NAVAL BATTLE OF OKINAWA Naval Battle of Okinawa

1. Types of Engagements. No major surface ship to ship engagements occurred. Ever since the Japanese Navy had suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Leyte Gulf on October 20, 1944, its "battle fleet had nearly reached the end of the road" and its "surviving battleships and carriers were holed up in port," harassed by American air attacks and forced to conserve fuel cut off by American submarine attacks on Japanese merchant shipping. The major engagements involved: (1) the defense of the American carrier task forces, supporting warships, supply and landing craft against attacks by Japanese land based aircraft, including special suicide or kamikaze attack units, submarines and some small naval craft through the use of radar, shipboard anti-aircraft, fighter cover, fire control and anti-submarine measures; and (2) the sinking by American carrier-based aircraft of the world's largest battleship, Yamato, and its flotilla of one cruiser and eight destroyers 70 miles east of Okinawa. Other engagements included carrier and land-based American air raids on Japanese airfields and shipping in Japan, Formosa, the China coast and Okinawa; the launching and logistic support of preliminary landings on Kerema Retto and other smaller islands and the main landing on Apr

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nes in early 1945, "Ushijima was now left in no doubt that his sizeable [100,000] but depleted garrison was to be sacrificed and was in essence part of a delaying action." The Imperial Navy, however, was more offensive minded. Vice-Admiral Takajiro Onishi, who founded the first kamikaze force which went into operation in the Philippines in October 1944, "believed that two dozen lucky Japanese pilots could stem the whole American advance by sinking its big carrier." The slim chance the Japanese strategy had of succeeding was based on the reality that Allied "naval forces would have to stand off Okinawa and remain within striking range of a vast concentration of Japanese air power." 2. Tactics of both sides. The Americans used the same tactics on Okinawa that had served them well in their island-hopping offensive across the central Pacific. Because of Okinawa's size, larger forces, up to 186,000 troops, were available, most of whom were fed into the unfolding war of attrition. Extensive use was made of flame throwers and explosive satchels in rooting the Japanese out of the natural and man-made caves and tunnel emplacements which honeycombed the island. General Buckner, who was killed in action, was criticized by the Navy and M
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Gulf October, Japanese Allied, Strategy American, Task Force, Logistics Americans, Geography Okinawa, China Formosa, Navy Marines, Jima Okinawa, Middle Ages, war ii, battle okinawa, world war ii, world war, japanese navy, navy world war, air attacks, japanese air, japanese navy world, navy world, task force, institute press, ii 2d ed, press 1986, annapolis naval institute,
Approximate Word count = 3368
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)

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