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Tekketsu Kinnnotai Research Paper

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The Japanese forces opposing the U.S. were led by General Mitsuru Ushijima. While originally he commanded only 60,000 to 70,000 men, he had several thousands of men who were stationed in China previously, these were experienced and battle-hardened soldiers (Sanchez 11). Because the Imperial Army and Navy joint command headquarters in Tokyo saw that Okinawa’s defenses consisted of artillery, they sent no additional armored units other than an armored tank division, as an additional aid before the fighting began. Once the fighting started, the joint command sent several heavy weapons, artillery, and men, which were too few and too late. Many of the Japanese troops felt they had been abandoned by the joint command beforehand. The Japanese forces, however, had been dwindling as the war in the Pacific progressed, since the first Allied landing on the Island of Guadalcanal, in 1942. The Japanese were now looking to protect and preserve mainland Japan with what remained of their military. …show more content…

The Japanese Imperial Army mobilized 1,780 middle school boys, aged 14–17 years, into front-line-service. They were named "Tekketsu Kinnotai" (Iron and Blood Imperial Corps). This mobilization was ordered by the Ministry of Army, not by law. The Army mobilized the students as “volunteer soldiers” on paper, but in reality, the military authorities ordered schools to force almost all students to "volunteer" as soldiers. Sometimes the Army counterfeited the necessary documents. About half of Tekketsu Kinnōtai were killed, including in suicide bomb attacks against tanks.(Britannica Royde-Smith, John Graham, and Thomas A. Hughes). The Japanese Imperial Army was willing to use any means necessary to defend the Okinawan

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