Okinawa 1945 The last battle

by ROTTMAN, GORDONGERRARD, HOWARD

• ISBN13: 9781855326071
• ISBN10: 1855326078
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-03-25
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

By the spring of 1945 the Allies were sweeping all before them in the Pacific War against Japan, and a series of victories had reclaimed many of the islands and territories seized by the Imperial Japanese forces in the early months of the war. The dark days of humiliating defeat were far behind the unstoppable Allied juggernaut - victory was now assured. The question was where the last battle would be fought. That place was the island of Okinawa. This book details the struggle for the island as US Marines and Army units battled determined Japanese defenders in the last battle of World War II.

Author Biography

Gordon L Rottman entered the US Army in 1967, volunteered for Special Forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. He was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group until reassigned to the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1969-70. A highly respected and established author, Gordon is now a civilian contract Special Operations Forces Intelligence Specialist at the Army's Joint Readiness Center, Ft Polk.

Table of Contents

Introduction	7	(10)
Planning Iceberg
Ryukyu Islands
CHRONOLOGY	17	(67)
Opposing Plans	18	(12)
The Japanese Plan
The American Plan
Opposing Commanders	30	(8)
American Commanders
Japanese Commanders
Opposing Forces	38	(13)
Task Force 51
US Army
US Marine Corps
US Tactical organization
Imperial Japanese Forces
Initial Operations	51	(10)
Preliminary Strikes
Initial Landings
Main Landing
Splitting the Island
The Offensive Continues	61	(15)
Tenth Army Advances
The Push North
Ie Shima Landings
The Assault on the Shuri Defences
The Japanese Counteroffensive
Action At Sea	76	(4)
Kamikaze Attacks
The Sinking of the Yamato
Seizing the South	80	(4)
Shuri Falls
The Push South
The Last Stand
Aftermath	84	(5)
The Battlefield Today	89	(1)
Order Of Battle	90	(4)
Further Reading	94	(1)
Index	95