Dai Nippon Homeland War in 1945 :”The battle of Okinawa”(Pertempuran terakhir Tentara Dai Nippon Di Okinawa)

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THE LAST BATTLE OF OKINAWA 1945

Indonesian Version :

Pertempuran Okinawa

Pertempuran Okinawa
Bagian dari Perang Dunia II, Perang Pasifik

Seorang Marinir dari Batalion ke-2, Marinir 1 pada Wana Ridge menyediakan meliputi kebakaran dengan senapan mesin Thompson nya, Mei, 1945
Tanggal April 1, 1945 – 22 Juni 1945
Lokasi Okinawa, Jepang
Hasil kemenangan Sekutu
 
Belligerents
 Amerika Serikat
 Inggris Kekaisaran Jepang
Komandan dan para pemimpin
 Simon B. † Buckner
 Roy Geiger
 Joseph Stilwell

————————————————– ——————————

 Chester W. Nimitz
 Raymond A. Spruance
 Bruce Fraser
  Mitsuru Ushijima †
 Isamu Cho †
 Hiromichi Yahara (P.O.W.)

————————————————– ——————————

 Minoru Ota †
 Keizo Komura
 
Kekuatan
183.000 [1] 117.000 [2]
Korban dan kerugian
12.513 tewas
38.916 terluka,
33.096 non-tempur kerugian Tentang 95.000 tewas
7,400-10,755 ditangkap
Estimasi 42,000-150,000 warga sipil yang tewas

ia Pertempuran Okinawa, nama kode Operasi Iceberg, [3] telah berjuang pada theRyukyu Kepulauan Okinawa dan merupakan serangan amfibi terbesar dalam Perang Pasifik [4] [5] Pertempuran 82-hari-panjang berlangsung dari awal April hingga pertengahan. Juni, 1945. Setelah kampanye yang panjang pulau hopping, Sekutu mendekati Jepang, dan berencana untuk menggunakan Okinawa, sebuah pulau besar hanya 340 mil jauhnya dari daratan Jepang, sebagai dasar untuk operasi udara pada rencana invasi daratan Jepang (kode Operasi Downfall). Lima divisi dari US Kesepuluh Angkatan Darat, 7, 27, 77, 81 dan 96, dan dua Kelautan Divisi, 1 dan 6, berjuang di pulau sementara Divisi Marinir ke-2 tetap sebagai cadangan amfibi dan tidak pernah dibawa ke darat. Invasi ini didukung oleh angkatan udara laut, amfibi, dan taktis.

Pertempuran telah disebut sebagai “Typhoon Baja” dalam bahasa Inggris, dan tidak ada tetsu ame (“hujan dari baja”) atau tetsu tidak bōfū (“angin kekerasan dari baja”) dalam bahasa Jepang. Julukan merujuk pada keganasan pertempuran, intensitas serangan bunuh diri Kamikaze dari pembela Jepang, dan dengan angka yang jelas kapal Sekutu dan kendaraan lapis baja yang menyerang pulau itu. Pertempuran ini mengakibatkan jumlah tertinggi korban di Teater Pasifik selama Perang Dunia II. Jepang kehilangan lebih dari 100.000 tentara dibunuh atau ditangkap, dan Sekutu menderita lebih dari 50.000 korban dari semua jenis. Secara bersamaan, puluhan ribu warga sipil setempat tewas, terluka, atau bunuh diri. Pemboman atom Hiroshima dan Nagasaki menyebabkan Jepang untuk menyerah hanya beberapa minggu setelah akhir pertempuran di Okinawa.

Order pertempuran
Tanah
Angkatan darat AS yang terlibat termasuk Tentara Kesepuluh, diperintahkan oleh Letnan Jenderal Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr tentara telah twocorps di bawah komando nya, III Amphibi Korps bawah Mayor Jenderal Roy Geiger, yang terdiri dari 1 dan 6 Divisi Kelautan, dan XXIV Corpsunder Mayor Jenderal John R. Hodge, terdiri dari 7 dan 96 Divisi Infanteri. Marine 2 Divisi cadangan mengapung, dan Kesepuluh Tentara juga menguasai 27, ditandai sebagai garnisun, dan Divisi Infanteri ke-77. Dalam semua, Angkatan Darat Kesepuluh berisi 102.000 Tentara dan 81.000 personel Korps Marinir.

Komandan Angkatan Darat Jepang ke-32, Februari 1945

Kampanye tanah Jepang (terutama defensif) dilakukan oleh Tentara Tiga puluh Kedua 67.000-kuat (77.000 menurut beberapa sumber) reguler dan beberapa 9.000 Angkatan Laut Kekaisaran Jepang (IJN) pasukan di pangkalan angkatan laut Oroku (hanya beberapa ratus di antaranya telah dilatih dan dilengkapi untuk pertempuran tanah), didukung oleh 39.000 orang dirancang Ryukyuan lokal (termasuk 24.000 milisi belakang hastilyconscripted disebut Boeitai dan 15.000 pekerja non-berseragam).

Pejabat Senior mempersiapkan Okinawa

Selain itu, anak-anak sekolah menengah senior 1.500 dibagi dalam layanan garis depan “Besi dan Darah Relawan Unit”, sedangkan 600 Himeyuri Siswa diorganisir menjadi sebuah unit keperawatan.

Tentara ke-32 awalnya terdiri dari Divisi 9, 24, dan ke-62, dan 44 Independen Campuran Brigade. Divisi 9 dipindahkan ke Taiwan sebelum invasi, sehingga mengocok rencana defensif Jepang. resistensi primer akan dipimpin di selatan oleh Letnan GeneralMitsuru Ushijima, kepala stafnya, Letnan Jenderal Isamu Cho dan utamanya operasi, Kolonel Hiromichi Yahara.

Yahara menganjurkan strategi defensif, sementara Cho menganjurkan yang ofensif. Di sebelah utara, Kolonel Takehido Udo berada di perintah. Pasukan IJN yang dipimpin oleh Laksamana Minoru Ota. Mereka mengharapkan Amerika untuk lahan enam sampai sepuluh divisi melawan pasukan Jepang dua divisi setengah. Staf menghitung bahwa kualitas unggul dan jumlah senjata saling memberi divisi AS lima atau enam kali tembak satu divisi Jepang, untuk ini akan ditambahkan senjata berlimpah Amerika ‘laut dan udara.

Underground Hangar. Tanaman ditanam di atas rendering itu hampir mustahil untuk melihat dari udara. – Ctsy. Wayland Mayo

Laut
U. S. Angkatan Laut
Sebagian besar pejuang udara-ke-udara dan pengebom tukik kecil dan pesawat pemogokan US Navy pesawat carrier-based. Jepang telah taktik usedkamikaze sejak Pertempuran Teluk Leyte, tapi untuk pertama kalinya, mereka menjadi bagian utama dari pertahanan. Antara Amerika mendarat pada tanggal 1 April dan Mei 25, tujuh serangan kamikaze utama yang berusaha, melibatkan lebih dari 1.500 pesawat. Angkatan Laut AS berkelanjutan korban yang lebih besar dalam operasi ini daripada di pertempuran lain perang.

Persemakmuran Inggris
Meskipun pasukan Sekutu tanah seluruhnya terdiri dari unit AS, Inggris Armada Pasifik (BPF, diketahui oleh Angkatan Laut AS Task Force 57) disediakan sekitar seperempat dari kekuatan udara angkatan laut Sekutu (450 pesawat). Ini terdiri banyak kapal, termasuk 50 kapal perang yang 17 di antaranya kapal induk, tetapi sementara geladak penerbangan Inggris lapis baja berarti bahwa pesawat lebih sedikit bisa dilakukan dalam suatu pembawa pesawat tunggal, mereka lebih tahan terhadap serangan kamikaze. Meskipun semua kapal induk diberikan oleh Inggris, kelompok pembawa adalah armada Persemakmuran Inggris dikombinasikan dengan Inggris, Kanada, Selandia Baru dan Australia kapal dan personil [rujukan?]. Misi mereka adalah untuk menetralisir lapangan udara Jepang di Kepulauan Sakishima dan memberikan penutup udara terhadap serangan kamikaze Jepang.

Bom Okinawa

Penerbang berani mati
The Kamikaze (神 风, terjemahan umum:? “Angin ilahi”) [kamika ꜜ ze] (mendengarkan) Tokubetsu Kougekitai (特别 攻 撃 队?) Tokkō Tai (特 攻 队?) Tokkō (特 攻?) Yang bunuh diri serangan oleh penerbang militer dari Kekaisaran Jepang terhadap kapal angkatan laut Sekutu dalam tahap penutupan kampanye Pasifik Perang Dunia II, yang dirancang untuk menghancurkan sebagai kapal perang sebanyak mungkin.

pilot Kamikaze akan berusaha untuk kecelakaan pesawat mereka ke musuh-pesawat kapal sering sarat dengan bahan peledak, bom, torpedo dan tangki bahan bakar penuh. fungsi normal Pesawat’s (untuk mengirimkan bom torpedo atau atau menembak jatuh pesawat lainnya) dikesampingkan, dan pesawat telah dikonversikan ke apa yang dasarnya berawak rudal dalam upaya untuk menuai keuntungan akurasi sangat meningkat dan payload atas bahwa bom normal. Tujuan dari melumpuhkan sebagai kapal Sekutu sebanyak mungkin, terutama kapal induk, dianggap cukup penting untuk menjamin pengorbanan gabungan pilot dan pesawat.

Serangan-serangan, yang dimulai pada bulan Oktober 1944, diikuti beberapa militer kritis kekalahan untuk Jepang. Mereka sudah lama hilang dominasi udara karena pesawat usang dan hilangnya pilot berpengalaman. Pada skala ekonomi makro, Jepang mengalami penurunan kapasitas untuk berperang, dan kapasitas decliningindustrial relatif cepat ke Amerika Serikat. Pemerintah Jepang menyatakan keengganan untuk menyerah. Dalam kombinasi, faktor-faktor ini menyebabkan penggunaan taktik kamikaze sebagai pasukan Sekutu maju ke arah pulau rumah Jepang.

Sementara “kamikaze” istilah biasanya mengacu pada serangan udara, istilah ini kadang-kadang telah diterapkan ke berbagai serangan bunuh diri lain yang disengaja. Militer Jepang juga digunakan atau membuat rencana untuk Jepang Attack Unit Khusus, termasuk yang melibatkan kapal selam, manusia torpedo, perahu motor anddivers.

Meskipun kamikaze adalah bentuk paling umum dan paling dikenal serangan bunuh diri Jepang selama Perang Dunia II, mereka hampir sama dengan “biaya Banzai” yang digunakan oleh infanteri Jepang (prajurit kaki). Perbedaan utama antara kamikaze dan Banzai adalah kematian yang melekat pada keberhasilan serangan kamikaze, sedangkan biaya Banzai hanya berpotensi fatal – yaitu, infanteri berharap untuk bertahan hidup tetapi tidak berharap untuk. sumber-sumber Barat sering salah considerOperation Sepuluh-Go sebagai operasi kamikaze, karena hal tersebut terjadi pada Pertempuran Okinawa bersama dengan gelombang massa pesawat kamikaze, namun Banzai adalah istilah yang lebih akurat, karena tujuan dari misi adalah untuk kapal perang Yamato untuk pantai dirinya dan memberikan dukungan kepada para pembela pulau, sebagai lawan serudukan dan meledakkan antara angkatan laut musuh. Tradisi ini ofdeath bukan kekalahan, menangkap, dan rasa malu yang dirasakan sangat tertanam dalam budaya militer Jepang. Itu adalah salah satu tradisi utama dalam samurailife dan kode Bushido: kesetiaan dan kehormatan sampai mati, atau dalam bahasa Barat “mati sebelum aib!”

Ensign Kiyoshi Ogawa, yang terjun ke dalam pesawat theUSS Bunker Hill selama misi Kamikaze pada tanggal 11 Mei 1945.

Naval pertempuran

USS Bunker Hill luka bakar setelah terkena dua kamikaze dalam waktu 30 detik

Inggris Armada Pasifik ditugaskan tugas menetralkan lapangan udara Jepang di Kepulauan Sakishima, yang tidak berhasil dari Maret 26 sampai April 10. Pada tanggal 10 April perhatiannya dialihkan pada lapangan udara di Formosa utara. Gaya mundur ke San Pedro Bay pada 23 April. Pada tanggal 1 Mei, Inggris Armada Pasifik kembali beraksi, menundukkan lapangan udara seperti sebelumnya, kali ini dengan pemboman angkatan laut serta pesawat. Beberapa serangan kamikaze menyebabkan kerusakan yang signifikan, tapi karena yang digunakan geladak penerbangan Inggris lapis baja pada kapal induk mereka, mereka hanya mengalami gangguan singkat untuk tujuan memaksa mereka.

Pemboman dari laut di Okinawa

Ada daya tarik hipnotis dengan pemandangan begitu asing untuk filsafat Barat kita. Kami menonton setiap kamikaze terjun dengan horor terpisah satu menyaksikan sebuah tontonan mengerikan daripada sebagai korban dimaksud. Kami lupa diri untuk saat ini seperti yang kita meraba-raba tanpa harapan untuk memikirkan bahwa orang lain atas sana.

Gabungan lengan di Okinawa
Antara tanggal 6 April dan tanggal 22 Juni 1465 Jepang terbang pesawat kamikaze dalam serangan skala besar dari Kyushu, 185 sorti kamikaze individu dari Kyushu, dan 250 sorti kamikaze individu dari Formosa. Ketika intelijen AS diperkirakan 89 pesawat di Formosa, Jepang memiliki kurang lebih 700 dibongkar atau disamarkan dengan baik dan tersebar ke desa-desa tersebar dan kota; Kelima AS membantah klaim Angkatan Udara Angkatan Laut kamikaze berasal dari Formosa.

Kapal-kapal yang hilang adalah kapal kecil, khususnya perusak dari pancang radar, serta sebagai perusak pengawalan dan kapal mendarat. Meskipun tidak ada kapal perang Sekutu utama hilang, beberapa armada kapal rusak berat. Tanah motor berbasis juga digunakan dalam serangan bunuh diri Jepang.

Panjang berlarut-larut dari kampanye di bawah kondisi stres dipaksa Laksamana Chester W. Nimitz untuk mengambil langkah belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya untuk melepaskan para komandan angkatan laut utama untuk beristirahat dan memulihkan diri. Setelah praktek mengubah sebutan armada dengan perubahan komandan, pasukan angkatan laut AS mulai kampanye sebagai Armada Kelima AS di bawah Laksamana Raymond Spruance, tetapi berakhir sebagai AS Ketiga Armada di bawah Laksamana William Halsey.

Operasi Ten-Go
Artikel utama: sakusen Sepuluh-gō

The Yamatoexplodes kapal perang Jepang setelah serangan terus-menerus dari pesawat AS

Operasi Sepuluh-Go (sakusen Sepuluh-gō) adalah upaya serangan oleh pasukan strike kapal permukaan Jepang yang dipimpin oleh kapal perang Yamato, diperintahkan oleh Laksamana Seiichi Itō. Gaya tugas kecil telah diperintahkan untuk memerangi musuh melalui kekuatan laut, maka pantai diri dan melawan dari pantai menggunakan senjata mereka sebagai artileri pantai dan awak sebagai infanteri angkatan laut.

Tank meninggalkan pantai

Yamato dan kendaraan air lainnya dalam Operasi Ten-Go terlihat oleh kapal selam tak lama setelah meninggalkan rumah perairan Jepang, dan diserang oleh kapal induk AS.

Diserang dari lebih dari 300 pesawat selama rentang dua jam, kapal perang terbesar di dunia tenggelam pada tanggal 7 April 1945, jauh sebelum ia bisa mencapai Okinawa. Pembom torpedo Amerika diperintahkan untuk hanya bertujuan untuk satu sisi untuk mencegah banjir counter efektif oleh awak kapal perang, dan memukul lebih baik haluan atau buritan, di mana baju besi diyakini paling tipis.

Zona arahan dari atas

Dari gaya Yamato’sscreening, kapal penjelajah ringan Yahagi, dan empat dari delapan kapal juga tenggelam. Secara keseluruhan, Angkatan Laut Kekaisaran Jepang kehilangan beberapa 3.700 pelaut, termasuk Itō, pada biaya yang relatif rendah hanya 10 pesawat AS dan 12 penerbang.

Tanah pertempuran

Peta operasi AS selama pertempuran

Pertempuran tanah berlangsung selama sekitar 81 hari mulai April 1, 1945.

Orang-orang Amerika pertama mendarat adalah tentara dari Divisi Infanteri ke-77, yang mendarat di Kepulauan Kerama (Kerama Retto), 15 mil (24 km) barat Okinawa pada tanggal 26 Maret 1945. Anak Perusahaan pendaratan diikuti, dan kelompok Kerama dijamin selama lima hari ke depan. Pada awal operasi ini, Divisi Infanteri ke-77 menderita 27 tewas dan 81 terluka, sementara Jepang mati dan ditangkap berjumlah lebih dari 650. Operasi memberikan pelabuhan dilindungi untuk armada dan menghilangkan ancaman dari perahu bunuh diri.

Memajukan hati-hati

Pada tanggal 31 Maret Marinir dari Batalyon Marinir Armada Force Reconnaissance Amphibi mendarat tanpa oposisi pada Keise Shima, empat pulau hanya 8 mil (13 km) barat ofNaha Okinawan modal. 155 mm Panjang Toms naik ke darat di pulau untuk menutupi operasi di Okinawa.

Okinawa Utara

Kapal perang USS Idaho (BB-42) shellsOkinawa pada tanggal 1 April 1945.

Marinir AS bala menyeberang ke darat untuk mendukung tempat berpijak di Okinawa, 31 Mar 1945

Pendaratan utama dibuat oleh XXIV Corps dan III Amphibi Korps di pantai Hagushi di pantai barat Okinawa pada L-Day, 1 April, yang baik Paskah hari Minggu dan Hari April Mop ‘pada tahun 1945. Divisi 2 Marinir melakukan demonstrasi di lepas pantai Minatoga di pantai tenggara untuk membingungkan orang Jepang tentang niat Amerika dan gerakan keterlambatan cadangan dari sana.

tentara AS ledakan gua diadakan Jepang.

Kesepuluh Tentara menyapu seluruh bagian selatan-tengah pulau dengan relatif mudah oleh standar Perang Dunia II, menangkap Kadena dan airbases Yomitan. Dalam terang dari oposisi yang lemah, Buckner Umum memutuskan untuk melanjutkan segera dengan Tahap II-kejang rencananya dari Okinawa utara. Ke-6 Marinir mengepalai Divisi Tanah Genting Ishikawa. tanah itu pegunungan dan berhutan, dengan pertahanan Jepang terkonsentrasi pada Yae-Ambil, massa bengkok pegunungan berbatu dan jurang di Semenanjung theMotobu. Ada pertempuran berat sebelum akhirnya dibersihkan semenanjung Marinir pada 18 April.

Pria dan tangki Sherman dari Resimen Infanteri 382, ​​AS 96 Divisi di Jalan Ginowan, Okinawa, Jepang, April-Jun 1945

Sementara itu, ke-77 Divisi Infanteri diserang Ie Shima, sebuah pulau kecil di ujung barat semenanjung, pada tanggal 16 April. Selain bahaya konvensional, Divisi Infanteri ke-77 mengalami serangan kamikaze, dan bahkan wanita Jepang bersenjata dengan tombak. Ada pertempuran berat sebelum Ie Shima dijamin dideklarasikan pada tanggal 21 April dan menjadi lain pangkalan udara untuk operasi melawan Jepang.

Okinawa Selatan

   

F4U firingrockets pejuang Corsair mendukung pasukan di Okinawa

Sementara Marine 6 divisi dibersihkan utara Okinawa, US Army 96 divisi Infanteri dan US Marine 7 divisi roda selatan di pinggang sempit Okinawa. Divisi 96 mulai menghadapi perlawanan sengit di Okinawa barat-tengah dari pasukan Jepang memegang posisi dibentengi timur Jalan Raya No 1 dan sekitar sekitar lima mil (8 km) barat laut Shuri, dari apa yang kemudian dikenal Ridge asCactus. Divisi 7 dihadapi oposisi Jepang juga sengit dari puncak berbatu yang terletak sekitar 1.000 meter barat daya Arakachi (kemudian dijuluki “The Pinnacle”).

Senjata AS boom. 155mm Gun ditetapkan di Keise Shima dekat Okinawa, Jepang, Apr 1945

Pada malam 8 April pasukan AS telah dibersihkan dan ini beberapa posisi sangat diperkaya lainnya. Mereka menderita lebih dari 1.500 korban pertempuran dalam proses, sementara membunuh atau menangkap sekitar 4.500 Jepang, namun pertempuran baru saja dimulai, karena sekarang menyadari bahwa mereka hanya pos-pos penjagaan Garis Shuri.

Tujuan Amerika berikutnya adalah Kakazu Ridge, dua bukit dengan pelana penghubung yang merupakan bagian dari pertahanan luar Shuri’s. Jepang telah menyiapkan posisi mereka dengan baik dan gigih berjuang. Pertempuran sengit, sebagai tentara Jepang bersembunyi di gua benteng, dan pasukan AS sering kehilangan banyak pria sebelum membersihkan keluar Jepang dari masing-masing gua atau tempat persembunyian lainnya. Jepang akan mengirimkan Okinawa di luar todongan senjata untuk memperoleh air dan persediaan untuk mereka, yang disebabkan korban di kalangan warga sipil. Kemajuan Amerika tak dapat diubah tetapi mengakibatkan korban besar ditopang oleh kedua belah pihak.

Marinir melewati sebuah desa kecil hancur di mana seorang tentara Jepang terbaring mati, April 1945

Sebagai serangan Amerika terhadap Kakazu Ridge terhenti, Jenderal Ushijima, dipengaruhi oleh Jenderal Cho, memutuskan untuk melakukan serangan. Pada malam 12 April, Angkatan Darat ke-32 menyerang posisi AS di seluruh bagian depan. Serangan Jepang itu berat, berkelanjutan, dan terorganisir. Setelah pertempuran sengit dekat para penyerang mundur, hanya untuk mengulang serangan mereka pada malam berikutnya. Sebuah serangan terakhir pada 14 April kembali jijik. Upaya Seluruh dipimpin staf Angkatan Darat ke-32 untuk menyimpulkan bahwa Amerika rentan terhadap taktik infiltrasi malam, tetapi bahwa senjata superior mereka membuat setiap konsentrasi pasukan ofensif Jepang yang sangat berbahaya, dan mereka kembali ke strategi pertahanan mereka.

Infanteri 27 Divisi, yang mendarat pada tanggal 9 April, mengambil alih di sebelah kanan, di sepanjang pantai barat Okinawa. Umum Hodge sekarang memiliki tiga divisi di garis itu, dengan 96 di tengah, dan 7 di sebelah timur, dengan masing-masing memegang divisi depan hanya sekitar 1,5 mil (2,4 km).

Hodge melancarkan serangan baru dari April 19 dengan berondongan 324 senjata, yang terbesar yang pernah di Samudra thePacific Theater. Kapal tempur, kapal penjelajah, dan kapal perusak bergabung dengan pemboman, yang diikuti oleh 650 Angkatan Laut dan Kelautan menyerang posisi pesawat musuh dengan napalm, roket, bom, dan senapan mesin. Pertahanan Jepang berlokasi di lereng sebaliknya, di mana pembela menunggu keluar serangan artileri dan serangan udara dengan aman, muncul dari gua-gua untuk hujan mortir dan granat pada Amerika maju menaiki lereng depan.

Seorang awak Divisi 6 pembongkaran Kelautan jam tangan bahan peledak meledak dan menghancurkan sebuah gua Jepang, Mei 1945

Sebuah serangan tangki untuk mencapai terobosan oleh outflanking Kakazu Ridge, gagal menghubungkan dengan dukungan infanteri yang mencoba untuk menyeberang punggungan dan gagal dengan kehilangan 22 tank. Meskipun tank dibersihkan api pertahanan gua banyak, ada terobosan ada, dan Korps XXIV hilang 720 menKIA, WIA dan MIA. Kerugian mungkin telah lebih besar, kecuali kenyataan bahwa Jepang telah hampir semua cadangan infantri mereka diikat lebih jauh ke selatan, yang diselenggarakan di sana oleh tipuan lain dari pantai Minatoga oleh Divisi 2 Marinir yang bertepatan dengan serangan itu.

Okinawa pematung Kinjo Minoru lega menggambarkan kengerian Pertempuran …

Pada akhir April, setelah pasukan Tentara telah mendorong melalui jalur Machinato defensif dan lapangan terbang, 1 Marinir lega Divisi Infanteri Divisi 27, dan ke-77 Divisi Infanteri lega-7. Ketika 6 Divisi Marinir tiba, III Amphibi Korps mengambil alih sayap kanan dan Sepuluh Tentara memegang kendali pertempuran.

Pada tanggal 4 Mei Angkatan Darat ke-32 meluncurkan serangan balasan lainnya. Kali ini Ushijima berusaha untuk membuat serangan amfibi di belakang garis pantai Amerika. Untuk mendukung serangan itu, artileri Jepang pindah ke tempat terbuka. Dengan berbuat demikian mereka mampu kebakaran 13.000 putaran mendukung tetapi AS yang efektif counter-baterai kebakaran menghancurkan puluhan artileri Jepang. Serangan itu gagal total.

tentara Amerika yang ke-77 Divisionlisten tenang laporan radio Victory di Eropa Day tanggal 8 Mei 1945

Buckner meluncurkan serangan Amerika pada 11 Mei. Sepuluh hari pertempuran sengit diikuti. Pada tanggal 13 Mei, pasukan dari Divisi Infanteri 96 dan 763d ditangkap Batalyon Tank Conical Hill. Rising 476 kaki (145 m) di atas dataran pantai Yonabaru, fitur ini adalah timur jangkar pertahanan Jepang utama dan dipertahankan oleh sekitar 1.000 Jepang. Sementara itu, di pantai yang berlawanan, Laut 6 Divisi berjuang untuk “Sugar Loaf Hill”. Penangkapan dua posisi kunci terkena Jepang sekitar Shuri di kedua sisi. Buckner berharap menyelubungi Shuri dan perangkap kekuatan membela utama Jepang.

Pada akhir Mei, musim hujan yang ternyata diperebutkan bukit dan jalan masuk ke sebuah rawa baik diperparah situasi taktis dan medis. Uang muka tanah mulai menyerupai aWorld medan Perang I sebagai pasukan menjadi terperosok dalam lumpur dan banjir jalan sangat menghambat evakuasi terluka ke belakang.

Pasukan tinggal di sebuah lapangan basah oleh hujan, pembuangan sampah dan kuburan bagian bagian. Jepang tubuh terkubur membusuk, tenggelam di lumpur, dan menjadi bagian dari rebusan berbahaya. Siapa pun meluncur menuruni lereng berminyak bisa dengan mudah menemukan kantong mereka penuh belatung pada akhir perjalanan.

Letnan Kolonel Richard P. Ross, komandan Batalyon 1, 1 Marinir braves api penembak jitu untuk menempatkan warna divisi di tembok pembatas dari Shuri Castle pada tanggal 30 Mei. Bendera ini pertama kali dinaikkan Gloucester overCape dan kemudian Peleliu

Pada tanggal 29 Mei, Mayor Jenderal Pedro del Valle, yang memimpin Divisi Marinir 1, memerintahkan Perusahaan A, Batalyon 1, 5 Marinir untuk menangkap Shuri Castle. Penyitaan benteng yang diwakili kedua pukulan strategis dan psikologis bagi orang Jepang dan merupakan tonggak dalam kampanye. Del Valle dianugerahi aDistinguished Service Medal untuk kepemimpinannya dalam peperangan dan pendudukan berikutnya dan reorganisasi Okinawa. Shuri Castle telah dikupas selama 3 hari sebelum ini terlebih dahulu oleh theUSS Mississippi (BB-41). [13] Karena ini, Angkatan Darat ke-32 mundur ke selatan dan dengan demikian marinir memiliki tugas yang mudah mengamankan Shuri Castle. Puri Namun, di luar zona Divisi 1 Marinir ditugaskan dan hanya upaya panik oleh komandan dan staf dari Divisi Infanteri ke-77 mencegah serangan udara Amerika dan pemboman artileri yang menimbulkan banyak korban karena kebakaran ramah.

Retret Jepang, walaupun diganggu oleh kebakaran artileri, dilakukan dengan keahlian tinggi di malam hari dan dibantu oleh badai monsun. Tentara ke-32 mampu bergerak hampir 30.000 orang ke garis pertahanan terakhir di Semenanjung Kiyan, yang akhirnya menyebabkan pembantaian terbesar di Okinawa dalam tahap terakhir dari pertempuran, termasuk kematian ribuan warga sipil.

Selain itu, terdapat 9.000 pasukan IJN didukung oleh 1.100 milisi berlindung di daerah dibentengi dari Okinawa Naval Force Base di Semenanjung Oroku.

Kemudian pada hari itu, Amerika meluncurkan serangan amfibi di Semenanjung Oroku untuk mengamankan sisi barat mereka.

 Setelah beberapa hari pertempuran pahit, orang Jepang didorong ke jauh di selatan pulau.

Pada tanggal 18 Juni Umum Buckner dibunuh oleh tembakan musuh artileri sementara memonitor perkembangan pasukannya.

Buckner digantikan oleh Roy Geiger. Setelah asumsi perintah, Geiger menjadi Marinir AS hanya untuk perintah bernomor tentara Angkatan Darat Amerika Serikat dalam pertempuran. Dia merasa lega lima hari kemudian oleh Joseph Stilwell.

Pulau ini jatuh pada tanggal 21 Juni 1945, meskipun beberapa bersembunyi lanjutan Jepang, termasuk masa depan gubernur Prefektur Okinawa, Masahide Ota.Ushijima dan Cho bunuh diri yang dilakukan oleh seppuku di markas komando mereka di Hill 89 pada jam penutupan pertempuran. Kolonel Ushijima Yahara telah meminta izin untuk melakukan bunuh diri, tetapi umum menolak permintaannya, berkata:

“Jika Anda mati tidak akan ada tersisa orang yang tahu kebenaran tentang pertempuran Okinawa. Menanggung malu sementara tapi menanggungnya. Ini adalah perintah dari Komandan tentara Anda.

Yahara adalah perwira paling senior dapat bertahan pertempuran di pulau itu, dan ia kemudian menulis sebuah buku berjudul Pertempuran tersebut untuk Okinawa.

Korban
Militer kerugian

Gambar terakhir Letnan GeneralSimon Bolivar Buckner, Jr, kanan, sehari sebelum ia dibunuh oleh artileri Jepang pada 19 Juni 1945

kerugian AS lebih dari 62.000 korban di antaranya lebih dari 12.000 tewas atau hilang. Hal ini membuat pertempuran paling berdarah yang dialami pasukan AS dalam perang Pasifik. Beberapa ribu prajurit yang meninggal tidak langsung (dari luka dan penyebab lainnya) di kemudian hari tidak termasuk dalam total. Salah satu korban AS yang paling terkenal adalah koresponden perang Ernie Pyle, yang dibunuh oleh api senapan mesin Jepang di Ie Shima.US pasukan menderita korban tertinggi yang pernah mereka tarif untuk reaksi memerangi stres selama perang keseluruhan, pada 48%, dengan sekitar 14.000 prajurit pensiun karena gangguan saraf.

keputusan Jenderal Buckner untuk menyerang pertahanan Jepang kepala-on, walaupun sangat mahal dalam hidup AS, pada akhirnya berhasil. Hanya empat hari dari penutupan kampanye, Jenderal Buckner dibunuh oleh tembakan artileri Jepang, yang bertiup mematikan potongan karang ke dalam tubuhnya, sementara memeriksa pasukannya di garis depan. Dia adalah pejabat AS tertinggi untuk dibunuh oleh tembakan musuh selama perang. Sehari setelah, seorang jenderal kedua, Brigadir Jenderal M. Claudius Easley, dibunuh oleh tembakan senapan mesin.

Pesawat kerugian selama periode tiga bulan adalah Amerika Serikat 768 pesawat termasuk pengeboman lapangan udara Kyushu peluncuran kamikaze. kerugian Combat adalah 458, dan 310 lainnya kecelakaan operasional. kerugian pesawat Jepang 7830 pada periode yang sama, termasuk 2.655 kecelakaan operasional. Korps Marinir Angkatan Laut dan pejuang jatuh 3.047, sedangkan kapal antipesawat ditebang 409, dan B-29s hancur 558 di tanah.

Di laut 368 kapal Sekutu (termasuk 120 kendaraan amfibi) rusak sementara yang lain 28, termasuk 15 kapal amfibi dan 12 kapal tenggelam selama kampanye Okinawa. mati Angkatan Laut AS melebihi terluka dengan 4.907 tewas dan 4.874 terluka, terutama dari kamikaze attacks.Among Amerika Serikat korban, baik Angkatan Darat maupun korban tewas Marinir Angkatan Laut melebihi jumlah korban kematian dalam pertempuran Okinawa. Orang Jepang kehilangan 16 kapal tenggelam, termasuk kapal perang Yamato raksasa.

Di darat pasukan AS kehilangan setidaknya 225 tank dan LVTs banyak yang hancur sementara menghilangkan 27 tank Jepang dan artileri 743 (termasuk mortir, anti-tank dan senjata anti-pesawat), beberapa dari mereka mengetuk-out oleh pemboman angkatan laut dan udara, tetapi sebagian besar dari mereka mengetuk-oleh api anti-artileri Amerika. Korban dari artileri tanah Amerika tidak diketahui.

Sekelompok tahanan Jepang yang lebih suka menyerah untuk bunuh diri menunggu untuk dipertanyakan

Dengan satu hitungan, ada sekitar 107.000 kombatan Jepang tewas dan 7.400 ditangkap. Beberapa tentara melakukan seppuku atau hanya meledakkan diri dengan granat tangan. Selain itu, ribuan orang disegel di dalam gua hidup mereka dengan para insinyur tempur AS.

Ini juga merupakan pertempuran pertama dalam perang di mana Jepang menyerah dibuat menjadi tawanan perang oleh ribuan. Banyak dari para tahanan Jepang Okinawa asli yang telah terkesan ke dalam Angkatan Darat tidak lama sebelum pertempuran dan kurang dijiwai dengan doktrin tanpa menyerah-tentara Jepang.

Ketika tentara Amerika menduduki pulau itu, Jepang mengambil pakaian Okinawa untuk menghindari penangkapan dan Okinawa datang untuk membantu Amerika “dengan menawarkan cara mudah untuk mendeteksi Jepang bersembunyi. Bahasa Okinawa sangat berbeda dari bahasa Jepang; dengan Amerika di sisi mereka, Okinawa akan memberi petunjuk kepada orang-orang dalam bahasa lokal, dan mereka yang tidak mengerti dianggap Jepang dalam persembunyian yang kemudian ditangkap.

Sipil kerugian

Okinawa sipil tahun 1945

Dua Marinir berbagi foxholewith sebuah perang Okinawa yatim piatu pada bulan April 1945

Pada beberapa pertempuran, seperti pada Pertempuran Iwo Jima, tidak ada warga sipil yang terlibat, tetapi Okinawa memiliki penduduk sipil yang besar adat dan, menurut berbagai perkiraan, di suatu tempat antara 1 / 10 dan 1 / 3 dari mereka tewas dalam pertempuran. kerugian Okinawa sipil dalam kampanye itu diperkirakan antara 42.000 dan 150.000 meninggal (lebih dari 100.000 menurut Prefektur Okinawa). US Army angka untuk kampanye menunjukkan angka total 142.058 korban sipil, termasuk mereka yang ditekan ke dalam pelayanan oleh Angkatan Darat Kekaisaran Jepang.

Selama pertempuran, tentara AS menemukan kesulitan untuk membedakan orang sipil dari tentara. Ini menjadi rutin bagi tentara AS untuk menembak di rumah Okinawa, sebagai salah satu infanteri menulis, “Ada beberapa api kembali dari beberapa rumah, tapi yang lain itu mungkin diduduki oleh warga sipil – dan kita tidak peduli. Itu adalah hal yang mengerikan untuk tidak membedakan antara musuh dan perempuan dan anak-anak. Amerika selalu memiliki belas kasihan yang besar, terutama untuk anak-anak. Sekarang kita menembak tanpa pandang bulu.

Dalam sejarah dari perang, Prefektur Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum menyajikan Okinawa sebagai tertangkap dalam pertempuran antara Amerika dan Jepang. Selama pertempuran 1945, tentara Jepang menunjukkan ketidakpedulian untuk pertahanan Okinawa dan keselamatan, dan para prajurit Jepang menggunakan warga sipil sebagai shieldsagainst manusia Amerika. Makanan jepang disita militer dari Okinawa dan dilaksanakan orang-orang yang menyembunyikan itu, yang mengarah ke kelaparan massal di kalangan penduduk, dan warga sipil dipaksa keluar dari tempat penampungan mereka. tentara Jepang juga menewaskan sekitar 1.000 Okinawa yang berbicara dalam dialek lokal yang berbeda dalam rangka untuk menekan mata-mata. Museum menulis bahwa “beberapa tertiup terpisah oleh kerang, beberapa menemukan diri mereka dalam situasi putus harapan terdorong untuk bunuh diri, sebagian meninggal karena kelaparan, beberapa menyerah pada malaria, sementara yang lain menjadi korban pasukan Jepang mundur.

Misa bunuh diri
Dengan kemenangan yang akan datang dari tentara Amerika, penduduk sipil sering melakukan bunuh diri massal, didorong oleh tentara Jepang yang mengatakan kepada penduduk setempat bahwa tentara Amerika menang akan pergi mengamuk membunuh andraping. Ryukyu Shimpo, salah satu dari dua surat kabar Okinawan utama, menulis pada tahun 2007: “Ada banyak Okinawa yang telah bersaksi bahwa Tentara Jepang mengarahkan mereka untuk bunuh diri. Ada juga orang yang telah bersaksi bahwa mereka menyerahkan granat oleh tentara Jepang “untuk meledakkan diri mereka.

Beberapa warga sipil, yang telah disebabkan oleh propaganda Jepang untuk percaya bahwa tentara AS yang melakukan kekejaman werebarbarians mengerikan, membunuh keluarga mereka dan mereka sendiri untuk menghindari penangkapan. Beberapa dari mereka melemparkan diri mereka dan anggota keluarga mereka dari tebing mana Museum Perdamaian sekarang berada.

Namun, meskipun diberitahu oleh militer Jepang bahwa mereka akan menderita pemerkosaan, penyiksaan dan pembunuhan di tangan Amerika, Okinawa “sering terkejut pada perlakuan relatif manusiawi yang mereka terima dari musuh Amerika.

English Version :

Battle of Okinawa

Battle of Okinawa
Part of World War II, the Pacific War
A Marine from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines on Wana Ridge provides covering fire with his Thompson submachine gun, May, 1945
Date April 1, 1945 – June 22, 1945 Location Okinawa, Japan Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United States United Kingdom	Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Simon B. Buckner † Roy Geiger   Joseph Stilwell Chester W. Nimitz Raymond A. Spruance Bruce Fraser	Mitsuru Ushijima † Isamu Chō †   Hiromichi Yahara (P.O.W.) Minoru Ota † Keizō Komura
Strength
183,000[1]	117,000[2]
Casualties and losses
12,513 killed 38,916 wounded, 33,096 non-combat losses	About 95,000 killed 7,400–10,755 captured
Estimated 42,000–150,000 civilians killed

he Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg,^[3] was fought on theRyukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War.^[4][5] The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June, 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only 340 miles away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland (coded Operation Downfall). Five divisions of the U.S. Tenth Army, the 7th, 27th, 77th, 81st, and 96th, and two Marine Divisions, the 1st and 6th, fought on the island while the 2nd Marine Division remained as an amphibious reserve and was never brought ashore. The invasion was supported by naval, amphibious, and tactical air forces.

The battle has been referred to as the “Typhoon of Steel” in English, and tetsu no ame (“rain of steel”) or tetsu no bōfū (“violent wind of steel”) in Japanese. The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of Kamikaze suicide attacks from the Japanese defenders, and to the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Japan lost over 100,000 troops killed or captured, and the Allies suffered more than 50,000 casualties of all kinds. Simultaneously, tens of thousands of local civilians were killed, wounded, or committed suicide. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused Japan to surrender just weeks after the end of the fighting at Okinawa.

Order of battle

Land

The U.S. land forces involved included the Tenth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. The army had twocorps under its command, III Amphibious Corps under Major General Roy Geiger, consisting of 1st and 6th Marine Divisions, and XXIV Corpsunder Major General John R. Hodge, consisting of the 7th and 96th Infantry Divisions. The 2nd Marine Division was an afloat reserve, and Tenth Army also controlled the 27th, earmarked as a garrison, and 77th Infantry Divisions. In all, the Tenth Army contained 102,000 Army and 81,000 Marine Corps personnel.

Commanders of the Japanese 32nd Army, February 1945

The Japanese land campaign (mainly defensive) was conducted by the 67,000-strong (77,000 according to some sources) regular Thirty-Second Army and some 9,000 Imperial Japanese Navy(IJN) 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 hastilyconscripted rear militia called Boeitai and 15,000 non-uniformed laborers).

Senior officers prepare for Okinawa

In addition, 1,500middle school senior boys organized into front-line-service “Iron and Blood Volunteer Units”, while 600 Himeyuri Students were organized into a nursing unit.

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 prior to the invasion, resulting in shuffling of Japanese defensive plans. Primary resistance was to be led in the south by Lieutenant GeneralMitsuru 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 IJN troops were led by Rear Admiral Minoru Ota. They expected the Americans to land six to ten divisions against the Japanese garrison of two and a half divisions. The staff calculated that superior quality and numbers of weapons gave each U.S. division five or six times the firepower of a Japanese division; to this would be added the Americans’ abundant naval and air firepower.

Underground Hangar. Crops were planted on top rendering it virtually impossible to see from the air. – Ctsy. Wayland Mayo

Sea

U.S. Navy

Most of the air-to-air fighters and the small dive bombers and strike aircraft were U.S. Navy carrier-based airplanes. The Japanese had usedkamikaze 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 April 1 and May 25, seven major kamikaze attacks were attempted, involving more than 1,500 planes. The U.S. Navy sustained greater casualties in this operation than in any other battle of the war.

British Commonwealth

Although Allied land forces were entirely composed of U.S. units, the British Pacific Fleet (BPF; known to the U.S. Navy as Task Force 57) provided about a quarter of Allied naval air power (450 planes). It comprised many ships, including 50 warships of which 17 were aircraft carriers, but while the British armoured flight decks meant that fewer planes could be carried in a single aircraft carrier, they were more resistant to kamikaze strikes. Although all the aircraft carriers were provided by the UK, the carrier group was a combined British Commonwealth fleet with British, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian ships and personnel^{[citation needed]}. Their mission was to neutralize Japanese airfields in the Sakishima Islands and provide air cover against Japanese kamikaze attacks.

Bombing Okinawa

Kamikaze

The Kamikaze (神風^?, common translation: “divine wind”) [kamikaꜜze]( listen) Tokubetsu Kougekitai (特別攻撃隊^?) Tokkō Tai (特攻隊^?) Tokkō (特攻^?) were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible.

Kamikaze pilots would attempt to crash their aircraft into enemy ships—planes often laden with explosives,bombs, torpedoes and full fuel tanks. The aircraft’s normal functions (to deliver torpedoes or bombs or shoot down other aircraft) were put aside, and the planes were converted to what were essentially manned missiles in an attempt to reap the benefits of greatly increased accuracy and payload over that of normal bombs. The goal of crippling as many Allied ships as possible, particularly aircraft carriers, was considered critical enough to warrant the combined sacrifice of pilots and aircraft.

These attacks, which began in October 1944, followed several critical military defeats for the Japanese. They had long lost aerial dominance due to outdated aircraft and the loss of experienced pilots. On a macroeconomic scale, Japan experienced a decreasing capacity to wage war, and a rapidly decliningindustrial capacity relative to the United States. The Japanese government expressed its reluctance to surrender. In combination, these factors led to the use of kamikaze tactics as Allied forces advanced towards the Japanese home islands.

While the term “kamikaze” usually refers to the aerial strikes, the term has sometimes been applied to various other intentional suicide attacks. The Japanese military also used or made plans for Japanese Special Attack Units, including those involving submarines, human torpedoes, speedboats anddivers.

Although kamikaze was the most common and best-known form of Japanese suicide attack during World War II, they were similar to the “banzai charge” used by Japanese infantrymen (foot soldiers). The main difference between kamikaze and banzai is that death was inherent to the success of a kamikaze attack, whereas a banzai charge was only potentially fatal — that is, the infantrymen hoped to survive but did not expect to. Western sources often incorrectly considerOperation Ten-Go as a kamikaze operation, since it occurred at the Battle of Okinawa along with the mass waves of kamikaze planes; however, banzai is the more accurate term, since the aim of the mission was for battleship Yamato to beach herself and provide support to the island defenders, as opposed to ramming and detonating among enemy naval forces. The tradition ofdeath instead of defeat, capture, and perceived shame was deeply entrenched in Japanese military culture. It was one of the primary traditions in the samurailife and the  Bushido code: loyalty and honor until death; or in the Western vernacular “death before dishonor!”

Ensign Kiyoshi Ogawa, who dove his aircraft into theUSS Bunker Hill during aKamikaze mission on May 11, 1945.

Naval battle

USS Bunker Hill burns after being hit by two kamikaze within 30 seconds

The British Pacific Fleet was assigned the task of neutralizing the Japanese airfields in the Sakishima Islands, which it did successfully from March 26 until April 10. On April 10, its attention was shifted to airfields on northern Formosa. The force withdrew to San Pedro Bay on April 23. On May 1, 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 since the British used armored flight decks on their aircraft carriers, they only experienced a brief interruption to their force’s objective.

The bombardment from the sea at Okinawa

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.

Combined arms on Okinawa

Between April 6 and June 22, 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 Formosa. When U.S. intelligence estimated 89 planes on Formosa, the Japanese had approximately 700 dismantled or well camouflaged and dispersed into scattered villages and towns; the U.S. Fifth Air Force disputed Navy claims of kamikaze coming from Formosa.

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 warship was lost, several fleet carriers were severely damaged. Land-based motorboats were also used in the Japanese suicide attacks.

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, U.S. naval forces began the campaign as the U.S. Fifth Fleet under Admiral Raymond Spruance, but ended it as the U.S. Third Fleet under Admiral William Halsey.

Operation Ten-Go

Main article: Ten-gō sakusen

The Japanese battleship Yamatoexplodes after persistent attacks from U.S. aircraft

Operation Ten-Go (Ten-gō sakusen) was the attempted attack by a strike force of Japanese surface vessels led by the battleship Yamato, commanded by Admiral Seiichi Itō. This small task force had been ordered to fight through enemy naval forces, then beach themselves and fight from shore using their guns as coastal artillery and crewmen as naval infantry.

Tanks leaving the beach

The Yamato and other vessels in Operation Ten-Go were spotted by submarines shortly after leaving Japanese home waters, and were attacked by U.S. carrier aircraft.

Under attack from more than 300 aircraft over a two-hour span, the world’s largest battleship sank on April 7, 1945, long before she could reach Okinawa. U.S. torpedo bombers were instructed to only aim for one side to prevent effective counter flooding by the battleship’s crew, and hitting preferably the bow or stern, where armor was believed to be the thinnest.

The landing zone from above

Of the Yamato’sscreening force, the light cruiser Yahagi, and four out of the eight destroyers were also sunk. In all, the Imperial Japanese Navy lost some 3,700 sailors, including Itō, at the relatively low cost of just 10 U.S. aircraft and 12 airmen.

Land battle

 

A map of U.S. operations during the battle

The land battle took place over about 81 days beginning April 1, 1945.

The first Americans ashore were soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division, who landed in the Kerama Islands (Kerama Retto), 15 miles (24 km) west of Okinawa on March 26, 1945. 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 Japanese dead and captured numbered over 650. The operation provided a protected anchorage for the fleet and eliminated the threat from suicide boats.

Advancing carefully

On March 31 Marines of the Fleet Marine Force Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion landed without opposition on Keise Shima, four islets just 8 miles (13 km) west of the Okinawan capital ofNaha. 155 mm Long Toms went ashore on the islets to cover operations on Okinawa.

Northern Okinawa

The battleship USS Idaho (BB-42) shellsOkinawa on 1 April 1945.

U.S. Marine reinforcements wade ashore to support the beachhead on Okinawa, March 31, 1945

The main landing was made by XXIV Corps and III Amphibious Corps on the Hagushi beaches on the western coast of Okinawa on L-Day, April 1, which was both Easter Sunday and April Fools’ Day in 1945. The 2nd Marine Division conducted a demonstration off the Minatoga beaches on the southeastern coast to confuse the Japanese about American intentions and delay movement of reserves from there.

US soldiers blast a Japanese held cave.

Tenth Army swept across the south-central part of the island with relative ease by World War II standards, capturing the Kadena and the Yomitan airbases. 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. The land was mountainous and wooded, with the Japanese defenses concentrated on Yae-Take, a twisted mass of rocky ridges and ravines on theMotobu Peninsula. There was heavy fighting before the Marines finally cleared the peninsula on April 18.

Men and a Sherman tank of the 382nd Infantry Regiment, US 96th Division on the Ginowan Road, Okinawa, Japan, Apr-Jun 1945

Meanwhile, the 77th Infantry Division assaulted Ie Shima, a small island off the western end of the peninsula, on April 16. In addition to conventional hazards, the 77th Infantry Division encountered kamikaze attacks, and even Japanese women armed with spears. There was heavy fighting before Ie Shima was declared secured on April 21 and became another air base for operations against Japan.

Southern Okinawa

F4U Corsair fighter firingrockets in support of the troops on Okinawa

While the Marine 6th division cleared northern Okinawa, the U.S. Army 96th Infantry division and U.S. Marine 7th division wheeled south across the narrow waist of Okinawa. The 96th division began to encounter fierce resistance in west-central Okinawa from Japanese troops holding fortified positions east of Highway No. 1 and about about five miles (8 km) northwest of Shuri, from what came to be known asCactus Ridge. The 7th division encountered similarly fierce Japanese opposition from a rocky pinnacle located about 1,000 yards southwest of Arakachi (later dubbed “The Pinnacle“).

US guns boom. 155mm Gun set up on Keise Shima near Okinawa, Japan, Apr 1945

By the night of April 8 U.S. 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 just begun, for it was now realized they were merely outposts guarding the Shuri Line.

The next American objective was Kakazu Ridge, two hills with a connecting saddle that formed part of Shuri’s outer defenses. The Japanese had prepared their positions well and fought tenaciously. Fighting was fierce, as the Japanese soldiers hid in fortified caves, and the U.S. forces often lost many men before clearing the Japanese out from each cave or other hiding place. The Japanese would send the Okinawans at gunpoint out to acquire water and supplies for them, which induced casualties among civilians. The American advance was inexorable but resulted in massive casualties sustained by both sides.

Marines pass through a destroyed small village where a Japanese soldier lies dead, April 1945

As the American assault against Kakazu Ridge stalled, General Ushijima, influenced by General Chō, decided to take the offensive. On the evening of April 12, the 32nd Army attacked U.S. 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 April 14 was again repulsed. The entire effort led 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.

The 27th Infantry Division, which had landed on April 9, took over on the right, along the west coast of Okinawa. General Hodge now had three divisions in the line, with the 96th in the middle, and the 7th on the east, with each division holding a front of only about 1.5 miles (2.4 km).

Hodge launched a new offensive of April 19 with a barrage of 324 guns, the largest ever in thePacific Ocean Theater. Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers joined the bombardment, which was followed by 650 Navy and Marine planes attacking the enemy 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.

A 6th Division Marine demolition crew watches explosive charges detonate and destroy a Japanese cave, May 1945

A tank assault to achieve breakthrough by outflanking Kakazu Ridge, failed to link up with its infantry support attempting to cross the ridge and failed with the loss of 22 tanks. Although flame tanks cleared many cave defenses, there was no breakthrough, and the XXIV Corps lost 720 menKIA, WIA and MIA. 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.

Okinawan sculptor Kinjo Minoru’s relief depicting the horror of the Battle …

At the end of April, after the Army forces had pushed through the Machinato defensive line and airfield, the 1st Marine Division relieved the 27th Infantry Division, and the 77th Infantry Division relieved the 7th. When the 6th Marine Division arrived, III Amphibious Corps took over the right flank and Tenth Army assumed control of the battle.

On May 4, the 32nd Army launched another counteroffensive. 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 an effective U.S. counter-battery fire destroyed dozens of Japanese artillery pieces. The attack was a complete failure.

American soldiers of the 77th Divisionlisten impassively to radio reports of Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 1945

Buckner launched another American attack on May 11. Ten days of fierce fighting followed. On May 13, troops of the 96th Infantry Division and 763d Tank Battalion captured Conical Hill. Rising 476 feet (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 6th Marine Division fought for “Sugar Loaf Hill”. 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.

By the end of May, monsoon rains which turned contested hills and roads into a morass exacerbated both the tactical and medical situations. The ground advance began to resemble aWorld 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 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.

Lt. Col. Richard P. Ross, commander of 1st Battalion, 1st Marines braves sniper fire to place the division’s colors on a parapet of Shuri Castle on May 30. This flag was first raised overCape Gloucester and then Peleliu

On May 29, Major General Pedro del Valle, commanding the 1st Marine Division, ordered Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines to capture Shuri Castle. Seizure of the castle represented both strategic and psychological blows for the Japanese and was a milestone in the campaign. Del Valle was awarded aDistinguished Service Medal for his leadership in the fight and the subsequent occupation and reorganization of Okinawa. Shuri Castle had been shelled for 3 days prior to this advance by theUSS Mississippi (BB-41).^[13] Due to this, the 32nd Army withdrew to the south and thus the marines had an easy task of securing Shuri Castle. 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 air strike and artillery bombardment which would have resulted in many casualties due to friendly fire.

The Japanese retreat, although harassed by artillery fires, was conducted with great skill at night and aided by the monsoon storms. The 32nd Army was able to move nearly 30,000 men 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 holed up at the fortified area of the Okinawa Naval Base Force in the Oroku Peninsula. Later that day, the Americans launched an amphibious assault on the Oroku Peninsula in order to secure their western flank. After several days of bitter fighting, the Japanese were pushed to the far south of the island.

On June 18, General Buckner was killed by enemy artillery fire while monitoring the progress of his troops. Buckner was replaced by Roy Geiger. Upon assuming command, Geiger became the only U.S. Marine to command a numbered army of the U.S. Army in combat. He was relieved five days later by Joseph Stilwell.

The island fell on June 21, 1945, although some Japanese continued hiding, including the future governor of Okinawa Prefecture, Masahide Ota.Ushijima and Chō committed suicide by seppuku in their command headquarters on Hill 89 in the closing hours of the battle. 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.

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.

Casualties

Military losses

The last picture of Lieutenant GeneralSimon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., right, the day before he was killed by Japanese artillery on June 19, 1945

U.S. losses were over 62,000 casualties of whom over 12,000 were killed or missing. This made the battle the bloodiest that U.S. forces experienced in the Pacific war. Several thousand servicemen who died indirectly (from wounds and other causes) at a later date are not included in the total. One of the most famous U.S. casualties was the war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who was killed by Japanese machine gun fire on Ie Shima.U.S. forces suffered their highest-ever casualty rate for combat stress reaction during the entire war, at 48%, with some 14,000 soldiers retired due to nervous breakdown.

General Buckner’s decision to attack the Japanese defenses head-on, although extremely costly in U.S. lives, was ultimately successful. Just four days from the closing of the campaign, General 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 U.S. officer to be killed by enemy fire during the war. The day after, a second general, Brigadier General Claudius M. Easley, was killed by machine gun fire.

Aircraft losses over the three-month period were 768 United States planes including those bombing the Kyushu airfields launching kamikazes. Combat losses were 458, and the other 310 were operational accidents. Japanese aircraft losses were 7,830 over the same period, including 2,655 to operational accidents. Navy and Marine Corps fighters downed 3,047, while shipboard antiaircraft felled 409, and B-29s destroyed 558 on the ground.

At sea 368 Allied ships (including 120 amphibious craft) were damaged while another 28, including 15 amphibious ships and 12 destroyers were sunk during the Okinawa campaign. The U.S. Navy’s dead exceeded its wounded with 4,907 killed and 4,874 wounded, primarily from kamikaze attacks.Among United States casualties, neither the Army nor the Marine death toll exceeded the Navy death toll in the battle for Okinawa. The Japanese lost 16 ships sunk, including the giant battleship Yamato.

On land the U.S. forces lost at least 225 tanks and many LVTs destroyed while eliminating 27 Japanese tanks and 743 artillery pieces (including mortars, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns), some of them knocked-out by the naval and air bombardments but most of them knocked-out by American counter-battery fire. Casualties of American ground artillery are unknown.

A group of Japanese prisoners who preferred surrender to suicide wait to be questioned

By one count, there were about 107,000 Japanese combatants killed and 7,400 captured. Some of the soldiers committed seppuku or simply blew themselves up with hand grenades. In addition, thousands were sealed in their caves alive by the U.S. combat engineers.

This was also the first battle in the war in which surrendering Japanese were made into POWs by the thousands. Many of the Japanese prisoners were native Okinawans who had been impressed into the Army shortly before the battle and were less imbued with the Japanese Army’s no-surrender doctrine.

When the American forces occupied the island, the Japanese took Okinawan clothing to avoid capture and the Okinawans came to the Americans’ aid by offering a simple way to detect Japanese in hiding. The Okinawan language differs greatly from the Japanese language; with Americans at their sides, Okinawans would give directions to people in the local language, and those who did not understand were considered Japanese in hiding who were then captured.

Civilian losses

Okinawan civilians in 1945

Two Marines share a foxholewith an Okinawan war orphan in April 1945

At some battles, such as at Battle of Iwo Jima, there had been no civilians involved, but Okinawa had a large indigenous civilian population and, according to various estimates, somewhere between 1/10 and 1/3 of them died during the battle. Okinawan civilian losses in the campaign were estimated to be between 42,000 and 150,000 dead (more than 100,000 according to Okinawa Prefecture). The U.S. Army figures for the campaign showed a total figure of 142,058 civilian casualties, including those who were pressed into service by the Japanese Imperial Army.

During the battle, U.S. soldiers found it difficult to distinguish civilians from soldiers. It became routine for U.S. soldiers 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.

In its history of the war, the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum presents Okinawa as being caught in the fighting between America and Japan. During the 1945 battle, the Japanese Army showed indifference to Okinawa’s defense and safety, and the Japanese soldiers used civilians as human shieldsagainst the Americans. Japanese military confiscated food from the Okinawans and executed those who hid it, leading to a mass starvation among the population, and forced civilians out of their shelters. Japanese soldiers also killed about 1,000 Okinawans who spoke in a different local dialect in order to suppress spying. The museum writes that “some were blown apart by 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.

Mass suicides

With the impending victory of American troops, 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 andraping. Ryukyu Shimpo, 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.

Some of the civilians, having been induced by Japanese propaganda to believe that U.S. soldiers werebarbarians who committed horrible atrocities, killed their families and themselves to avoid capture. Some of them threw themselves and their family members from the cliffs where the Peace Museum now resides.

However, despite being told by the Japanese military that they would suffer rape, torture and murder at the hands of the Americans, Okinawans “were often surprised at the comparatively humane treatment they received from the American enemy. According toIslands of Discontent: Okinawan Responses to Japanese and American Power by Mark Selden, the Americans “did not pursue a policy of torture, rape, and murder of civilians as Japanese military officials had warned.” Military Intelligence combat translator Teruto Tsubota, a U.S. Marine born in Hawaii, convinced hundreds of civilians not to kill themselves and thus saved their lives.

Rape allegations

Civilians and historians report that soldiers on both sides had raped Okinawan civilians during the battle. Rape by Japanese troops “became common” in June, after it became clear that the Japanese Army had been defeated One Okinawan historian has estimated there were more than 10,000 rapes of Okinawan women by American troops during the three month campaign. The New York Times reported in 2000 that in the village of Katsuyama, civilians formed a vigilante group to ambush and kill a group of black American soldiers whom they claimed frequently raped the local girls there.

Marine Corps officials in Okinawa and Washington have stated that they “knew of no rapes by American servicemen in Okinawa at the end of the war, and their records do not list war crimes committed by Marines in OkinawaHistorian George Feifer, however, writes that rape in Okinawa was “another dirty secret of the campaign” in which “American military chronicles ignore [the] crimes.” Few Okinawans revealed their pregnancies, as “stress and bad diet … rendered most Okinawan women infertile. Many who did become pregnant managed to abort before their husbands and fathers returned. A smaller number of newborn infants fathered by Americans were suffocated.

Suicide order controversy

Overcoming the civilian resistance on Okinawa was aided by U.S. propagandaleaflets, one of which is being read by a prisoner awaiting transport

There is ongoing major 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 so they would not be taken prisoner by the U.S. military. MEXT preferred descriptions that just say that civilians received hand grenades from the Japanese military.

This move sparked widespread protests among the Okinawans. In June 2007, the Okinawa Prefectoral 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.

On September 29, 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 on revising the account of the civilian suicides. The resolution stated: “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.”

On December 26, 2007, MEXT partially admitted the role of the Japanese military in civilian mass suicides. 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 stated: “It can be said that from the viewpoint of the Okinawa residents, they were forced into the mass suicides. That was, however, not enough for the survivors who said it is important for children today to know what really happened.

The Nobel Prize winning author Kenzaburō Ōe has written a booklet which states that the mass suicide order was given by the military during the battle. He was sued by the revisionists, including a wartime commander during the battle, who disputed this and wanted to stop publication of the booklet. At a court hearing on November 9, 2007, 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.” On March 28, 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.

Aftermath

American Sherman tanks knocked out by Japanese artillery Bloody Ridge April 20, 1945

Ninety percent of the buildings on the island were completely destroyed, and the lush tropical landscape was turned into “a vast field of mud, lead, decay and maggots”.

The military value of Okinawa “exceeded all hope.” Okinawa provided a fleet anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields in close proximity to Japan. After the battle, the U.S. 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.^[47] Significant U.S. forces remain garrisoned there, and Kadena remains the largest U.S. air base in Asia.

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. Victor Davis Hanson explains his view in 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. Ironically, the American conventional fire-bombing of major Japanese cities (which had been going on for months before Okinawa) was far more effective at killing civilians than the atomic bombs and, had the Americans simply continued, or expanded this, the Japanese would likely have surrendered anyway.

Cornerstone of Peace Memorial with names of all military and civilians from all countries who died in the Battle of Okinawa

In 1945, Winston Churchill called the battle “among the most intense and famous in military history.”

In 1995, the Okinawa government erected a memorial named Cornerstone of Peace in Mabuni, the site of the last fighting in southeastern Okinawa. The memorial lists all the known names of those who died in the battle, civilian and military, Japanese and foreign. As of June 2008 it contains 240,734 names.

USS BUNKER HILL AT SEA

USS BUNKER HILL HIT BY KAMIKAZE

USS BUNKER HILL BURNING

USS BUNKER HILL DECK

USS FRANKLIN AFTER JAPANESE AIR ATTACK

KAMIKAZE ABOUT TO HIT USS MISSOURI

USS PRINCETON AFTER JAPANESE AIR ATTACK

KAMIKAZE ATTACK ON USS TICONDEROGA

USS TICONDEROGA DURING BETTER TIMES

LARGEST SHIP AFLOAT, YAMATO

YAMATO GOES DOWN

 

the end @ copyright Dr Iwan Suwandy 2011