Okinawa, 1945 (WWII):
Okinawa is only 340 miles from mainland Japan. In 1945, the allies wanted the island as a base of air operations for the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland. The Japanese wanted to stop the allied forces from advancing and convince them not to invade the mainland. 8 million artillery shells were fired during the battle, the equivalent of one every second for the 82 days the battle lasted.
Quote:The Battle of Okinawa
The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and tetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or tetsu no bōfū ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese. The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and to the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Japan lost over 100,000 soldiers, who were either killed, captured or committed suicide, and the Allies suffered more than 65,000 casualties of all kinds. Simultaneously, tens of thousands of local civilians were killed, wounded, or committed suicide.
The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Okinawa
