What they didnвЂ™t know was the Japanese Imperial Army had them just where they wanted them. The military force also included an unknown number of conscripted civilians and unarmed Home Guards known as Boeitai.ДЄs they moved inland, American troops wondered when and where theyвЂ™d finally encounter enemy resistance. JapanвЂ™s 32nd Army, some 130,000 men strong and commanded by Lt.

Allied and Soviet troops had liberated much of Nazi-occupied Europe and were just weeks away from forcing GermanyвЂ™s unconditional surrender. Okinawa IslandД«y the time American troops landed on Okinawa, the war on the European front was nearing its end.

Though it resulted in an Allied victory, kamikaze fighters, rainy weather and fierce fighting on land, sea and air led to a large death toll on both sides. The invasion was part of Operation Iceberg, a complex plan to invade and occupy the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. On April 1, 1945-Easter Sunday-the NavyвЂ™s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. The Battle of Okinawa (April 1, 1945-June 22, 1945) was the last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest.

Battlefield 1942 battle of the bulge