Figure 1.--Although still only a small fraction of the Japanese garison on Okinawa, quite a number of Japanese soldiers surrendered rather than commiting suicide. More than 7,000 soldiers surrendered. We are not sure just why this ocurred an it is a development not well covered in the historical record. We suspect that many were Okinawan conscripts rather than Japanese soldiers. Here we see two of the soldiers who surrendered. The press caption read, Midget warriors: Marine First Lieutenant Hart H. Spiegal, 217 Elmwood Avenue, Yopeka, Kan.,makes with the sgn lkanguage as he tries to strike up a conversation with two tiny Japanese oldiers captured on Okinawa. The Jap on the left is 18 years of age while his companion boass 20 years." Source: Sgt. Robert T. Stewart. Official U.S. Marine Corps Photo.

Okinawa was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War. The United States lost more men than in any other Pacfic engagemnt. An incredible one-third of the American invasion force was killed or wounded. Here we have different statistics that I need to look into. One source indicates that 12,500 American soldiers and marines were killed. [Hanson] Another source indicates that over half of the 16,000 Americans killed were sailors on the ships attacked by the Kamakazis. Another source puts casualties at 7,373 men killed and 32,056 wounded in the land campaign. The Navy suffered some 5,000 men killed and 4,600 wounded, primarily as a result of the Kamikaze attacks. Most of the Japanese garison died in the Okinawa campaign. The Japanese committed 120,000-130,000 troops to the defense of Okinawa, Accounts vary as to the precise numbers. Most of the garrison fought to the death. The death toll was about 110,000 men, wither men killed or commiting suiside. [Hanson] Few Japanese soldiers surendered even after defeat was certain. Another source reports 107,000 Japanese soldiers lost. The acual number was probably somewhst higher and the Japanese retreated into caves and the advancing Americans incinerated them or blew up the caves. The Americans expected the Japanese to fight to the death. That was no suprise. hat was a surprise that some Japanese soldiers actually surrendered. In all previou camaigns only a handfull of Japanese were taken prisoner and many of them were men too badly wounded to resist. The Japanese strategy at Okinawa failed because of the as in other Pacific engagements, the ratio of losses was disportinately heavy for the Imperial armed forces. The Japanese were willing to make great sacrifices. The capacity of the Japanese army to demand suicide, however, was not infinite. This was seen in Msnchuria when the Soviets invaded (August 1945). The Japanese near the end of the Okinawa campaign were finding it increasingly difficult to recruit Kamakazi pilots. [Hanson] One report indicates that 7, 400 soldiers surrendered, although we hace seen other figures. While still a small portion of the garison, it was the first time more than a handful of soldiers surrendered. We are not sure why this occurred, but at least some Japanese soldiers seem to have had second thoughts about commiting suiside. There were also very extensive civilin casulties. The Japanese soldiers were incouraged or forced to commit suiside in large numbers. The Japanese Government to this date insists that the civilians were incouraged, but rarely frced to commit suiside. The overwealming ecidence is, however, that large numbers of men. women, and children were forced to commit suiside. It is unclear what the precise orders on this were receivd from the High Command. Not all soldiers forced the civiians to commit suisid, but clearly many did.

American Military Casualties

The United States lost more men on Okinawa than in any other Pacfic engagemnt. Some 180,00 men were commited to the invasion, not counting the naval task force off shore. Actually this sems small considering the size of the dug in Japanese garrison. The difference of couese was fire power. Even with his fire power, an incredible one-third of the American invasion force was killed or wounded. The only Pacific ar invasin with a higher casualty rate was Iwo. Here we have different statistics that I need to look into. One source indicates that 12,500 American soldiers and marines were killed. [Hanson] Another source indicates that over half of the 16,000 Americans killed were sailors on the ships attacked by the Kamakazis. Another source puts American casualtiee at 7,373 men were killed and 32,056 wounded in the land campaign. The Navy suffered some 5,000 men killed and 4,600 wounded, primarily as a result of the Kamikaze attacks. None of the small number of mericanscaptured by the Jaanese survived. They were murdered, usually after being horibly tortutred. Fanatical resistance and causing as many American casulties as possible om Iwo and Okinawa was the Japanese strategy of frcing a negotiated end of the War and avoiding occupation. What it did was ensure that the Amerivcans would use atomic bombs on Japan in an effort to avoid the casualties that woul result from an invasin of the Home Island.

Japanese Military Casualties

Most of the Japanese garison died in the Okinawa campaign. The Japanese committed 120,000-130,000 troops to the defense of Okinawa, It was een astheir last opportunity to prevent an American invasion of the Home Islands. Accounts vary as to the precise numbers. Most of the garrison fought to the death. The death toll was about 110,000 men, wither men killed or commiting suiside. [Hanson] Few Japanese soldiers surendered even after defeat was certain. Another source reports 107,000 Japanese soldiers lost. The acual number was probably somewhst higher and the Japanese retreated into caves and the advancing Americans incinerated them or blew up the caves. The Americans expected the Japanese to fight to the death. That was no suprise. hat was a surprise that some Japanese soldiers actually surrendered. In all previou camaigns only a handfull of Japanese were taken prisoner and many of them were men too badly wounded to resist. The Japanese strategy at Okinawa failed because of the as in other Pacific engagements, the ratio of losses was disportinately heavy for the Imperial armed forces. The Japanese were willing to make great sacrifices. The capacity of the Japanese army to demand suicide, however, was not infinite. This was seen in Msnchuria when the Soviets invaded (August 1945). The Japanese near the end of the Okinawa campaign were finding it increasingly difficult to recruit Kamakazi pilots. [Hanson] One report indicates that 7, 400 soldiers surrendered, although we have seen other figures. While still a small portion of the garison, it was the first time more than a handful of soldiers surrendered. We are not sure why this occurred, but at least some Japanese soldiers seem to have had second thoughts about commiting suiside.

Japanese/Okinawan Civilians

There were also very extensive civilian casulties. Normally in warfare it ws the invadng zrmy tht was the greatest threat to civilians. On Okinawa it was the defending Japanese Army that was the greatest danger to the civilians. Here it should be noted that Okinawans are not ethnically Japanese. There were Japanese civilians on Okinawa, but most of the civilian popultion was Okinawan. The Japanese soldiers incouraged or forced civilians to commit suiside in large numbers. The Japanese Government to this date insists that the civilians were incouraged, but rarely forced to commit suiside or killed by the soldiers. The overwealming ecidence is, however, that large numbers of men. women, and children were forced to commit suiside. It is unclear what the precise orders on this were receivd from the High Command. Not all soldiers forced the civiians to commit suiside, but clearly many did. Okinawan civilians after the War referred to the invasion as the "typhoon of steel". The Japanese Imperial Army repeatedly told Okinawans that Americam soldiers would rape and brutalize women and girls. The 3-month battle for Okinawa took 94,000 Okinawan civilian lives. This was about one-quarter of the population. Many were killed in the crossfire of the fighting, but large numbers of Okinawans were convinced or fcorced to cimmit suiside by the Japanrse miltary. Some were even killed by the miklitary. For the Okinaewans, their own soldiers were more dangerous than the Americans. Okinawans today want a grreater national recognition of their sufferings. Nationalist elements on the main islands, however, want to sanitize the past. This is another of the efforts by natioinalists to supress information about the extent of Japanese attrocities during the War. Nobukatsu Fujioka, a nationalist educator, has campaigned to delete from Japanese schoolbooks the accounts of Japanese soldiers ordering civilians to commit suiside. He writes, "People claimed that there was an order by Japanese Army because they wanted to get pension for the bereaved." A display at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum, highlights a glinting bayonet held by a fierce-looking Japanese soldier who stands over an Okinawan family huddled in a cave, the mother trying to smother the cries her terrified baby. The caption reads, "At the hands of Japanese soldiers, civilians were massacred, forced to kill themselves and each other." Next to this, a life-size wall photo shows the bloody aftermath of a family killed by a hand grenade. [Brooke] After the unexpected American invasion, the battle, the Japanese military commander attempted to prevent spying by banning the speaking of the Okinawan dialect--which Japanese soldiers could not understand. Japanese soldiers reportedly killed about 1,000 Okinawans as a result of violations of this order. One of the reasons the Japanese soldiers attempted to prevent civilans from surrendering is thsat they believed that the civilians would devulge information about hidden positions and cave reguges. The orders to commit suiside were not a great deparyre fron years of military propaganda in which the Japanese people were exhorted to sacrifice themslves for the nation. Despite the fact that hand grenades were in short supply, they were destributed to civilians. The Okinawan youths fighting with the Japanese Army's Blood and Iron Student Corps were ordered to commit suicide using the grenades rather than becoming captives. There were no written suicide orders by Japanese military commanders, but local commanders and soldiers demanded that civikians kill themselves. What is unclear is to what extent the suuiside order came from Japanese commanders or if it was more an expected actioin by rank and file soldiers. It is also unclear just how many of the civilian deaths were from suiside or actual Japanese military executions. Being forced to commit suiside was only one of te dangersfaced by civilias. The Japanese military reserved available food and supplies for its use. Thus the civilkians encountered by the advancing americans were often in a terrible state.

Sources

Brooke, James. "1945 suicide order still a trauma on Okinawa," International Herald Tribune (June 21, 2005).

Hanson, Victor Davis. Ripples of Battle: How Wars of the Past Still Determine How We Live and How We Think (Doubleday, 2003), 278p.

Created: 4:57 PM 4/9/2014
Last updated: 11:01 AM 12/12/2014