Battle for Okinawa, a tactical mistake?

[On the way]

I don't understand why the US would need to attack and take Okinawa. Yes, I know it was part of the island hopping campaign concocted by the US Navy. But at this point in time, everyone and their uncle knew that Okinawa was a heavily defended island and the cost to take it was high. Which turned out to be true. Its a small island and there are only so many places you can land an amphibious force.

Why not bypass Okinawa and head straight to Kyushu island? There is no way the Japanese can defend the whole island with the same amount of fortifications and troops as they did Okinawa. From Kagoshima, the USN would have a choice of landing on the east, like at SHibushi Bay or on the West. Or both. Yeah, they might face kamakazi attacks, which were no different then if they had attacked Okinawa. But resistance on Kyushu should be lighter by virtue of it being a much bigger area to defend. The USN could still blockade Okinawa, and other islands before Kyushu to intercept and prevent attacks from the rear and flank on the US fleet. The additional benefit is that they are on one of the home islands, making attacks against the other home islands much easier.

[futon]

The question about why take so and so seems to be asked regarding Peleliu and Iwo Jima as well. Probably better safe than sorry to not expose lines of communication to flank approaches.

From the Japanese perspective, they thought that the US would go for Taiwan instead of Okinawa. Thus they relocated the 9th infantry division from Okinawa to Taiwan to beef up Taiwan. Okinawa could have been tougher. 

From the US side, before the battle of Okinawa was a final large scale air battle near Taiwan which was pretty much the extinguishing Japan's remaining ability to send up a large size air group. I can't recall if that was a factor in determining whether or not it was to by pass Taiwan and just go for Okinawa. They did have Taiwan to take in the plans. Sort of juggled up with the choice if whether or not to go for the Philippines. 

One other thing about going for Okinawa before going straight for Kyushu, I'm sort of assuming that the US would have wanted to carry out a thorough strategic bombing campaign beforehand. One other factor is that the invasion of Japan itself would be very large and so the capacity may not have been there yet.

[Domobran7]

I believe Oikinawa was taken to serve as a base for B-29 bombers?

[glenn239]

On 5/17/2023 at 4:25 AM, On the way said:

I don't understand why the US would need to attack and take Okinawa. Yes, I know it was part of the island hopping campaign concocted by the US Navy. But at this point in time, everyone and their uncle knew that Okinawa was a heavily defended island and the cost to take it was high.

 

IMO, there was a kind of paralysis, or drift, in US strategy after the Marianas in June 1944.  The primary cause being high-level political games inside the US command.  The Japanese, I seem to recall, were astounded that the US allowed them to fortify Iwo Jima and Okinawa for over half a year after the Marianas, (it being only a 700nm jump from Guam to Iwo Jima).  A viable alternative I think was instead of invading Luzon in October 1944, to have invaded Okinawa and Iwo Jima instead.  Bypass the Philippines altogether.   But, FDR needed MacArthur happy for his reelection. 

[RETAC21]

On 5/17/2023 at 10:25 AM, On the way said:

I don't understand why the US would need to attack and take Okinawa. Yes, I know it was part of the island hopping campaign concocted by the US Navy. But at this point in time, everyone and their uncle knew that Okinawa was a heavily defended island and the cost to take it was high. Which turned out to be true. Its a small island and there are only so many places you can land an amphibious force.

Why not bypass Okinawa and head straight to Kyushu island? There is no way the Japanese can defend the whole island with the same amount of fortifications and troops as they did Okinawa. From Kagoshima, the USN would have a choice of landing on the east, like at SHibushi Bay or on the West. Or both. Yeah, they might face kamakazi attacks, which were no different then if they had attacked Okinawa. But resistance on Kyushu should be lighter by virtue of it being a much bigger area to defend. The USN could still blockade Okinawa, and other islands before Kyushu to intercept and prevent attacks from the rear and flank on the US fleet. The additional benefit is that they are on one of the home islands, making attacks against the other home islands much easier.

https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1945/battle-of-okinawa/okinawa-historic-overview-importance.html

"Their objective would be to secure the island of Okinawa, thus removing the last barrier standing between the U.S. forces and Imperial Japan. With both this and Iwo Jima firmly in hand, the U.S. military could finally bring its full might to bear upon the Japanese, conducting unchecked strategic air strikes against the Japanese mainland, blockading its logistical lifeline, and establishing forward bases for the final invasion of Japan (Operation Olympic) in the fall of 1945."

https://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/okinawa/chapter1.htm#b1

"The projected Ryukyus campaign was bound up strategically with the operations against Luzon and Iwo Jima; they were all calculated to maintain unremitting pressure against Japan and to effect the attrition of its military forces. The Luzon operation in December would allow the Southwest Pacific forces to continue on the offensive after taking Leyte. The occupation of Iwo Jima in January would follow through with another blow and provide a base for fighter support for the B-29's operating against Japan from the Marianas. The seizure of Okinawa in March would carry the war to the threshold of Japan, cut the enemy's air communications through the Ryukyus, and flank his sea communications to the south. Okinawa was, moreover, in the line of advance both to the China coast and to the Japanese home islands."

The invasion of Kyushu couldn't be acomplished without a forward logistical base where ships could be patched up and supplies transhipped as needed, plus carriers couldn't provide continuous air support. When the decision was taken, the sucess of the strategic mining campaign or the A bomb was an unknown quantity.

[Yama]

I think posterity tends now to hold a view that Iwo Jima was largely pointless and could have been ignored with little effect on subsequent operations. But as noted, US needed to capture something to make invasion to Home Islands viable, and most obvious and best something was Okinawa.

[Sardaukar]

9 hours ago, Yama said:

I think posterity tends now to hold a view that Iwo Jima was largely pointless and could have been ignored with little effect on subsequent operations. But as noted, US needed to capture something to make invasion to Home Islands viable, and most obvious and best something was Okinawa.

Iwo Jima was captured to allow USAF fighters to escort B-29s flying missions to mainland Japan.

As it turned out, that was unnecessary. It has been argued that considering number of air crews Iwo airfields saved from ditching, it was not as much waste as it is thought to be. 

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/sites/default/files/2020-02/iwo-jima-fact-sheet.pdf

In thirty-six days of fighting on the island, nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines were killed. Another 20,000 were wounded.

....

After the battle, Iwo Jima served as an emergency landing site for more than 2,200 B-29 bombers, saving the lives of 24,000 U.S. airmen. Securing Iwo Jima prepared the way for the last and largest battle in the Pacific: the invasion of Okinawa.

How many of those air crew would have been survived anyway is debatable, but it has been seen as at least even when it comes to (possible and actual) casualties. 

 

[RETAC21]

19 hours ago, Yama said:

I think posterity tends now to hold a view that Iwo Jima was largely pointless and could have been ignored with little effect on subsequent operations. But as noted, US needed to capture something to make invasion to Home Islands viable, and most obvious and best something was Okinawa.

In hindsight, knowing the A bomb works, any battle after the invasion of the Marianas was superfluous, all the US had to do was to wait and bomb Japan in late 45/46