Asia Pacific 1945: Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa
8 May 1945
8 May 1945
Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa
9 Feb 1943 Guadalcanal Campaign
15 Dec 1943 Operation Cartwheel
18 Apr 1944 Burma Offensives
19 Jun 1944 Battle of the Philippine Sea
23 Oct 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf
4 Dec 1944 Operation Ichi-Go
3 Mar 1945 Philippines Campaign
8 May 1945 Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa
6 Aug 1945 Bombing of Hiroshima
15 Aug 1945 Japanese Surrender
By now the United States was ready to advance on the Japanese home islands. In February, US forces landed on Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, followed two months later by Okinawa in the Ryukyus. In both cases, the Japanese defended ferociously, mounting numerous suicide attacks. The fighting in Okinawa alone saw over 200,000 deaths, including 95% of the Japanese defenders and as much as half of the civilian population.
