Counter-offensive on Okinawa

The Japanese began their counter-offensive on the night of May 3rd, 1945. The 24th Division, supported by the Japanese 27th Tank Regiment, decided to push forward in six separate thrusts. Their main objective was to break through the US Army …

1945-05-04

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The Japanese began their counter-offensive on the night of May 3rd, 1945. The 24th Division, supported by the Japanese 27th Tank Regiment, decided to push forward in six separate thrusts. Their main objective was to break through the US Army lines and seize the Tanabaru escarpment. On the Japanese far right, the Engineer Regiment struggled to make some progress and was soon wiped out. In the center, saturation fire from US artillery made progress hell for the 24th Division. The 22nd Infantry nonetheless managed to penetrate deep in the middle but was soon forced to retire as other units failed to match their progress. On their left, the Japanese tanks were taking heavy losses, though some elements of the 32nd Infantry made it to the Escarpment. The counter-offensive waned and was soon abandoned; in the end, it had only served to further weaken the Japanese forces on Okinawa.

Tanabaru, Okinawa

The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Marine and Army forces against the Imperial Japanese Army. The initial invasion of Okinawa on April 1, 1945, was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The Kerama Islands surrounding Okinawa were preemptively captured on March 26th, (L-6) by the 77th Infantry Division. The 98-day battle lasted from March 26th until July 2nd, 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were planning to use Kadena Air Base on the large island of Okinawa as a base for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands, 340 mi (550 km) away.

Wikipedia: Battle of Okinawa

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