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Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign
Part of World War II, the Pacific War
Two U.S. Marines advance on Wana Ridge during the Battle of Okinawa.
Date January – June, 1945 Location Volcano Islands and Ryukyu Islands, Pacific Ocean Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United States  United Kingdom  Canada  Australia  New Zealand	Empire of Japan
Commanders
Chester W. Nimitz Holland Smith Simon B. Buckner Joseph W. Stilwell Ray Spruance Marc A. Mitscher	Tadamichi Kuribayashi Mitsuru Ushijima Isamu Cho
Casualties and losses
19,840 dead or missing, 58,105 wounded, 33,096 non-combat losses, 79 ships sunk and scrapped, 773 aircraft destroyed	90,400 dead or missing, 17,000 wounded, 7,671 captured, 21 ships sunk and scrapped, 3,130 aircraft destroyed, 75,000-140,000 civilians dead or missing

The Volcano and Ryūkyū Islands campaign was a series of battles and engagements between Allied forces and Imperial Japanese forces in the Pacific Ocean campaign of World War II between January and June, 1945.

The campaign took place in the Volcano and Ryukyu island groups. The two main land battles in the campaign were the Battle of Iwo Jima (February 16-March 26, 1945) and the Battle of Okinawa (April 1-June 21, 1945). One major naval battle occurred, called Operation Ten-Go (April 7, 1945) after the operational title given to it by the Japanese.

The campaign was part of the Allied Japan campaign intended to provide staging areas for an invasion of Japan as well as supporting aerial bombardment and a naval blockade of the Japanese mainland. The dropping of atomic weapons on two Japanese cities, however, caused the Japanese government to surrender without an armed invasion being necessary.

See also

• Japan campaign

References

• Drea, Edward J. (1998). "An Allied Interpretation of the Pacific War". In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-1708-0. 
• Dyer, George Carroll. "The Amphibians Came to Conquer: The Story of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner". United States Government Printing Office. Retrieved on October 20, 2006.

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