Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II

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I'VE READ BETTER - BUT THIS WAS A EASY READ

Why no maps?

A summary history of the Battle for Okinawa.

The "Rock"

okinowa,the last battle

Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II
Robert Leckie
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
General | World War II | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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Customer Reviews:

I'VE READ BETTER - BUT THIS WAS A EASY READ.......2005-11-01

I was just a bit disappointed with this particular work. The only words I can use, off the top of my head are "thin" and "shallow." Fortunately, this was a fast and very easy read and was worth the small effort it took to read. As pointed out by other reviewers, there were no maps! It is difficult, if not impossible to glean helpful information in reference to battle with out them. There were many, many aspects of this particular battle which were briefly touched upon, but nothing in depth. Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of this work is the fact that while I can complain about lack of information, etc. which is not really all that important, the true wonderful men who fought this battle, I feel, are quite short changed here. They, the men, deserve better. I suppose I can recommend this one if you want a brief overview, but other works should certainly be read and pondered.

Why no maps?.......2004-04-06

Okinawa
The Last Battle of World War II Robert Leckie

The author describes in detail the various battles using landmarks on maps. Unfortunately, the book has not a single map. If you want to read this book, get your own detailed map of Okinawa to try and follow along.

The author at the end tries to say that Truman thought the use of the a bomb was a mistake using a letter he wrote to his sister at the time saying that the decision to bomb was a terrible decision. Obviously, the decision was terrible. He knew that many thousands would die. The decision was not a mistake however, and Truman never said that it was.

As the Author points out, Okinawa was a compromise between what Adm King wanted, which was an invasion of Formosa, and Okinawa. Formosa had 3 times as many Japs defending it. King agreed, as Okinawa would also would provide a jumping off point, but to Kings chagrin, was not nearly as close to China, which King also wanted to help.
Casualty estimates to attack Formosa were 150,000 Americans, much too costly.
With Saipan taken, Iwo Jima and Okinawa were natural stepping stones to Japan. Taking Okinawa would also cut off the supply line of oil to Japan.
Okinawa was to be the jumping off point for the invasion of Japan in the fall of 1945.

The island was fortified and was made of coral. The Japs would also use the kamikaze for the first time in large numbers. The author spends a long time discussing the history and use of the kamikaze flyer. He discussed the Jap generals in charge of the defense of Okinawa. The kamikazes destroyed a bunch of Navy ships. Each is detailed by the author.
The force invading was larger than the D Day invasion force in terms of ocean going ships, Navy firepower, tonnage, and numbers of troops invading. Ike had 150,000 troops invading, Gen Buckner had 184,000 invading. Kelly Turner was the Navy man in charge of getting the troops to shore. He had a habit of trying to manage the assault force after it got ashore too, and caused a bunch of fights with the Marine officer. Turner had screwed up the Guadalcanal invasion causing a bunch of Marines to be killed, so the Marines were not happy to have him in charge again.17 carriers were used.
Okinawa was pounded for several days by the ships as they did not want to make the same mistake as at Iwo, which only 2 days bombardment by the ships left many Jap fortifications and Japs alive to kill Marines when they came ashore.
Several medals of honor were won by the Navy, Marines, and Army.
The Japs did not defend the beaches, so it was a couple of days before they came upon the enemy lines.
The largest battleship afloat, then or now, the Yamato, made a one way kamikaze trip from Japan to try and use her 18 inch guns to stop the landings, but was sunk on its way there. It was hit by sub torpedoes, as well as by bombs and torpedoes from American Navy planes. The ships escorting her were also sunk.
The death of Ernie Pyle is described.
The battle of Kakazu ridge is discussed in detail
The Japs mostly defended from fortified positions. When they came out for Banzai charges, they were slaughtered by the Americans.
Two ammunition ships were lost to kamikazes on April 6, and the loss of the ammo was felt for a long time.
Hodge made and attack and was hurled back by the Japs.
The air force and Navy both attacked the kamikaze air bases.
Army Gen Buckner, in charge of the Okinawa operation did not give the Marines a chance to make a behind the lines invasion that could have stopped the fighting a lot sooner. The Marines were not suffering the ammunition shortage the Army was, and could have done the invasion.
The Navy was getting tired of Buckner's slow progress, and they wished that Marine Gen Holland Smith was in charge. The quicker the invasion was over, the quicker the navy ships could move out of range of the kamikazes.
Adm Nimitz had loaned some of his ships to MacArthur, and wanted them back, but Mac refused, saying they were being used. Mac had invented a task for the ships so that he did not have to return them.
May 7, an attack started and continued for days. Finally the Jap lines broke and the Jap generals killed themselves.
According to the author, the capture of Okinawa finally convinced Emperor Hirohito that the Japs had lost the war. He now would help the peace group trying to find a way to stop the war.

A summary history of the Battle for Okinawa........2004-01-31

I have many of Leckie's books about American history. His books are average reads generally. In this book, Leckie details the last battle of World War II and why Okinawa was picked as an island to be invaded by the Marines and U.S. Army. At a little over two hundred pages, it is an easy read and one can understand the ferocious fight that developed between the Americans and Japanese.
Five chapters of this book deal with the kamikazes and the effects on the U.S. Navy. Only four pages deal with the attack on the Yamato, which I believe was a significant event of the battle for the island. The rest of the book concerns the desperate struggle for the island and the death or capture of the Japanese forces. As a previous reviewer has noted, some of battles for the island have been shorted or left out in this summary history. Leckie does include some interesting details, such as the fact 10,000 Japanese soldiers surrendered rather than commit suicide.
This is an average read about a great battle. Leckie provides a lot of upfront history prior to explaining the great battle over the island, and this might lessen the interest of those who want to read about the subject of the book. Operation Iceberg is a more detailed book about this battle.

The "Rock".......2001-06-27

I read this book while my husband (with his family in tow) was stationed at Butler on Okinawa. We lived on Kinser, visited the ER on Lester, shopped at Courtney, Foster & Kadena (ect.), and visited every base on the Island over the 3 years we were there.

I thought Leckies books was both powerful & noble in the telling of the Battle for Okinawa. I could actually SEE the battle as my family & I visited memorials and battle sites. Leckie's book brought it all to life for me.

Here's something of intrest for all those who read Mr. Leckie's book; The Camp Kinser Commissary is built on the site of a former temp. cemetery for those who died in the battle for Sugar Loaf Hill. There wasn't a trip for groceries at Kinser that I wasn't reminded why my Marine was on Oki.

okinowa,the last battle.......2000-04-24

I have read this book...The author was not on Okinawa, but mydad was and the book falls short in telling of the horror.This battlewas for naught,the men killed for nothing,the war was over soonafter,the men not knowing this fought like it was the last battle.Unfortunately for the dead it was,for the living a nightmare.Every man came home scarred in some way,the Japanese fought to the death,100,000 of them died.It was the bloodiest battle of the war in every way.Leckie borrows some pictures and uses notes from others to make a buck...lest we forget! END

Okinawa 1945: The Last Battle (Campaign)

Average customer rating:

Too much detail and not enough context
Too much detail and not enough context
One of the Best of the Campaign Series

Okinawa 1945: The Last Battle (Campaign)
Gordon Rottman
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1855326078
Release Date: 2002-03-25

Book Description

By the spring of 1945 the Allies were sweeping all before them in the Pacific War against Japan, and a series of victories had reclaimed many of the islands and territories seized by the Imperial Japanese forces in the early months of the war. The dark days of humiliating defeat were far behind the unstoppable Allied juggernaut - victory was now assured. The question was where the last battle would be fought. That place was the island of Okinawa. This book details the struggle for the island as US Marines and Army units battled determined Japanese defenders in the last battle of World War II.

Customer Reviews:

Too much detail and not enough context.......2002-11-01

Okinawa 1945: The Last Battle (Campaign, 96)by Gordon Rottman is packed full of details concerning the Okinawa landings. If one wants to merely know about troop movements then this is the book for you. However, the battle was about more than troop movments. As, such Rottman's book seems sterile. Thie is espically true after reading Ospery's other books about the War in the Pacific, espically Iwo Jima and Tarawa.

What is missing from the book is any context for the battle or any notion that men fought the battle. Okinawa was the last major battle of the War and resulted in a devesting loss of life. Rottman cites the statistics, but in order to understand the battle mere statistics are insufficent. The Ospery format certainly limits the ability of Rottman to move beyond the basics of the battle. However, the books on Iwo Jima and Tarawa prove that it can be done.

Too much detail and not enough context.......2002-11-01

Okinawa 1945: The Last Battle (Campaign, 96)by Gordon Rottman is packed full of details concerning the Okinawa landings. If one wants to merely know about troop movements then this is the book for you. However, the battle was about more than troop movements. As, such Rottman's book seems sterile. This is especially true after reading Ospery's other books about the War in the Pacific, especially Iwo Jima and Tarawa.

What is missing from the book is any context for the battle or any notion that men fought the battle. Okinawa was the last major battle of the War and resulted in a devesting loss of life. Rottman cites the statistics, but in order to understand the battle mere statistics are insufficient. The Ospery format certainly limits the ability of Rottman to move beyond the basics of the battle. However, the books on Iwo Jima and Tarawa prove that it can be done.

One of the Best of the Campaign Series.......2002-05-02

Former Green Beret Gordon L. Rottman provides an excellent summary of America's last great amphibious invasion of the Second World War in Osprey's Campaign #96, Okinawa 1945. Quite simply, this is one of the better titles in Osprey's campaign series and shows that it is possible to pack a great deal about a major military operation into a 96-page format. This book is particularly useful as a case study for military officers, thanks to the author's attention to many pertinent details that escape most civilian authors. Overall, Okinawa 1945 is a "must-have" for anyone interested in the later stages of the Pacific War.

Although Rottman follows the standard Osprey campaign format, the opening chapters of this volume are far more in-depth than virtually all the other titles in the series. An 11-page introduction covers the history and terrain of Okinawa, as well as the American strategic debate about whether to invade Okinawa or Formosa. The section on opposing plans is also quite detailed, totaling 10 pages. Seven pages are used to cover opposing high-level commanders on both sides. Another 12 pages are used to cover opposing forces, including succinct but detailed discussions of tactical organization and strength and weaknesses of each major unit. Pertinent characteristics are included; such as each US Army division in the invasion was about 1,000 infantrymen under strength due to a shortage of replacements and the fact that one of the two Japanese divisions on the island had no organic artillery. Taken together, Rottman provides a far more detailed introduction to the campaign than any other Osprey title, by spending fully 52% of the volume on the background material. Unfortunately, the strength of the introduction leads to the weakness of the main campaign narrative that - while good - is overly succinct. The invasion itself is covered in 33 pages: sections on the initial landings, the continuing offensive, actions at sea, and the push southward. There are three color battle scenes: Japanese suicide boats at Naha, Marines reducing a bunker and the virtual annihilation of the US 193rd Tank Battalion on 19 April 1945. There are a total of five 2-D maps (strategic situation, Okinawa, the initial landings, the Ie Shima assault, and the withdrawal of the 32nd Army)and three 3-D "Birds Eye View" maps (the Japanese counteroffensive on May 4-6, 1945, the Battle for Sugar Loaf Hill, and the final stand in the south). The author also effectively uses footnotes at the end of each section to provide additional details.

Okinawa 1945 has a great many strengths. The author's discussion of terrain and weather (e.g. the impact of rain on operations) greatly enhances the reader's appreciation for the operational environment. Rottman also makes very good use of statistics, particularly concerning military and civilian casualties. For example, I was unaware that 153 of 354 American tanks used on Okinawa were knocked out by the Japanese - a 43% loss rate for US armor. Nor was I aware that fully one-third of Okinawa's civilian population died in the campaign. The author also covers the challenges of civil-military operations (CMO); the US military had to screen and care for over 285,000 indigenous civilians on Okinawa. The introduction of some new weapons - such as the American 75mm recoilless rifles is discussed, as well as how both sides adapted their tactics based upon lessons learned from previous island battles. In particular, the Japanese adoption of defense-in-depth and attritional tactics allowed the Americans to get ashore at low cost, but provided the basis for a bloody, protracted campaign. Finally, the author provides a superb order of battle for both sides, including information on support units such as signal, engineer, medical, quartermaster, and MPs. Even the US Marine Corps' three canine platoons are included.

The only real disadvantage of Okinawa 1945 - which is the overly short shrift given to the main battles on the Shuri Line - is not the author's fault, but rather due to Osprey's size limits. The last six weeks of the campaign are covered in about six pages, which leaves room for only a bare-bones account. No eyewitness accounts are incorporated into the campaign narrative, which could have been used to add intensity and grunt-level perspective. Otherwise, the campaign seems just like flags moving on a map, without real soldiers bleeding and dying. The maps are also a bit inadequate, particularly since no map depicts the initial battles or dispositions on the Machinato Line. The question of General Buckner's operational plans is also studiously avoided; over 7,600 Americans died on Okinawa and the question should have been raised if these losses were excessive. Due to the Japanese concentration of most of their forces in the south of the island, Buckner was able to land his troops and occupy the vital airfields and more than two-thirds of the island at the cost of fewer than 500 dead. The Americans came to Okinawa to get the airfields and they succeeded in seizing them at very low cost. Was it really necessary to engage the remaining Japanese garrison - hopelessly trapped in one corner of the island - in a bloody attritional battle for over 80 days? With so many Japanese garrisons bypassed across the Pacific, it seems odd that Buckner never considered sealing the Japanese 32nd Division off and slowly reducing them to impotence by bombardment and starvation. Particularly given the fact that the Joint Chiefs of Staff knew of the impending Atomic Bomb raids, it seems odd that so many American leaders would endorse an attritional battle like Okinawa at this stage of the war.

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The Ultimate Battle: Okinawa 1945--The Last Epic Struggle of World War II
Bill Sloan
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
General | United States | Military | History | Subjects | Books
General | World War II | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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Book Description

The Ultimate Battle is the full story of the last great clash of World War II as it has never before been told. With the same "grunt's-eye-view" narrative style that distinguished his Brotherhood of Heroes (on the Battle of Peleliu), Bill Sloan presents a gripping and uniquely personal saga of heroism and sacrifice in which at least 115,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen from both sides were killed, as were nearly 150,000 civilians caught in the crossfire or encouraged to commit suicide by Japanese troops.

It is a story set against a panorama of more than 1,500 American ships, nearly two thousand Japanese kamikazes sworn to sink those ships, and two huge armies locked in a no-quarter struggle to the death -- the 541,000 GIs and Marines of the U.S. Tenth Army, and Japan's 110,000-man 32nd Army. Woven into the broader narrative, in Band of Brothers style, are the personal stories of men who endured this epic battle and were interviewed by the author. In many cases, their experiences are told here in print for the first time.

A few days after Japanese defenders surprised American assault troops by allowing them to land virtually unopposed on April 1, 1945, scouts of the 96th Division stumbled onto the outerworks of formidable Japanese defenses near Kakazu Ridge, where fierce fighting erupted. It would continue without respite for nearly three months as American forces used every weapon and strategy at their disposal to break through three cunningly designed Japanese lines of defense, each anchored by commanding high ground, intricate underground installations, and massed artillery. When one line was about to be breached, the Japanese would slip away to the next one, forcing the Americans to repeat the same exhausting and deadly "corkscrew and blowtorch" assaults all over again.

Much of the action in The Ultimate Battle unfolds among men pinned down under relentless fire on disputed hillsides, in the ruins of shell-blasted villages, and inside stricken tanks and armored cars. Sloan also takes readers aboard flaming ships and into the cockpits of night-fighter aircraft to capture the horror and heroism of men and vessels besieged by kamikazes.

When the battle was over, most of the GIs, Marines, and sailors who survived it were too worn out to celebrate. More than 49,000 of their comrades had been killed or wounded, and they knew that the even more brutal invasion of Japan's home islands loomed just ahead. But as Sloan makes clear, the slaughter at Okinawa helped to convince President Truman to use the atomic bomb against Japanese cities in the hope of shortening the war and averting a far more horrific loss of life.

The Ultimate Battle is a searing and unforgettable recreation of the Okinawa campaign as it was experienced by men who were there. It is filled with fresh insights that only those men can provide.

Customer Reviews:

Okinawa The Last Battle,by Appleman........2002-03-24

I have purchased 2 of these books, 1 with maps and one with no mape. I want to know if the used one for sale by jenwelch2 used has the maps in the back of the book. I want to purchase this for a friend and need the book with the maps.

Book Description

Okinawa, The Last World War II Battle, is one U.S. soldier's eyewitness account of death, war and survival on the island of Okinawa against Japan.

Customer Reviews:

One of the Greatest Generation Speaks.......2002-10-21

A common soldier's tale is never common. Former Infantry Sergeant McLaughlin's book is a touching gift to his children which happily he decided to share with us. Although my combat experience was in Viet Nam, not WWII, I appreciate the understated dignity of this tale. I wish more of "the Greatest Generation" would record their impressions as McLaughlin has.

This eyewitness account comes alive.......2002-09-14

Robert J. McLaughlin writes the story like no one else. His quick thinking saved his life on more than once. Bob's distast for war is obvious and he comes to admire the Koreans and their lifestyle when they are liberated during the occupation.
A patriot through and through, I recommend this book for students and history buffs alike.

Book Description

Ruiz spent 11 years exploring the villages and botanical landscapes of Peru and Chile. His journals contain detailed, personal observations of about 2000 plants, along with his impressions of the culture and perils of exploration in South America.

Customer Reviews:

An extraordinary ethnobotanical adventure in the 1700's.......2001-01-27

If you like plants and the ethnobotanical uses of them (like I do), along with exploration and adventure, then this book is for you. Hipolito Ruiz was a Spanish botanist in Peru and Chile from 1777-1788. Along with all the many hardships which he encountered back in those days, he observed and recorded the many different kinds of medicinal and non-medicinal plants which the natives used. It truly is a fascinating account of his travels and what it was actually like in the 1700's. Along with being an adventure in ethnobotanical exploration , it is also a cultural portrayal of the peoples who lived there. I also enjoyed the appendix at the end of the book which lists the medicinal plants in alphabetical order which are mentioned in the text. Maybe this book should be required reading for medical students (?). Could be a cure for cancer, aides, etc. down there (!)

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