Battle of Okinawa

A major World War II battle fought on Okinawa from April to June 1945 between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan. It was the largest amphibious operation of the Pacific War and caused heavy military and civilian casualties.

Operation Iceberg: The Allied campaign to capture Okinawa and nearby islands in 1945. This was the operational plan that brought Allied forces to Okinawa.
Okinawa civilian casualties: The deaths and injuries suffered by Okinawan civilians during the 1945 battle. Civilians endured mass death amid combat, displacement, and coercive wartime policies.
Pacific War: The conflict between Japan and the Allied powers across the Asia-Pacific region from 1941 to 1945. Okinawa was a late, major campaign in the Pacific War.
Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr.: A U.S. Army general who commanded the Tenth Army during the Battle of Okinawa. He directed Allied ground forces and was killed near the battle’s end.
Naval Battle of Okinawa: The naval operations around Okinawa during the 1945 Allied campaign. The fleet faced sustained air attacks while supporting the island invasion.
Tenth United States Army: A U.S. Army command that fought in the Pacific during World War II. It led the principal Allied ground campaign on Okinawa.
United States casualties of World War II: The military deaths and injuries suffered by the United States during World War II. Okinawa produced exceptionally high U.S. casualties in the Pacific theater.
Island hopping: A U.S. strategy of capturing selected Pacific islands while bypassing others during World War II. The campaign extended the Allied advance toward Japan’s home islands.
Roy Geiger: A U.S. Marine Corps general who assumed command of the Tenth Army after Buckner’s death. He led the final Allied ground operations on Okinawa.
Ten-Go operation: Japan’s 1945 suicide naval sortie, centered on the battleship Yamato, toward Okinawa. The operation was a final attempt to disrupt the Allied campaign by sea.

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