Tennozan: The Battle of Okinawa and the Atomic Bomb

by George Feifer

Looks at the collision of the American, Japanese, and Okinawan cultures during the battle of Okinawa, and examines why the battle lasted longer than it should have

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction, War, Military Fiction, Military History, Japan

Paperback

First published June 15, 1992

About the author

George Feifer was a journalist and author who wrote about the Soviet Union.

Reviews

[David Eppenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I have ever read the history of a battle or a war like what I read in this book. It was as though the author recognized Okinawa as an unknown growth on an organism known as World War II in the Pacific. The author then excised this growth in an attempt to identify its purpose and affect on the host organism and to do this an examination beyond the cellular level is conducted. Thorough is an understatement when describing this book and this is by no means the usual treatment of battle histories. There is very little beyond passing mention of battle tactics or national politics and policy though these are referred to from time to time. This book is about something else entirely. This book is about the pointlessness and ruination of war on the bodies, souls, and habitations of human beings.

To understand the purpose and meaning of the battle for Okinawa the author views the conflict from the perspectives of the three participanting groups in this tragedy, the Okinawans, the Japanese, and the Americans. The detail of this tripartite treatment are admirably fair though incredibly gruesome and disturbing. No side is spared praise or criticism as the author carefully records the deterioration and devolution of the human condition as the battle progresses. The manner in which this deterioration is illustrated is by reading numerous stories of individuals from each of the three groups that lived through this battle. This is a book about the people in this battle and their attempts to do their duty and then to survive more than anything else.

The author begins by tracing the history of the Okinawan people and their relationship with the Japanese. He describes the Okinawan culture and society and how they were treated by Japan. The author also uses this battle to give the reader and understanding of the Japanese warrior culture like I have never read in any other book. At the end of the book the author uses elements of this story to argue convincingly how necessary the dropping of the atomic bombs were to ending WWII. And not to be neglected, the individual American servicemen also have their stories told and how they went from innocent oblivious kids to battle hardened men and indifferent killers that justified their actions after witnessing Japanese atrocities inflicted on Americans and Okinawans. After reading this book, gruesome as it is in parts, the reader will achieve a respect and admiration for the veterans of the island battles of our Pacific war like never before.

Okinawa became a target for American invasion in order to serve as a platform for the invasion of the Japanese home islands. While separate from the home islands Okinawa was considered a part of Japan and was defended as well as an invasion of a home island. However the island and the Okinawan people were never respected as being truly Japanese by the Japanese and the relationship between the two cultures was never good. Nevertheless, the Okinawans were dominated by the Japanese and served Japan as well as any other unquestioning subject population. As a result of this battle the island and culture of Okinawa was almost completely obliterated. Of the tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers on the island only 5% survived and this nearly 3 month long struggle was also the most costly of the Pacific island battles in American lives. When the battle ended none of the Americans found the victory worth celebrating as all of them knew what came next, the invasion of Japan. The Americans knew how bad Okinawa had been and also knew that Japan would be far, far worse. All these veterans expected to die during the invasion of Japan and found no reason to be in a celebratory mood. A few weeks later the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the war ended. That is when the celebrations took place and then it occurred to these men that Okinawa and everything that happened there was now meaningless. The author doesn't spare the reader an analysis of that truth. This was an outstanding book that every WWII buff should have on their shelf. I know I will be holding on to my copy.

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read this book when it was first published in hardback some years ago I am still to find another book that can better the author's account of this terrible Pacific War battle. Gerald Astor's book Operation Iceberg comes close but in a much different style. George Feifer's research was in-depth and exhaustive, his style of writing is excellent. This is a finely written combat narrative that utilises accounts of the participants on sides; soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians. It is a haunting account and some of the stories of the fighting are truly evocative. I found that I could not put this book down and the narrative just raced along carrying me into this terrible maelstrom of battle and carnage. This is a great book and I hope that every American appreciates what it's young men were asked to do during the Second World War. No serious student of the Pacific War during WW2 should be without this book.

[Sweetwilliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling narrative of civilians and combatants from both sides but most importantly, this book provides the extremely rare perspective of the Japanese soldier. For history lovers of the Pacific War, this is the missing piece of the puzzle because in all previous battles, nearly all Japanese combatants perished. Finally, the story of the Japanese combatant is told and what a miserable, horrific story it is. Living underground in caves like a troglodytes for months in an environment that an American or any sane person couldn’t stand for ten seconds. Some banzai charges may have been motivated by a soldiers desire for one last breath of fresh air followed by a quick merciful death. Civilians begged soldiers for grenades so they could commit mass suicide rather than fall Into the hands of the Marines. The lucky ones had no access to grenades or their grenades became too wet to explode.

The Japanese soldiers that did surrender mentioned that they were never treated as well by the Imperial Japanese Army as they were treated in the American POW camps. Within days they lost their hatred of their adversary.

This was the last battle of WW2. As the greatest armada in the history of warfare approached Okinawa the brainwashed or naïve Japanese enlisted man and civilians alike thought “now we’ve got them.” Everyone expected the IJA to prevail. They all thought that a relief flotilla would arrive at any moment. They were uninformed and couldn’t imagine losing let alone surrender. This is important to understand because the majority of the Japanese on the mainland most likely felt the same way and would of turned this tenacity into a hard fought blood bath for at least another year. The atomic bomb was important because it brought about a quick change of minds starting at the very top.

Okinawa was different than the other island hopping battles. The Japanese didn’t contest the landings. Instead they waited inland at the heavily fortified series of caves called the Shuri line. Once this line was breached, the army retreated in disarray toward the southern half of the island. The men considered this a mistake. It was a blow to morale and the command structure broke down. The soldiers fell back to caves occupied by civilians. They stole their food and water and threatened to kill any civilian that tried to surrender. This was hell on earth for all but exacerbated the suffering of the civilians of which 150,000 would perish.

The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki convinced the Japanese to surrender. Author George Fiefer said that only one US veteran of the Okinawa campaign that he interviewed thought that the deployment of the A-bombs were probably unnecessary. That veteran arrived after the island was secure and didn’t have the same experience as the men who breached the Shuri line. Those who understood Japanese tenacity on the battlefield and experienced it first hand knew that an invasion of the Japanese mainland meant their eventual death. Not one of the veterans who saw actual combat regretted the use of the bomb. To me, this was not a surprise. The surprise to me was that some Japanese, in hindsight, were glad the US dropped the bombs because it brought an almost immediate end to hostilities. If the allies would have invaded mainland Japan the US predicted 1 MM allied casualties. In the war in the Pacific, for every death of a US servicemen, 20 Japanese perished. An Allied invasion would have prolonged the Japanese agony for at least another year. The bomb saved tens of millions of lives.

[Jacqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up George Feifer's Tennozan: The Battle of Okinawa and the Atomic Bomb (Houghton Mifflin 1992) because my son is now in Okinawa Japan with the Army. Okinawa, by most measures, is one of the seminal battles between the US and Japan in WWII and the largest land-sea-air engagement in history. Though fought at the end of the War, Japan showed no appetite for giving up and threw everything she had at the Allied forces on the island. By the time the battle ended, more people were lost than in Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. The word 'tennozan' in Japanese refers to an all-out, decisive battle. There are only a few of those in Japanese history and Okinawa is at the top of the list. Feifer has a line in the book that I failed to write down but it goes something like: Most soldiers fight until the battle is won or lost. The Japanese will fight until they're dead, regardless of whether it's a losing battle. It's an attitude that filters through not just their military battles but economic and social too. It is this sort of willingness to give everything that convinced President Truman that nothing short of the atomic bomb would stop this enemy.

So, in honor of my son's new home, I checked the 600+page book out of the library. It follows the life of three soldiers, one American, one Japanese, and one native Okinawan conscripted by the Japanese to fight for his homeland (that's right; I didn't even know Okinawa was a prefecture of Japan with a culture significantly different from Japan). Chapters include:

* American Participants
* Japanese Participants
* Okinawa
* Japanese Leadership
* Civilian Dislocation
* The Shuri Line
* Sugar Loaf Hill
* Close Combat
* Civilian Suffering

You can't read this book without coming away with intense respect for the patriotism, honor, and tenacity of the soldiers on both sides. Here are some amazing facts I didn't know about this battle:

* When the American fleet gathered off Okinawa's shores, filling the ocean to the horizon, the entrenched Japanese "were pleased to see so many enemy vessels gathered for convenient destruction by Imperial planes and warships".
* A third of the Japanese planes deployed during the Battle of Okinawa were kamikazes.
* Half of the 700 Japanese planes that attacked American ships on L day (Launch Day--the start of the battle, like D Day) were kamikazes.
* Japan was defeated well before Okinawa but the Japanese wouldn't quit. Their goal was not so much to kill the enemy as die in combat for the glory of the Rising Sun.
* The Battle for Sugar Loaf Hill by some measures was the hardest single battle in the Pacific War and hardest for Americans anywhere in WWII.
* 23 Medal of Honors were awarded for the Battle of Okinawa, the most of any campaign in WWII.
* The American soldiers "come from a culture that valued individual life. [It] took time to comprehend a world where it was scorned."
* A solid month of unrelieved combat produced some degree of battle fatigue in nearly 100 percent of American troops.

George Feifer is the co-author of one of my favorite books from college, Solzhenitsyn.

Anyone with a love of history, problem-solving, critical thinking, and cultural differences will surely enjoy this book.

[Eric Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book could drive you nuts if you read it closely too many times.

"Farther south, another Marine company took the last hill and came to a cliff from which civilians were leaping, as at Saipan. Some jumped alone, some in pairs and small groups; a few pushed one another. A platoon leader who had fought straight through from L-day [three months prior] watched with mixed relief and caution: It was like ants when their nest has been dug up. Mass confusion. Civilians running here, running there, looking for a place where their fall wouldn't be broken on their way down, for a rock down below where they could hit full. Women too. It was the end of a long rabbit hunt: you'd been flushing them out and they kept running for new cover ahead of you. Now you flushed them out again and they were trapped, so they dove onto the rocks or went into the sea. We didn't shoot them but we didn't try to stop them either. Seeing civilians do all that didn't bother me one bit, not one iota. Maybe I was half crazy myself by that time, I don't know - but I had other worries. I'd seen a lot of horrors by then..."

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read such a detailed account of the Battle of Okinawa. This is the ultimate story of this battle. More people perished during the battle of Okinawa than in the ensuing bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. The Battle of Okinawa offers a stunning account of the last major campaign of World War II and the largest land-sea-air engagement in history. What makes the book unique is that it's searched for testimony from every party involved in the conflict, including the enemy, which I find to be a side of the story tragically lacking in most true military histories.

This book isn't so much about the campaign itself, but the people on the ground, who suffered and sacrificed in the midst of a battle that was literally hell on Earth. It doesn't attempt to describe the overall scope of the battle, but the soldiers on the ground couldn't have either. This is not only a testimonial, but a modern parable concerning the true cost of war, and the true thoughts and feelings of the men who fight it.

The only gripe I have about the book and it is minor, is it would have been nice if more maps of the battle would have been illustrated. It would have been easier to follow along if more would have been used. Yet, the book is still important, thanks to the numerous testimonials that have supplied it. Other than that I would think that the author had to be exhausted when researching this book it is so detailed. I have a whole new appreciation for what those in arms went through to secure this last bastion of the Japanese army who were involved viewed the "final solution" of the war, the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan as life saving.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Feifer has written about a huge and important military conflict in the Pacific war. "Tennozan", Japanese for the place where a decisive struggle occurs, was conceived as an effort to correct what Feifer calls a gap in America's national consciousness regarding the epic struggle between America and Japan in World War II. The battle for Okinawa, which occurred over a period of 82 days from April First until mid-June, 1945, is described as the largest land-sea-air battle in history. Americans have always remembered, justifiably, the earlier battle of Iwo Jima, where the iconic photo of the flag raising became a metaphor of all of the American determination and suffering in the war. Okinawa, however, produced what Feifer calls even more fierce fighting on a larger scale. The 72,000 American casualties alone, including 12,000 killed, were more than twice the number suffered on Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima combined, yet this event never took root in America's national consciousness.

Feifer has produced a highly skilled accounting of this battle. He does not attempt to write an official battle history of this struggle; that has been done before and no doubt will be updated by future military historians. Feifer is motivated by the human struggle, by the meaning which this event had on the cultures of the participants and on the outcome of the war. He gives an unforgettable account of the "nightmarish experience" that was Okinawa. Toward this objective, he tells compelling descriptions of life and death on this island obtained from extensive interviews with Americans, Japanese (most of the over 100,000 soldiers serving under Lt. Gen. Mitsuru Ushijima died in battle or accompanied their general in self-inflicted death, but over 10,000 prisoners were captured), and Okinawan citizens.

The existence of the latter group has been a primary motivation for Feifer's choice of the battle for their island as his subject. Just 340 miles from mainland Japan, Okinawa, with its centuries-old culture, was swallowed up by Japan in 1879. Its people are the tragic victims of this story. They had nowhere to go to escape the war when it came to their island. They suffered and died by the thousands. Feifer claims at least 150,000 civilians died [reviewer's note: this latter figure varies with the source. It is believed from one-tenth to one-fourth of the civilian population perished in the battle]. They first had to endure the "typhoon of bombs and steel" rained upon them in the form of weeks of American pre-invasion shellings and bombs; later, as the Japanese resistance crumbled and military morale eroded, many more found themselves captives of a hostile occupying army with its back against the sea. Some of the most distressing accounts of the book concern the groups of civilians who fled to the island's caves and found themselves living with the Japanese defenders. They were not generally allowed to leave before the Americans discovered their hiding places, and whole families died when the caves were cleared out with explosives or flame throwers, or were simply bulldozed shut with everyone trapped inside, or when the defenders decided to pull the pins on their hand grenades and end it all. As bad as the individual suffering was, Feifer passionately wants the reader to understand the deeper damage inflicted on Okinawan cultural, material and spiritual life at this time.

Okinawa had huge strategic importance to both sides of the conflict because it was the end of the line in the string of Pacific amphibious landings before the Japanese home islands would be invaded. Now the Americans were knocking on the door of the island which would give them the harbors, anchorages and airfields to support assaults on Japan. The Japanese military leaders accordingly reinforced and fortified the island in preparation of defending it. This is where General Ushijima's military genius took over. When the American amphibious forces landed, the defenders would not try to repulse the attackers on the beaches. They would be placed further back inside defensive lines consisting of caves and interconnecting tunnels, which would be protected from the worst effects of enemy naval and air bombardment. This defense in depth would become ever more fierce as the invaders inched toward the southern part of the island. This protracted defense would inflict heavy stress along with significant battle injuries. Several tens of thousands of Americans became psychological casualties and were neutralized as combatants as effectively as if they had been shot.

The Japanese knew they could not defeat the Americans on Okinawa, but they were able to use the island's proximity to Japan to give it the strongest defense yet seen in the Pacific. The drawn-out hostilities required the American naval forces to remain stationed close to the island to support the invasion. This delay enabled Japanese kamikaze forces based on Kyushu to mount numerous mass suicide attacks, which caused almost ten thousand naval casualties and the loss of 34 Allied ships.

The American public was no doubt aware of the fighting that was taking place here, since the battle, like every major World War II conflict, would have been reported at least in photographs released to the newspapers across the country, and movie-goers would probably have seen newsreel film clips in those days before television. However, nothing in this coverage would have told any different story than the audiences had seen before. (One difference would have been coverage of the kamikaze attacks with the aircraft slamming into ships, which would have been shocking to audiences of that time, just as the same film coverage is among the most dramatic of all surviving World War II coverage.) There was also the significant competing news of the death of President Roosevelt on April 12, and of the end of the war in Europe on May 8. The military, however, wouldn't have given detailed contemporaneous data on the extent of allied losses, or how the planners of the next invasion were appalled by the cost in lives of securing Okinawa. The public was therefore not aware of the uniqueness of this event.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington had ordered General MacArthur to make detailed plans for Operation Downfall (the invasion of Japan by landing on the beaches of Kyushu on November 1, 1945),
right after L- Day, the invasion date on Okinawa (military planners needed to get away from the D-Day nomenclature for each invasion, at least temporarily. November First would be another D-Day.). The appallingly high casualties on and near Okinawa, and intelligence showing the heavy reinforcement of Japanese forces on Kyushu, were factors which had serious effect on the ultimate decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan.

Feifer attributes to General MacArthur the oft-quoted projected million Allied casualties on Japan. Others in government made other casualty guesses. In the end, I'm not sure all weren't very conservative numbers. No one in the American government was deluded that the resistance against the Allied invasion of the home islands wouldn't be the most fierce that had been experienced in the war. Feifer explains the planning going on in Japan toward "ketsu", designed to crush the invasion forces. Japan, even at this late stage of losing its navy and garrisons on dozens of islands, still had over four million armed soldiers. Fortifications were going up all over the country; arms and munitions were stockpiled in Japan in huge numbers. Even the citizenry was being enlisted to fight. Men, women and children were supplied with wooden spears with knife ends, and were drilled regularly in their use. This "final peoples movement" (p. 570) called for millions of citizens to give up their lives trying to kill invading soldiers. This tactic was not going to work well against allied guns, but the point is that everyone with a bamboo spear would have had to be killed. Thousands of aircraft were also available to the Japanese, with five thousand pilots being trained to fly as kamikazes. An invasion against such "ultimate Tennozan" (p. 572) would have gone on for years, producing at least twenty million deaths and reducing the entire country to cinders.

In the grotesque calculus of war, the actual 200,000 deaths caused by the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki can be seen as a less dreadful alternative than storming Japan's beaches and fighting against ketsu. Feifer pointedly notes that this does not diminish the horribleness of using these bombs. It can also be argued that both alternatives could have been avoided since Japan was beaten by this time. Over thirteen million people were homeless, and the islands were now blockaded by the victorious American Navy. Food was becoming scarce. Japan's industry was in shambles. In addition, high Japanese governmental officials were now venturing to suggest the previously unspeakable word: surrender.

None of this human tragedy was going to change the direction of the war because the people running the country lived in complete disconnect with the lives of ordinary citizens. More significantly, the government was in the control of military zealots, led by War Minister General Anami and Commander of the Combined Fleet Toyoda, who personified the way of the warrior, "bushido', which demanded resistance to the end. In their view, Japan's heavy military reverses so far were only prelude to the desired result of a final battle for national honor on Japan's soil leading to the annihilation of the Americans.

A peace faction had been developing by this time. The new, third wartime prime minister, Suzuki; the new foreign minister, Togo; and the Lord Privy Seal, Marquis Kido, were part of the peace faction which wanted to negotiate the end of the war. They were supported now by the Emperor, but only in private. Therefore, they had no power to challenge the Supreme War Cabinet's military faction, remnants of the "Manchuria Gang" of the 1920's and 30's who had terrorized and assassinated their opponents, and then dragged the country into the war.

Feifer supports President Harry Truman and others in government who decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. Unlike the events depicted on popular television documentaries on the subject, the explosions of the bombs didn't just automatically stop the war. Even after the second bomb was detonated, on Nagasaki, the generals were determined to continue the war. What changed, however, was a qualitative rather than quantitative reaction to being victimized by this terrible new weapon. After all, the fire bombing of Tokyo in March by dropping "conventional" incendiary bombs killed 200,000 people, and Japan didn't miss a beat in its execution of the war. Being damaged by weapons of this type, with the possibility of more to come, was a game changer, or as Feifer describes it, something which freed the nation from her complacency of the odds against her. After Nagasaki, on August 9th, the Emperor, who previously acquiesced in others' decisions made in his name, unprecedentedly spoke out against continuing the war's slaughter. This stayed the agenda of the hard liners, however tenuously. It led to final governmental moves toward Japan's eventual surrender, but as Feifer says, it was touch and go for about six days after the ninth, as the possibility of assassinations of government officials, and of a coup, existed.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Macro and micro level history combines to give an overall account of both sides in this war. What I enjoyed most was the fact that the US' conduct in this particular theater of operations was not glossed over, as well as the fact that the Japanese (as fanatical and single minded as they were), weren't treated as just some savages who fought in barbaric ways. Enjoyable and well paced.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched but poorly written account of the Battle of Okinawa. It got to a point where I would just read the soldier anecdotes and skim the narration. It was helpful to read about the viewpoints from both sides.

3 stars

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A definitive book on the horrific Battle of Okinawa which was fought from April to June, 1945. My dad fought in this battle and was surprised that he survived. He didn't speak much about it, but I believe it haunted him his whole life.

George Feifer carefully researched the book. this is a nonfiction, and he presents this battle from the viewpoint of a group of people who participated in the fray, including American marines, Japanese, soldiers, and Okinawan villagers. He begins each chapter with several quotes from journals, letters, and interviews with combatants and/or Okinawan civilians. These primary sources really bring the humanity of this devastation alive.
For example, the following is from a kamikaze pilot before flying off to his death:
"When I fly the skies
What a splendid place to be buried
The top of a cloud would be "

Or this, from Thomas Hannaher, an American soldier:
"I lived through Okinawa somehow, but the great battle of the mainland (Japan) lay ahead. How long could my luck hold? Then the dropping of the A-bomb put a brand-new light in my life. I'd be going home, after all. And I did!" (I am sure my dad had the same feeling.)

One of the events in the book dealt with Army General Simon Bolivar, Buckner, Jr. He was the three-star general who commanded the US. Tenth Army, under whom my dad served. Buckner was killed on June 18, 1945 on Okinawa. (ironically, the battle was officially won on June 22, 1945 which was my dad's birthday.) I am sure it was devastating the soldiers of the Tenth Army to hear of their general's death. My dad never confirmed this with our family, but my brother's nickname is Buck. My brother was born in June, 1947. I think he honored the general and my brother by having them share the same nickname.

Obviously, this was an emotional read for me, trying to visualize the horror that my dad went through. The April 1, 1945 landing involved 1,457 ships and more than 500,000 men, with 430 of the ships serving as troopships. It was the largest assembled armada in history with "over forty carriers, eighteen battleships, scores of cruisers, and almost 150 destroyers and destroyer escorts" (eBook pg. 154) A massive bombardment preceded the landing, but did not do much damage to the Japanese who had built tunnels and connected caves in a spectacular web throughout the island.
Kamikazes sacrificed themselves for their emperor by crashing into the ships and landing LST's. In fact, the troop ship my dad was on was hit by a kamikaze.

The Japanese did not contest the landing, and Americans thought it would be an easy victory. It turned into one of the bloodiest battles ever fought. It lasted three months. Sleeplessness, poor nutrition, dysentery, typhoid and malaria were constant problems for all combatants as well as the civilian population. One of the fiercest battles was for Sugar Loaf Hill. Newsweek May 21 and 28, 1945 called it "the most crucial local battle of the war . . .the bloodiest battlefield in the world. The Japanese had taken defensive positions throughout the island. The purpose was to gain time in hope of reserves arriving. The Japanese defensive positions had to be taken out individually, exacting heavy casualties on both sides, and sadly, more than 100,000 Okinawan civilians died in the fighting. Over 12,000 Americans were killed and 50,000 wounded. Japan incurred 150,000 casualties. This was the only battle in the Pacific arena where both commanding officers died; General Buckner was killed by a Japanese shell and General Ushijima committed seppuku.

I wish Feifer would have included the experiences of American Army and Navy servicemen as well. The use of more maps would have been beneficial also. Aside from that, it was an amazing book.

I could rave on and on about the book. What I would like to impart is that the ferocity of this battle had a lot to do with the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Whatever your opinion on the morality of the bomb, one gets a clearer picture of the mindset of the American decision makers due to the battle. The blood bath that was Okinawa foreshadowed even worse bloodshed with an invasion of Japan.

[Will Staton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gut-punchingly good. Feifer manages to achieve three incredible and important tasks in one book.

1. Simultaneously tells the story of the battle from the "macro" this division stormed this ridge on this day perspective, while also highlighting the harrowing - sometimes hateful or heroic - individual "micro" stories of the battle's participants.

2. Put Okinawa in the context of the decision to drop the atomic bombs, and plumbing that decision in light of the Okinawan tragedy and other evidence.

3. Elevating the Okinawan people, the greatest victims of the battle, and perhaps the most innocent victims of the Pacific War (perhaps - it is, sadly, a high bar). The innocent citizens killed on Okinawa have been almost entirely forgotten by history, despite their overwhelming suffering and the tragedy brought to their people and their home. More than anything this is Feifer's triumph, and I think one of which he would be proud.

Well written - Feifer is no Erik Larson, but neither is his writing the stale variety that is too common for historians - and meticulously researched, it feels as though Feifer overlooked nothing in his effort to shed light on the Battle of Okinawa and explore its importance from every conceivable angle. For history lovers, this is a must read. For those who believe understanding the past can help us build a better future, it is also, a must read.

[Jonathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

A spotty and incomplete narrative of the campaign, smothered in great gobs of liberal guilt. While the author is justified to spotlight the sufferings of the civilian population of Okinawa, he has, in turn, made the USA the principle villain of the story. The story of the battle itself is impressionistic and over-stuffed with PC/New History "experiences." If you're looking for a good place to really learn about the campaign of Okinawa, look elsewhere. The single map is inadequate.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okinawa View

The author has done an exceptional work with this book. He has told the history as it lived by the people of Okinawa rather than that espoused by the countries battling WWII. Wars tend to destroy peoples while trying to prove who is right or more powerful. There is no perfect military, country or political viewpoint, although there are many who believe theirs is the "only" one that's "right." I do wish people could learn from books such as this.

[Petri Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just started Tennozan and find it exhaustively researched and evenly balanced and full of fascinating first-person accounts. Anyone who questions the US use of the atomic bomb in WWII needs to read this work. The horrific casualties in Okinawa would have been just a fraction of the deaths in an invasion of Japan itself. CAP

[Ollie Lau · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible collection of first hand accounts, primary sources, and hard military numbers.

George Feifer has revealed to me the incredible and stomach churning micro of war. The day by day. The hour by hour.

But most importantly, he has shed light on the civilians caught in the middle, and their consistent suffering since ancient Japan. George has revealed the massive cultural obliteration conducted by the powers here.

Even now, Okinawans suffer under military occupation with the pretext of military bases to ensure the security of the Asian continent. Treated as second class citizens by Japan despite being a recognized prefecture, and neglected by the US military entirely except as occupied land, Okinawans continue to be victims of colonization and outdated racial superiority from treaties made by powerful countries that continue to ignore them.

This atrocity perpetrated by the great powers, is rendered, somehow, into a footnote in most history books. I will never understand why Iwo Jima continues to be THE defining battle of the Pacific.

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

George Feifer's Tennozan is not a Military History- even though it is the story of a battle in WWII. Feifer is not a Military Historian, but rather a writer and journalist intent on telling the human story of the Battle of Okinawa blending Military, Cultural, Ethnic, and Oral histories to create a truly three dimensional vision of one of WWII's most violent and deadly confrontations, the last Land Base needed for the Allies to finish pummelling Japan. Tennozan was a decisive battle in Japan's Renaissance Era, one where a leader cast all his resources into a single battle-and Feifer shows how the Japanese intended to sell their lives as dearly as possible- with essentially no hope of actual victory. The Americans, having perfected their Massive firepower style of assault, intended to eradicate the Japanese- to the last man if need be. Feifer shows how the real victims of the battle were the Okinawans, a peaceful people victimised by Japanese Colonialism, Racism and Fascism, and intentionally confused by Japanese Propaganda into fearing the Americans even more. It is is really informative (I have read about 20 books on this battle- none made clear how many thousands of Civilians there were on the tiny Island like this book does) and yet a harrowing read that brings death and destruction with almost every page. Feifer also shows how this bloodbath informed the final Decisions to drop the Nuclear Bombs- in order to avoid the casualties of invading the Home Islands of Japan.

We start with Okinawa's ancient history- and come up to WWII, where the Japanese resolve to make a stand on the Island. The Japanese feudal regard/disregard for Okinawans mean that they use the Civilians to help dig themselves into their "Final Citadel" Position, the Shuri line, and then let tens of thousands of Civilians stay within their small perimeter- with no real intention of feeding them, protecting them, or helping them evade or escape to the American forces. Then when the Americans begin to assault the Shuri line- really more caves than trenches-civilians continue to be caught in the crossfire until the final conquest three MONTHS of slaughter later. The cynical nature of the Japanese Military/Political classes in throwing away life after life- with lower and lower return - just keeps beggaring belief- but it is factual. While not particularly pleasant to read this is an important work in bringing the horrors of war to the reader.

This book is filled with adult themes and brimming with extremely graphic casualty descriptions , so it's best tackled by the Junior Reader over about 15. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast this is a bit of a conundrum. Just too much description and emotion with too few maps/diagrams for the Gamer- and I doubt this sort of static warfare really plays. The modeler will get a few Diorama ideas - but once again cave warfare does not really "pop" in 1/35th. Its the Military History Enthusiast who will get the most out of this book- as Feifer really tries hard to get his American readers to comprehend the Japanese Military Death Cult, and the quiet naivete of the Okinawans and how that fared up against American firepower warfare. A chilling but important read.

[Books on Asia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am commenting the Kindle version, which I gave up on with 30 percent read. This book is a different version/edition of Tennozan: The Battle of Okinawa & The Atomic Bomb. I have since found a copy of Tennozan and compared it to this one and Tennozan is the far superior version. I can only speculate that The Battle of Okinawa: The Blood and the Bomb (Kindle) is either the unedited version of Tennozan or that due to some copyright restriction, the author had to alter the text. I have no idea, but for me, this version is unreadable. It is full of grammatically incorrect sentences and those with vague subjects. I often had to reread a few paragraphs to understand who was saying what to whom. Since it is a very long book, of some 700 or so pages, I decided to pursue with the Tennozan edition. Now that I have a copy of Tennozan, I will continue reading from that and will leave another review upon completion.

[Tim Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book massively fascinating to the point that I virtually forgot that I was reading a war narrative rather than a study of the mentality of Japan itself. I mean by typing this that the book cannot be understood without knowing the motivating factors of the Japanese soldier that made him an exceptionally superb opponent for the Americans and, for that matter, any opposing military force they faced. The mentality of the Japanese force on Okinawa was the same mentality demonstrated by the mass suicide that so unnerved the Marines on Iwo Jima. This mentality was explained well at the beginning of Feifer's marvellous book. I believe that it explains why the bloodbath of the Japanese islands needed the Atom Bombing to stop this horrendous war.

[Perato · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books about Pacific War you can read. It covers both sides of the conflict and the third one, civilians. It covers the battle in loose chronological order, but doesn't follow every unit and their movements. Instead it tries to explain the battle how and why it happened, rather than what happened. Few chapters were so intensely written, it almost felt like reading a memoir. Especially the chapters about close combat and civilian suffering were something for anyone interested in combat in Pacific.

For me it rose to Top 3 of Pacific war, right there with Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway and Nemesis: The Battle For Japan, 1944-45

[Drew Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was Pretty good. Really a 3.5 rounded up to 4 due to GR rating system (please allow for .5s! it would really help me) ANyways--I appreciated the focus on individual stories as examples of general experiences (great new historical approach). I also enjoyed the social and cultural history, and the psychology of WWII Japanese society and military indoctrination. The Chronicling of the circumstances the soldiers lived in, and the progression of the general battle from line to line was great. However, I felt it was missing more in depth information on the military part of the history--more maps, information on specific positions and specific battlefield moments. I can't tell you how many times, when reading the book, I wondered where exactly specific japanese artillery pieces, machine guns, mortars, etc. were placed during the defense of places like the shuri line/sugar loaf hill/etc. That was the part most dearly missed from the book. On the whole, I'd recommend it to those with knowledge of WWII and to the average reader--more Americans, Japanese, and peoples of other nationalities need to know what was experienced by humanity at Okinawa, which was quite possibly humanity's worst experience with warfare in all of history.

[Joshua Greer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely detailed and exhaustively researched book about the islands before the battle, the causes leading to Pearl Harbor and the eventual battle on Okinawa, the end of the war, and the aftermath.

I've read several books about The Battle of Okinawa; some written from the 10,000' perspective of generals and some written from the perspective of infantry privates, this book combines those perspectives into the most complete narrative I've seen about the battle. It's difficult to read at times; the devastation and hardships experienced by both sides and the civilians is chronicled in vivid, ghastly detail.

One of more unique and valuable parts in the book is the analysis of why Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in the first place and what actually ended the war. News flash; it's not because the Japanese are evil and it wasn't solely because of the atomic bombs.

Feifer gets a bit preachy in the last chapters, seemingly thinking that the Okinawans are the only culture ever to be victimized by two other nations going to war, but this is isolated to the end chapters.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The descriptions of the horrors of the Battle of Okinawa were really eye-opening. While the book does make a good attempt to balance the US and Japanese side, there is certainly a driving ideology. I wish there had been a little more development of the argument about Hiroshima and the atomic bomb, as promised in the title.

[Bernadette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very compelling and complete account of the Battle for Okinawa. The author presents more fact and first person accounts from all sides to allow the reader to make up his/her own mind as to whether the battle was justified and whether the use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified.
The Japanese were a different people then.

[Derek Vorobok · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feifer's book is exhaustively researched and for the most part well written. However, there are points in his narrative where the flow becomes unorganized and difficult to follow. I would recommend this book for the abundance of first person accounts, and to gain a perspective into the Japanese pysche, particularly pertaining to the creation/motivation of the Shimpu Special Attack Suicide Corps, dogged and determined Japanese defense of Okinawa, etc. Otherwise, read other books such as Robert Leckie's "Okinawa" or Bill Sloan's "Ultimate Battle." Feifer's book is not a good work to read as an intro to the Battle for Okinawa. One last footnote, there are also lots of unrelated passages incorporated into the main narrative which belong in footnotes in Feifer's work. There are also inexplicable factual errors (i.e. a Corsair fighter plane has more armament than a B-29 Superfort heavy bomber; it certainly does not). I recommend George Feifer's book for the reader who is familiar with the campaign for Okinawa and is looking for first person accounts from the sides of the U.S., Japan, and civlians. Otherwise, seek a different source.

[Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastically well researched and written exploration of the Battle of Okinawa, with fully fleshed-out viewpoints from all three sides involved—the US military, the Japanese military, and the Okinawa civilians caught in the crossfire. Feifer makes extensive use of interviews with people involved in the battle; the result is a vast collection of ghastly anecdotes about the horrors of the battle for both soldiers and civilians. But Feifer also makes broader points about the impact of the battle on the greater war, in particular the decision to drop the atomic bombs, and about the ways in which Okinawans suffered under first Japanese rule, then American rule, then the continued presence of US military bases to the current day. The military accounts feel like they have the ordinary level of objectivity of a good historical account, but Feifer isn't afraid to express his own opinions when it comes to the sufferings of the civilians before, during, and after the war—which feels like a good balance to me.

[Nick A · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it was interesting to get perspectives from Japanese, Americans, and Okinawans this book did feel somewhat pro Japanese.

The book doesn’t really address the ‘brainwashing’ many civilians and soldiers which felt like a missed opportunity.

The other issue I had was it felt like the book didn’t transitioned to other topics or points smoothly. Often times I felt lost in who or what the author was discussing. Also, having no knowledge of the island’s geography made it difficult to understand exactly where events were taking place and there were no illustrations other than one map at the front of the book to help the reader understand what was taking place.

This book does however describe the horrors of war relatively well which gives the reader a sense of the hell all three parties involved had to go through.

Overall, I can say I would or would not recommend this book. This is the first book on Okinawa I’ve read so I can’t say if others are better.

[Neil Willson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The blood...and many inconvenient truths..

A brutal recounting of the inconceivable ferocity and mass killing that was Okinawa, told through the actual experiences of US, Japanese & native Okinawan survivors. Mr. Feifer tackles the perplexing issues raised here that still resonate 75 years later - war, race hate, imperialism, cultural ignorance and an appalling disregard by BOTH sides of the lives of 150,000 innocent Okinawan civilians. Read this book! And consider this again - was Truman's decision to use the A bombs right, moral, necessary?

[Timothy Gretler · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a terrible battle, far worse than Iwo Jima. This book details it all in gory detail. Two huge armies, the American 10th and the Imperial Japanese 32nd, duking it out on a 70 mile long island made for tough reading especially with zero maps. I was lost when it came to the two armies' movements and the various offensive/defensive lines. Feifer goes deep into the extreme brutality and suffering inflicted by both sides. The Okinawan civilians took the worst of it. Their entire island and culture was effectively destroyed.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrifying. The last book I ever read about combat. The whole experience of this Pacific campaign , with both sides suffering degradation, annihilation and wholesale inhumanities is enough to render the reader incoherent at the very thought that people exist in the world who desire war. Every politician should be transported straight into a time machine and dropped into these full trenches of blood and guts and the remains of women and children. Every single one. Makes no difference what side they're on.

[jakekellsaol.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intense bloody read

My uncle was part of the 80% of US casualties on Okinawa. He survived being shot and returned home. This is the reason I picked up this book. The carnage is so compelling, I often had to stop reading and take a break. If this book was required reading there would be no more war. I liked that both sides related their narratives. Great history lesson of World war II.