1.4. 1945 Battle of Okinawa begins

The fighting was so brutal that many soldiers had mental breakdowns. The Japanese were committing suicide in large numbers because they didn't want to be captured by the Americans. The Battle of Okinawa lasted over three months, beginning on April 1, 1945.

After Iwo Jima, the next logical step on the road to invading Japan was the capture of the jagged island of Okinawa. The local commander, General Ushijima Mitsura, created fortifications in the southern mountainous terrain similar to those on Iwo Jima. He intended to hold out as long as possible while Japanese aircraft based in Taiwan and southern Japan attacked the Allied fleet.

"For this operation 1,457 American and British warships were assembled. The crew of 80,000 men did not resist the landing of the 10th U.S. Army on the 1st. April 1945, but later fought back fiercely in strong defensive positions inland," Mark R. Henry writes in The U.S. Navy in World War II.

The landing was made by a formation under the command of Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, who was eventually killed three days before the fighting ended. He became the highest-ranking American officer to be killed in the Pacific when his headquarters on Okinawa became the target of an artillery attack. He was hit by shrapnel fragmentation.

The American army managed to quickly take the centre of the island after landing. "Ushijima's forces, however, managed to slow the American advance to a crawl. Meanwhile, on April 6, the Japanese began massed air attacks on the Allied fleet off Okinawa. The raids, carried out by as many as 700 planes a day, were too much for the fleet's air defenses. Moreover, many Japanese pilots were performing kamikaze," writes R. G. Grant in Battles - 5,000 Years of Warfare.

American losses were heavy. Especially for the destroyers, which were on radar patrol duty. On the other hand, the attacks cost the lives of about 1,900 Japanese pilots. The Battle of Okinawa was designated Iceberg and lasted until July 1945. It was also the last major engagement of World War II. "General Ushijima and other high-ranking officers committed suicide," Grant adds.

In all, the U.S. Army lost 72,000 soldiers. Some simply collapsed due to sheer exhaustion and stress. The fighting was really tough. A huge number of civilians died as well. Estimates of up to 140,000. But many of them committed suicide and killed their family members before that. They were afraid of falling into the hands of the Americans, whom Japanese propaganda described as bloodthirsty beasts.

Sources: Mark R. Henry: The U.S. Navy in World War II, R. G. Grant: Battles - 5,000 Years of Warfare, www.time.com