The Battle of Okinawa began on 1 April, 1945 with the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific War. The United States, having “hopped” their way across the Pacific Ocean, planned to use the island as a base for an assault on the Japanese mainland.
The Okinawa campaign lasted 82 days, ending on 22 June, and witnessed some of the highest casualty rates of the war, across both combatants and civilians.
A key position
Okinawa is the largest of the Ryukyu Islands, located just 350 miles south of the Japanese mainland. The United States, believing an invasion of Japan would be necessary to end the Pacific War, needed to secure the island’s airfields to provide air support.