BATTLE OF OKINAWA

THE ALLIES

SIMON BOLIVAR BUCKNER, JR.

• Lieutenant General during WW2 commanded the pacific theater
• Was one of the highest ranking officers to be killed in WW2
• Was killed by a Japanese artillery round of unknown caliber in the battle of Okinawa

ROY GEIGER

• US Marine Corps general during WW2
• Was the first Marine to lead an army
• Commanded the III Amphibious Corps during the battle of Okinawa
• Became commander after the death of Lt. Buckner

JOSEPH STILWELL

• Four star general served in the China Burma India theater during WW2
• Showed to be a capable and daring tactician

Chester W. Nimitz

• Fleet admiral of the US Navy during WW2
• Played a major role in the naval history of WW2
• Leading authority on submarines was the first to get approval for nuclear powered submarines

RAYMOND A. SPRUANCE

• Commanded the naval forces during two of the most significant naval battles of the war
• Played a key role in the battle of midway and participated in the battle of Okinawa
• Later appointed president of the Naval War College

THE AXIS

MITSURU USHIJIMA

• Japanese General during World War II
• Commanding general of the 32nd army
• Committed ritual suicide during the battle of Okinawa after being defeated

ISAMU CHŌ

• Officer during World War II
• Committed suicide alongside Ushijima after being defeated in the battle of Okinawa
• Known as being aggressive and quick tempered

MINORU ŌTA

• Japanese Admiral during World War II
• Committed suicide with a handgun after the battle of Okinawa

SEIICHI ITŌ

• Admiral in the Japanese navy during World War II
• Commander of the battleship Yamato
• After his ship was attacked he tried to save the remaining troops and went down and died with his ship

BATTLE FACTS

• Fought on the Ryukyu islands of Okynawa
• Largest amphibious assault in the pacific
• Lasted from the 1st of April to the 22nd of June 1945
• Allied victory
• Code named operation iceberg
• One of the bloodiest battles in the pacific
• Allies suffered 14,009 deaths and Japan lost 77,166 soldiers
• 90% of all buildings on the island were destroyed

BATTLE FACTS

• The Japanese launched fierce kamikaze attacks
• Large amounts of civilian deaths
• Japanese soldiers using civilians as human shields

Okinawa was the last key stronghold in the Pacific. It was the last island to capture before the US could invade the Japanese mainland. It could be used as a staging area to invade Japan because of its key naval positions and proximity to the rest of Japan.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Wikipedia.com
• Google.com/images
• Militaryhistoryonline.com