Battle of Okinawa
Okinawa the bloodiest and longest battle of the Pacific.
The battle background info
The Battle for Okinawa lasted over two months long and resulted in the most deaths on each side of any battle. The American's were ordered to take the island. So, they had the base closed to the main island of Japan to stockpile equipment and weaponry. The island for the Japanese was their training grounds, but once they heard of the attack many caves and trenches proved Okinawa would be a difficult campaign.
The Battle for Okinawa
The United States used the strategy of Blowtorch and Corkscrew. They would burn the enemy out then blow them up with shells coming in from the battleships. This lasted throughout the battle because the Americans had to pull them out of every cave. The Japanese hid in caves the whole battle and had very effective mortars to keep many Americans at bay. This is why the battle dragged on and on.
An American destroyer is fires upon enemy positions
Americans fight hard to take up enemy positions
Two American tanks use a flamethrower on the enemy, it shows the blowtorch strategy
The General
Simon B. Buckner was the general for the Americans. He first started his military career defending Alaska and ended up leading the assault on Okinawa. He was the key to the Blowtorch and Corkscrew idea. In the last few days of the battle for Okinawa he was killed by an artillery strike.