Battle of Okinawa Begins: The Bloodiest Pacific Campaign
Allies seized Okinawa in an 82-day bloodbath that shattered Japanese defenses and unleashed a typhoon of steel. This brutal victory forced Japan to surrender just weeks later, sparing the mainland from the planned invasion code-named Operation Downfall. The staggering loss of over 14,000 Allied lives and tens of thousands of Okinawan civilians cemented the cost of ending the Pacific War.
April 1, 1945
81 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on April 1
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