The Battle of Okinawa: 1945
The Battle of Okinawa started in April of 1945. This battle was part of the three-point plan the Americans had devised for winning the war in the far east. Okinawa was the largest of the Ryukyus islands off the southern tip of Japan. The Americans wanted to get control of the four airfields on the island. There would about 65,000 Japanese troops on the island who were commanded by Lieutenant-General Ushijima. He ordered them to hold onto the island at all cost. Ushijima decided to concentrate his forces in the southern sector of the island and station his men in fortifications. The Japanese relied on their Kamikazes to cause most of the American casualties. The Americans commander was Lieutenant-General Simon Bolivar Buckner, and he was in command of 180,000 men. He decided to land his men in the bay of Hagushi, and scheduled an attack for April 1, 1945. The first invasion landed 60,000 American soldiers in Hagushi Bay by the end on the day. By april 20th the Americans controlled most of the northern part of the island. The main battle for Okinawa was for the southern part of the island. On April 4th US XIV Corps met the Machinato line, but on April 24th the Line was finally breached. Next the Americans met the Shuri Line which slowed them even more. Between the Lines and the Kamikazes the Americans faced heavy losses of men and had 66 warships damaged. On July 2nd, Okinawa was declared secure by the Americans – Ushijima had committed suicide some days before this. The attack on Okinawa had taken a heavy toll on both sides. The Americans lost 7,373 men killed and 32,056 wounded on land. At sea, the Americans lost 5,000 killed and 4,600 wounded. The Japanese lost 107,000 killed and 7,400 men taken prisoner.
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