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Invasion
U.S. forces were expecting a massive blood bath of both sides. They thought that the event would be like D-Day. There was little to no Japanese resistance. -
Japanese Ambush
The Japansese are ordered not to fire at landing U.S. forces and wait for them to walk into their trap. The U.S. forces walked unsuspectingly into the trap. They were concerned that they had not seen any Japanese troops yet. -
Period: to
Aftermath
129,700 Japanese soldiers 42,000 civilians died and the U.S. lost 12,520 soldiers. Japan lost 7,800 planes. -
Kamikaze Warfare
Japanese let loose suicide pilots on the U.S. fleet. The kamikazes were Japan's deadliest weapon. The planes intentionally crashed into U.S. ships at almost 500 miles per hour. They used this method of attack throughout the rest of the war. -
IJN Yamato
The IJN Yamato was the largest battle ship ever built. It was built by the Japanese and was battle ready on august 8, 1940. The Japanese thought that the ship was too important to send into battle. Because of this, the ship was mostly on the defensive. The ship had been damaged many times before. One day waves of U.S. planes attacked the ship, knowing that the ship had poor anti-air defenses sinking one of Japan's most important battle ship. -
Bomber Boat
A Japanese boat packed with explosives crashed into the USS Charles J. Badger causing it to be unusable. -
Japanese Attacks on Battleships
While U.S. troops were arriving at Ie Shima, Japanese sunk a destroyer and attacked many other American ships. -
The Taking of Le Shima, Japan
The U.S. forces invade Ie Shima, Japan on April 16 and take it on April 21, 1945. At first they thought that the airfields on the island were abandoned because of aerial pictures, but they found around 3,000 Japanese soldiers still there. U.S. forces soon took control of the island anyways. -
Hacksaw Ridge
Hacksaw Ridge was a very brutal battle for both the United States and Japanese troops. The U.S. troops first had to climb a nearly 400 foot high cliff to get to where the Japanese were in dugouts in caves. Most of the battle was very close quarters. The U.S. gained control of Hacksaw Ridge on May 6, 1945 -
Hacksaw Ridge Hero
A Hacksaw Ridge Hero was Corporal Desmond Doss. He was a medic who did not carry a firearm. When his commanding officers said to fall back he stayed on Hacksaw Ridge and saved a total of 75 lives. -
V-E Day
Every gun at Okinawa was shot once at noon to celebrate V-E Day. This marked the victory of the Allies in Europe from earlier in the war. -
U.S. Invades more Islands
U.S. troops invade Torishima, Ryukyu Islands, Japan. -
More Problems
On this day heavy rainfall makes it almost impossible for armored vehicles to advance on the Japanese. This gives Japanese forces a day off from the tense fighting, and time to recuperate. -
United States takes Okinawa
The United States captured over 7,000 Japanese soldiers but many committed ritual suicide. Winning the battle put the United States close enough to attack Japan's homeland with planes. -
USS Callaghan
USS Callaghan was the last U.S. boat to be sunken by an aircraft in WWII off the coast of Okinawa. -
Sources
https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=15 https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/wwii/wwii-pacific/okinawa/ie-shima-invasion.html https://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=1 https://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/battle-of-okinawa.php
