April 1945, signaled an end to a lasting Battle and continued a new beginning for the invasion of Japan’s homeland. This battle was the Battle of Okinawa or known as the Typhoon of Steel (Battle of Okinawa). The main cause of this tragic battle was the U.S military being able to use Okinawa as a base to reach or invade Japan (Wukovits). Therefore, bombs were fired towards Japans homeland. In early June half of a million men, soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen were sent to surround thirty miles of the ocean. (Miller) Many of these ships were loaded with bombs. Okinawa was one of the biggest battles of the Pacific, but also one of the last battles overseas that will not be forgotten. This battle’s intentions were to expand the American opportunities which concluded in an intense approach in US History. They wanted to prove to the Americans that they had the power to win the war. By the end of this battle, many soldiers were wounded or killed. During this war, one may see the major effects in the environment and also how many were affected. In addition, many people experiencing the battle such as Eugene Sledge, Eugene Smith and even civilians all have different point of views, giving us insight on the battle.
Eugene Sledge, a general army Lieutenant played a major role in this battle. He was born November 4, 1923 and died March 3, 2001. As Sledge states, “the island was the most ghastly corner of hell I had ever witnessed…every crater was half full of water, and many of them held Marine corpse. The bodies lay pathetically just as they had been killed, half
Tavares 2 submerged in muck and water, rusting weapons still in hand. Swarms and big flies hovered about them” (Wunovitz). People fighting in this battle suffered ter...
... middle of paper ...
...S history. As a result of this intense battle, civilization became better and freedom was established. In conclusion, this shows a deeper understanding of the faces of war and a realistic perspective from different people.
Works Cited
Chrisinger, David. “Combat Fatigue on Okinawa.” 12 May. 2014. Web.
Colimore, Edward. “Veterans Remember World War II.” Philadelphia Inquirer. 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 4 Apr. 2014..
Miller. L Donald. D-Days in the Pacific. Okinawa 1945. Print.
Wunovitz. F John. “Battle Of Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of The Pacific War.” World War II magazine. 12 June. 2014. Web. 22 May. 2014.
“Simon Bolivar". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 25 May. 2014
“June 12, 2006: Battle of Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War, “History.com. History Channel, 2006. Web. 25 May 2014.
its own we will see a slight change in history’s value of warfare and hardship as war turns into a
In May of 1942, Japanese Admiral Isorosku Yamamoto devised a plan to draw the US Pacific fleet into battle where he could completely destroy it. To accomplish this master plan of his, he sought out the invasion of Midway Island which would provide a base for the Japan troops to attack Hawaii. Unfortunately for Yamamoto, America decrypted Japanese radio transmissions and Admiral Chester Nimitz was able to establish a counter attack against this offensive. Nimitz sent three aircraft carriers, The USS Enterprise, The USS Hornet and The USS Yorktown to destroy the Japanese. This is just a short overview of The Battle of Midway, or as commonly referred to as, the battle that changed the war. People argue that it had no affect on the war, but those critics couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Battle of Midway was the turning point of the war because it fully enters America into the war, it kicked off the Pacific Campaign, and it had Japan on the defensive, thus preventing them from helping The Axis Forces.
Omaha beach was invaded on June tenth. On Omaha beach, one of the most chaotic parts of the battle, the United States first infantry went through the worst part of the landings out of any of the beaches. Their Sherman tanks had been mostly lost before they reached the shore. The three hundred and fifty second division was some of the best trained on the beaches. Within ten minutes, every officer and Sargent had been wounded or killed. The division had over four thousand casualties.
World War II, along with its numerous battles, brought great tension between two of the strongest countries during the 1940s: the United States and Japan. Conflict between these two countries started with Japan’s push past Chinese borders into Manchuria in search of the natural resources Japan lacks. At first, the United States avoided military action with Japan by waging economic warfare on them. This economic pressure included the passing of the Neutrality Act, which prohibited the sale of weapons to nations at war (Nash 513). Additionally, the United States placed oil embargoes on Japan hoping it would force Japan to shut down military operations in China. Japan, at a critical decision point, decided to bomb the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. On December 7th, 1941 at 6 a.m., Japan pilots bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor, taking out the United States’ strongest battleships, killing thousands of people, and destroying hundreds of planes (Sherman). The day after Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan. Over the next few years, the United States and Japan fought fierce battles for dominance in the Pacific Ocean. One of the most important battles during the United States and Japanese war was the Battle of Midway. Japan was destroying the United States at sea, until the Battle of Midway gave the United States Pacific Fleet an edge on Japanese forces. The Battle of Midway was the most important naval engagement of World War II: it was a decisive battle that allowed the United States to be the dominant naval power in the Pacific and it marked a turning point in World War II for the United States.
Initially, Japanese strategists assumed that the tiny island would be overwhelmed in a matter of hours. However, they underestimated the fighting spirit of the military personnel and civilians stationed on the island. For sixteen days these brave men fought against overwhelming odds, but demonstrated both to the Japanese and to their fellow Americans back at home that the Americans could and would put up a courageous fight.
of something big. This battle marked the being of the end of World War II.
This battle was the start of America taking control of the war over the Pacific. This battle took place six months after Japan first struck Pearl Harbor. Many historians say this was the greatest air battle of all time. America not only proved that numbers didn’t matter, but showed that only leaders with clear eyes and soldiers with heart can win a battle of any size. Even before the battle started, America saw his attack coming.
On December 7th 1941, Japanese Planes and submarines attacked the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor. This event singlehandedly brought the U.S from its then neutral stance in World War Two to a fighting member of the “Allied Powers.” Pearl Harbor was the first of a long series of confrontations between the U.S and the Japanese in an effort to gain control of the Pacific. Unlike the “War in Europe” the Pacific strategy was dominated by naval and aerial battles, with the occasional land-based “Island Hopping” Campaign. As such, one of the most important factors in the war in the pacific was Fleet Size, the more ships a country could send to war, the better. Pearl Harbor was the Japanese’s way of trying to deal with the massive U.S Pacific fleet. However, Pearl Harbor was not the turning point of the war. After December 7th the United States began work on numerous technological developments which would ultimately help them in one of the most important battles of WWII, the largest naval confrontation of the war, The Battle of Midway. The battle, which took place from June 4th to June 7th , 1942 is widely considered the turning point of the Pacific Theater (James & Wells). Through the Post-Pearl Harbor desire for “Revenge” and various technological advantages including code breaking and radar, the U.S were able to outsmart the Japanese at Midway and ultimately win the battle, eventually leading to a victory 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 battles with the Japanese to successfully employ combined striking power of the services and techniques of amphibious operations.
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, written by the talented author Chris Hedges, gives us provoking thoughts that are somewhat painful to read but at the same time are quite personal confessions. Chris Hedges, a talented journalist to say the least, brings nearly 15 years of being a foreign correspondent to this book and subjectively concludes how all of his world experiences tie together. Throughout his book, he unifies themes present in all wars he experienced first hand. The most important themes I was able to draw from this book were, war skews reality, dominates culture, seduces society with its heroic attributes, distorts memory, and supports a cause, and allures us by a constant battle between death and love.
This war involves a human side, including the admission of fear and scenes of domestic life, not in a sentimentalized version. This more complete and responsible depiction shows that there's not one single center to the war, just as there's not one single god for the Greeks.
Fuchida, Mitsuo, and Masatake Okumiya. Midway, the Battle That Doomed Japan; The Japanese Navy's Story. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute, 1955. Print.
World War II consisted of many devastating battles in both the European and the Pacific Theater. The Battle of Okinawa was fought in the Pacific theater. In the beginning of the battle there was little opposition from the Japanese soldiers but as the American troops traveled more inland the more resistance they met. Eventually, the 10th Army came against the fierce challenge of the intricate defense lines the Japanese held up. Many caves and pillboxes in the hills created a formidable challenge for American troops. Slowly though the Allies gained ground and continued to push back the defensive lines of General Ushijima and his troops. The Japanese tried to use kamikaze air and land attacks as successful offensive measures, these continued to produce little effect and failed each time. Finally, the Allies started to gain ground quite quickly. The Japanese had to move their defensive lines several time because the Americans were boxing them in. At las,t General Ushijima ordered everyman to fight till the death and the fighting became very disorganized. On June 21, all the loss ends were tied up. America had won Okinawa.
In August of 1944 the war in Europe was over and the face off between the United States and Japan had finally arrived. The United States had to choose between sending hundreds of thousands of US soldiers, to invade Japan killing and being killed by the hundreds of thousands, OR dropping a newly developed weapon called the atomic bomb on two cities in Japan which would result in tens of thousands of civilian lives with little cost to US servicemen. The only hope of ending the war quickly and honorably was to drop the bombs. Calls for surrender were ignored and the Japanese hierarchy, Okinawa and Iwo Jima had shown clearly what an invasion of Japan would be like. The decision was made, the bombs were dropped, the war was ended and both military and civilian lives were saved by both countries.
War has been around for centuries. From the time modern civilizations began, war has played an integral part in human history. It shaped the world into the modern world we live in. War has been said to be a great motivator, for example, the Great Wall of China was built to fend off the attackers from the north. However, the negative aspects of war far outweighs any positive effects it might have. The destruction of civilizations, cities and countries, mass killings of men, woman and children alike, the disastrous effect it has on economy and the after effects of war can last for centuries.