A001 THE ROCK TANK OKINAWA

Battle for Okinawa Battle of Okinawa) was fought between April 1 and June 21, 1945. It was carried out as part of an operation code-named Iceberg. Throughout the course of the battle (sometimes called the Okinawa campaign), approximately 548,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen were directly or indirectly involved on the American side. About 130,000 people fought on the Japanese side - in land, sea and air forces. The main goal of the fighting was to get the best possible base before the landing operation already in the home Japanese Islands, as well as to capture the best possible base for strategic bombers. The first days of fighting brought some successes to the American side, the greatest of which was the sinking of the battleship Yamato, which was going to help the island's defenders. However, relatively quickly, the fighting in Okinawa turned out to be a battle with an opponent who was well prepared for defense, who was still fighting in a fanatical manner, and what was more - he fought in the field that was favorable to him. From late May, the Americans also had to contend with monsoon rains, which slowed down the pace of the attack even further. The American side finally won, but suffered relatively high losses - a minimum of about 12,000 killed and - according to various estimates - from 38,000 to 55,000 wounded and seriously ill. On the other hand, the Japanese side lost the entire garrison defending the island. It is worth adding that the Americans managed to take at least 7,000 prisoners.