On this date in 1945....

In many ways the Pacific theater was more brutal than the fighting in Europe.

Eta 45

Okinawa is why I never had to eat Spam as a kid.

The old man had only cold Spam there for over a month and he never let it in the house.

When people asked why we dropped the atomic bomb, I always point them to this battle in response. The Japanese were a defeated foe yet fought like hell to expunge us from the island of Okinawa. The casualty lists are staggering. Between 14,000 and 20,000 Americans were killed during the battle (12,500 died in combat). Between 77,000 and 110,000 Japanese soldiers were killed defending the island. Another 100,000 to 150,000 Japanese civilians were killed in the crossfire. When you factor in all the wounded and missing, the casualty figures climb to about 500,000 combined casualties for the battle. And all of that to take an island just 70 miles in length.

I'd like to take a moment to remember the poster, Edward Teach. He was 19 during the Battle of Okinawa and stationed on a Navy ship just offshore. I enjoyed reading his posts about the vast armada of ships and his small part in the battle.

quote:

---

In many ways the Pacific theater was more brutal than the fighting in Europe.

---

Yes it was. But, if you look at the casualty rates of units in the ETO comparative to those those in the PTO, the surprising result is that units in the ETO in general suffered higher casualty rates than those in the PTO.

One contributing factor this was the composition of the Wehrmacht versus the Japanese Army and Naval Infantry. The Germans built and trained a modern combined arms army capable of conducting mobile operations on a strategic level. The Japanese on the other hand, had an army that was for all intents and purposes still stuck in a World War I mindset. Their’s was a foot infantry centered army with its few tank regiments spread out in an infantry role. Worse yet, the tanks they did have were woefully equipped to operate on a modern battlefield. Their tanks tended to be slow, under armored, and were equippped with low velocity cannons that were designed to engage bunkers, but not tanks. And even their towed anti-tank guns were obsolete.

And while this army served them well in the opening phase of the war when they faced ill-equipped and unprepared foes they’d caught by surprise, it spelled doom once America found it’s footing. Basically the only thing the Japanese land forces could do once engaged in a major battle with American forces was try to inflict as many casualties while they could until they were wiped out.

The Wehrmacht on the other hand proved on several occasions that it could both stop American forces and even inflict serious defeats like they did at Kassieren Pass and the initial phase of The Battle of the Bulge.

Someone should make a movie about Okinawa.

quote:

---

In many ways the Pacific theater was more brutal than the fighting in Europe.

---

There was a racial element involved that wasn’t really present in Europe (except anti-semitism). A lot of Americans in Europe were German descendants, Irish, Polish etc. It was fairly homogenous. The Pacific had two alien worlds clash. The Japanese believed they were superior. They saw everyone else as lesser. The Americans were pissed off about a bunch of funny looking Japs bombing Pearl Harbor and showing brutality to their friends. The inhumanity displayed on both sides was truly appalling. War is hell.

Grandpa was in Hawaii healing up from being shot on Tinian.