Comparing The Battle Of Luzon And Okinawa

The battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were two of the most important American operations in the Pacific Theatre against the Empire of Japan during World War Two. The goal of the two operations was to secure strategically important islands close to Japan to use for bombing campaigns. The battles for Iwo Jima(February-March 1945) and Okinawa f(April-June 1945) killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians and helped to win the war for the United States.

The fight for control of Iwo Jima lasted thirty eight days. Over that course of time the U.S. lost almost six thousand Marines with another eighteen thousand men wounded. The Japanese however lost around twenty one thousand men. This was the only battle during the war with Japan when the U.S. suffered more casualties than the Japanese. Being one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the taking of Iwo Jima served as a valuable lesson for the upcoming Okinawa campaign. In the weeks following, the battle fell under heavy scrutiny from the press and the public. Many viewed it as an unnecessary fight and loss of

The war in Europe was finished and America was still fighting Japan in the Pacific. The American people’s will to continue the war effort was falling and the government had to think of a way to end the war. They needed to take some of the Pacific to be able to get close enough to Japan to finish the war. They started by taking islands but ran into heavy Japanese resistance; soldier’s that were almost all willing to die for their emperor. That included fake surrendering, making and then hiding in elaborate cave systems, and killing other Japanese who were trying to surrender. This weighed heavily on the soldiers and made fighting incredibly hard. Even when they had an island there were Japanese who had hidden and still tried to kill the

Iwo Jima was known for one of the most bloody battles in not just the Marine but American history too. The battle began on February 19, 1945 as part of the campaign of the Pacific theatre, and lasted for thirty-six days. Around twenty six-thousand Marines were wounded, which caused Union losses during the battle at Gettysburg. Near the beginning of summer of 1944, American B-29 bombers were ruining the islands. “Iwo Jima proved itself an indispensable asset to the Pacific command.” “Thousands of fighters took off from its runways, and this ‘stepping stone’ served as a staging ground for countless Allied advances.”

By the end of 1941 Japan had control of most of the Pacific theater. It was not until after the attack on Pearl Harbor that the United States formally declared war on the Axis Powers. By the beginning of 1942, the United States Navy, switched from being in a defensive position to an offensive position and took the fight to the Japanese military in the Pacific. The Battle of Midway is considered the turning point in the Pacific Theater during WWII. However, the Battle of Midway may not have happened as it did if it were not for the men who tirelessly worked to break the Japanese JN-25 code. The ability to decipher the encrypted Japanese messages gave the United States Navy the upper hand in the Pacific theater and by the end of the war the Japanese

suffered a major defeat at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, took advantage of the situation the U.S. was put in after its losses during Pearl Harbor (“Japs Risk Large Naval Units...”). With the backbone of U.S. Pacific Fleet torn out, Japan made several attempts to dominate the Pacific. Japan was anxious to settle their differences with the U.S., so they began risking large naval units in Pacific battles. An article posted in the Los Angeles Time, “Japs Risk Large Naval Units in Blows at U.S.” says, “For the sixth time in six months Japan made a deadly bid to capture the mastery of the Pacific, and for the sixth time she has failed after paying a price that is fast becoming prohibitive,” (“Japs Risk Large Naval Units...”). This article was posted days after the Battle of Midway, on June 7th, 1942 reflecting the actions of the Japanese Navy in the previous months. The Japanese were anxious to pounce on the weakened U.S. after Pearl Harbor, backing their attacks with large naval units. The Japanese felt that they needed to take over Midway Island in order to claim dominance over the U.S. in the Pacific.

There were 26,000 casualties and 6,800 dead Americans at Iwo Jima, with 20,000 casualties and 1083 dead Japanese. (1. "Battle for Iwo Jima, 1945." The Navy Department Library) At Okinawa there were 65,000 American casualties and 14,000 dead, while the Japanese lost 70,000 soldiers out of the 130,000 stationed on Okinawa. (2. "Battle of Okinawa." History.com) The bloodshed from these two battles gave the Americans a taste of the militaristic Japanese, and that a battle for the homeland of Japan would be astronomically worse. The Japanese were prepared to use any means necessary to stop the Americans because of “Yamato Damashii”, which was a virtue of the samurai that went hand in hand with the Bushido code, and it made the Japanese value the country and the emperor above all else, and that fighting to the death was greater than surrender. and it came in the form of Kamikaze attacks, suicide troops, and guerilla warfare. At Okinawa, 193 kamikaze attacks were launched at the Americans damaging 368 ships and destroying 36. (3. "The Battle of Okinawa." History Learning Site) The Japanese were prepared to sacrifice everything they had to destroy American ships and troops. The Japanese also used their own people to fight against the Americans.

Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz. Both were given the responsibility of control over different areas in the Pacific. MacArthur was Supreme Commander over all operations regarding the Pacific but commanded the Southwest Pacific Area(SWPA), while Nimitz was in charge of the Central Pacific Area (POA). Fighting in the Pacific War was different than fighting in Europe. In Europe the war was mainly characterized by huge ground units advancing deep into enemy countries. However in both MacArthur's SWPA and Nimitz's POA, the war was composed of amphibious landings and island-hopping campaigns where naval strength, shipping, and air power had far greater importance. Although for the soldiers and marines whose job was to capture and secure

World War II began in 1939 and did not end until 1945. Two of the last battles of the war were the Battle of Saipan and D-Day. The Battle of Saipan was fought between the Japanese and the United States and was fought on the Japanese island of Saipan. D-Day was a battle on the European front and was fought between the United States and Germany. Saipan and D-Day influenced the end of WWII because they both captured significant pieces land, the United States had more power and attack force than Germany and Japan, and the Japanese and Germans did not have a significant enough navy fleet compared to the U.S.

In the beginning of war, Japanese victory in Pacific terrified West Cost Americans. Partial victory for Americans appeared when Japanese capital Tokyo was bombed. It was less of a material loss but huge in terms of psychological attack. It was followed by the Battle of Coral Sea in May 1942 and after that the decisive Battle of Midway Island took place. U.S. aircraft carriers destroyed three out of four Japanese carriers that sabotaged their further plans of invasion and they adopted a defensive strategy.

On June 3rd, 1942, the United States declared war on Imperialistic Japan and Nazi Germany. Due to the bombing of the United States' naval base at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese the U.S. was forced to take action. The United States began their first naval battle near the Midway islands in defense of its pacific fleet and positioning. Midway was the Japanese' last goal for its western expansion in the Pacific.

Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, the Okinawa campaign (April 1—June 22, 1945) involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan ("Battle of Okinawa," 1996). The Battle of Okinawa remembered more for its iconic photograph of US Marines raising the US flag on Okinawa more so than any other war or battle ever fought. Okinawa the largest of the Ryukus islands played a major role in the American forces overall strategic efforts to advance to the mainland’s of Japan. Because it was the last major battle of WWII, the battle of Okinawa used lessons learned and TTP’s from all previous

War in the Pacific – Turning the Tide The turning point during the Pacific War of World War II (WWII) can be attributed to not just one single event but a gradual turning of the tide in which the strategic initiative switched from the Japanese to the Allied powers. This gradual shift can be defined by the three major battles of the Coral Sea, Battle of Midway and the Campaign in Guadalcanal. These battles spanned from 3rd May 1942 to 9th February 1943 and highlighting the entry of the United States (US) and their subsequent successes. Ultimately the turning point of the War in the Pacific is when Japan lost the strategic initiative however given the intricacies and unpredictable nature of warfare there are many factors that give reasons as

This battle was used to support the case for bringing the war to an end by means other than invading mainland Japan (Willbanks). If the original invasion of Okinawa by the Allies did not go as planned, the war would have dragged on for years and both sides would eventually lose supplies and men to fight with. The extended time period of the war would have brought further damage to Okinawan citizens. Okinawa also influenced the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan after the nation refused to surrender (Willbanks). After the end of the war, the Allies had a continuous presence on the island, which the battle exemplified greatly, for the Japanese could have invaded the island once more, despite the surrender (Padden). The presence of Allied forces on the island created Japanese efforts to reinvigorate its defeated army (Padden). The Battle of Okinawa was by far the costliest battle for the Americans of the Pacific war

The battle of Okinawa began on April 1, 1945 and ended June . It took place over 82 days and fought on the grounds of Ryukyu, Islands of Okinawa.Okinawa was the second most deadliest battle fought in WW2. The battle was a stepping stone for an in invasion to get closer to the mainland, The battle involved the Japanese Army, minimal navy power and American and British navy support, along with Joint services of U.S Army, Marine Corps, and Navy.