The Battle of Okinawa

The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg took place in an eighty-two day period. The battle began on April 1, 1945 and ended on June 22, 1945. The battle took place in Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa. It was described as a very violent battle, and was the largest amphibian to land invasion in the Pacific theater of World War II. The Americans planned to defeat the rest of the Japanese navy and take control of the airstrip on the island. The airstrip would allow for the planes to bomb the nearby country of Japan easily and efficiently. The island was also a key priority for the United States in the planned, Operation Downfall, which was a planned invasion of the Japanese mainland. The Battle of Okinawa was not only fought on land, but at sea and in the air. The United States Navy was shelling the island and also fighting off enemy aircraft. It was one of the first times that the Japanese fighter pilots used the Kamikaze option heavily, the United States Navy suffered the most casualties in this battle than any other. The Americans lost roughly 5,000 troops while the Japanese lost about 107,000 troops in the Battle of Okinawa. By the end of the eighty-two day battle the Americans declared the island secure.