# Battle of Okinawa: WWII's Last Major Battle — WHE Article Discussion (2-2984) **URL:** \ **Category:** WHE Articles\ **Created:** [September 3, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/battle-of-okinawa-wwiis-last-major-battle-whe-article-discussion-2-2984/19118 "2026-09-03T16:00:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![markzcartwright](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/markzcartwright/32/35_2.png) [@markzcartwright](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/markzcartwright)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/battle-of-okinawa-wwiis-last-major-battle-whe-article-discussion-2-2984/19118/1 "2026-09-03T16:00:10Z")
The Battle of Okinawa (April to June 1945) was the largest amphibious assault and last major battle of the Second World War (1939-45). A massive naval fleet landed 170,000 US troops on the island, but it took two and a half months of bitter fighting to defeat a Japanese army determined to inflict as many casualties as possible on the enemy by whatever means possible. Around 100,000 Japanese combatants, up to 150,000 civilians, and around 12,000 US troops were killed on Okinawa. Victory gave the US the perfect platform from which to launch an assault on Japan's largest islands, an operation made unnecessary by the dropping of two atomic bombs and Japan's surrender in August 1945. * * * _This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at [https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2984/battle-of-okinawa/](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2984/battle-of-okinawa/)._ * * * **Join the Conversation** - Which part did you find most interesting, and why? - Does this match what you've learned about the topic before? - What did you think about this article? Is there anything you'd like to ask about this article? Ask away — and if you spot something that should be covered, that's useful to know too. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/system/32/30_2.png) [@system](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/battle-of-okinawa-wwiis-last-major-battle-whe-article-discussion-2-2984/19118/2 "2026-09-03T16:06:26Z")