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Battle of Okinawa: Operation IcebergWorld War II | 20 comments | Print This Post | Email This Post When two United States Marine and two Army divisions landed abreast on Okinawa on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945, they faced an estimated 155,000 Japanese ground, air and naval troops holding an immense island on which an estimated 500,000 civilians lived in cities, towns and villages. Operation Iceberg was to be, in every way, vast when compared to any other operation undertaken by Allied forces in the Pacific War under U.S. Navy command. Indeed, using mainly divisions that had already undertaken island-hopping operations in the South and Central Pacific since mid-1942, the U.S. Pacific Fleet stood up the Tenth U.S. Army under Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., consisting of III Amphibious Corps and XXIV Army Corps — the largest land command ever assembled under the Navy’s direct control. To those Japanese who thought the war was winnable, Okinawa was the last chance. The island lay within 350 miles — easy flight distance — from the Japanese homeland and was, by American design, to be the base from which the southernmost Home Island, Kyushu, would be pummeled to dust ahead of the expected follow-on invasion. Anything short of complete victory over Allied air, naval and ground forces spelled doom for Japan — and no such victory was remotely in the cards. Thus, from the Japanese view Okinawa was and could be no more than a delaying battle of attrition on a grand scale. The few Japanese who knew that their country’s war effort was in extremis were content to fight on Okinawa simply for reasons of honor, for all military logic pointed to the same dismal conclusion: Japan was vanquished in all but name as soon as the first Boeing B-29s left the ground in the Marianas, as soon as American carrier aircraft hit targets in Japan at will, as soon as even twin-engine bombers could strike Japanese ports from Iwo Jima, as soon as Japan dared not move a warship or cargo vessel from a port in any part of the shrinking empire for fear it would be sunk by an Allied submarine. By April 1, 1945, all those events were taking place routinely. Although the Japanese commanders counted 155,000 defenders, of whom 100,000 were soldiers of Lt. Gen. Mitsuru Ushijima’s Thirty-second Army, the rest were of widely mixed abilities, and there were not nearly enough troops to cover the ground the way 23,000 troops had covered Iwo Jima. Therefore the forces on Okinawa were concentrated in a number of sectors that offered the best prospects for a robust, attritional defense. The northern half of the island was virtually conceded, and the south was turned into four extremely tough hedgehog defense sectors. The proportion of artillery and mortars to infantry was the highest encountered in the Pacific War. Coming to put their defense arrangement to the test was the Tenth Army. The new 6th Marine Division (1st Provisional Marine Brigade plus the 29th Marines and attachments) would land over the northernmost beaches on the western side of Okinawa a little south of the island’s midpoint. It was to strike across the island, then turn north to pacify a little more than half of Okinawa on its own. To the right, the 1st Marine Division was also to strike across the island, then become part of the Tenth Army reserve. The Army’s 7th and 96th Infantry divisions were to land side by side in the southern half of the Tenth Army beachhead and pivot south to cover the width of the island. Also on April 1, the III Amphibious Corps’ (IIIAC) reserve, the 2nd Marine Division, made a feint toward a set of beaches in southeastern Okinawa. This feint was in line with where the Japanese predicted the main landing would take place, so for once a feint actually held large numbers of defenders in place looking the wrong way. Other units, including the Fleet Marine Force’s Pacific Reconnaissance Battalion, were assigned objectives elsewhere in the Ryukyu Islands, most of which were taken or at least assaulted before what was dubbed L-day on Okinawa. Subscribe Today
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            Tags: 20th - 21st Century, Amphibious Operations, Historical Conflicts, World War II
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20 Comments to “Battle of Okinawa: Operation Iceberg”
I have a KABAR knife an elderly family took off a dead marine while working as a Naval SeeBee on the beaches of Okinawa. It is the sharpest knife I have ever owned.
By Ty Dorland on Jun 20, 2008 at 11:59 pm
OOH-RAH MARINE CORPS
By CORTEZ on Jul 25, 2008 at 3:37 am
My father was a corpsman on OK-he received a Bronze Star for saving 7 marines-under direct fire-I dont see the justice,,,,,
By SSG> Donald Cooke on Aug 20, 2008 at 11:24 pm
I was based on Okinawa January 1965 and left Aug 1967. I TDY’d to our satellite bases in Viet Nam during my stay, I was with STRATCOM, Ft Buckner. While on Okinawa, we lost approximatley 6 military personnel due to uncovered live ammunition from WWII. Most were around an air base used by the Japanese near a village named Futemna. A lot of battle history and a monument to our soldiers bravery and committment.
By Rj on Sep 4, 2008 at 5:49 pm
God Blees all those who were involved in the battle of Okinawa. My father James Robert Deniston passed away today December 10, 2008. He served with the U.S. Marines First Division Third Armored Amphibian Battalion at Okinawa.
Stephen Deniston
By stephen deniston on Dec 10, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Greetings Mr. Deniston,
My condolences on the passing of your father. My father was a former Marine, Cpl. Edward Keith Welch. He, too, served with the 1st Marines and went ashore April 1. 1945, at Okinawa. He, obviously (!) survived and died October 15, 2007. Semper Fi!
DiannaWelch Knox
By Dianna Welch Knox on Jan 25, 2009 at 3:20 pm
trying to make contact with anyone who served with my father, gm victor zigmont aka “ziggy” either in the north atantic or during the okinawa camapign,
By victor zigmont on Feb 10, 2009 at 12:02 am
i bless there hearts
By chris on Apr 17, 2009 at 11:19 am
i am doing a report about it
By chris on Apr 17, 2009 at 11:22 am
My father, Bob Murphy, served in A company, 1st Brigade, 1st Marines, on Okinawa. What little he told us about it was harrowing. He died on April 27, 2009. God Bless all those who fought and died during WWII, and all of those who fought and survived who, sadly, are leaving us more and more.
By Brian Murphy on Apr 29, 2009 at 1:02 pm
My father died Nov 2005, was a field radio operator assigned to 198th FABn USArmy XXIVth Corps, 10th Army. was wounded during the Ruyku Island campaign on 5 Jul 45. Ive taken up my mothers quest to put together a complete Class A uniform and need the details as to which DUI he would have worn. He was extreemly proud of me when I enlisted in the USMC in 1973.
He served in direct support with the Marines on Okinawa during Operation Iceburg. Dont have too many details,all he ever told me was the Jap LT that shot him was a Yale graduate and he was left at an aid ststion for three days. The bullet passed within an inch of his heart and three days latter pushed through to extend the skin in his back, thats when it was removed.
By SSG Leon Bozek (ret) on May 30, 2009 at 8:44 pm
I’m doing a report on this also.
By Patrick Knight on Jun 1, 2009 at 11:29 am
My father, James Joseph O’Halloran was in the 96th Infantry on Okinawa. He never talked about it even when asked. He died in June 1985. I am very proud to be his daughter.
By Karen O'Halloran on Jun 3, 2009 at 4:54 pm
my granfather was a one of the engeneres that duilt the air fields there
By nick tobias on Jun 14, 2009 at 4:19 pm
My late Father, Howard Kenneth Johnson, from Spring Lake, Michigan served on PGM-17 during the battle for Okinawa. After PGM-17 was sunk, he served on tug ATR-9. I am interested in contacting anyone who served on either of these two ships. Thanks, Bill Johnson
Email: yfreewilly@aol.com
By Bill Johnson on Jun 14, 2009 at 6:35 pm
My Uncles were lost in the Pacific. The first, Seaman 1st Class David Crossett, was scrambling to his duty station up in the crow’s nest of the USS Utah. A Japanese fighter strafed the ship. Crossett was shot twice. He fell to the deck. As further damage was inflicted upon the Utah, his body was covered with debris. Every year, my aunt raised a flag on Dec 7th, she is gone and I have taken it up.
But, no one in my family knows anything about Carlton Crossett, who died on Okinawa at the end of May 1945. It seems so sad that he is overshadowed and forgotten. Since I was a child I have been haunted by his crooked smile in his photos, what happened to Carlton? I can not even be sure of what branch of the military he served.
I am a former Marine and those family members are gone, his last surviving sister, talks of him using a flamethrower on Okinawa, but her stories are romanticized, not sure what is true.
I hope someday I can go to Okinawa and look for his name on the Memorial…. just as my aunt did at Pearl harbor
By Chris Naugle on Jun 17, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Would like to know if any of the vets on Okinawa remembers a Cpl. William M. “Bill” Wright who fought with the 10th Army, 7th Division , 17th Infantry Regiment, HQ.Co. on Okinawa. He was an artist and did a lot of drawing while there. He saw General Stillwell
and Buckner talking by a tent when he went to pick up company mail. When he returned with the mail , driving a jeep by the tent, he saw the generals were gone. An hour or so later he heard that Gen. Buckner had been killed by Japanese artillery.
Would appreciate hearing from anyone who knew Bill. He passed away 2008.
Paul Wright
By Paul Wright on Jul 5, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Paul wright how can I mail you.
You can mail me on joleinw@hotmail.com
greetz
By jolein on Jul 6, 2009 at 4:01 am
I am looking for Bill johnson who was stationed in Schoppingen germany in and about 1968. Germany
joleinw@hotmail.com
greetz
By jolein on Jul 6, 2009 at 4:03 am
In response to “Chis Naugle”, I believe my uncle, Carlton Crossett was US Army. There was once talk of a book titled “least we not forget” that talked about how Carlton died. But never saw it. I have tried to find some reference to it but can not.. jrcrossett@ieee.org
By JRC on Jul 22, 2009 at 2:54 pm