Battle of Okinawa Timeline

USS Franklin was hit by two bombs in a level bombing attack by a D4Y Suisei (Judy) on 19 March 1945. Along with USS Bunker Hill, it sustained very severe damage from Japanese attacks and was one of only two Essex-class aircraft carriers that did not see active service again after World War II.

Image source: USS Franklin (CV-13)

Between 19 March and 30 July 1945, numerous Allied naval vessels received damage or were sunk during the Battle of Okinawa, reflecting the intensity of Japanese air and kamikaze attacks against the fleet supporting the operation.

On 15 August 1945, Admiral Matome Ugaki was killed while part of a kamikaze raid on Iheyajima island, launching a final sortie on the very day Japan announced its surrender.

Image source: Matome Ugaki

On 26 March 1945, the United States preemptively captured the Kerama Islands surrounding Okinawa, securing anchorages and staging areas just days before the main invasion of Okinawa itself.

The initial invasion of Okinawa on 1 April 1945 was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II, marking the beginning of the final major campaign before the invasion of the Japanese home islands.

The land battle on Okinawa took place over about 81 days, beginning on 1 April 1945 with the American landing and continuing through fierce combat across the island.

The 82-day battle on Okinawa lasted from 1 April 1945 until 22 June 1945, becoming one of the bloodiest engagements of the Pacific War for soldiers and civilians alike.

The Battle of Okinawa came to an end on 22 June 1945 after 82 days of fighting, concluding the last major land battle of the Pacific War.

After going into hiding as a civilian, Colonel Hiromichi Yahara was captured by American soldiers in July 1945. He was the most senior officer to have survived the battle on the island, having earlier told his men 'This is an order from your army commander.'

The signing of the Japanese surrender on 2 September 1945 marked the endpoint for recorded deaths counted during the Battle of Okinawa, which began with the American landings in the Kerama Islands on 26 March 1945.

Image source: Surrender of Japan

On 28 March 1945, following the landing of US troops, 394 civilians on Tokashiki island were forced by Japanese soldiers to kill themselves, one of the most tragic episodes of the Battle of Okinawa.

Image source: Battle of Okinawa

In 2007, Ryūkyū Shimpō, one of the two major Okinawan newspapers, wrote: 'There are many Okinawans who have testified that the Japanese Army directed them to commit suicide,' defending survivors' accounts against revision efforts.

Image source: Ryūkyū Shimpō

In March 2007, the national Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) advised textbook publishers to reword descriptions that the embattled Imperial Japanese Army forced civilians to kill themselves in the war to avoid being taken prisoner.

On 29 September 2007, about 110,000 people held the biggest political rally in the history of Okinawa to demand that MEXT retract its order to textbook publishers regarding revising the account of the civilian suicides.

The resolution stated it is 'an undeniable fact that the multiple suicides would not have occurred without the involvement of the Japanese military' and that any deletion or revision is a denial and distortion of survivors' testimonies. In December 2007, MEXT partially admitted the role of the Japanese military in civilian mass suicides.

At a court hearing, Ōe testified that 'mass suicides were forced on Okinawa islanders under Japan's hierarchical social structure that ran through the state of Japan, the Japanese armed forces and local garrisons.'

Image source: Kenzaburō Ōe

In March 2008, the Osaka Prefecture Court ruled in favor of Ōe, stating, 'It can be said the military was deeply involved in the mass suicides,' formally recognizing the military's role in the murder-suicides.

The Osaka Prefecture Court cited testimony about the distribution of grenades for suicide by soldiers, noting that mass suicides were not recorded on islands where the military was not stationed, as evidence of military involvement.

In 2012, Korean-Japanese director Pak Su-nam announced her work on the documentary Nuchigafu (Okinawan for 'only if one is alive'), collecting living survivors' accounts to show 'the truth of history to many people'.

Pak Su-nam alleged that 'there were two types of orders for honorable deaths—one for residents to kill each other and the other for the military to kill all residents', highlighting the coercive role of the Japanese military.