A report on Battle of Okinawa

US Marine from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines on Wana Ridge provides covering fire with his Thompson submachine gun, 18 May 1945.
A map of US operations at Okinawa
Tekketsu Kinnōtai child soldiers on Okinawa
The battleship USS Idaho (BB-42) shelling Okinawa on 1 April 1945
Generals Mitsuru Ushijima, Isamu Chō and other officers of the Thirty-Second Army in Okinawa, April 1945
US Marine reinforcements wade ashore to support the beachhead on Okinawa, 1 April 1945.
A 6th Marine Division demolition crew watches explosive charges detonate and destroy a Japanese cave, May 1945.
US Marines pass a dead Japanese soldier in a destroyed village, April 1945.
American soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division listen impassively to radio reports of Victory in Europe Day on 8 May 1945.
Soldiers of the 96th Infantry Division attack Japanese positions on Big Apple Ridge.
Lt. Col. Richard P. Ross Jr., commander of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines braves sniper fire to place the United States' colors over the parapets of Shuri Castle on 30 May. This flag was first raised over Cape Gloucester and then Peleliu.
A Japanese prisoner of war sits behind barbed wire after he and 306 others were captured within the last 24 hours of the battle by 6th Marine Division.
Two US Coast Guardsmen pay homage to their comrade killed in the Ryukyu Islands.
Two wounded American soldiers make their way to a medical aid station on Okinawa, 20 April 1945.
Two US M4 Sherman tanks knocked out by Japanese artillery at Bloody Ridge, 20 April 1945
The last picture of US Army Lt. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. (right), taken on 18 June 1945. Later in the day, he was killed by Japanese artillery fire.
The last picture of US Army Brig. Gen. Claudius Miller Easley, taken on 19 June 1945. He was later killed by Japanese machine-gun fire.
A group of Japanese prisoners taken on the island of Okuku in June 1945
A US Marine Corps Stinson Sentinel observation plane flies over the razed Naha, capital of Okinawa, in May 1945.
Two US Marines share a foxhole with an Okinawan war orphan in April 1945.
Overcoming the civilian resistance on Okinawa was aided by US propaganda leaflets, one of which is being read by a prisoner awaiting transport.
The Cornerstone of Peace Memorial with names of all military and civilians from all countries who died in the Battle of Okinawa
Marines celebrate Victory over Japan Day on Okinawa, August 1945
Japanese commanders of Okinawa (photographed early in February 1945). In center: (1) Admiral Minoru Ota, (2) Lt. Gen. Mitsuru Ushijima, (3) Lt. Gen. Isamu Cho, (4) Col. Hitoshi Kanayama, (5) Col. Kikuji Hongo, and (6) Col. Hiromichi Yahara
Japanese soldiers arriving on Okinawa
Japanese high school girls wave farewell to a kamikaze pilot departing to Okinawa
A US military diagram of typical Japanese hill defensive tunnels and installations
A Japanese Type 89 150mm gun hidden inside a cave defensive system
A map of Okinawa's airfields, 1945
The super battleship {{Ship|Japanese battleship|Yamato||2}} explodes after persistent attacks from US aircraft.
American aircraft carrier {{USS|Bunker Hill|CV-17|6}} burns after being hit by two kamikaze planes within 30 seconds.
Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Avengers, Seafires and Fireflies on {{HMS|Implacable|R86|6}} warm up their engines before taking off.
{{HMS|Formidable|67|6}} on fire after a kamikaze attack on May 4. The ship was out of action for fifty minutes.

Major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA).

- Battle of Okinawa
US Marine from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines on Wana Ridge provides covering fire with his Thompson submachine gun, 18 May 1945.

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A class of Himeyuri students prior to mobilisation.

Himeyuri students

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A class of Himeyuri students prior to mobilisation.
The entrance to a cave where several dozen Himeyuri students died on June 19, 1945
The Himeyuri Monument in Itoman, Okinawa

The Himeyuri students (ひめゆり学徒隊), sometimes called "Lily Corps" in English, was a group of 222 students and 18 teachers of the Okinawa Daiichi Women's High School and Okinawa Shihan Women's School formed into a nursing unit for the Imperial Japanese Army during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.

Crest of the Royal New Zealand Navy

Royal New Zealand Navy

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Maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force.

Maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force.

Crest of the Royal New Zealand Navy
HMNZS Leander and USS St. Louis fire on Jintsu
HMNZS Royalist in Waitemata Harbour, 1956
RNZN ships, Cook Strait, 2011
Offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington
The multi-role vessel Canterbury with the frigate Te Kaha in the background
RNZN frigate and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the North Arabian Sea during Operation Enduring Freedom
A boarding team from HMNZS Te Mana during the ship's deployment to the Gulf of Oman in 2004
White Ensign 1945–1968
White Ensign 1968–present
Queen's Colour of the Royal New Zealand Navy

They took part in the Battle of Okinawa and operations in the Sakishima Islands, near Japan.

Allied island-hopping campaign 1943–1945: Blue – Japanese-held territory Aug. 1945 Dark red – Allied territory Red – Occupied Nov. 1943 Dark pink – Occupied Apr. 1944 Pink – Occupied Oct. 1944 Light pink – Occupied Aug. 1945

Leapfrogging (strategy)

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Military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against the Empire of Japan during World War II.

Military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against the Empire of Japan during World War II.

Allied island-hopping campaign 1943–1945: Blue – Japanese-held territory Aug. 1945 Dark red – Allied territory Red – Occupied Nov. 1943 Dark pink – Occupied Apr. 1944 Pink – Occupied Oct. 1944 Light pink – Occupied Aug. 1945

MacArthur said his version of leapfrogging was different from what he called island hopping, which was the style favored by the Central Pacific Area commanded by Admiral Chester Nimitz that favored direct assaults on heavily defended beaches and islands leading to massive casualties for such small parcels of land like at Tarawa, Peleliu, Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.

Mississippi anchored off New York City circa 1918

USS Mississippi (BB-41)

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The third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 20th state.

The third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 20th state.

Mississippi anchored off New York City circa 1918
A Sopwith Camel takes off from Mississippi, 6 April 1919
Mississippi supporting Lingayen Gulf landing. USS West Virginia and HMAS Shropshire are in the background.
USS Mississippi firing a Terrier missile

She shelled Japanese forces during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands and the Philippines campaigns and the invasions of Peleliu and Okinawa.

Shield of the Fifth Air Force

Fifth Air Force

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Numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF).

Numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF).

Shield of the Fifth Air Force
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Fifth U.S. Air Force Zones of Responsibility, 1945–1947
Fifth Air Force photographic analyst elucidates the location of enemy flak batteries to plan fighter-bomber attacks, 1952
North American F-86F-25-NH Sabres of the 4th FIW over Korea. Serial 52-5346 identifiable
Incoming Fifth Air Force commander, Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp receives the command guidon from Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, commander of the Pacific Air Forces, on 26 August 2021.

Fifth Air Force engaged the Japanese again in the Philippines campaign (1944–45) as well as in the Battle of Okinawa (1945).

Ernie Pyle in 1945

Ernie Pyle

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Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist and war correspondent who is best known for his stories about ordinary American soldiers during World War II.

Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist and war correspondent who is best known for his stories about ordinary American soldiers during World War II.

Ernie Pyle in 1945
Ernie Pyle birthplace in Dana, Indiana
Pyle with a crew from the US Army's 191st Tank Battalion at the Anzio beachhead in 1944
Pyle at Anzio, Italy, 1944
Pyle shares a cigarette with soldiers on Okinawa
Ernie Pyle shortly after being killed on Iejima, April 18, 1945
Ernie Pyle funeral
The Ernie Pyle Memorial on Iejima, Japan
Pyle's headstone at Memorial Cemetery in Honolulu
The Ernie Pyle Boeing B-29
The Ernie Pyle Library in Albuquerque

He was killed by enemy fire on Iejima (then known as Ie Shima) during the Battle of Okinawa.

The light aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23) on fire, east of Luzon, on 24 October 1944

Battle of Leyte Gulf

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The largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved.

The largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved.

The light aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23) on fire, east of Luzon, on 24 October 1944
The four main actions in the Battle of Leyte Gulf: 1 Battle of the Sibuyan Sea 2 Battle of Surigao Strait 3 Battle off Cape Engaño 4 Battle off Samar. Leyte Gulf is north of 2 and west of 4. The island of Leyte is west of the gulf.
departing Brunei in October 1944 for the Battle of Leyte Gulf
hit by a bomb near her forward gun turret in the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944
USS Princeton (CVL-23) explodes at 15:23
Musashi under aerial bombardment
The Battle of Surigao Strait
USS West Virginia (BB-48) firing on the Japanese fleet
The Battle off Samar
USS St. Lo (CVE-63) exploding after a kamikaze strike.
The Japanese aircraft carriers, left, and (probably) come under attack by dive bombers early in the Battle off Cape Engaño.
The crew of salute as the flag is lowered on the listing carrier after an airstrike. She was the last carrier participating in the attack on Pearl Harbor to be sunk.
Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey – Commander U.S. Third Fleet at Leyte Gulf
A 60th-anniversary memorial ceremony in Palo, Leyte, Philippines, on 20 October 2004
The Battle of Surigao Strait Memorial in Surigao City, Philippines.

Finally, the loss of Leyte opened the way for the invasion of the Ryukyu Islands in 1945.

Hagushi

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Located in Yomitan, Okinawa.

Located in Yomitan, Okinawa.

Hagushi landing

Hagushi bay was the primary unloading point for American supplies during the invasion of Okinawa during World War II.

Shoulder sleeve insignia for FMF-PAC Signal troops which was utilized by early reconnaissance units.

United States Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion

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Specialized team of Marines and Navy Corpsmen that performed clandestine preliminary pre–D-Day amphibious reconnaissance of planned beachheads and their littoral area within uncharted enemy territory for the joint-Navy/Marine force commanders of the Pacific Fleet during World War II.

Specialized team of Marines and Navy Corpsmen that performed clandestine preliminary pre–D-Day amphibious reconnaissance of planned beachheads and their littoral area within uncharted enemy territory for the joint-Navy/Marine force commanders of the Pacific Fleet during World War II.

Shoulder sleeve insignia for FMF-PAC Signal troops which was utilized by early reconnaissance units.
Recon of Apamama Atolls, VAC AmphibRecon Company, 11– 15 August 1942.

L-Day was set for April 1, 1945.

Advance of American XXIV Corps showing approximate Japanese positions north of Shuri, April 1945

Cactus Ridge

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Advance of American XXIV Corps showing approximate Japanese positions north of Shuri, April 1945

In the Battle of Okinawa, Cactus Ridge was the name U.S. forces gave to a rise of land approximately 600 yd southeast of Mashiki, Okinawa which commanded much of the ground between Uchitomari and Oyama, both of which lie along Highway No. 1. The defense of Cactus Ridge to the west, and The Pinnacle to the east, marked the start of resistance by Japanese land forces on Okinawa.