The Fighting Forces of Okinawa

If we are to understand the forces at play in the Battle of Okinawa, it first needs to be put in the context of the Pacific War as a whole. US grand strategy in the Pacific revolved around using their powerful fleet of aircraft carriers and battleships to launch attacks against key strategic positions within Japan’s Pacific Empire, known as the ‘Greater East Asia Prosperity Sphere’. The aim here was ‘unremitting pressure’ against the Japanese military, grinding down their forces and eventually forcing them to surrender. From late 1944, US military planners added the mass bombing of Japanese cities as part of this campaign. Military technology such as B-29 bombers, M47 oil gel