boyutpedia Chapter 783 The loss is a bit big
Chapter 783 The loss is a bit big
With the complete occupation of Okinawa by the US army, the Battle of Okinawa ended with the defeat of the Japanese army.
In the Battle of Okinawa, more than 100,000 Japanese soldiers were killed and 10,000 were captured by the American army. In addition, nearly 100,000 local residents on Okinawa Island also died in this battle.
In the Battle of Okinawa, the Japanese lost a total of 4,200 aircraft, 16 ships were sunk, and 4 ships were damaged.
The U.S. army also suffered more than 30,000 casualties in the Battle of Okinawa, including 10,000 non-combat casualties. In addition, the U.S. army lost 763 aircraft, 36 ships were sunk, and 368 ships were damaged, which was a considerable loss.
The Battle of Okinawa was the largest, longest, and most devastating battle between the U.S. and Japanese armies in their operations on the Pacific islands. It was also the last battle between the two sides in the Pacific battlefield. After the U.S. army occupied Okinawa Island, it successfully opened the door to attack the Japanese mainland, achieving the U.S. army's goal of establishing a strategic base for attacking the Japanese mainland.
In order to win the Battle of Okinawa, the United States concentrated almost all its army and navy in the Pacific theater. There were two fleets responsible for providing sea and air cover for the United States landing formation. One was the 58th Task Force of the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet, which had four squadrons, a total of 16 aircraft carriers, eight battleships, 18 cruisers and 56 destroyers, carrying more than 1,380 carrier-based aircraft.
The other is the British Pacific Fleet, which belongs to the combat structure of the Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy. It is numbered the 57th Task Force of the Allied Pacific Theater and is commanded by Lieutenant General Rawlings of the British Navy. It has four aircraft carriers, two battleships, five cruisers and fifteen destroyers, and carries more than 150 carrier-based aircraft.
The United States landing fleet, also known as the Joint Expeditionary Force, was commanded by Lieutenant General Turner, commander of the United States Pacific Theater of Amphibious Combat Forces. It concentrated 500 landing ships, and the escort and support ships included 28 escort carriers, 10 battleships, 14 cruisers, 74 destroyers, 76 frigates, about 800 carrier-based aircraft, together with logistics support and transport ships, a total of more than 1,300 ships of various types.
The main force of the United States military in ground combat on Okinawa Island is the United States Tenth Army, which is composed of the United States Marine Corps Third Army and the Army Twenty-fourth Army.
The Third Marine Corps of the United States is composed of the First Marine Division and the Sixth Marine Division, and is commanded by Rear Admiral Geiger. The 24th Army of the United States Army is composed of the Seventh Infantry Division of the United States Army and the Ninety-sixth Infantry Division of the United States Army, and is commanded by Lieutenant General Hodge.
In addition, there were four divisions of troops serving as reserves for ground operations on Okinawa Island. Among them, the 2nd Marine Division was the reserve of the United States Tenth Army, the 27th Army Division was the reserve for the ship, the 77th Army Division was first responsible for the combat mission of capturing the Kerama Islands and Ie Island, and then served as the reserve for the Okinawa Island campaign, and the 81st Army Division was the general reserve, on standby on New Caledonia Island. In other words, the United States concentrated a total of eight divisions and 240,000 officers and soldiers to carry out the Okinawa Island campaign.
The Japanese garrison forces on Okinawa Island were mainly the 32nd Army, which was composed of the 9th Division, 24th Division, 62nd Division and the 44th Independent Mixed Brigade. However, before the Battle of Okinawa Island began, the 9th Division was transferred to Taiwan, China by the Japanese headquarters. This was one of the major mistakes of the Japanese headquarters in the defense plan for Okinawa Island.
The Battle of Okinawa lasted for ninety-six days, from March 18, 1945, when the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier formation attacked the Kyushu region of the Japanese mainland, to June 22, 1945, when the battle of Okinawa was basically over. Among them, the fierce fighting of the U.S. army on Okinawa Island lasted for eighty-two days.
The Battle of Okinawa was also the battle with the heaviest casualties for the US army in the Pacific battlefield. Therefore, British Prime Minister Hill believed that the Battle of Okinawa would be passed down to future generations as an epic battle, listed as one of the most intense and famous battles in the world.
Due to the heavy casualties suffered by the US army in the Battle of Okinawa, the US army did not hold a large-scale victory celebration afterwards.
At such a huge cost, the U.S. army captured Japan's Okinawa Islands, opened the southwestern gateway to the Japanese mainland, and obtained naval and air bases for attacking the Japanese mainland, creating very favorable conditions for subsequent landing operations on the Japanese mainland.
During the Battle of Okinawa, the U.S. military established an air base network on the islands of the Okinawa Islands and stationed a large number of air forces. In this way, the U.S. military could not only effectively block Japanese aircraft attacking from the mainland, but also take off heavy bombers from Okinawa Island and fly to the center of the Japanese mainland for bombing, which further enhanced the U.S. military's strategic bombing effect on the Japanese mainland.
However, in the Battle of Okinawa, Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima, commander of the 32nd Army of the Japanese Army, led 100,000 defenders and fought for more than three months in a nearly isolated and helpless situation in the face of the attack by the absolutely superior naval and air forces and ground forces of the United States Army. This also demonstrated the Japanese army's good anti-landing capability and tenacious fighting will.
At the same time, the tactics adopted by the Japanese 32nd Unit defending Okinawa Island also provided useful experience for the inferior army to organize effective anti-landing warfare.
Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima, commander of the 32nd Army of the Japanese Army, commanded the troops of the 32nd Army of the Japanese Army. He mainly relied on tunnels, natural caves and reverse slope defense positions in the mountains to weaken the firepower advantage of the United States army as much as possible, and actively carried out close combat and night combat, organizing small units of the 32nd Army of the Japanese Army to frequently launch fierce counterattacks against the offensive forces of the United States, constantly consuming the manpower of the offensive forces of the United States.
Although the Japanese garrison and air force suffered heavy losses from bombing by the U.S. Navy and Air Force in the Battle of Okinawa, these losses bought precious preparation time for the defense of the Japanese mainland and made the U.S. military deeply aware that the U.S. military's subsequent landing operations on the Japanese mainland would encounter even more intense and brutal battles.