Changes

====Battle of Okinawa====

====Battle of Okinawa====

[[File:Okinawa-battlemap.jpg|right|thumb|380px|Map of the Battle of Okinawa at Punchbowl Cemetery in Honolulu]]

[[File:Okinawa-battlemap.jpg|right|thumb|380px|Map of the Battle of Okinawa at Punchbowl Cemetery in Honolulu]]

The Imperial Japanese military established a headquarters beneath Shuri castle, and fortified much of Okinawa Island into a major base of military strength, leading it to become an important target for Allied forces to address as they pressed their way towards Japan proper in the final stages of World War II. Much of Naha was destroyed in a major bombing raid on 10 October 1944, typically known simply as the "10-10 Bombing Raid."<ref>More than 1000 planes launched from a carrier task force, attacked in five waves, attacking Naha as well as airfields and port facilities elsewhere on Okinawa and the immediately surrounding islands (including [[Iejima]], [[Tsuken]], and [[Hamahiga Island]]). Ninety percent of Naha was destroyed in the resulting fires; 668 soldiers and civilians were killed, and 758 injured. The bombing raid was also an opportunity for the US military to take aerial photos of Okinawa. The same air task force then attacked targets in the [[Yaeyama Islands]] and [[Taiwan]] beginning on October 12. It swiftly defeated the Japanese air force sent against it. ''Okinawa ken heiwa kinen shiryôkan sôgô annai'' 沖縄県平和祈念資料館総合案内 ("General Catalog of Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum"), Nanjô, Okinawa: Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum (2004), 50-51.</ref> Fearing a land invasion of Okinawa, as many as 70,000 people fled Okinawa to Kyushu or Taiwan by March 1945; many others fled north from central and southern parts of Okinawa Island into the forests of [[Yanbaru]] in the north of the island.<ref>Local government established centers to provide for these people in Yanbaru, but food and other supplies quickly ran out, and many succumbed to starvation or malaria. ''Okinawa ken heiwa kinen shiryôkan sôgô annai'', 52-53.</ref>

The Imperial Japanese military established a headquarters beneath Shuri castle, and fortified much of Okinawa Island into a major base of military strength, leading it to become an important target for Allied forces to address as they pressed their way towards Japan proper in the final stages of World War II. Much of Naha was destroyed in a major bombing raid on 10 October 1944, typically known simply as the "10-10 Bombing Raid."<ref>More than 1000 planes launched from a carrier task force, attacked in five waves, attacking Naha as well as airfields and port facilities elsewhere on Okinawa and the immediately surrounding islands (including [[Iejima]], [[Tsuken]], and [[Hamahiga Island]]). Ninety percent of Naha was destroyed in the resulting fires; 668 soldiers and civilians were killed, and 758 injured. The bombing raid was also an opportunity for the US military to take aerial photos of Okinawa. The same air task force then attacked targets in the [[Yaeyama Islands]] and [[Taiwan]] beginning on October 12. It swiftly defeated the Japanese air force sent against it. ''Okinawa ken heiwa kinen shiryôkan sôgô annai'' 沖縄県平和祈念資料館総合案内 ("General Catalog of Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum"), Nanjô, Okinawa: Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum (2004), 50-51.</ref> Fearing a land invasion of Okinawa, as many as 70,000 people fled Okinawa to Kyushu or Taiwan by March 1945; many others fled north from central and southern parts of Okinawa Island into the forests of [[Yanbaru]] in the north of the island.<ref>Local government established centers to provide for these people in Yanbaru, but food and other supplies quickly ran out, and many succumbed to starvation or [[malaria]]. ''Okinawa ken heiwa kinen shiryôkan sôgô annai'', 52-53.</ref>

Allied forces first made landfall on Okinawa on 1 April 1945 (after making earlier landings in the [[Kerama Islands]]), declaring on that same day, in what has come to be known as the Nimitz Proclamation, the end of “All Executive Powers of the Japanese Empire” in Okinawa.<ref name=mabuni>Gallery labels, Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum, Itoman, Okinawa.</ref> The ensuing Battle of Okinawa would last several months, with fighting continuing until late June 1945.<ref>American forces took [[Shuri castle]] (and the 32nd Army Headquarters located in tunnels under the castle) by the end of May 1945, following particularly serious fighting at Sugar Loaf Hill (Asato, Naha) and Untama Forest (Untamamui, in Nishihara/Yonabaru). The highest-ranking Japanese officer on the island, Gen. Ushijima Mitsuru, committed suicide on June 22; formal military resistance ended soon afterward. ''Okinawa ken heiwa kinen shiryôkan sôgô annai'', 64-65.</ref>

Allied forces first made landfall on Okinawa on 1 April 1945 (after making earlier landings in the [[Kerama Islands]]), declaring on that same day, in what has come to be known as the Nimitz Proclamation, the end of “All Executive Powers of the Japanese Empire” in Okinawa.<ref name=mabuni>Gallery labels, Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum, Itoman, Okinawa.</ref> The ensuing Battle of Okinawa would last several months, with fighting continuing until late June 1945.<ref>American forces took [[Shuri castle]] (and the 32nd Army Headquarters located in tunnels under the castle) by the end of May 1945, following particularly serious fighting at Sugar Loaf Hill (Asato, Naha) and Untama Forest (Untamamui, in Nishihara/Yonabaru). The highest-ranking Japanese officer on the island, Gen. Ushijima Mitsuru, committed suicide on June 22; formal military resistance ended soon afterward. ''Okinawa ken heiwa kinen shiryôkan sôgô annai'', 64-65.</ref>