I had the topics of the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa
Battle of Iwo Jima
The island of Iwo Jima was off the southern coast of Japan in the Pacific Ocean.
The Japanese had a unique strategy for this battle. The Japanese spent the entirety of the battle underground and in rooms that were dug into rocky cliffs and hills.The rooms were connected by tunnels that stretched 16 miles. Each Japanese soldier was to kill at least 10 Americans before they themselves were killed. There were to be no Japanese survivors.
The US invasion began with a long and ferocious bombing of the island. This bombing was the longest aerial offensive of the war for the US. However, because the Japanese were dug in, the bombing runs had almost no effect at all. The US sent in 110,000 Marines--the largest invading force of the war. They were carried over in 880 ships.
The US kept up bombing runs along with heavy fire from the naval ships. Finally the order was given to land the troops. There the Marines ran into a problem. They couldn't dig foxholes because the ground was mostly loose volcanic ash. They were constantly exposed and in range of Japanese soldiers and heavy weapons. The Japanese had the clear visual advantage. Marines rarely saw a live Japanese soldier, and the Japanese could see the entire invading force at all times.
The US forces inched forward and gained the upper hand by increasing use of frag grenades, flamethrowers and napalm. They finally won after 36 days of fighting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima
Battle of Okinawa
The island of Okinawa is located between Taiwan and Japan's southwestern coast.
Okinawa was the largest invasion the US staged in the Pacific Front. This battle proved to be the bloodiest battle in the Pacific War, with US casualties totaling about 50,000 wounded or killed. The Japanese suffered over 200,000 casualties, combining military and civilian.
The US assembled a massive naval fleet of over 1,300 ships that surrounded the island. About 182,000 soldiers were prepared to invade on April 1, 1945. The Japanese did not defend the beaches, but instead dug into caves and tunnels on high ground to get away from the Allies' superior navy and air force.
As time went on and the Japanese were pushed back, they eventually started using large groups of kamikaze planes to damage and sink US ships. There was a plan to load boats with high explosives and use them to destroy more ships, but the plan was not carried out.
The largest Japanese warship, Yamato, beached itself and fought on shore. The ship had a lot of firepower, but the Japanese fleet was badly depleted at this time and so it received little support. It was destroyed a day later by US air strikes. It was the last naval action the Japanese took.
The battle finally ended on September 7, 1945 after a document was signed at present-day Kadena Air Base.
Both of these battles were major US victories in the Pacific Front. However, the human cost of each of these battles, especially Okinawa, is what caused the US to make the decision to drop the atomic bombs to end the war in the Pacific.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_okinawa.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/okinawa-battle.htm
Comments
Well done Jacob!