The Battle of Okinawa

The Battle of Okinawa was fought on the island of Okinawa in the Ryukyu islands which are located south of the four big islands of Japan. It was the largest amphibious assault during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was also the largest sea-land-air battle in history and lasted from April through June of 1945. Nobody expected it to be, but it was the last major battle of the war. The Americans were planning …

…had been going on for months before Okinawa) was far more effective at killing civilians than the atomic bombs and, had the Americans simply continued, or expanded this, the Japanese would likely have surrendered anyway. Nevertheless, the bombs were a powerful symbolic display of American power, and the Japanese capitulated, obviating the need for an invasion of the home islands. In 1945, Winston Churchill called the battle "among the most intense and famous in military history."