On This Day: U.S. troops occupy Okinawa after bloodiest battle of Pacific

June 21: American troops conquered Japan’s Okinawa island on this day in 1945 following the bloodiest battle of their Pacific campaign during World War Two.

The U.S. suffered 34,000 casualties following 82 days of fierce fighting that convinced President Harry Truman to deploy the newly developed atom bomb.

A British Pathé newsreel shows American troops mopping up the last traces of resistance following the deaths of 100,000 Japanese soldiers.

‘Yanks’ – as the reporter consistently calls American troops - are seen using flamethrowers to flush out hiding ‘Japs’ while U.S. Jeeps struggle through mud.

Japanese military chiefs considered holding Okinawa essential if they were to defend the four main islands of Japan 340 miles away.

They ordered troops there to fight to their deaths after U.S. commanders organised the biggest combined land, air and sea battle ever seen.

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A total 88 American warships and 1,350 aircraft – joined by 50 British vessels and 450 planes - supported the land assault by 183,000 U.S. soldiers.

In response, Japan launched 1,465 Kamikaze attacks in which pilots intentionally steered their planes towards ships.

The U.S. amphibious assault was probably the easiest part of the battle for the Americans.

Japanese forces totalling 120,000 held back on launching their ground counterattack until U.S. troops moved further inland and were out of range of naval support.

In the end, superior American might helped tipped the balance but only after almost three months of fighting on the 60-mile-long island.

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But despite their victory on Okinawa, which remained occupied until 1972, the battle was a tremendous blow to the U.S.

Commanders feared that, if the same level of resistance was replicated elsewhere, defeating Japan could cost up to a million American lives.

So, a decision was made use nuclear weapons, and on August 6, 1945 – only 21 days after being tested - the first atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

It killed 70,000 people instantly – with radiation and burns wiping out a further 96,000 over time.

Yet Japan refused to surrender, so three days later the U.S. dropped another nuclear bomb – this time on Nagasaki, killing 40,000 at a stroke.

On August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender, telling his people in his first ever radio broadcast: “The enemy now possesses a new and terrible weapon.”