The Battle of Okinawa: The Blood and the Bomb
The Battle of Okinawa was "the largest land-sea-air battle in history,"  yet remarkably little is know about this final major engagement of World War II.  Based on interviews with Americans, Japanese, and Okinawans who endured the  fighting, this masterpiece of military history explores every aspect of the  three-month battle and its aftermath in vivid detail.The U.S. invasion of Okinawa involved 1,457 ships and over half a million men.  For six full days artillery fire poured down on the island while the Japanese  holed up in underground bunkers and tunnels like moles, darting out for supplies  only at night. In examining the battle from the perspective of both generals and  infantrymen, George Feifer explains the substantial differences in the training  and mindset between the soldiers, particularly the Japanese's fiercely  nationalistic stance and willingness to die for their emperor that both  impressed and baffled the Americans. Since most Japanese refused to surrender  even after American victory was assured, less than 5 percent survived the  battle. And worse bloodshed was certain to come, for the next step in the war  was an invasion of Japan itself. Indeed, the Japanese government encouraged all  100 million Japanese to "die proudly" in defense of their homeland. It was both  this kamikaze devotion and the heavy human losses at Okinawa that led directly  to the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan rather than pay the high price  of a large-scale invasion.Feifer also lends a voice to the local civilians, certainly the least considered  element in the battle, focusing on how the hospitable and peaceful Okinawans  were caught in a crossfire they could neither comprehend nor control. During the  fighting, over a quarter of a million Okinawans were herded into U.S. detention  camps in order to get them out of the way of the fighting, yet an estimated  150,000 died from artillery attacks or because locals were often  indistinguishable from Japanese soldiers. In a sense, the war continues for  Okinawans since one-fifth of the best land on their island is still occupied by  the U.S. military as well as a Japanese force. Feifer's excellent book should  ensure that this horrific battle is never forgotten, for "if a symbol is needed  to help preserve the memory of the Pacific War, Okinawa is the most enduring  one."--Shawn Carkonen--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.