Why did the USA invade Okinawa instead of one of the many other islands in southern Japan
There are many other islands in southern Japan that seem large enough for B29 runways (the current runway is 2 miles). Why didn't the USA pick the island of least resistance? I'd assume Okinawa was the most fortified due to its size and local population.
world-war-two
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There are many other islands in southern Japan that seem large enough for B29 runways (the current runway is 2 miles). Why didn't the USA pick the island of least resistance? I'd assume Okinawa was the most fortified due to its size and local population.
world-war-two
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Sometimes you want to engage the enemy where they're strongest so that you kill the most people
– Richard
14 hours ago
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There are many other islands in southern Japan that seem large enough for B29 runways (the current runway is 2 miles). Why didn't the USA pick the island of least resistance? I'd assume Okinawa was the most fortified due to its size and local population.
world-war-two
asked 17 hours ago
philn
463
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There are many other islands in southern Japan that seem large enough for B29 runways (the current runway is 2 miles). Why didn't the USA pick the island of least resistance? I'd assume Okinawa was the most fortified due to its size and local population.
world-war-two
world-war-two
asked 17 hours ago
philn
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asked 17 hours ago
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asked 17 hours ago
philn
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asked 17 hours ago
philn
463
asked 17 hours ago
philn
463
463
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philn is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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New contributor
philn is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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2
Sometimes you want to engage the enemy where they're strongest so that you kill the most people
– Richard
14 hours ago
add a comment |
2
Sometimes you want to engage the enemy where they're strongest so that you kill the most people
– Richard
14 hours ago
2
2
Sometimes you want to engage the enemy where they're strongest so that you kill the most people
– Richard
14 hours ago
Sometimes you want to engage the enemy where they're strongest so that you kill the most people
– Richard
14 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
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The Allies weren't taking Okinawa for B-29 runways. They had plenty of those in the Mariana Islands. They wanted it as a base for the invasion of Japan, both for ships and shorter-ranged aircraft. Okinawa has harbours, and Kadena Air Base had already been built by the Japanese.
This required taking all of the Ryukyu Islands, and that's exactly what was done. The Battle of Okinawa is the famous part of this campaign, because the Japanese concentrated their resistance there, knowing that while they held the main island, the other islands would be of limited use. You can't set up mobile fleet bases while the enemy are still within artillery or small-boat attack range. The other islands in the group were taken comparatively easily, so the combats are not famous.
Source: Okinawa, 1945: Final Assault on the Empire, Simon Foster, 1996.
answered 16 hours ago
John Dallman
16.4k35278
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The Allies weren't taking Okinawa for B-29 runways. They had plenty of those in the Mariana Islands. They wanted it as a base for the invasion of Japan, both for ships and shorter-ranged aircraft. Okinawa has harbours, and Kadena Air Base had already been built by the Japanese.
This required taking all of the Ryukyu Islands, and that's exactly what was done. The Battle of Okinawa is the famous part of this campaign, because the Japanese concentrated their resistance there, knowing that while they held the main island, the other islands would be of limited use. You can't set up mobile fleet bases while the enemy are still within artillery or small-boat attack range. The other islands in the group were taken comparatively easily, so the combats are not famous.
Source: Okinawa, 1945: Final Assault on the Empire, Simon Foster, 1996.
answered 16 hours ago
John Dallman
16.4k35278
add a comment |
The Allies weren't taking Okinawa for B-29 runways. They had plenty of those in the Mariana Islands. They wanted it as a base for the invasion of Japan, both for ships and shorter-ranged aircraft. Okinawa has harbours, and Kadena Air Base had already been built by the Japanese.
This required taking all of the Ryukyu Islands, and that's exactly what was done. The Battle of Okinawa is the famous part of this campaign, because the Japanese concentrated their resistance there, knowing that while they held the main island, the other islands would be of limited use. You can't set up mobile fleet bases while the enemy are still within artillery or small-boat attack range. The other islands in the group were taken comparatively easily, so the combats are not famous.
Source: Okinawa, 1945: Final Assault on the Empire, Simon Foster, 1996.
answered 16 hours ago
John Dallman
16.4k35278
add a comment |
The Allies weren't taking Okinawa for B-29 runways. They had plenty of those in the Mariana Islands. They wanted it as a base for the invasion of Japan, both for ships and shorter-ranged aircraft. Okinawa has harbours, and Kadena Air Base had already been built by the Japanese.
This required taking all of the Ryukyu Islands, and that's exactly what was done. The Battle of Okinawa is the famous part of this campaign, because the Japanese concentrated their resistance there, knowing that while they held the main island, the other islands would be of limited use. You can't set up mobile fleet bases while the enemy are still within artillery or small-boat attack range. The other islands in the group were taken comparatively easily, so the combats are not famous.
Source: Okinawa, 1945: Final Assault on the Empire, Simon Foster, 1996.
answered 16 hours ago
John Dallman
16.4k35278
The Allies weren't taking Okinawa for B-29 runways. They had plenty of those in the Mariana Islands. They wanted it as a base for the invasion of Japan, both for ships and shorter-ranged aircraft. Okinawa has harbours, and Kadena Air Base had already been built by the Japanese.
This required taking all of the Ryukyu Islands, and that's exactly what was done. The Battle of Okinawa is the famous part of this campaign, because the Japanese concentrated their resistance there, knowing that while they held the main island, the other islands would be of limited use. You can't set up mobile fleet bases while the enemy are still within artillery or small-boat attack range. The other islands in the group were taken comparatively easily, so the combats are not famous.
Source: Okinawa, 1945: Final Assault on the Empire, Simon Foster, 1996.
answered 16 hours ago
John Dallman
16.4k35278
answered 16 hours ago
John Dallman
16.4k35278
answered 16 hours ago
John Dallman
16.4k35278
answered 16 hours ago
John Dallman
16.4k35278
16.4k35278
add a comment |
add a comment |
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2
Sometimes you want to engage the enemy where they're strongest so that you kill the most people
– Richard
14 hours ago