Why was Okinawa a significant island in the war in the pacific?

Answer 1

For the first time in the war, the Americans were invading one of the Japanese home islands, rather than re-taking conquered territory. Japanese resistance had always been fierce, but inasmuch as this was Japanese soil, their determination was redoubled, leading to staggering casualties on both sides as well as the advent of the devastating Kamikaze attacks.

The outcome of the war had probably been decided ever since the Battle of Midway, but Okinawa symbolized that outcome playing itself out. Okinawa also became harbinger for what the American forces would face in their advance to Tokyo.

Answer 2

During World War II, from April to June 1945, the Battle of Okinawa was fought between Allied attackers and Japanese (and some native Okinawan) defenders. The reason for this battle was twofold: first, the Allies sought an advanced naval and air base from which to conduct further operations against Imperial Japan; second, the Japanese, rightly valuing the island as operationally significant, sought to deny this base to the Allies.

Answer 3

Okinawa demonstrated the first MASSED assaults by the Kamikaze pilots. The Kamikaze first showed up at the battle of Leyte Gulf in Oct 1944, but at Okinawa, they came by the hundreds. Okinawa also had the first successful Japanese use of the "Baka" bomb, a manned flying missile, launched from the belly of a Betty (medium) bomber. At least one US warship was sunk by that weapon. It was Okinawa that swayed the US leadership to use the A-bomb. Nova Net Final Test Answer: It was one of the bloodiest pacific battles of the war.

Answer 4

The Battle of Okinawa was important because the Okinawa island was a part of Japan so a victory there would me a part of Japan had been captured. Also the battle served as a lesson on how difficult invading Japan could be.

Answer 5

The fanatically stubborn defense of these two islands made by the Japanese was perhaps even more determined than what the Japanese had shown in earlier island battles. This confirmed US leaders in the belief that the closer Allied forces got to Japan, the more costly progress would be, and that invading the Home Islands of Japan would be a complete bloodbath. This belief in turn made dropping the atomic bombs to force Japan to surrender without the necessity of an invasion seem the least deadly way to end the war.

The two islands were not very important in themselves. Iwo Jima is small, only a few square miles, but it was a base for Japanese fighter planes which could attack American bombers going to and returning from Japan to their bases in the Marianas. Also the Japanese had a radio station there which could warn the Home Islands when an American bomber raid was on the way. So, taking the island eliminated this early warning system and the attacking Japanese planes, and provided a base for American fighters (which had a shorter range than bombers) to accompany the bombers to Japan. Iwo Jima was also important as an emergency landing field for US B-29 bombers experiencing mechanical trouble on the way to or from Japan, or damaged over Japan while bombing. It was a long flight to Japan round trip from the Marianas, all over water, so having this friendly base to resort to saved several thousand American fliers. About as many as the American Marines who died taking the island. The Japanese had 21,000 of their own marines defending the island, and just about all of them had to be killed, which took nearly six weeks, during which more than 6600 US Marines were killed.

There were only six divisions of US Marines in WWII, and all of them were in the Pacific. Three of them were chewed up taking Iwo Jima, and the other three were equally devastated taking Okinawa, where there were even more US Army troops involved than there were Marines. Okinawa was a much bigger island, only three hundred miles from the Home Islands. Politically it was part of the Tokyo Prefecturate, and so regarded by the Japanese as being a part of the Home Islands. It was the prewar home of the Japanese artillery school, and the Japanese Army was intimately familiar with every inch of it. It was the only island battleground in the Pacific outside the Philippines that was big enough that the US employed an entire field army to take it. The campaign lasted more than two months. Okinawa was very ominous in that it was the first time the Japanese had made use of large numbers of organized suicide units - Kamikazes - mostly planes, but also boats. These caused a lot of damage and death in the US Fleet off Okinawa, and were a portent of what Japan intended when the attack on the Home Islands was made.

Answer 6

It had drastic losses for American people, supplies, and ships. It was what they expected attacking Japan (the main island) would be like.

Answer 7

it was the last major battle of wwii.

Answer 8

It helped us win My dude.