This new addition to the very popular Images of War series provides a graphic account of the final Pacific War invasion as Allied troops reached the Japanese home islands. The battle for Okinawa became a costly war of attrition but the Allies triumphed and the cost encouraged the use of two nuclear weapons to avoid an even costlier total victory. – Strongly Recommended
NAME: Images of War, The Battle of Okinawa 1945, The Pacific War's Last Invasion, Rare Photographs From Wartime Archives FILE: R2835 AUTHOR: Jon Diamond PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING: soft back PAGES: 229 PRICE: £15.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: World War II, World War Two, World War 2, Second World War, Pacific Theatre, island hopping, amphibious assault, battle of attrition, home islands, USMC, landing craft, armour, air power
ISBN: 1-52672-600-9
IMAGE: B2835.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/y5a5pu5y LINKS: DESCRIPTION: This new addition to the very popular Images of War series provides a graphic account of the final Pacific War invasion as Allied troops reached the Japanese home islands. The battle for Okinawa became a costly war of attrition but the Allies triumphed and the cost encouraged the use of two nuclear weapons to avoid an even costlier total victory. - Strongly Recommended The major contribution of the battle for Okinawa was that it provided the justifications for using nuclear weapons on Japanese targets to force a surrender. The combined cost in Allied and Japanese lives on Okinawa and the lost of life to nuclear explosions in the two targeted Japanese cites has been estimated to have saved three times as many lives that would have been the cost of invading every Japanese island. The taking of Okinawa did not in itself provide much material gain for the Allies. It did not provide bases for bombers as a major advance over what was already available from seizing other islands earlier. It might have provided some advantage as a launching base for landings on other Japanese islands, but it would have required time to enhance facilities to make that useful contribution. The selection of images provides coverage of all of the aspects of the battle on land, at sea and from the air. There is good captioning and concise text in introduction to each section of images. A very useful book for enthusiasts and novices alike.