East China Sea 1945: Climax of the Kamikaze (Campaign)

"This study describes the air-sea offensive supporting the ground-force invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in February and April 1945, which led to the sinking of the Yamato and the onslaught of the Japanese kamikaze. The island invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were the last two major ground campaigns to be initiated during the Pacific War. This superbly illustrated volume explores the air-sea aspects of these pivotal battles. Among the events covered are the 'death ride' of the Japanese battleship Yamato (the largest ever built), and the mass kamikaze attacks off Iwo Jima and Okinawa, as well as the amphibious invasions themselves, including the air-sea bombardment of the two islands. By early 1945, the US Navy had reached an exceptional level of coordination in its amphibious operations and was able to overrun and subdue Japanese territories efficiently. Faced with the increasing might of these forces and to prevent further defeat, Japan deployed its squadron of kamikaze and attacked many US heavy aircraft carriers and destroyers; several were sunk, while others were knocked out of the war. The book explores the devastating impact they had and considers the contribution of the USAAF and the British Pacific Fleet to the eventual victory of US air and ground forces."--Amazon.ca This study describes the air-sea offensive supporting the ground-force invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in February and April 1945, which led to the sinking of the Yamato and the onslaught of the Japanese kamikaze. During the Pacific War, the island invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were the last two major ground campaigns. By the time these took place in early 1945, the US Navy had reached an exceptional level of coordination in its amphibious operations, and was able to overrun and subdue Japanese territories efficiently. Faced with the increasing might of these forces and to prevent further defeat, Imperial Japan deployed its kamikaze aircraft and attacked many US heavy aircraft carriers and destroyers; several were sunk, while others were knocked out of the war. This superbly illustrated book explores the air–sea aspects of the pivotal battles that took place, and includes the "death ride" of the Japanese battleship Yamato (the largest ever built), and the mass kamikaze attacks off Iwo Jima and Okinawa, as well as the Iwo Jima and Okinawa amphibious invasions and the naval and air bombardments of the two islands. It also considers the contribution of the USAAF and the British Pacific Fleet to the eventual victory of US air and ground forces. Cover 1 Contents 3 Introduction 5 The Strategic Setting 5 Origins Of The Campaign 6 Chronology 7 Opposing Commanders 8 Japanese 8 Allied 9 Opposing Forces 11 Japanese 11 Allied 13 Operation Iceberg Orders Of Battle, April 1, 1945 15 Opposing Plans 19 Japanese 19 Allied 20 The Campaign 22 Commencing Detachment, February 16–20, 1945 22 Kamikaze Attacks Against Fifth Fleet, February 21 27 Winning Iwo Jima, February 24–March 26 28 Iceberg Preliminaries, March 1945 36 L-Day At Okinawa, April 1 42 The Great Onslaught: Kikisui No. 1, April 6–7 45 Ten-Ichi-Go: Yamato’s Death Ride, April 6–7 55 Kikisui No. 2, April 12–13 69 Kikisui No. 3, April 16 72 Kikisui No. 4, April 27–28 76 Kikisui No. 5, May 3–4 78 Kikisui No. 6, May 10–11 80 Kyushu Diversion, May 13–14 82 Air and Naval Gunfire Support Of Tenth Army 83 Kikisui No. 7, May 23–25 85 Kikisui No. 8, May 27–29 87 Okinawa Secured, June–July 1945 88 Aftermath 92 The Warships Today 93 Further Reading 93 Acronyms and Abbreviations 94 Index 95 Imprint 97