Battle of Okinawa Essay

Contribution of Okinawa Battle to American Military

The Battle of Okinawa was fought between the Japanese and United States forces on Okinawa, which is the largest of the Ryukyu Islands. The battle took place from April 1 to June 21, 1945. This is considered to have been the last major battle of World War II and it was also the bloodiest of the battles. The invasion of Okinawa by the American forces was part of Operation Iceberg, which was a complex operation that aimed at invading and occupying the Ryukyu islands that also included Okinawa (Kan et al., 2018). In total the battle claimed the largest casualties of World War II with over 50,000 casualties for the US and over 100,000 casualties for the Japanese. The US believed that the capture of Okinawa would be a vital precursor to the ground invasion of the home islands of Japan. The Japanese, on the other hand, wanted to delay the eventual invasion of Tokyo by the American forces. Therefore, the battle of Okinawa was used by the Japanese forces as a delay tactic to the American forces invading and conquering Tokyo.

Landing on Okinawa Island

In preparation for the landing on Okinawa, the American troops had envisioned a massacre that would be worse than what had been experienced during D-Day. However, this was not the case. At dawn on April 1, American troops launched a large bombardment that was aimed at supporting the landing of its troops on the Okinawa beaches. The large bombardment was pointless since there was no resistance from the Japanese troops who were led by Lt. Gen. Mitsuru Ushijima. Since no Japanese soldiers were awaiting the American troops at the beaches, the soldiers could have just swum to shore. Within hours, wave after wave of troops, supplies, and ammunition went ashore.

General Ushijima had instructed his soldiers not to fire on the American landing forces. They were to watch and wait for them patiently in Shuri, which…

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…surrendering to the Americans.

This battle demonstrates the need for continuous reinforcements for troops on the battlefield. The huge number of casualties that were experienced by both sides does demonstrate the need for cooperation between militaries. The formation of joint forces between countries and allies allows for peace to prevail and with joint military operations, there could be an increased success (Sarantakes, 2016).

Conclusion

The American troops were prepared for the battle but what they did not expect was the amount of resistance that they received from the Japanese troops. The sheer failure of their aerial bombardment made it hard to destroy the enemy with joint forces and they had to rely on ground troops only. The Japanese strategy to wait for the Americans from a high ground gave them a strategic advantage and this was a huge hindrance to the American troops advancing in the battle. While the battle was won by the Americans, it was the bloodiest battle and stories of the battle…