. Claudius Miller Easley, taken on 19 June 1945. He was later killed by Japanese machine-gun fire.

Aircraft losses over the three-month period were 768 US planes, including those bombing the Kyushu airfields launching kamikazes. Combat losses were 458, and the other 310 were operational accidents. At sea, 368 Allied ships—including 120 amphibious craft—were damaged while another 36—including 15 amphibious ships and 12 destroyers—were sunk during the Okinawa campaign. The US Navy's dead exceeded its wounded, with 4,907 killed and 4,874 wounded, primarily from kamikaze attacks.[44]

American personnel casualties included thousands of cases of mental breakdown. According to the account of the battle presented in Marine Corps Gazette:

More mental health issues arose from the Battle of Okinawa than any other battle in the Pacific during World War II. The constant bombardment from artillery and mortars coupled with the high casualty rates led to a great deal of personnel coming down with combat fatigue. Additionally, the rains caused mud that prevented tanks from moving and tracks from pulling out the dead, forcing Marines (who pride themselves on burying their dead in a proper and honorable manner) to leave their comrades where they lay. This, coupled with thousands of bodies both friend and foe littering the entire island, created a scent you could nearly taste. Morale was dangerously low by May and the state of discipline on a moral basis had a new low barometer for acceptable behavior. The ruthless atrocities by the Japanese throughout the war had already brought on an altered behavior (deemed so by traditional standards) by many Americans resulting in the desecration of Japanese remains, but the Japanese tactic of using the Okinawan people as human shields brought about a new aspect of terror and torment to the psychological capacity of the Americans.[13]

Medal of Honor recipients from Okinawa are:

Allied naval vessels damaged and sunk at Okinawa

The following table lists the Allied naval vessels that received damage or were sunk in the Battle of Okinawa between 19 March – 30 July 1945. The table lists a total of 147 damaged ships, five of which were damaged by enemy suicide boats and another five by mines. During the naval battle, which started before the amphibious landings on Okinawa on 1 April, USS Franklin suffered over 800 killed and missing and USS Bunker Hill suffered 396 killed and missing. These were the first and third largest loss of life on damaged or sunken American aircraft carriers during World War II. The USS Franklin (hit by two bombs in a level bombing attack by a D4Y Judy on 19 March 1945) and USS Bunker Hill were the only two aircraft carriers that sustained very severe damage from Japanese attacks and as a result were the only aircraft carriers in the Essex-class that did not experience any active service after the end of World War II. One source estimated that total Japanese sorties during the entire Okinawa campaign exceeded 3,700, with a large percentage being kamikaze attacks, and that the attackers damaged slightly more than 200 Allied vessels, with 4,900 naval officers and seamen killed and roughly 4,824 wounded or missing.[45][46] The USS Thorton was damaged as the result of a collision with another US ship.

*  sunk or had to be scuttled due to irreparable damage. Of those sunk, the majority were relatively smaller ships; these included destroyers of around 300–450 feet. A few small cargo ships were also sunk, several containing munitions which caught fire.

#  scrapped or decommissioned as a result of damage.

Allied Naval vessels damaged and sunk by Japanese forces at Okinawa, primarily kamikazes, 19 March – 30 July 1945[47]
Day Ship Type Cause Killed Wounded
19 Mar 45 USS Wasp Carrier Air attack, bomb through flight, & hangar decks 101 269
19 Mar 45 USS Franklin Carrier Air attack 724 265
20 Mar 45 USS Halsey Powell Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze 12 29
26 Mar 45 *USS Haligan Destroyer Mine, 3 miles SE of Maye Shima,
exploded 2 forward magazines, bow blown off[48]		 153 39
26 Mar 45 USS Kimberly Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze 4 57
27 Mar 45 USS Murray Destroyer Air attack, bomb 1 116
27 Mar 45 USS O'Brian Destroyer Air attack, Val kamikaze with bomb 50 76
28 Mar 45 *USS Skylark Small Minesweeper Mine, struck mines twice off Hagushi beaches 5 25
28 Mar 45 USS LSM(R)-188 Landing Ship Air attack, kamikaze 15 32
29 Mar 45 USS Wyandot Attack Cargo Ship Mine, possibly bomb 0 1
31 Mar 45 USS Indianapolis Cruiser Air attack, bomb through fuel tanks 9 20
1 Apr 45 USS Adams Destroyer Minelayer Air attack, kamikaze with bombs to fantail 0 0
1 Apr 45 USS Alpine Attack Transport Air attack, bomb and kamikaze 16 27
1 Apr 45 USS Hinsdale Attack Transport Air attack, kamikaze with bombs at waterline 16 39
1 Apr 45 #USS LST-884 Tank Landing Ship Air attack, kamikaze, scuttled 6 May 24 21
1 April 45 HMS Ulster Destroyer Air attack, near miss bomb, badly damaged 2 1
2 Apr 45 *USS Dickerson Destroyer Transport Air attack, kamikaze Nick crashed bridge, towed, scuttled[49] 54 23
2 Apr 45 USS Goodhue Attack Transport Air attack, kamikaze aimed at bridge glanced mainmast,
hit cargo boom, gun tubs, over side[50]		 24 119
2 Apr 45 USS Henrico Attack Transport Air attack, kamikaze w/bombs hit bridge 49 125
2 Apr 45 USS Achernar Attack Cargo Ship Air attack, kamikaze w/bomb hit starboard 5 41
3 Apr 45 USS Wake Island Escort Carrier Air attack, kamikaze blew below waterline 0 0
3 Apr 45 USS Pritchett Destroyer Air attack, 500 lb bomb 0 0
3 Apr 45 USS Foreman Destroyer Air attack, bomb passed through her bottom, exploded below 0 3
3 Apr 45 USS LST-599 Tank Landing Ship Air attack, kamikaze through main deck, fires[50] 0 21
3 Apr 45 #USS LCT-876 Landing Craft Tank Air attack 0 2
4 Apr 45 *USS LCI(G)-82[51] Landing Craft, Infantry Suicide Boat 8 11
5 Apr 45 USS Nevada Battleship Air attack 25 Mar and 5 April coastal battery 2 16
6 Apr 45 *USS Bush Destroyer Air attack, 3 kamikaze hits 2 between stacks, blew
forward engine room, broke in half[52]		 94 32
6 Apr 45 *USS Colhoun Destroyer Air attack, 4 kamikaze hits, bombs blew forward,
& aft fire rooms at waterline[52]		 35 21
6 Apr 45 USS Howorth Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze struck superstructure, fires put out[53] 9 14
6 Apr 45 USS Hyman Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze Hampton hit torpedo tubes twixt stacks[54] 10 40
6 Apr 45 #USS Leutze Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze blew at fantail, bad flooding[55] 7 34
6 Apr 45 #USS Morris Destroyer Air attack, kate kamikaze portside 0 5
6 Apr 45 USS Mulaney Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze hit depth charges 13 45
6 Apr 45 #USS Newcomb Destroyer Air attack, multiple kamikazes 40 24
6 Apr 45 USS Haynsworth Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze 7 25
6 Apr 45 #USS Witter Destroyer Escort Starboard waterline kamikaze 0 5
6 Apr 45 USS Fieberling Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze near miss 6 6
6 Apr 45 *USS Emmons Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack, 5 kamikaze hits, scuttled 7 April 64 71
6 Apr 45 USS Rodman Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack, 4 kamikaze hits 16 20
6 Apr 45 USS Defense Small Minesweeper Air attack, two kamikaze strikes 0 9
6 Apr 45 *USS LST-447 Landing Ship Air attack, kamikaze hit close above waterline, bomb blew 5 17
6 Apr 45 *SS Hobbs Victory Cargo Air attack, kamikaze struck port, flames ignited ammunition 15 3
6 Apr 45 *SS Logan Victory Cargo Air attack, kamikaze struck
superstructure, flames ignited ammunition 		16 11
7 Apr 45 USS Hancock Carrier Air attack, cartwheeling kamikaze 72 82
7 Apr 45 USS Maryland Battleship Air attack, kamikaze hit starboard 16 37
7 Apr 45 USS Bennett Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze hit engine room 3 18
7 Apr 45 USS Wesson Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze starboard 8 23
7 Apr 45 *USS PGM-18 Small Gunboat Mine, powerful explosion 14 14
7 Apr 45 *YMS-103 Small Minesweeper Mine, struck two mines, blowing off her bow
and stem rescuing PGM-18[56][57]		 5 0
8 April 1945 USS Gregory Destroyer Air attack, port kamikaze amidships near waterline 0 2
8 Apr 45 USS YMS-92 Small Sweeper Air attack 0 0
9 Apr 45 USS Charles J. Badger Destroyer Suicide Boat threw depth charge or mine[58] 0 0
9 Apr 45 USS Sterett Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze hit starboard at waterline 0 9
9 Apr 45 USS Hopping Destroyer Transport Coastal Battery, damaging hits off Buckner Bay 2 18
11 Apr 45 USS Kidd Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze 38 55
12 Apr 45 USS Tennessee Battleship Air attack, kamikaze hit signal bridge 25 104
12 Apr 45 *USS Mannert L. Abele Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze 79 35
12 Apr 45 USS Purdy Destroyer Air attack, splashed kamikaze bomb skidded in 13 27
12 Apr 45 USS Cassin Young Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze hit foremast 1 59
12 Apr 45 USS Zellars Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze crashed port, bomb blew 29 37
12 Apr 45 USS Rall Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze starboard aft, bomb blew 21 38
12 Apr 45 USS Whitehurst Destroyer Escort Air attack, kamikaze w/bomb crashed pilot house 37 37
12 Apr 45 USS Lindsey Destroyer Minelayer Air attack, 2 kamikaze Val strikes 56 51
12 Apr 45 USS LSM(R)-189 Landing Ship Air attack, kamikaze 0 4
12 Apr 45 *USS LCS(L)-33 Landing Craft Air attack, kamikaze Val amidships 4 29
12 Apr 45 USS LCS(L)-57 Landing Craft Air attack, 3 kamikaze strikes 2 6
14 Apr 45 USS Sigsbee Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze damaged port engine 4 74
16 Apr 45 USS Intrepid Carrier Air attack, kamikaze crashed deck, fires put out 10 87
16 Apr 45 USS Bryant Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze to bridge, w/explosion 34 33
16 Apr 45 USS Laffey Destroyer Air attack, multiple kamikaze hits 31 72
16 Apr 45 *USS Pringle Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze Val hit abaft
stack No. 1, explosion, broke in half 		65 110
16 Apr 45 USS Bowers Destroyer Escort Air attack, kamikaze to bridge, bomb hit pilot house 48 56
16 Apr 45 #USS Harding Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack, kamikaze struck side near bridge 22 10
16 Apr 45 USS Hobson Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack, near miss kamikaze's bomb veered in 4 8
16 Apr 45 USS LCS(L)-116 Landing Craft Air attack, kamikaze hit aft gun mount 12 12
18 Apr 45 USS LSM-28 Landing Ship Air attack 0 0
22 Apr 45 USS Isherwood Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze w/bomb crashed gun mount 42 41
22 Apr 45 *USS Swallow Small Sweeper Air attack, bad kamikaze hit flooded her, 3 mins sunk 2 9
22 Apr 45 USS LCS(L)-15 Landing Craft Air attack 15 11
27 Apr 45 #USS Hutchins Destroyer Suicide Boat explosive blew close 0 0
27 Apr 45 #USS Rathburne Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze hit port bow waterline 0 0
27 Apr 45 *SS Canada Victory Cargo Air attack, kamikaze hit stern, lit ammo, sunk 10 mins 12 27
28 Apr 45 USS Pinkney Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze hit aft of superstructure, lit ammo 35 12
28 Apr 45 USS Comfort Hospital Ship Air attack, kamikaze through 3 decks to surgery 30 48
29 Apr 45 #USS Haggard Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze went through hull, blew engine room 11 40
29 Apr 45 USS Hazelwood Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze zero hit port bridge 46 26
29 Apr 45 #USS LCS(L)-37 Landing Craft Suicide Boat 0 4
30 Apr 45 USS Terror Minelayer Air attack, kamikaze blew through main deck 48 123
3 May 45 *USS Little Destroyer Air attack, 5 kamikaze strikes 30 79
3 May 45 #USS Aaron Ward Destroyer Minelayer Air attack; 3 kamikaze hits and bomb frags 45 49
3 May 45 USS Macomb Destroyer Minelayer Air attack, kamikaze 7 14
3 May 45 *USS LSM(R)-195 Landing Ship Air attack, kamikaze hit rockets, sunk 8 16
4 May 45 USS Hopkins Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack, Glancing blow by burning kamikaze 0 1
4 May 45 #USS Sangamon Escort Carrier Air attack, kamikaze & bomb blew through flight deck 46 116
4 May 45 USS Birmingham Light Cruiser Air attack, kamikaze hit forward 51 81
4 May 45 USS Ingraham Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze above port waterline, bomb blew 14 37
4 May 45 *USS Luce Destroyer Air attack, 1st kamikaze bomb hit, 2nd kamikaze struck aft 149 94
4 May 45 *USS Morrison Destroyer Air attack, 1st kamikaze hit bridge, then 3 more hit 159 102
4 May 45 USS Shea Destroyer Air attack Ohka kamikaze through starboard bridge 27 91
4 May 45 USS Carina Cargo Ship Suicide Boat ramming caused explosion 0 6
4 May 45 *USS LSM(R)-190 Landing Ship Air attack, kamikaze set off her rockets 13 18
4 May 45 *USS LSM(R)-194 Landing Ship Air attack 13 23
9 May 45 #USS England Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze dive bomber 35 27
9 May 45 #USS Oberrender Destroyer Escort Air attack, kamikaze hit starboard gun
mount, bomb through main deck 		8 53
11 May 45 USS Bunker Hill Carrier Air attack, 3 kamikaze hits with bombs through flight deck 396 264
11 May 45 #USS Hugh W. Hadley Destroyer Air attack, Aft bomb, an Ohka, and 2 more kamikazes struck 28 67
11 May 45 #USS Evans Destroyer Air attack, Struck by 4 kamikazes, fires put out 30 29
11 May 45 USS LCS(L)-88 Landing Craft Air attack 7 9
13 May 45 USS Enterprise Fast Carrier Air attack, 2 kamikazes, struck port, & under starboard bow 13 68
13 May 45 USS Bache Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze hit, bomb
exploded amidships just above main deck 		41 32
13 May 45 USS Bright Destroyer Escort Air attack, kamikaze zero hit fantail, bomb exploded 0 2
17 May 45 USS Douglas H. Fox Destroyer 2 kamikaze strikes, one to forward gun mounts, one to fantail 9 35
18 May 45 *USS Longshaw Destroyer Coastal Battery, 4 hits, one ignited magazine,
blew off bow back to bridge[59]		 86 97
18 May 45 *USS LST-808 Landing Ship Tank Air attack 11 11
20 May 45 #USS Chase Destroyer Escort Air attack, Splashed kamikaze skidded in,
bombs opened hull, w/flooding 		0 35
20 May 45 #USS Thatcher Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze Oscar struck aft of bridge, large hole 14 53
20 May 45 #USS John C. Butler Destroyer Escort Air attack, kamikaze hit to mast and antennas 0 0
25 May 45 USS Stormes Destroyer Air attack, crashed aft torpedo mount,
bomb blew large hole, flooded aft 		21 6
25 May 45 USS O'Neill Destroyer Escort Air attack, kamikaze 0 16
25 May 45 USS Butler Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack, kamikaze bombs exploded under keel 0 15
25 May 45 #USS Spectacle Small Minesweeper Air attack, kamikaze crashed port gun tub causing fires 29 6
25 May 45 *USS Barry Destroyer Transport Air attack, kamikaze badly crashed
starboard side, fires, abandoned 		0 30
25 May 45 *USS Bates Destroyer Escort Air attack, 2 kamikaze hits, fires,
abandoned, towed, later sank 		21 35
25 May 45 USS Roper Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze hit off Hanagushi, Okinawa 1 10
25 May 45 *LSM-135 Landing Ship Air attack, kamikaze caused fires, beached, abandoned 11 10
25 May 45 SS William B. Allison (aka USS Inca)

[60]

 Cargo Ship, Liberty Ship Air attack, Aerial Torpedo off Nakagusuku Wan 8 2
27 May 45 USS Braine Destroyer Air attack, 2 kamikazes,
1st hit bridge, and 2nd hit amidships 		66 78
27 May 45 #USS Forrest Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack, kamikaze crashed starboard side waterline 5 13
27 May 45 USS Rednour Transport Air attack, 2 kmaikazes hits,
one made 10 foot hole in main deck 		3 13
27 May 45 USS Loy Destroyer Escort Air attack, kamikaze near miss sprayed fragments 3 15
27 May 45 LCS(L)-119 Landing Craft Air attack 12 6
28 May 45 *USS Drexler Destroyer Air attack, 1st kamikaze Frances hit topside,
2nd Francis w/bombs crashed superstructure 		158 51
28 May 45 USS Sandoval Attack Transport Air attack, kamikaze hit portside of wheelhouse 8 26
29 May 45 USS Shubrick Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze bomb hit starboard
causing hole, exploding depth charge 		32 28
3 June 45 #USS LCI(L)-90 Landing Craft Infantry Air attack, kamikaze 1 7
6 June 45 #USS J. William Ditter Destroyer Minelayer Air attack, 1st kamikaze glanced,
2nd hit port near main deck 		10 27
6 Jun 45 USS Harry F. Bauer Destroyer Minelayer Air attack, kamikaze hit superstructure 0 0
10 Jun 45 *USS William D. Porter Destroyer Air attack, splashed kamikaze Val's
bomb exploded close underwater 		0 61
11 Jun 45 USS LCS(L)-122 Landing Craft Air attack kamikaze hit conning tower base,
bomb fragments caused fires[61]		 11 29
16 Jun 45 *USS Twiggs Destroyer Air attack, splashed kamikaze and
bomb blew in hull plating, w/structural damage 		126 34
21 Jun 45 USS Halloran Destroyer Escort Air attack, splashed kamikaze's bomb struck 3 24
21 Jun 45 USS Curtiss Seaplane Tender Air attack, kamikaze and bomb
ripped 2 holes in hull and blew 		41 28
21 Jun 45 *USS LSM-59 Landing Ship Air attack, kamikaze strike while
towing USS Barry, sank in 4 minutes 		2 8
22 Jun 45 USS LSM-213 Landing Ship Air attack, kamikaze strike at Kimmu Wan, hull damage [62] 3 10
22 Jun 45 USS LST-534 Landing Ship Tank Air attack, While offloading on Nagagusuku Wan,
kamikaze hit bow doors, tank deck[62]		 3 35
29 Jul 45 *USS Callaghan Destroyer Air attack, bi-plane kamikaze hit,
its bomb blew aft engine room, sunk 		47 73
30 Jul 45 USS Cassin Young Destroyer Air attack, kamikaze hit
forward, earlier hit 12 April 		22 45
Total 3927 5063

Japanese losses

The US military estimates that 110,071 Japanese soldiers were killed during the battle. This total includes conscripted Okinawan civilians.

 
A group of Japanese prisoners taken on the island of Okuku in June 1945

A total of 7,401 Japanese regulars and 3,400 Okinawan conscripts surrendered or were captured during the battle of Okinawa. Additional Japanese and renegade Okinawans were captured or surrendered over the next few months, bringing the total to 16,346.[11]: 489  This was the first battle in the Pacific War in which thousands of Japanese soldiers surrendered or were captured. Many of the prisoners were native Okinawans who had been pressed into service shortly before the battle and were less imbued with the Imperial Japanese Army's no-surrender doctrine.[22] When the American forces occupied the island, many Japanese soldiers put on Okinawan clothing to avoid capture, and some Okinawans would come to the Americans' aid by offering to identify these mainland Japanese.

The Japanese lost 16 combat vessels, including the super battleship Yamato. Early claims of Japanese aircraft losses put the total at 7,800,[11]: 474  however later examination of Japanese records revealed that Japanese aircraft losses at Okinawa were far below often-repeated US estimates for the campaign.[14] The number of conventional and kamikaze aircraft actually lost or expended by the 3rd, 5th, and 10th Air Fleets, combined with about 500 lost or expended by the Imperial Army at Okinawa, was roughly 1,430.[14] The Allies destroyed 27 Japanese tanks and 743 artillery pieces (including mortars, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns), some of them eliminated by the naval and air bombardments but most knocked out by American counter-battery fire.

Civilian losses, suicides, and atrocities

 
A US Marine Corps Stinson Sentinel observation plane flies over the razed Naha, capital of Okinawa, in May 1945.
Main article: Minoru Ōta § Telegraph to the Navy Vice Admiral

Some of the other islands that saw major battles in World War II, such as Iwo Jima, were uninhabited or had been evacuated. Okinawa, by contrast, had a large indigenous civilian population; US Army records from the planning phase of the operation made the assumption that Okinawa was home to about 300,000 civilians. The official US Tenth Army count for the 82-day campaign is a total of 142,058 recovered enemy bodies (including those civilians pressed into service by the Imperial Japanese Army), with the deduction made that about 42,000 were non-uniformed civilians who had been killed in the crossfire. Okinawa Prefecture's estimate is over 100,000 losses.[63]

During the battle, American forces found it difficult to distinguish civilians from soldiers. It became common for them to shoot at Okinawan houses, as one infantryman wrote:

There was some return fire from a few of the houses, but the others were probably occupied by civilians—and we didn't care. It was a terrible thing not to distinguish between the enemy and women and children. Americans always had great compassion, especially for children. Now we fired indiscriminately.[64]

 
Two US Marines share a foxhole with an Okinawan war orphan in April 1945.

In its history of the war, the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum[63] presents Okinawa as being caught between Japan and the United States. During the battle, the Imperial Japanese Army showed indifference to Okinawans' safety, and its soldiers used civilians as human shields or outright killed them. The Japanese military also confiscated food from the Okinawans and executed those who hid it, leading to mass starvation, and forced civilians out of their shelters. Japanese soldiers also killed about 1,000 people who spoke in the Okinawan language to suppress spying.[65] The museum writes that "some were blown apart by [artillery] shells, some finding themselves in a hopeless situation were driven to suicide, some died of starvation, some succumbed to malaria, while others fell victim to the retreating Japanese troops."[63]

With the impending Japanese defeat, civilians often committed mass suicide, urged on by the Japanese soldiers who told locals that victorious American soldiers would go on a rampage of killing and raping. 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. There are also people who have testified that they were handed grenades by Japanese soldiers" to blow themselves up.[66] Thousands of civilians, having been induced by Japanese propaganda to believe that American soldiers were barbarians who committed horrible atrocities, killed their families and themselves to avoid capture at the hands of the Americans. Some of them threw themselves and their family members from the southern cliffs where the Peace Museum now resides.[67]

Okinawans "were often surprised at the comparatively humane treatment they received from the American enemy".[68][69] Islands of Discontent: Okinawan Responses to Japanese and American Power by Mark Selden states that the Americans "did not pursue a policy of torture, rape, and murder of civilians as Japanese military officials had warned".[70] American Military Intelligence Corps[71] combat translators such as Teruto Tsubota managed to convince many civilians not to kill themselves.[72] 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.[73]

 
Overcoming the civilian resistance on Okinawa was aided by US propaganda leaflets, one of which is being read by a prisoner awaiting transport.

Witnesses and historians claim that soldiers, mainly Japanese troops, raped Okinawan women during the battle. Rape by Japanese troops reportedly "became common" in June, after it became clear that the Imperial Japanese Army had been defeated.[22][11]: 462  Marine Corps officials in Okinawa and Washington have said that they knew of no rapes by American personnel in Okinawa at the end of the war.[74] There are, however, numerous credible testimony accounts which note that a large number of rapes were committed by American forces during the battle. This includes stories of rape after trading sexual favors or even marrying Americans,[75] such as the alleged incident in the village of Katsuyama, where civilians said they had formed a vigilante group to ambush and kill three black American soldiers who they claimed would frequently rape the local girls there.[76]

MEXT textbook controversy

See also: Japanese history textbook controversies

There is ongoing disagreement between Okinawa's local government and Japan's national government over the role of the Japanese military in civilian mass suicides during the battle. In March 2007, the national Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) advised textbook publishers to reword descriptions that the embattled Imperial Japanese Army forced civilians to kill themselves in the war to avoid being taken prisoner. MEXT preferred descriptions that just say that civilians received hand grenades from the Japanese military. This move sparked widespread protests among Okinawans. In June 2007, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly adopted a resolution stating, "We strongly call on the (national) government to retract the instruction and to immediately restore the description in the textbooks so the truth of the Battle of Okinawa will be handed down correctly and a tragic war will never happen again."[77][78]

On 29 September 2007, about 110,000 people held the biggest political rally in the history of Okinawa to demand that MEXT retract its order to textbook publishers regarding revising the account of the civilian suicides. The resolution states, "It is an undeniable fact that the 'multiple suicides' would not have occurred without the involvement of the Japanese military and any deletion of or revision to (the descriptions) is a denial and distortion of the many testimonies by those people who survived the incidents."[79] In December 2007, MEXT partially admitted the role of the Japanese military in civilian mass suicides.[80] The ministry's Textbook Authorization Council allowed the publishers to reinstate the reference that civilians "were forced into mass suicides by the Japanese military", on condition it is placed in sufficient context. The council report states, "It can be said that from the viewpoint of the Okinawa residents, they were forced into the mass suicides."[81] That was not enough for the survivors who said it is important for children today to know what really happened.[82]

The Nobel Prize-winning author Kenzaburō Ōe wrote a booklet that states that the mass suicide order was given by the military during the battle.[83] He was sued by revisionists, including a wartime commander during the battle, who disputed this and wanted to stop publication of the booklet. At a court hearing, Ōe testified "Mass suicides were forced on Okinawa islanders under Japan's hierarchical social structure that ran through the state of Japan, the Japanese armed forces and local garrisons."[84] In March 2008, the Osaka Prefecture Court ruled in favor of Ōe, stating, "It can be said the military was deeply involved in the mass suicides." 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.[85]

In 2012, Korean-Japanese director Pak Su-nam announced her work on the documentary Nuchigafu (Okinawan for "only if one is alive") collecting living survivors' accounts to show "the truth of history to many people", alleging that "there were two types of orders for 'honorable deaths'—one for residents to kill each other and the other for the military to kill all residents".[86] In March 2013, Japanese textbook publisher Shimizu Shoin was permitted by MEXT to publish the statements that "Orders from Japanese soldiers led to Okinawans committing group suicide" and "The [Japanese] army caused many tragedies in Okinawa, killing local civilians and forcing them to commit mass suicide."[87]

Aftermath

 
The Cornerstone of Peace Memorial with names of all military and civilians from all countries who died in the Battle of Okinawa
 
Marines celebrate Victory over Japan Day on Okinawa, August 1945

90% of the buildings on the island were destroyed, along with countless historical documents, artifacts, and cultural treasures, and the tropical landscape was turned into "a vast field of mud, lead, decay and maggots".[88] The military value of Okinawa was significant. Okinawa provided a fleet anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields in proximity to Japan. The US cleared the surrounding waters of mines in Operation Zebra, occupied Okinawa, and set up the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands, a form of military government, after the battle.[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. We had the Battle of Okinawa, in which the exact opposite happened. The Japanese army not only starved the Okinawans but used them as human shields. That dark history is still present today – and Japan and the US should study it before they decide what to do with next.[90]

Effect on the wider war

Because the next major event following the Battle of Okinawa was the total surrender of Japan, the effect of this battle is more difficult to consider. Because Japan surrendered when it did, the anticipated series of battles and the invasion of the Japanese homeland never occurred, and all military strategies on both sides which presupposed this apparently-inevitable next development were immediately rendered moot.

Some military historians believe that the Okinawa campaign led directly to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as a means of avoiding the planned ground invasion of the Japanese mainland. This view is explained by Victor Davis Hanson in his book Ripples of Battle:

... because the Japanese on Okinawa ... were so fierce in their defense (even when cut off and without supplies), and because casualties were so appalling, many American strategists looked for an alternative means to subdue mainland Japan, other than a direct invasion. This means presented itself, with the advent of atomic bombs, which worked admirably in convincing the Japanese to sue for peace [unconditionally], without American casualties.

Meanwhile, many parties continue to debate the broader question of "why Japan surrendered", attributing the surrender to a number of possible reasons including: the atomic bombings,[91][92][93] the Soviet invasion of Manchuria,[94][95] and Japan's depleted resources.[96][page needed][97]

Memorial

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.[98] The memorial lists all the known names of those who died in the battle, civilian and military, Japanese and foreign. As of 2022, the monument lists 241,686 names.[99]

Modern US base

Significant US forces remain garrisoned on Okinawa as the United States Forces Japan, which the Japanese government sees as an important guarantee of regional stability,[100] and Kadena remains the largest US air base in Asia. Local residents have long protested against the size and presence of the base.[101][102]

See also

References

Citations

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  2. ^ 26 March marked the first landing on the Kerama Islands around Okinawa in the Ryukus by the 77th Division.
  3. ^ Sloan 2007, p. 18
  4. ^ a b Keegan, John (2005). The Second World War. Penguin. ISBN 9780143195085.
  5. ^ Hastings 2008, p. 370
  6. ^ "The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won" p. 302
  7. ^ "HyperWar: US Army in WWII: Okinawa: The Last Battle [Appendix C]". from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  8. ^ "HyperWar: The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II: Ryukyus". www.ibiblio.org. from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  9. ^ a b Frank 1999, p. 71.
  10. ^ Roblin, Sebastien (29 March 2020). "Marine Tanks at Okinawa and the Armored Angels of Kunishi Ridge". The National Interest. from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Appleman, Roy; Burns, James; Gugeler, Russel; Stevens, John (1948). . United States Army Center of Military History. ISBN 1-4102-2206-3. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
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  14. ^ a b c Giangreco, D. (2009). Hell to Pay Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945–47. Naval Institute Press. p. 91. ISBN 9781591143161.
  15. ^ . Nisei.hawaii.edu. 1 April 1945. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  16. ^ a b   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Nichols, Charles; Shaw, Henry (1955). Okinawa: Victory in the Pacific (PDF). Government Printing Office. ASIN B00071UAT8. (PDF) from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  17. ^ Feifer 2001 pages 99–106
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  20. ^ "Okinawa: The Typhoon of Steel". American Veterans Center. 1 April 1945. from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  21. ^ At 60th anniversary, Battle of Okinawa survivors recall 'Typhoon of Steel' – News – Stripes 5 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Allen, David; Stars and Stripes; 1 April 2005.
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Sources

  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.
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External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of Okinawa.
  • Dyer, George Carroll (1956). "The Amphibians Came to Conquer: The Story of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner". United States Government Printing Office. from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  • Huber, Thomas M. (May 1990). . Leavenworth Papers. United States Army Command and General Staff College. Archived from the original on 16 December 2006. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
  • A film clip "footage from the National Archives.By Sgt. Rhodes" is available at the Internet Archive
  • A film clip "Landings On Okinawa, 1945/04/09 (1945)" is available at the Internet Archive
  • A film clip "Argentine Admitted To World Parley, 1945/05/03 (1945)" is available at the Internet Archive
  • A film clip "Final Days of Struggle in Okinawa, 1945/07/05 (1945)" is available at the Internet Archive
  • US military on the Battle of Okinawa 26 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  • New Zealand account with reference to Operation Iceberg
  • Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum
  • A photographic record of aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable, 1944–45, including Operation Iceberg, the attack on the Sakashimas
  • WWII: Battle of Okinawa 10 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine – slideshow by Life magazine
  • Operation Iceberg Operational Documents 26 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, KS
  • Oral history interview with Mike Busha, a member of the 6th Marine Division during the Battle of Okinawa Archived 14 December 2012 at archive.today from the Veterans History Project at Central Connecticut State University
  • Oral history interview with Albert D'Amico, a Navy Veteran who was aboard LST 278 during the landing at Okinawa Archived 12 December 2012 at archive.today from the Veterans History Project at Central Connecticut State University
  • Booknotes interview with Robert Leckie on Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II, September 3, 1995.

May 06, 2023
battle, okinawa, film, film, part, volcano, ryukyu, islands, campaign, pacific, theater, world, davis, hargraves, from, battalion, marines, wana, ridge, provides, covering, fire, with, thompson, submachine, gabriel, chavarria, ducks, cover, 1945, date1, april,. For the film see Battle of Okinawa film Battle of OkinawaPart of the Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign of the Pacific Theater World War II Davis Hargraves from the 2nd Battalion 1st Marines on Wana Ridge provides covering fire with his Thompson submachine gun as Gabriel Chavarria ducks for cover May 1945 Date1 April 22 June 1945 1 2 months and 3 weeks 2 LocationOkinawa Island and Prefecture Ryukyu Islands Empire of Japan26 30 N 128 00 E 26 5 N 128 E 26 5 128ResultAllied victoryBelligerentsGround forces United StatesNaval support United Kingdom Australia New Zealand CanadaJapanCommanders and leadersSimon B Buckner Jr Roy Geiger Chester W NimitzRaymond A Spruance William Halsey Jr Mitsuru Ushijima Isamu Chō Hiromichi Yahara POW Minoru Ōta Seiichi Itō Units involvedGround units Tenth Army III Amphibious Corps 1st Marine Division 2nd Marine Division 6th Marine Division XXIV Corps 7th Infantry Division 27th Infantry Division 77th Infantry Division 96th Infantry DivisionNaval units Fifth Fleet Task Force 50 Task Force 58 Task Force 57 Joint Exp ForceGround units 32nd Army 24th Infantry Division 28th Infantry Division 62nd Infantry Division 44th Mixed Brigade 45th Mixed Brigade 59th Mixed Brigade 60th Mixed Brigade 27th Tank RegimentNaval units Combined Fleet 2nd FleetStrength 541 000 in Tenth Army 183 000 combat troops 3 rising to 250 000 4 567 76 000 Japanese soldiers 40 000 Okinawan conscripts 5 Casualties and lossesAmerican personnel 50 000 casualties 6 includes 12 500 killed and missing 7 8 9 Materiel 153 Tanks destroyed 10 13 destroyers sunk15 amphibious ships sunk8 other ships sunk386 ships damaged763 aircraft lost 4 573 11 473 Japanese personnel 77 166 Japanese soldiers dead 12 over 30 000 Okinawan conscripts killed 110 000 killed total U S estimate 13 More than 7 000 15 000 captured 13 Materiel 1 battleship sunk1 light cruiser sunk5 destroyers sunk9 other warships sunk1 430 aircraft lost 14 27 tanks destroyed743 1 712 artillery pieces anti tank guns mortars and anti aircraft guns 11 91 2 40 000 150 000 civilians perished out of an estimated prewar population of 300 000 13 15 class notpageimage Location within JapanShow map of JapanBattle of Okinawa Pacific Ocean Show map of Pacific Ocean The Battle of Okinawa Japanese 沖縄戦 Hepburn Okinawa sen codenamed Operation Iceberg 16 17 was a battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army 17 The initial invasion of Okinawa on 1 April 1945 was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II 18 19 The Kerama Islands surrounding Okinawa were preemptively captured on 26 March by the 77th Infantry Division The 82 day battle lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945 After a long campaign of island hopping the Allies were planning to use Kadena Air Base on the large island of Okinawa as a base for Operation Downfall the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands 340 mi 550 km away The United States created the Tenth Army a cross branch force consisting of the U S Army 7th 27th 77th and 96th Infantry Divisions with the 1st 2nd and 6th Marine Divisions to fight on the island The Tenth Army was unique in that it had its own Tactical Air Force joint Army Marine command and was supported by combined naval and amphibious forces Opposing the Allied forces on the ground was the Japanese Thirty Second Army The battle has been referred to as the typhoon of steel in English and kotetsu no ame rain of steel or kotetsu no hageshi kaze violent wind of steel in Japanese 20 21 The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting the intensity of Japanese kamikaze attacks and the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island The battle was the bloodiest in the Pacific with around 50 000 Allied and 84 166 117 000 Japanese casualties 22 11 473 4 including Okinawans conscripted into the Japanese Army 13 12 According to local authorities at least 149 425 Okinawan people were killed died by coerced suicide or went missing roughly half of the estimated pre war population of about 300 000 12 In the naval operations surrounding the battle both sides lost considerable numbers of ships and aircraft including the Japanese battleship Yamato After the battle Okinawa provided a fleet anchorage troop staging areas and airfields in proximity to Japan for US forces in preparation for a planned invasion of the Japanese home islands Despite local protests US forces remain garrisoned on Okinawa Contents 1 Order of battle 1 1 Allied 1 2 Japanese 1 2 1 Japanese use of children 2 Naval battle 2 1 Operation Ten Go 2 2 British Pacific Fleet 3 Land battle 3 1 Northern Okinawa 3 2 Southern Okinawa 4 Casualties 4 1 Military losses 4 1 1 American 4 1 2 Allied naval vessels damaged and sunk at Okinawa 4 1 3 Japanese losses 4 2 Civilian losses suicides and atrocities 4 2 1 MEXT textbook controversy 5 Aftermath 5 1 Effect on the wider war 5 2 Memorial 5 3 Modern US base 6 See also 7 References 7 1 Citations 7 2 Sources 8 External linksOrder of battle EditMain article Okinawa ground order of battle See also Okinawa naval order of battle Allied Edit A map of US operations at Okinawa 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 23 39 over 88 000 Marines and 18 000 Navy personnel mostly Seabees and medical personnel 23 40 At the start of the Battle of Okinawa the US Tenth Army had 182 821 personnel under its command 23 40 It was planned that Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr would report to Vice Admiral Richmond K Turner until the amphibious phase was completed after which he would report directly to Admiral Raymond A Spruance Total aircraft in the US Navy Marine and Army Air Force exceeded 3 000 over the course of the battle including fighters attack aircraft scout planes bombers and dive bombers The invasion was supported by a fleet consisting of 18 battleships 27 cruisers 177 destroyers destroyer escorts 39 aircraft carriers 11 fleet carriers 6 light carriers and 22 escort carriers and various support and troop transport ships 24 The British naval contingent accompanied 251 British naval aircraft and included a British Commonwealth fleet with Australian New Zealand and Canadian ships and personnel 25 Japanese Edit The Japanese land campaign mainly defensive was conducted by the 67 000 strong 77 000 according to some sources regular 32nd Army and some 9 000 Imperial Japanese Navy troops at Oroku Naval Base only a few hundred of whom had been trained and equipped for ground combat supported by 39 000 drafted local Ryukyuan people including 24 000 hastily drafted rear militia called Boeitai and 15 000 non uniformed laborers The Japanese had used kamikaze tactics since the Battle of Leyte Gulf but for the first time they became a major part of the defense Between the American landing on 1 April and 25 May seven major kamikaze attacks were attempted involving more than 1 500 planes The 32nd Army initially consisted of the 9th 24th and 62nd Divisions and the 44th Independent Mixed Brigade The 9th Division was moved to Taiwan before the invasion resulting in shuffling of Japanese defensive plans Primary resistance was to be led in the south by Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima his chief of staff Lieutenant General Isamu Chō and his chief of operations Colonel Hiromichi Yahara Yahara advocated a defensive strategy whilst Chō advocated an offensive one In the north Colonel Takehido Udo was in command The naval troops were led by Rear Admiral Minoru Ōta They expected the Americans to land 6 10 divisions against the Japanese garrison of two and a half divisions The staff calculated that superior quality and numbers of weapons gave each US division five or six times the firepower of a Japanese division To this would be added the Americans abundant naval and air firepower Japanese commanders of Okinawa photographed early in February 1945 In center 1 Admiral Minoru Ota 2 Lt Gen Mitsuru Ushijima 3 Lt Gen Isamu Cho 4 Col Hitoshi Kanayama 5 Col Kikuji Hongo and 6 Col Hiromichi Yahara Japanese soldiers arriving on Okinawa Japanese high school girls wave farewell to a kamikaze pilot departing to Okinawa A US military diagram of typical Japanese hill defensive tunnels and installations A Japanese Type 89 150mm gun hidden inside a cave defensive system A map of Okinawa s airfields 1945Japanese use of children Edit Tekketsu Kinnōtai child soldiers on Okinawa On Okinawa the Imperial Japanese Army mobilized 1 780 schoolboys aged 14 17 years into front line service as an Iron and Blood Imperial Corps Japanese 鉄血勤皇隊 romanized Tekketsu Kinnōtai while female Himeyuri students were organized into a nursing unit 22 This mobilization was conducted by an ordinance of the Ministry of the Army not by law The ordinances mobilized the students as volunteer soldiers for form s sake in reality the military authorities ordered schools to force almost all students to volunteer as soldiers sometimes they counterfeited the necessary documents About half of the Tekketsu Kinnōtai were killed including in suicide bomb attacks against tanks and in guerrilla operations Among the 21 male and female secondary schools that made up these student corps 2 000 students died on the battlefield Even with the female students acting mainly as nurses to Japanese soldiers they were still exposed to the harsh conditions of war 26 Naval battle EditThere was a hypnotic fascination to the sight so alien to our Western philosophy We watched each plunging kamikaze with the detached horror of one witnessing a terrible spectacle rather than as the intended victim We forgot self for the moment as we groped hopelessly for the thought of that other man up there Vice Admiral C R Brown US Navy 27 711 The US Navy s Task Force 58 deployed to the east of Okinawa with a picket group of 6 to 8 destroyers kept 13 carriers 7 fleet carriers and 6 light carriers on duty from 23 March to 27 April and a smaller number thereafter Until 27 April a minimum of 14 and up to 18 escort carriers were in the area at all times Until 20 April British Task Force 57 with 4 large and 6 escort carriers remained off the Sakishima Islands to protect the southern flank 11 97 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 Following the practice of changing the fleet designation with the change of commanders US naval forces began the campaign as the US 5th Fleet under Admiral Spruance but ended it as the 3rd Fleet under Admiral Halsey Japanese air opposition had been relatively light during the first few days after the landings However on 6 April the expected air reaction began with an attack by 400 planes from Kyushu Periodic heavy air attacks continued through April During the period 26 March to 30 April 20 American ships were sunk and 157 damaged by enemy action By 30 April the Japanese had lost more than 1 100 planes to Allied naval forces alone 11 102 Between 6 April and 22 June the Japanese flew 1 465 kamikaze aircraft in large scale attacks from Kyushu 185 individual kamikaze sorties from Kyushu and 250 individual kamikaze sorties from Taiwan then called Formosa 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 28 clarification needed The ships lost were smaller vessels particularly the destroyers of the radar pickets as well as destroyer escorts and landing ships While no major Allied warships were lost several fleet carriers were severely damaged Land based Shin yō class suicide motorboats were also used in the Japanese suicide attacks although Ushijima had disbanded the majority of the suicide boat battalions before the battle because of expected low effectiveness against a superior enemy The boat crews were re formed into three additional infantry battalions 29 The super battleship Yamato explodes after persistent attacks from US aircraft American aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill burns after being hit by two kamikaze planes within 30 seconds Operation Ten Go Edit Operation Ten Go Ten gō sakusen was the attempted attack by a strike force of 10 Japanese surface vessels led by Yamato and commanded by Admiral Seiichi Itō This small task force had been ordered to fight through enemy naval forces then beach Yamato and fight from shore using her guns as coastal artillery and her crew as naval infantry The Ten Go force was spotted by submarines shortly after it left the Japanese home waters and was intercepted by US carrier aircraft Under attack from more than 300 aircraft over a two hour span the world s largest battleship sank on 7 April 1945 after a one sided battle long before she could reach Okinawa US torpedo bombers were instructed to aim for only one side to prevent effective counter flooding by the battleship s crew and to aim for the bow or the stern where armor was believed to be the thinnest Of Yamato s screening force the light cruiser Yahagi and 4 of the 8 destroyers were also sunk The Imperial Japanese Navy lost some 3 700 sailors including Admiral Itō at the cost of 10 US aircraft and 12 airmen British Pacific Fleet EditThe 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 26 March to 10 April On 10 April its attention was shifted to airfields in northern Formosa The force withdrew to San Pedro Bay on 23 April On 1 May the British Pacific Fleet returned to action subduing the airfields as before this time with naval bombardment as well as aircraft 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 30 31 Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Avengers Seafires and Fireflies on HMS Implacable warm up their engines before taking off HMS Formidable on fire after a kamikaze attack on May 4 The ship was out of action for fifty minutes Land battle Edit The battleship USS Idaho shelling Okinawa on 1 April 1945The land battle took place over about 81 days beginning on 1 April 1945 The first Americans ashore were soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division who landed in the Kerama Islands 15 mi 24 km west of Okinawa on 26 March Subsidiary landings followed and the Kerama group was secured over the next five days In these preliminary operations the 77th Infantry Division suffered 27 dead and 81 wounded while the Japanese dead and captured numbered over 650 The operation provided a protected anchorage for the fleet and eliminated the threat from suicide boats 11 50 60 On 31 March Marines of the Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion landed without opposition on Keise Shima four islets just 8 mi 13 km west of the Okinawan capital of Naha A group of 155 mm 6 1 in Long Tom artillery pieces went ashore on the islets to cover operations on Okinawa 11 57 Northern Okinawa Edit US Marine reinforcements wade ashore to support the beachhead on Okinawa 1 April 1945 The main landing was made by the XXIV Corps and the III Amphibious Corps on the Hagushi beaches on the western coast of Okinawa on 1 April 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 11 68 74 Tenth Army swept across the south central part of the island with relative ease capturing the Kadena and the Yomitan airbases within hours of the landing 16 67 9 11 74 5 In light of the weak opposition General Buckner decided to proceed immediately with Phase II of his plan the seizure of northern Okinawa The 6th Marine Division headed up the Ishikawa Isthmus and by 7 April had sealed off the Motobu Peninsula 11 138 41 Six days later on 13 April the 2nd Battalion 22nd Marine Regiment reached Hedo Point at the northernmost tip of the island By this point the bulk of the Japanese forces in the north codenamed Udo Force were cornered on the Motobu Peninsula The terrain was mountainous and wooded with the Japanese defenses concentrated on Mount Yaedake a twisted mass of rocky ridges and ravines on the center of the peninsula There was heavy fighting before the Marines finally cleared Yaedake on 18 April 11 141 8 However this was not the end of ground combat in northern Okinawa On 24 May the Japanese mounted Operation Gi gou a company of Giretsu Kuteitai commandos were airlifted in a suicide attack on Yomitan They destroyed 70 000 US gallons 260 000 L of fuel and nine planes before being killed by the defenders who lost two men Meanwhile the 77th Infantry Division assaulted Ie Shima a small island off the western end of the peninsula on 16 April In addition to conventional hazards the 77th Infantry Division encountered kamikaze attacks and even local women armed with spears There was heavy fighting before the area was declared secured on 21 April and became another airbase for operations against Japan 11 149 83 Southern Okinawa Edit US Marines pass a dead Japanese soldier in a destroyed village April 1945 American soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division listen impassively to radio reports of Victory in Europe Day on 8 May 1945 Soldiers of the 96th Infantry Division attack Japanese positions on Big Apple Ridge While the 6th Marine Division cleared northern Okinawa the US Army 96th and 7th Infantry Divisions wheeled south across the narrow isthmus of Okinawa The 96th Infantry Division began to encounter fierce resistance in west central Okinawa from Japanese troops holding fortified positions east of Highway No 1 and about 5 mi 8 km northwest of Shuri from what came to be known as Cactus Ridge 11 104 5 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 By the night of 8 April American troops had cleared these and several other strongly fortified positions They suffered over 1 500 battle casualties in the process while killing or capturing about 4 500 Japanese Yet the battle had only begun for it was realized that these were merely outposts guarding the Shuri Line 11 105 8 The next American objective was Kakazu Ridge 26 15 32 N 127 44 13 E 26 259 N 127 737 E 26 259 127 737 two hills with a connecting saddle that formed part of Shuri s outer defenses The Japanese had prepared their positions well and fought tenaciously The Japanese soldiers hid in fortified caves American forces often lost personnel before clearing the Japanese out from each cave or other hiding place The Japanese sent Okinawans at gunpoint out to obtain water and supplies for them which led to civilian casualties The American advance was inexorable but resulted in a high number of casualties on both sides 11 110 25 As the American assault against Kakazu Ridge stalled Lieutenant General Ushijima influenced by General Chō decided to take the offensive On the evening of 12 April the 32nd Army attacked American positions across the entire front The Japanese attack was heavy sustained and well organized After fierce close combat the attackers retreated only to repeat their offensive the following night A final assault on 14 April was again repulsed The effort led the 32nd Army s staff to conclude that the Americans were vulnerable to night infiltration tactics but that their superior firepower made any offensive Japanese troop concentrations extremely dangerous and they reverted to their defensive strategy 11 130 7 The 27th Infantry Division which had landed on 9 April took over on the right along the west coast of Okinawa General John R Hodge now had three divisions in the line with the 96th in the middle and the 7th to the east with each division holding a front of only about 1 5 mi 2 4 km Hodge launched a new offensive on 19 April with a barrage of 324 guns the largest ever in the Pacific Ocean Theater Battleships cruisers and destroyers joined the bombardment which was followed by 650 Navy and Marine planes attacking the Japanese positions with napalm rockets bombs and machine guns The Japanese defenses were sited on reverse slopes where the defenders waited out the artillery barrage and aerial attack in relative safety emerging from the caves to rain mortar rounds and grenades upon the Americans advancing up the forward slope 11 184 94 A tank assault to achieve breakthrough by outflanking Kakazu Ridge failed to link up with its infantry support attempting to cross the ridge and therefore failed with the loss of 22 tanks Although flame tanks cleared many cave defenses there was no breakthrough and the XXIV Corps suffered 720 casualties The losses might have been greater except for the fact that the Japanese had practically all of their infantry reserves tied up farther south held there by another feint off the Minatoga beaches by the 2nd Marine Division that coincided with the attack 11 196 207 At the end of April after Army forces had pushed through the Machinato defensive line 32 the 1st Marine Division relieved the 27th Infantry Division and the 77th Infantry Division relieved the 96th When the 6th Marine Division arrived the III Amphibious Corps took over the right flank and Tenth Army assumed control of the battle 11 265 Lt Col Richard P Ross Jr commander of 3rd Battalion 1st Marines braves sniper fire to place the United States colors over the parapets of Shuri Castle on 30 May This flag was first raised over Cape Gloucester and then Peleliu A Japanese prisoner of war sits behind barbed wire after he and 306 others were captured within the last 24 hours of the battle by 6th Marine Division On 4 May the 32nd Army launched another counter offensive This time Ushijima attempted to make amphibious assaults on the coasts behind American lines To support his offensive the Japanese artillery moved into the open By doing so they were able to fire 13 000 rounds in support but effective American counter battery fire destroyed dozens of Japanese artillery pieces The attack failed 11 283 302 Buckner launched another American attack on 11 May Ten days of fierce fighting followed On 13 May troops of the 96th Infantry Division and 763rd Tank Battalion captured Conical Hill 26 12 47 N 127 45 00 E 26 213 N 127 75 E 26 213 127 75 Rising 476 ft 145 m above the Yonabaru coastal plain this feature was the eastern anchor of the main Japanese defenses and was defended by about 1 000 Japanese Meanwhile on the opposite coast the 1st and 6th Marine Divisions fought for Sugar Loaf Hill 26 13 19 N 127 41 46 E 26 222 N 127 696 E 26 222 127 696 The capture of these two key positions exposed the Japanese around Shuri on both sides Buckner hoped to envelop Shuri and trap the main Japanese defending force 11 311 59 By the end of May monsoon rains which had turned contested hills and roads into a morass exacerbated both the tactical and medical situations The ground advance began to resemble a World War I battlefield as troops became mired in mud and flooded roads greatly inhibited evacuation of wounded to the rear Troops lived on a field sodden by rain part garbage dump and part graveyard Unburied Japanese and American bodies decayed sank in the mud and became part of a noxious stew Anyone sliding down the greasy slopes could easily find their pockets full of maggots at the end of the journey 11 364 70 From 24 to 27 May the 6th Marine Division cautiously occupied the ruins of Naha the largest city on the island finding it largely deserted 11 372 7 On 26 May aerial observers saw large troop movements just below Shuri On 28 May Marine patrols found recently abandoned positions west of Shuri By 30 May the consensus among Army and Marine intelligence was that the majority of Japanese forces had withdrawn from the Shuri Line 11 391 2 On 29 May the 1st Battalion 5th Marines 1 5 Marines occupied high ground 700 yards 640 m east of Shuri Castle and reported that the castle appeared undefended At 10 15 Company A 1 5 Marines occupied the castle 11 395 6 Shuri Castle had been shelled by the battleship USS Mississippi for three days before this advance 33 The 32nd Army withdrew to the south and thus the Marines had an easy task of securing Shuri Castle 33 34 The castle however was outside the 1st Marine Division s assigned zone and only frantic efforts by the commander and staff of the 77th Infantry Division prevented an American airstrike and artillery bombardment which would have resulted in many friendly fire casualties 11 396 The Japanese retreat although harassed by artillery fire was conducted with great skill at night and aided by the monsoon storms The 32nd Army was able to move nearly 30 000 personnel into its last defense line on the Kiyan Peninsula which ultimately led to the greatest slaughter on Okinawa in the latter stages of the battle including the deaths of thousands of civilians In addition there were 9 000 IJN troops supported by 1 100 militia with approximately 4 000 holed up at the underground headquarters on the hillside overlooking the Okinawa Naval Base in the Oroku Peninsula east of the airfield 11 392 4 On 4 June elements of the 6th Marine Division launched an amphibious assault on the peninsula The 4 000 Japanese sailors including Admiral Ōta all committed suicide within the hand built tunnels of the underground naval headquarters on 13 June 11 427 34 By 17 June the remnants of Ushijima s shattered 32nd Army were pushed into a small pocket in the far south of the island to the southeast of Itoman 11 455 61 On 18 June General Buckner was killed by Japanese artillery fire while monitoring the progress of his troops from a forward observation post Buckner was replaced by Major General Roy Geiger Upon assuming command Geiger became the only US Marine to command a numbered army of the US Army in combat he was relieved five days later by General Joseph Stilwell On 19 June Brigadier General Claudius Miller Easley the commander of the 96th Infantry Division was killed by Japanese machine gun fire also while checking on the progress of his troops at the front 11 461 The last remnants of Japanese resistance ended on 21 June although some Japanese continued hiding including the future governor of Okinawa Prefecture Masahide Ōta 35 Ushijima and Chō committed suicide by seppuku in their command headquarters on Hill 89 in the closing hours of the battle 11 468 71 Colonel Yahara had asked Ushijima for permission to commit suicide but the general refused his request saying If you die there will be no one left who knows the truth about the battle of Okinawa Bear the temporary shame but endure it This is an order from your army commander 27 723 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 On 22 June Tenth Army held a flag raising ceremony to mark the end of organized resistance on Okinawa On 23 June a mopping up operation commenced which concluded on 30 June 11 471 3 On 15 August 1945 Admiral Matome Ugaki was killed while part of a kamikaze raid on Iheyajima island The official surrender ceremony was held on 7 September near the Kadena Airfield Casualties Edit Two US Coast Guardsmen pay homage to their comrade killed in the Ryukyu Islands The Battle of Okinawa was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War 36 37 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 As of 2022 the monument lists 241 686 names including 149 611 Okinawans 77 485 Imperial Japanese soldiers 14 010 Americans 12 and smaller numbers of people from South Korea 382 the United Kingdom 82 North Korea 82 and Taiwan 34 12 The numbers correspond to recorded deaths during the Battle of Okinawa from the time of the American landings in the Kerama Islands on 26 March 1945 to the signing of the Japanese surrender on 2 September 1945 in addition to all Okinawan casualties in the Pacific War in the 15 years from the Manchurian Incident along with those who died in Okinawa from war related events in the year before the battle and the year after the surrender 38 234 183 names were inscribed by the time of unveiling and new names are added as necessary 39 40 41 40 000 of the Okinawan civilians killed had been drafted or impressed by the Japanese army and are often counted as combat deaths Military losses Edit American Edit Two wounded American soldiers make their way to a medical aid station on Okinawa 20 April 1945 Two US M4 Sherman tanks knocked out by Japanese artillery at Bloody Ridge 20 April 1945 The Americans suffered some 48 000 casualties not including some 33 000 non battle casualties psychiatric injuries illnesses of whom over 12 000 were killed or missing Killed in action were 4 907 Navy 4 675 Army and 2 938 Marine Corps personnel when excluding naval losses at sea and losses on the surrounding islands such as Ie Shima 6 316 killed and over 30 000 wounded occurred on Okinawa proper 9 Other authors such as John Keegan have come up with higher numbers 42 The most famous American casualty was Lieutenant General Buckner whose decision to attack the Japanese defenses head on although extremely costly in American lives was ultimately successful Four days from the closing of the campaign Buckner was killed by Japanese artillery fire which blew lethal slivers of coral into his body while inspecting his troops at the front line He was the highest ranking US officer to be killed by enemy fire during the Second World War The day after Buckner was killed Brigadier General Easley was killed by Japanese machine gunfire War correspondent Ernie Pyle was also killed by Japanese machine gun fire on Ie Shima a small island just off of northwestern Okinawa 43 The last picture of US Army Lt Gen Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr right taken on 18 June 1945 Later in the day he was killed by Japanese artillery fire The last picture of US Army Brig Gen Claudius Miller Easley taken on 19 June 1945 He was later killed by Japanese machine gun fire Aircraft losses over the three month period were 768 US planes including those bombing the Kyushu airfields launching kamikazes Combat losses were 458 and the other 310 were operational accidents At sea 368 Allied ships including 120 amphibious craft were damaged while another 36 including 15 amphibious ships and 12 destroyers were sunk during the Okinawa campaign The US Navy s dead exceeded its wounded with 4 907 killed and 4 874 wounded primarily from kamikaze attacks 44 American personnel casualties included thousands of cases of mental breakdown According to the account of the battle presented in Marine Corps Gazette More mental health issues arose from the Battle of Okinawa than any other battle in the Pacific during World War II The constant bombardment from artillery and mortars coupled with the high casualty rates led to a great deal of personnel coming down with combat fatigue Additionally the rains caused mud that prevented tanks from moving and tracks from pulling out the dead forcing Marines who pride themselves on burying their dead in a proper and honorable manner to leave their comrades where they lay This coupled with thousands of bodies both friend and foe littering the entire island created a scent you could nearly taste Morale was dangerously low by May and the state of discipline on a moral basis had a new low barometer for acceptable behavior The ruthless atrocities by the Japanese throughout the war had already brought on an altered behavior deemed so by traditional standards by many Americans resulting in the desecration of Japanese remains but the Japanese tactic of using the Okinawan people as human shields brought about a new aspect of terror and torment to the psychological capacity of the Americans 13 Medal of Honor recipients from Okinawa are Beauford T Anderson 13 April Richard E Bush 16 April Robert Eugene Bush 2 May Henry A Courtney Jr 14 15 May Clarence B Craft 31 May James L Day 14 17 May Desmond Doss 29 April 21 May John P Fardy 7 May William A Foster 2 May Harold Gonsalves 15 April William D Halyburton Jr 10 May Dale M Hansen 7 May Louis J Hauge Jr 14 May Elbert L Kinser 4 May Fred F Lester 8 June Martin O May 19 21 April Richard M McCool Jr 10 11 June Robert M McTureous Jr 7 June John W Meagher 19 June Edward J Moskala 9 April Joseph E Muller 15 16 May Alejandro R Ruiz 28 April Albert E Schwab 7 May Seymour W Terry 11 MayAllied naval vessels damaged and sunk at Okinawa Edit The following table lists the Allied naval vessels that received damage or were sunk in the Battle of Okinawa between 19 March 30 July 1945 The table lists a total of 147 damaged ships five of which were damaged by enemy suicide boats and another five by mines During the naval battle which started before the amphibious landings on Okinawa on 1 April USS Franklin suffered over 800 killed and missing and USS Bunker Hill suffered 396 killed and missing These were the first and third largest loss of life on damaged or sunken American aircraft carriers during World War II The USS Franklin hit by two bombs in a level bombing attack by a D4Y Judy on 19 March 1945 and USS Bunker Hill were the only two aircraft carriers that sustained very severe damage from Japanese attacks and as a result were the only aircraft carriers in the Essex class that did not experience any active service after the end of World War II One source estimated that total Japanese sorties during the entire Okinawa campaign exceeded 3 700 with a large percentage being kamikaze attacks and that the attackers damaged slightly more than 200 Allied vessels with 4 900 naval officers and seamen killed and roughly 4 824 wounded or missing 45 46 The USS Thorton was damaged as the result of a collision with another US ship sunk or had to be scuttled due to irreparable damage Of those sunk the majority were relatively smaller ships these included destroyers of around 300 450 feet A few small cargo ships were also sunk several containing munitions which caught fire scrapped or decommissioned as a result of damage Allied Naval vessels damaged and sunk by Japanese forces at Okinawa primarily kamikazes 19 March 30 July 1945 47 Day Ship Type Cause Killed Wounded19 Mar 45 USS Wasp Carrier Air attack bomb through flight amp hangar decks 101 26919 Mar 45 USS Franklin Carrier Air attack 724 26520 Mar 45 USS Halsey Powell Destroyer Air attack kamikaze 12 2926 Mar 45 USS Haligan Destroyer Mine 3 miles SE of Maye Shima exploded 2 forward magazines bow blown off 48 153 3926 Mar 45 USS Kimberly Destroyer Air attack kamikaze 4 5727 Mar 45 USS Murray Destroyer Air attack bomb 1 11627 Mar 45 USS O Brian Destroyer Air attack Val kamikaze with bomb 50 7628 Mar 45 USS Skylark Small Minesweeper Mine struck mines twice off Hagushi beaches 5 2528 Mar 45 USS LSM R 188 Landing Ship Air attack kamikaze 15 3229 Mar 45 USS Wyandot Attack Cargo Ship Mine possibly bomb 0 131 Mar 45 USS Indianapolis Cruiser Air attack bomb through fuel tanks 9 201 Apr 45 USS Adams Destroyer Minelayer Air attack kamikaze with bombs to fantail 0 01 Apr 45 USS Alpine Attack Transport Air attack bomb and kamikaze 16 271 Apr 45 USS Hinsdale Attack Transport Air attack kamikaze with bombs at waterline 16 391 Apr 45 USS LST 884 Tank Landing Ship Air attack kamikaze scuttled 6 May 24 211 April 45 HMS Ulster Destroyer Air attack near miss bomb badly damaged 2 12 Apr 45 USS Dickerson Destroyer Transport Air attack kamikaze Nick crashed bridge towed scuttled 49 54 232 Apr 45 USS Goodhue Attack Transport Air attack kamikaze aimed at bridge glanced mainmast hit cargo boom gun tubs over side 50 24 1192 Apr 45 USS Henrico Attack Transport Air attack kamikaze w bombs hit bridge 49 1252 Apr 45 USS Achernar Attack Cargo Ship Air attack kamikaze w bomb hit starboard 5 413 Apr 45 USS Wake Island Escort Carrier Air attack kamikaze blew below waterline 0 03 Apr 45 USS Pritchett Destroyer Air attack 500 lb bomb 0 03 Apr 45 USS Foreman Destroyer Air attack bomb passed through her bottom exploded below 0 33 Apr 45 USS LST 599 Tank Landing Ship Air attack kamikaze through main deck fires 50 0 213 Apr 45 USS LCT 876 Landing Craft Tank Air attack 0 24 Apr 45 USS LCI G 82 51 Landing Craft Infantry Suicide Boat 8 115 Apr 45 USS Nevada Battleship Air attack 25 Mar and 5 April coastal battery 2 166 Apr 45 USS Bush Destroyer Air attack 3 kamikaze hits 2 between stacks blew forward engine room broke in half 52 94 326 Apr 45 USS Colhoun Destroyer Air attack 4 kamikaze hits bombs blew forward amp aft fire rooms at waterline 52 35 216 Apr 45 USS Howorth Destroyer Air attack kamikaze struck superstructure fires put out 53 9 146 Apr 45 USS Hyman Destroyer Air attack kamikaze Hampton hit torpedo tubes twixt stacks 54 10 406 Apr 45 USS Leutze Destroyer Air attack kamikaze blew at fantail bad flooding 55 7 346 Apr 45 USS Morris Destroyer Air attack kate kamikaze portside 0 56 Apr 45 USS Mulaney Destroyer Air attack kamikaze hit depth charges 13 456 Apr 45 USS Newcomb Destroyer Air attack multiple kamikazes 40 246 Apr 45 USS Haynsworth Destroyer Air attack kamikaze 7 256 Apr 45 USS Witter Destroyer Escort Starboard waterline kamikaze 0 56 Apr 45 USS Fieberling Destroyer Air attack kamikaze near miss 6 66 Apr 45 USS Emmons Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack 5 kamikaze hits scuttled 7 April 64 716 Apr 45 USS Rodman Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack 4 kamikaze hits 16 206 Apr 45 USS Defense Small Minesweeper Air attack two kamikaze strikes 0 96 Apr 45 USS LST 447 Landing Ship Air attack kamikaze hit close above waterline bomb blew 5 176 Apr 45 SS Hobbs Victory Cargo Air attack kamikaze struck port flames ignited ammunition 15 36 Apr 45 SS Logan Victory Cargo Air attack kamikaze struck superstructure flames ignited ammunition 16 117 Apr 45 USS Hancock Carrier Air attack cartwheeling kamikaze 72 827 Apr 45 USS Maryland Battleship Air attack kamikaze hit starboard 16 377 Apr 45 USS Bennett Destroyer Air attack kamikaze hit engine room 3 187 Apr 45 USS Wesson Destroyer Air attack kamikaze starboard 8 237 Apr 45 USS PGM 18 Small Gunboat Mine powerful explosion 14 147 Apr 45 YMS 103 Small Minesweeper Mine struck two mines blowing off her bow and stem rescuing PGM 18 56 57 5 08 April 1945 USS Gregory Destroyer Air attack port kamikaze amidships near waterline 0 28 Apr 45 USS YMS 92 Small Sweeper Air attack 0 09 Apr 45 USS Charles J Badger Destroyer Suicide Boat threw depth charge or mine 58 0 09 Apr 45 USS Sterett Destroyer Air attack kamikaze hit starboard at waterline 0 99 Apr 45 USS Hopping Destroyer Transport Coastal Battery damaging hits off Buckner Bay 2 1811 Apr 45 USS Kidd Destroyer Air attack kamikaze 38 5512 Apr 45 USS Tennessee Battleship Air attack kamikaze hit signal bridge 25 10412 Apr 45 USS Mannert L Abele Destroyer Air attack kamikaze 79 3512 Apr 45 USS Purdy Destroyer Air attack splashed kamikaze bomb skidded in 13 2712 Apr 45 USS Cassin Young Destroyer Air attack kamikaze hit foremast 1 5912 Apr 45 USS Zellars Destroyer Air attack kamikaze crashed port bomb blew 29 3712 Apr 45 USS Rall Destroyer Air attack kamikaze starboard aft bomb blew 21 3812 Apr 45 USS Whitehurst Destroyer Escort Air attack kamikaze w bomb crashed pilot house 37 3712 Apr 45 USS Lindsey Destroyer Minelayer Air attack 2 kamikaze Val strikes 56 5112 Apr 45 USS LSM R 189 Landing Ship Air attack kamikaze 0 412 Apr 45 USS LCS L 33 Landing Craft Air attack kamikaze Val amidships 4 2912 Apr 45 USS LCS L 57 Landing Craft Air attack 3 kamikaze strikes 2 614 Apr 45 USS Sigsbee Destroyer Air attack kamikaze damaged port engine 4 7416 Apr 45 USS Intrepid Carrier Air attack kamikaze crashed deck fires put out 10 8716 Apr 45 USS Bryant Destroyer Air attack kamikaze to bridge w explosion 34 3316 Apr 45 USS Laffey Destroyer Air attack multiple kamikaze hits 31 7216 Apr 45 USS Pringle Destroyer Air attack kamikaze Val hit abaft stack No 1 explosion broke in half 65 11016 Apr 45 USS Bowers Destroyer Escort Air attack kamikaze to bridge bomb hit pilot house 48 5616 Apr 45 USS Harding Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack kamikaze struck side near bridge 22 1016 Apr 45 USS Hobson Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack near miss kamikaze s bomb veered in 4 816 Apr 45 USS LCS L 116 Landing Craft Air attack kamikaze hit aft gun mount 12 1218 Apr 45 USS LSM 28 Landing Ship Air attack 0 022 Apr 45 USS Isherwood Destroyer Air attack kamikaze w bomb crashed gun mount 42 4122 Apr 45 USS Swallow Small Sweeper Air attack bad kamikaze hit flooded her 3 mins sunk 2 922 Apr 45 USS LCS L 15 Landing Craft Air attack 15 1127 Apr 45 USS Hutchins Destroyer Suicide Boat explosive blew close 0 027 Apr 45 USS Rathburne Destroyer Air attack kamikaze hit port bow waterline 0 027 Apr 45 SS Canada Victory Cargo Air attack kamikaze hit stern lit ammo sunk 10 mins 12 2728 Apr 45 USS Pinkney Destroyer Air attack kamikaze hit aft of superstructure lit ammo 35 1228 Apr 45 USS Comfort Hospital Ship Air attack kamikaze through 3 decks to surgery 30 4829 Apr 45 USS Haggard Destroyer Air attack kamikaze went through hull blew engine room 11 4029 Apr 45 USS Hazelwood Destroyer Air attack kamikaze zero hit port bridge 46 2629 Apr 45 USS LCS L 37 Landing Craft Suicide Boat 0 430 Apr 45 USS Terror Minelayer Air attack kamikaze blew through main deck 48 1233 May 45 USS Little Destroyer Air attack 5 kamikaze strikes 30 793 May 45 USS Aaron Ward Destroyer Minelayer Air attack 3 kamikaze hits and bomb frags 45 493 May 45 USS Macomb Destroyer Minelayer Air attack kamikaze 7 143 May 45 USS LSM R 195 Landing Ship Air attack kamikaze hit rockets sunk 8 164 May 45 USS Hopkins Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack Glancing blow by burning kamikaze 0 14 May 45 USS Sangamon Escort Carrier Air attack kamikaze amp bomb blew through flight deck 46 1164 May 45 USS Birmingham Light Cruiser Air attack kamikaze hit forward 51 814 May 45 USS Ingraham Destroyer Air attack kamikaze above port waterline bomb blew 14 374 May 45 USS Luce Destroyer Air attack 1st kamikaze bomb hit 2nd kamikaze struck aft 149 944 May 45 USS Morrison Destroyer Air attack 1st kamikaze hit bridge then 3 more hit 159 1024 May 45 USS Shea Destroyer Air attack Ohka kamikaze through starboard bridge 27 914 May 45 USS Carina Cargo Ship Suicide Boat ramming caused explosion 0 64 May 45 USS LSM R 190 Landing Ship Air attack kamikaze set off her rockets 13 184 May 45 USS LSM R 194 Landing Ship Air attack 13 239 May 45 USS England Destroyer Air attack kamikaze dive bomber 35 279 May 45 USS Oberrender Destroyer Escort Air attack kamikaze hit starboard gun mount bomb through main deck 8 5311 May 45 USS Bunker Hill Carrier Air attack 3 kamikaze hits with bombs through flight deck 396 26411 May 45 USS Hugh W Hadley Destroyer Air attack Aft bomb an Ohka and 2 more kamikazes struck 28 6711 May 45 USS Evans Destroyer Air attack Struck by 4 kamikazes fires put out 30 2911 May 45 USS LCS L 88 Landing Craft Air attack 7 913 May 45 USS Enterprise Fast Carrier Air attack 2 kamikazes struck port amp under starboard bow 13 6813 May 45 USS Bache Destroyer Air attack kamikaze hit bomb exploded amidships just above main deck 41 3213 May 45 USS Bright Destroyer Escort Air attack kamikaze zero hit fantail bomb exploded 0 217 May 45 USS Douglas H Fox Destroyer 2 kamikaze strikes one to forward gun mounts one to fantail 9 3518 May 45 USS Longshaw Destroyer Coastal Battery 4 hits one ignited magazine blew off bow back to bridge 59 86 9718 May 45 USS LST 808 Landing Ship Tank Air attack 11 1120 May 45 USS Chase Destroyer Escort Air attack Splashed kamikaze skidded in bombs opened hull w flooding 0 3520 May 45 USS Thatcher Destroyer Air attack kamikaze Oscar struck aft of bridge large hole 14 5320 May 45 USS John C Butler Destroyer Escort Air attack kamikaze hit to mast and antennas 0 025 May 45 USS Stormes Destroyer Air attack crashed aft torpedo mount bomb blew large hole flooded aft 21 625 May 45 USS O Neill Destroyer Escort Air attack kamikaze 0 1625 May 45 USS Butler Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack kamikaze bombs exploded under keel 0 1525 May 45 USS Spectacle Small Minesweeper Air attack kamikaze crashed port gun tub causing fires 29 625 May 45 USS Barry Destroyer Transport Air attack kamikaze badly crashed starboard side fires abandoned 0 3025 May 45 USS Bates Destroyer Escort Air attack 2 kamikaze hits fires abandoned towed later sank 21 3525 May 45 USS Roper Destroyer Air attack kamikaze hit off Hanagushi Okinawa 1 1025 May 45 LSM 135 Landing Ship Air attack kamikaze caused fires beached abandoned 11 1025 May 45 SS William B Allison aka USS Inca 60 Cargo Ship Liberty Ship Air attack Aerial Torpedo off Nakagusuku Wan 8 227 May 45 USS Braine Destroyer Air attack 2 kamikazes 1st hit bridge and 2nd hit amidships 66 7827 May 45 USS Forrest Destroyer Minesweeper Air attack kamikaze crashed starboard side waterline 5 1327 May 45 USS Rednour Transport Air attack 2 kmaikazes hits one made 10 foot hole in main deck 3 1327 May 45 USS Loy Destroyer Escort Air attack kamikaze near miss sprayed fragments 3 1527 May 45 LCS L 119 Landing Craft Air attack 12 628 May 45 USS Drexler Destroyer Air attack 1st kamikaze Frances hit topside 2nd Francis w bombs crashed superstructure 158 5128 May 45 USS Sandoval Attack Transport Air attack kamikaze hit portside of wheelhouse 8 2629 May 45 USS Shubrick Destroyer Air attack kamikaze bomb hit starboard causing hole exploding depth charge 32 283 June 45 USS LCI L 90 Landing Craft Infantry Air attack kamikaze 1 76 June 45 USS J William Ditter Destroyer Minelayer Air attack 1st kamikaze glanced 2nd hit port near main deck 10 276 Jun 45 USS Harry F Bauer Destroyer Minelayer Air attack kamikaze hit superstructure 0 010 Jun 45 USS William D Porter Destroyer Air attack splashed kamikaze Val sbomb exploded close underwater 0 6111 Jun 45 USS LCS L 122 Landing Craft Air attack kamikaze hit conning tower base bomb fragments caused fires 61 11 2916 Jun 45 USS Twiggs Destroyer Air attack splashed kamikaze and bomb blew in hull plating w structural damage 126 3421 Jun 45 USS Halloran Destroyer Escort Air attack splashed kamikaze s bomb struck 3 2421 Jun 45 USS Curtiss Seaplane Tender Air attack kamikaze and bomb ripped 2 holes in hull and blew 41 2821 Jun 45 USS LSM 59 Landing Ship Air attack kamikaze strike while towing USS Barry sank in 4 minutes 2 822 Jun 45 USS LSM 213 Landing Ship Air attack kamikaze strike at Kimmu Wan hull damage 62 3 1022 Jun 45 USS LST 534 Landing Ship Tank Air attack While offloading on Nagagusuku Wan kamikaze hit bow doors tank deck 62 3 3529 Jul 45 USS Callaghan Destroyer Air attack bi plane kamikaze hit its bomb blew aft engine room sunk 47 7330 Jul 45 USS Cassin Young Destroyer Air attack kamikaze hit forward earlier hit 12 April 22 45Total 3927 5063Japanese losses Edit The US military estimates that 110 071 Japanese soldiers were killed during the battle This total includes conscripted Okinawan civilians A group of Japanese prisoners taken on the island of Okuku in June 1945 A total of 7 401 Japanese regulars and 3 400 Okinawan conscripts surrendered or were captured during the battle of Okinawa Additional Japanese and renegade Okinawans were captured or surrendered over the next few months bringing the total to 16 346 11 489 This was the first battle in the Pacific War in which thousands of Japanese soldiers surrendered or were captured Many of the prisoners were native Okinawans who had been pressed into service shortly before the battle and were less imbued with the Imperial Japanese Army s no surrender doctrine 22 When the American forces occupied the island many Japanese soldiers put on Okinawan clothing to avoid capture and some Okinawans would come to the Americans aid by offering to identify these mainland Japanese The Japanese lost 16 combat vessels including the super battleship Yamato Early claims of Japanese aircraft losses put the total at 7 800 11 474 however later examination of Japanese records revealed that Japanese aircraft losses at Okinawa were far below often repeated US estimates for the campaign 14 The number of conventional and kamikaze aircraft actually lost or expended by the 3rd 5th and 10th Air Fleets combined with about 500 lost or expended by the Imperial Army at Okinawa was roughly 1 430 14 The Allies destroyed 27 Japanese tanks and 743 artillery pieces including mortars anti tank and anti aircraft guns some of them eliminated by the naval and air bombardments but most knocked out by American counter battery fire Civilian losses suicides and atrocities Edit A US Marine Corps Stinson Sentinel observation plane flies over the razed Naha capital of Okinawa in May 1945 Main article Minoru Ōta Telegraph to the Navy Vice Admiral Some of the other islands that saw major battles in World War II such as Iwo Jima were uninhabited or had been evacuated Okinawa by contrast had a large indigenous civilian population US Army records from the planning phase of the operation made the assumption that Okinawa was home to about 300 000 civilians The official US Tenth Army count for the 82 day campaign is a total of 142 058 recovered enemy bodies including those civilians pressed into service by the Imperial Japanese Army with the deduction made that about 42 000 were non uniformed civilians who had been killed in the crossfire Okinawa Prefecture s estimate is over 100 000 losses 63 During the battle American forces found it difficult to distinguish civilians from soldiers It became common for them to shoot at Okinawan houses as one infantryman wrote There was some return fire from a few of the houses but the others were probably occupied by civilians and we didn t care It was a terrible thing not to distinguish between the enemy and women and children Americans always had great compassion especially for children Now we fired indiscriminately 64 Two US Marines share a foxhole with an Okinawan war orphan in April 1945 In its history of the war the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum 63 presents Okinawa as being caught between Japan and the United States During the battle the Imperial Japanese Army showed indifference to Okinawans safety and its soldiers used civilians as human shields or outright killed them The Japanese military also confiscated food from the Okinawans and executed those who hid it leading to mass starvation and forced civilians out of their shelters Japanese soldiers also killed about 1 000 people who spoke in the Okinawan language to suppress spying 65 The museum writes that some were blown apart by artillery shells some finding themselves in a hopeless situation were driven to suicide some died of starvation some succumbed to malaria while others fell victim to the retreating Japanese troops 63 With the impending Japanese defeat civilians often committed mass suicide urged on by the Japanese soldiers who told locals that victorious American soldiers would go on a rampage of killing and raping Ryukyu 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 There are also people who have testified that they were handed grenades by Japanese soldiers to blow themselves up 66 Thousands of civilians having been induced by Japanese propaganda to believe that American soldiers were barbarians who committed horrible atrocities killed their families and themselves to avoid capture at the hands of the Americans Some of them threw themselves and their family members from the southern cliffs where the Peace Museum now resides 67 Okinawans were often surprised at the comparatively humane treatment they received from the American enemy 68 69 Islands of Discontent Okinawan Responses to Japanese and American Power by Mark Selden states that the Americans did not pursue a policy of torture rape and murder of civilians as Japanese military officials had warned 70 American Military Intelligence Corps 71 combat translators such as Teruto Tsubota managed to convince many civilians not to kill themselves 72 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 73 Overcoming the civilian resistance on Okinawa was aided by US propaganda leaflets one of which is being read by a prisoner awaiting transport Witnesses and historians claim that soldiers mainly Japanese troops raped Okinawan women during the battle Rape by Japanese troops reportedly became common in June after it became clear that the Imperial Japanese Army had been defeated 22 11 462 Marine Corps officials in Okinawa and Washington have said that they knew of no rapes by American personnel in Okinawa at the end of the war 74 There are however numerous credible testimony accounts which note that a large number of rapes were committed by American forces during the battle This includes stories of rape after trading sexual favors or even marrying Americans 75 such as the alleged incident in the village of Katsuyama where civilians said they had formed a vigilante group to ambush and kill three black American soldiers who they claimed would frequently rape the local girls there 76 MEXT textbook controversy Edit See also Japanese history textbook controversies There is ongoing disagreement between Okinawa s local government and Japan s national government over the role of the Japanese military in civilian mass suicides during the battle In March 2007 the national Ministry of Education Culture Sports Science and Technology MEXT advised textbook publishers to reword descriptions that the embattled Imperial Japanese Army forced civilians to kill themselves in the war to avoid being taken prisoner MEXT preferred descriptions that just say that civilians received hand grenades from the Japanese military This move sparked widespread protests among Okinawans In June 2007 the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly adopted a resolution stating We strongly call on the national government to retract the instruction and to immediately restore the description in the textbooks so the truth of the Battle of Okinawa will be handed down correctly and a tragic war will never happen again 77 78 On 29 September 2007 about 110 000 people held the biggest political rally in the history of Okinawa to demand that MEXT retract its order to textbook publishers regarding revising the account of the civilian suicides The resolution states It is an undeniable fact that the multiple suicides would not have occurred without the involvement of the Japanese military and any deletion of or revision to the descriptions is a denial and distortion of the many testimonies by those people who survived the incidents 79 In December 2007 MEXT partially admitted the role of the Japanese military in civilian mass suicides 80 The ministry s Textbook Authorization Council allowed the publishers to reinstate the reference that civilians were forced into mass suicides by the Japanese military on condition it is placed in sufficient context The council report states It can be said that from the viewpoint of the Okinawa residents they were forced into the mass suicides 81 That was not enough for the survivors who said it is important for children today to know what really happened 82 The Nobel Prize winning author Kenzaburō Ōe wrote a booklet that states that the mass suicide order was given by the military during the battle 83 He was sued by revisionists including a wartime commander during the battle who disputed this and wanted to stop publication of the booklet At a court hearing Ōe testified Mass suicides were forced on Okinawa islanders under Japan s hierarchical social structure that ran through the state of Japan the Japanese armed forces and local garrisons 84 In March 2008 the Osaka Prefecture Court ruled in favor of Ōe stating It can be said the military was deeply involved in the mass suicides 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 85 In 2012 Korean Japanese director Pak Su nam announced her work on the documentary Nuchigafu Okinawan for only if one is alive collecting living survivors accounts to show the truth of history to many people alleging that there were two types of orders for honorable deaths one for residents to kill each other and the other for the military to kill all residents 86 In March 2013 Japanese textbook publisher Shimizu Shoin was permitted by MEXT to publish the statements that Orders from Japanese soldiers led to Okinawans committing group suicide and The Japanese army caused many tragedies in Okinawa killing local civilians and forcing them to commit mass suicide 87 Aftermath Edit The Cornerstone of Peace Memorial with names of all military and civilians from all countries who died in the Battle of Okinawa Marines celebrate Victory over Japan Day on Okinawa August 1945 90 of the buildings on the island were destroyed along with countless historical documents artifacts and cultural treasures and the tropical landscape was turned into a vast field of mud lead decay and maggots 88 The military value of Okinawa was significant Okinawa provided a fleet anchorage troop staging areas and airfields in proximity to Japan The US cleared the surrounding waters of mines in Operation Zebra occupied Okinawa and set up the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands a form of military government after the battle 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 We had the Battle of Okinawa in which the exact opposite happened The Japanese army not only starved the Okinawans but used them as human shields That dark history is still present today and Japan and the US should study it before they decide what to do with next 90 Effect on the wider war Edit Because the next major event following the Battle of Okinawa was the total surrender of Japan the effect of this battle is more difficult to consider Because Japan surrendered when it did the anticipated series of battles and the invasion of the Japanese homeland never occurred and all military strategies on both sides which presupposed this apparently inevitable next development were immediately rendered moot Some military historians believe that the Okinawa campaign led directly to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a means of avoiding the planned ground invasion of the Japanese mainland This view is explained by Victor Davis Hanson in his book Ripples of Battle because the Japanese on Okinawa were so fierce in their defense even when cut off and without supplies and because casualties were so appalling many American strategists looked for an alternative means to subdue mainland Japan other than a direct invasion This means presented itself with the advent of atomic bombs which worked admirably in convincing the Japanese to sue for peace unconditionally without American casualties Meanwhile many parties continue to debate the broader question of why Japan surrendered attributing the surrender to a number of possible reasons including the atomic bombings 91 92 93 the Soviet invasion of Manchuria 94 95 and Japan s depleted resources 96 page needed 97 Memorial Edit 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 98 The memorial lists all the known names of those who died in the battle civilian and military Japanese and foreign As of 2022 the monument lists 241 686 names 99 Modern US base Edit Significant US forces remain garrisoned on Okinawa as the United States Forces Japan which the Japanese government sees as an important guarantee of regional stability 100 and Kadena remains the largest US air base in Asia Local residents have long protested against the size and presence of the base 101 102 See also Edit World War II portalHimeyuri students Chiran Special Attack Peace Museum History of the Ryukyus Josef R Sheetz Rape during the occupation of Japan Suicide in Japan Okinawa Memorial Day Naval Base Okinawa Marine Corps Air Station Futenma Camp Hansen Torii Station Camp Schwab Camp Foster Camp Kinser Giretsu Kuteitai Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial MuseumReferences EditCitations Edit Ryukus US Army Center of Military History Archived from the original on 19 September 2020 Retrieved 28 August 2020 26 March marked the first landing on the Kerama Islands around Okinawa in the Ryukus by the 77th Division Sloan 2007 p 18 a b Keegan John 2005 The Second World War Penguin ISBN 9780143195085 Hastings 2008 p 370 The Second World Wars How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won p 302 HyperWar US Army in WWII Okinawa The Last Battle Appendix C Archived from the original on 10 November 2022 Retrieved 10 November 2022 HyperWar The U S Army Campaigns of World War II Ryukyus www ibiblio org Archived from the original on 18 January 2022 Retrieved 10 November 2022 a b Frank 1999 p 71 Roblin Sebastien 29 March 2020 Marine Tanks at Okinawa and the Armored Angels of Kunishi Ridge The National Interest Archived from the original on 23 January 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Battle Okinawa 1945 The Last Epic Struggle of World War II Simon amp Schuster ISBN 978 0 7432 9246 7 Toll Ian W 2020 Twilight of the Gods War in the Western Pacific 1944 1945 New York W W Norton Yahara Hiromichi 2001 The Battle for Okinawa John Wiley amp Sons ISBN 0 471 18080 7 Firsthand account of the battle by a surviving Japanese officer Zaloga Steven 2007 Japanese Tanks 1939 45 Osprey Publishing ISBN 978 1 84603 091 8 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of Okinawa Dyer George Carroll 1956 The Amphibians Came to Conquer The Story of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner United States Government Printing Office Archived from the original on 21 May 2011 Retrieved 5 May 2011 Huber Thomas M May 1990 Japan s Battle of Okinawa April June 1945 Leavenworth Papers United States Army Command and General Staff College Archived from the original on 16 December 2006 Retrieved 20 November 2006 A film clip footage from the National Archives By Sgt Rhodes is available at the Internet Archive A film clip Landings On Okinawa 1945 04 09 1945 is available at the Internet Archive A film clip Argentine Admitted To World Parley 1945 05 03 1945 is available at the Internet Archive A film clip Final Days of Struggle in Okinawa 1945 07 05 1945 is available at the Internet Archive US military on the Battle of Okinawa Archived 26 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine New Zealand account with reference to Operation Iceberg Cornerstone of Peace Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum The Peace Learning Archive in OKINAWA A photographic record of aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable 1944 45 including Operation Iceberg the attack on the Sakashimas WWII Battle of Okinawa Archived 10 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine slideshow by Life magazine Operation Iceberg Operational Documents Archived 26 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine Combined Arms Research Library Fort Leavenworth KS Oral history interview with Mike Busha a member of the 6th Marine Division during the Battle of Okinawa Archived 14 December 2012 at archive today from the Veterans History Project at Central Connecticut State University Oral history interview with Albert D Amico a Navy Veteran who was aboard LST 278 during the landing at Okinawa Archived 12 December 2012 at archive today from the Veterans History Project at Central Connecticut State University Booknotes interview with Robert Leckie on Okinawa The Last Battle of World War II September 3 1995 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Okinawa amp oldid 1153491586, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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