Okinawa

[Commissar D, the Evil]

Hey guys, I ran across this in the Official U.S. History of the Okinawan Campaign. Remember that, at this point, the Japanese Army on Okinawa ws essentially destroyed and incapable of organized resistance. This part talks about Mitsuru Ushijma, General in command of those forces. He made tactical errors, but you have to admire the man's b*lls:

General Buckner then invited Ushijima to enter negotiations for surrender. No one seriously expected Ushijima to respond to this bid for surrender. Two days later planes scattered another 30,000 leaflets over enemy ground, this time emphasizing Ushijima's refusal to negotiate for surrender and his selfish determination to commit his entire army to destruction, and calling upon his subordinate officers and men to quit of their own accord. Another appeal was made on 14 June.

Actually, it was later learned, General Ushijima did not receive the original message until 17 June, the delay resulting from the lack of communications and the general confusion existing among his troops. Both he and his chief of staff, General Cho, considered the message hilariously funny and said that it would not be consonant with their honor as Samurai to entertain such a proposal.18 (My Emphasis)

For the entire story on-line, see:

http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/wwii/o ... m#contents

Best,
~Akira, the EviL

[Commissar D, the Evil]

From the same source, the deaths of General Ushijima and his chief of staff:

General Ushijima radioed his last message to lmperial Headquarters on the evening of 21 June. The impetuous General Cho made a last appeal for all units to fight to the utmost. He also prepared several messages which he hoped his secretary could eventually deliver in Japan. "Our strategy, tactics, and technics," he explained, "all were used to the utmost and we fought valiantly, but it was as nothing before the material strength of the enemy." 28 Realizing that they could hold out no longer, Generals Ushijima and Cho made ready for death. Their cook prepared an especially large meal to be served shortly before midnight. When the meal was finished, the two generals and their staff drank numerous farewell toasts with the remaining bottles of Scotch whisky which had been carried from Shuri. The rest of the story is told by a prisoner who learned the details of the death of Ushijima and Cho from other prisoners:

Alas! The Stars of the Generals have fallen with the setting of the waning moon over Mabuni . . . .
The pale moon shimmers bluish white over the waters of the southern sea, but on Hill 89 which juts abruptly from the reefs, the rocks and boulders are dyed crimson by the blood of the penetration unit which, with burning patriotism, rush the American positions for the last stand. The surrounding area displays a picture of concentrated fireworks; bursts of naval gun fire, flashes of mortar and artillery fire, to which is added the occasional chatter of machine guns . . . .
Gathered around their section chiefs, members of each section bow in veneration toward the eastern sky and the cheer of "long live the Emperor" echoes among the boulders . . . . The faces of all are flushed with deep emotion and tears fall upon ragged uniforms, soiled with the dirt and grime of battle . . . .
Four o'clock, the final hour of Hara-kiri; the Commanding General, dressed in full field uniform, and the Chief of Staff in a white kimono appeared . . . . The Chief of Staff says as he leaves the cave first, "Well, Commanding General Ushijima, as the way may be dark, I, Cho, will lead the way." The Commanding General replies, "Please do so, and I'll take along my fan since it is getting warm." Saying this he picked up his Okinawa-made Kuba fan and walked out quietly fanning himself . . . .
The moon, which had been shining until now, sinks below the waves of the western sea. Dawn has not yet arrived and, at 0410, the generals appeared at the mouth of the cave. The American forces were only three meters away [sic.]. Four meters away from the mouth of the cave a sheet of white cloth is placed on a quilt; this is the ritual place for the two Generals to commit Hara-kiri. The Commanding General and the Chief of Staff sit down on the quilt, bow in reverence towards the eastern sky, and Adjutant J. respectfully presents the sword. Finally, the time for the honored rites of Hara-kiri arrives. At this time several grenades were hurled near this solemn scene by the enemy troops who observed movements taking place beneath them. A simultaneous shout and a flash of a sword, then another repeated shout and a flash, and both Generals had nobly accomplished their last duty to their Emperor . . . .

Ha! Herr Feldmarshall Paulus didn't have a clue! You can't be responsible for the death of 100,000 soldiers in a lost battle and live!!! Now, Feldmarshall Model knew where it was at! Just didn't have the style of the Japanese

Cheers,
~Akira

[Commissar D, the Evil]

(P.S.) I know this is pretty heavy stuff for some of the lightweights who inhabit Soldatenehiem, so I will consider any lack of comments simply a reflection on the lack of depth of thought of wannabee Forum Heroes!

Banzai!

Akira Ushijima, Servant of the Emperor.

[Paul]

interesting article Commissar,



"Ha! Herr Feldmarshall Paulus didn't have a clue! You can't be responsible for the death of 100,000 soldiers in a lost battle and live!!! Now, Feldmarshall Model knew where it was at! Just didn't have the style of the Japanese "

I certainly would have to agree with you on this one.

I rememeber that 1 in 10 German troops did not surrender under Paulus, I cant remember the source.

Certainly shows how committed he was to save his own arse, and so much for his blood Oath.


do anything but bring back the Forum Heroes - these sort of stories about the Japanese are interesting, and considering they were with the nazis can be considererd relavant to the forum.

[Paul]

"Feldmarshall Model knew where it was at! Just didn't have the style of the Japanese "


Feldmarshall Model,s method was nice and clean and quick, and it was easyer to clean up the mess.
.

Its interesting to note that before suicide Model destroyed his papers thus the task of any future biographer would be difficult.

[Helmut Von Moltke]

thanks David/Akira, intresting article! Well, Stalingrad, Stalingrad... if Paulus did it the Japanese way, suicide, perhaps that stuff might end up in legend as a fight to the last man, since there is no general to command the surrender, more soldiers would fight on, a legendary mythical German alamo against the vastly superior Soviet forces. This was the case on many Pacific islands, but aren't as famous, since the Japanese were on the losing side, and the numbers of men are less. A Shame really, if the Americans fought at Dieppe or Guam that way, it would be well known by now, thousands of Hollywood movies being amde about it.

[Cott Tiger]

From the same source, the deaths of General Ushijima and his chief of staff:

General Ushijima radioed his last message to lmperial Headquarters on the evening of 21 June. The impetuous General Cho made a last appeal for all units to fight to the utmost. He also prepared several messages which he hoped his secretary could eventually deliver in Japan. "Our strategy, tactics, and technics," he explained, "all were used to the utmost and we fought valiantly, but it was as nothing before the material strength of the enemy." 28 Realizing that they could hold out no longer, Generals Ushijima and Cho made ready for death. Their cook prepared an especially large meal to be served shortly before midnight. When the meal was finished, the two generals and their staff drank numerous farewell toasts with the remaining bottles of Scotch whisky which had been carried from Shuri. The rest of the story is told by a prisoner who learned the details of the death of Ushijima and Cho from other prisoners:

Alas! The Stars of the Generals have fallen with the setting of the waning moon over Mabuni . . . .
The pale moon shimmers bluish white over the waters of the southern sea, but on Hill 89 which juts abruptly from the reefs, the rocks and boulders are dyed crimson by the blood of the penetration unit which, with burning patriotism, rush the American positions for the last stand. The surrounding area displays a picture of concentrated fireworks; bursts of naval gun fire, flashes of mortar and artillery fire, to which is added the occasional chatter of machine guns . . . .
Gathered around their section chiefs, members of each section bow in veneration toward the eastern sky and the cheer of "long live the Emperor" echoes among the boulders . . . . The faces of all are flushed with deep emotion and tears fall upon ragged uniforms, soiled with the dirt and grime of battle . . . .
Four o'clock, the final hour of Hara-kiri; the Commanding General, dressed in full field uniform, and the Chief of Staff in a white kimono appeared . . . . The Chief of Staff says as he leaves the cave first, "Well, Commanding General Ushijima, as the way may be dark, I, Cho, will lead the way." The Commanding General replies, "Please do so, and I'll take along my fan since it is getting warm." Saying this he picked up his Okinawa-made Kuba fan and walked out quietly fanning himself . . . .
The moon, which had been shining until now, sinks below the waves of the western sea. Dawn has not yet arrived and, at 0410, the generals appeared at the mouth of the cave. The American forces were only three meters away [sic.]. Four meters away from the mouth of the cave a sheet of white cloth is placed on a quilt; this is the ritual place for the two Generals to commit Hara-kiri. The Commanding General and the Chief of Staff sit down on the quilt, bow in reverence towards the eastern sky, and Adjutant J. respectfully presents the sword. Finally, the time for the honored rites of Hara-kiri arrives. At this time several grenades were hurled near this solemn scene by the enemy troops who observed movements taking place beneath them. A simultaneous shout and a flash of a sword, then another repeated shout and a flash, and both Generals had nobly accomplished their last duty to their Emperor . . . .

Ha! Herr Feldmarshall Paulus didn't have a clue! You can't be responsible for the death of 100,000 soldiers in a lost battle and live!!! Now, Feldmarshall Model knew where it was at! Just didn't have the style of the Japanese

Cheers,
~Akira

David,

Is there any other evidence, apart from the captured POW testimony, that the two Generals committed Hara-kiri rather than were killed by US marines storming the cave.

[Cott Tiger]

thanks David/Akira, intresting article! Well, Stalingrad, Stalingrad... if Paulus did it the Japanese way, suicide, perhaps that stuff might end up in legend as a fight to the last man, since there is no general to command the surrender, more soldiers would fight on, a legendary mythical German alamo against the vastly superior Soviet forces. This was the case on many Pacific islands, but aren't as famous, since the Japanese were on the losing side, and the numbers of men are less. A Shame really, if the Americans fought at Dieppe or Guam that way, it would be well known by now, thousands of Hollywood movies being amde about it.

What’s stopping the Japanese or Germans making movies about their war dead? Why should the Americans do it?

[Paulus II]

Herr Feldmarshall Paulus didn't have a clue!

You talkin'about me?

Seriously though,
The article talks about the officers committing Hara-kiri. Now I'm not exactly well versed on this but I do recall having read that Hara-kiri is the female ritual of suicide. For men, if I remember correctly, the right term wouls be Seppuku.
Could anyone elaborate on this?

regards,

Paul

[phylo_roadking]

Paulus, I was always taught that Hari_kiri was compulsory i.e. mandated by someone or tradition - such as ritual female suicide after their husband's death, or the penalty for some crime or dishonour, whereas Seppuku was about suicide as a creative act in the right circumstances, like the ultimate raised middle finger

phylo

[Dirlewanger]

I am not much of a student of the war in the Pacific 1941-1945 although as a pacific nation here in New Zealand, we owe plenty to the USA for its actions in defeating the plans of Japanese territorial expansion plans in that era.

The link David posted (official US history of the planning and battles for Okinawa) was an involved read and demonstrated well the greatest American military strategic assets, that they do better than any other nation, logistics and the application of overwhelming air and firepower. The operational plan to cut the island in half at the beginning was very good too!

Of course the two commanding Japanese Samurai Generals would have no option other than to commit Hari Kiri to regain their honour because of loss of face in losing the defensive battle of Okinawa. After all, it was the Honourable thing to do!

But then again Commissar, there WAS the German General, General Karl Ernst Haushofer, First World War Brigade leader, the Third Reich's foremost Japanese expert and admirer , military attaché to Japan in 1910, diplomat, philosopher, professorial academic, and the Father of the philosophy of Geopolitik, among other things, who committed suicide by seppuku in 1946 in a double suicide pact with his wife.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Haushofer

[Commissar D, the Evil]

The link David posted (official US history of the planning and battles for Okinawa) was an involved read and demonstrated well the greatest American military strategic assets, that they do better than any other nation, logistics and the application of overwhelming air and firepower. The operational plan to cut the island in half at the beginning was very good too!

There are many interesting aspects of the Okinawa campaign, but one of the most interesting is that the Americans, who were well-versed in the school of military thought that "Firepower Kills" ran into a defense that managed to negate firepower to a certain extent and could only be overcome by the heroism of the ordinary American infantryman.

Okinawa, even more than Iwo Jima, drastically affected American military thought at the time. With complete control of the sea, the air and massive firepower available to the infantry, the American campaign--which was very well-planned and very well supported logistically, ran into a sophisticated defense designed to minimalize the effect of firepower.

For better or worse, Okinawa lead to the American perception that an invasion of Japan would be horribly expensive and lead to the use of the atom bombs to prevent the necessity of an invasion. While one can argue forever about the morality of targeting cities for the atom bomb, with a knowledge of the Okinawan Campaign, one can honestly reach the opinion that anything that stopped the war short of an actual invasion of mainland Japan, benefited both nations and saved many, many lives--perhaps millions.

That is why I concentrate on this thread on the leadership of Japanese Forces on Okinawa. It is important to understand both that leadership's tactics and their thinking, without devaluing the importance of the absolute heroism of the average infantryman and sailor on both sides who fought the battle.

Best,
~Akira, Servant of the Emperor

[Commissar D, the Evil]

This is part of the farewell cable sent by General Ushijima before his death to Headquarters in Japan:

" For the Emperor and people of Japan. I have no adequate words of apology for the state of the fighting. It has come to a point where we are about to deploy all surviving soldiers for a final battle--in which I will apologize to the Emperor with my own death. Yet the regret for not having accomplished my enormous responsibility will torment my soul for thousands of years to come."

Compare these sentiments with the last communications of Feldmarshall Paulus at Stalingrad.

The best privately writen account of the Okinawan campaign I've found is Tenozan, by George Feifer. It goes into detail about the sheer, remorseless brutality of the fighting and its effect on American, Japanese and Okinawans who experienced it. By the time this last cable was sent, the Japanese Army of slightly over 100,000 men had suffered probably 70,000 to 80,000 men killed in action. It was truly a battle where the losers fought "to the last man and last bullet".

The official American history of the campaign notes that:

Approximately 110,000 of the enemy lost their lives in the attempt to hold Okinawa, and 7,400 more were taken prisoners.

So, as you can see, the Japanese essentially fought to the death on a scale unimaginable compared to American experiences in Europe with a much more formidably-equipped enemy and under circumstances where they had neither control of the air or sea nor any hope of reinforcement or any means of retreat.

Best,
~Akira, Servant of the Emperor

[Commissar D, the Evil]

Haiku by General Ushijima:

Even as I expire, bullets and arrows depleted.
Dyeing heaven and earth with blood
My soul will, my soul will
Return to protect the holy nation.

The island's green grass,
Wilting without waiting for autumn,
Will revive with the return
Of the holy nation's Imperial Spring.

Best,
~Akira, Servant of the Emperor

[Helmut Von Moltke]

intresting poem by General Ushijima ,Akira, but what does "Haiku", the title of the poem, mean?