Battle of Okinawa

Battle of Okinawa

Battle Background

       The Battle of Okinawa started in April 1945. The capture of Okinawa was part of a three-point plan the Americans had for winning the war in the Far East. Okinawa was to prove a bloody battle even by the standards of the war in the Far East but it was to be one of the major battles of World War Two. Alongside, the territorial re-conquest of land in the Far East, the Americans wished to destroy what was left of Japan’s merchant fleet and use airstrips in the region to launch bombing raids on Japan’s industrial heartland. Okinawa is the largest of the Ryukyus islands at the southern tip of Japan. Okinawa is about 60 miles long and between 2 and 18 miles wide. Its strategic importance could not be underestimated – there were four airfields on the island that America needed to control. America also faced the problem that they had not been able to get much intelligence information about Okinawa.

 

Military Leadership

The Americans land commander was Lieutenant-General Simon Bolivar Buckner. He had 180,000 men under his command. The bay selected for the American landing was Hagushi Bay on the western side of the island. As with Iwo Jima,  the landings were preceded by a period of intense bombardment but America’s forces were also open to attack from Japanese fighters flying out of Taiwan or Japan itself. Unfortunately for the Americans, their intelligence was patchy at best, and in fact they had greatly underestimated the size of the defensive forces on Okinawa. There were in fact more than 130,000 troops stationed there, under the command of Lt. General Ushijima.

 

                     Plans and Objectives

The American plan for final victory in the Pacific had several aspects, but the capturing of Okinawa was at the plan’s core. The main strategic objective, apart from gaining territory from the Japanese, was twofold. First, the capture of the island’s airfields would allow U.S. planes to use them as bases from which they could bomb the industrial centers of Japan. Second, the remnants of Japan’s merchant shipping fleet were to be destroyed in order to cut off supplies to the enemy.

Execution

       The use of the Kamikaze added the fatal blow to both Americans and Japanese. Although the large majority of the kamikaze attacks – nearly 200 of them in all – were destroyed by American fire, around two dozen succeeded in hitting their targets. The United States force for the invasion itself consisted of almost 1,500 ships, of which only a fifth were warships, the rest being used for transport, supplies, etc. On April 1, U.S. Marines made their first landing on Okinawa, and were surprised to encounter only light resistance from the Japanese. By nightfall, Hagushi bay had seen 60,000 military personnel come ashore. Many of these pushed north, where the lightly defended countryside was easily taken; by April 20, the northern half of Okinawa was effectively secured. The southern portion of the island, where the bulk of the Japanese defensive forces had been stationed, proved to be a much harder nut to crack. It took almost three weeks to breach the line, after which the secondary Shuri Line also caused severe delays. The time that it took the Americans to break through these lines resulted in heavy casualties.

Results

Ushijima, seeing that things were going badly for his men, ordered them to counter-attack on May 3, but the assault was repulsed by U.S. soldiers. On May 21, he was forced to order a retreat from the Shuri Line, although at this point morale remained reasonably high and resistance continued. As the battle wore on, however, and further losses followed, the Japanese lost heart and in late June, Ushijima committed suicide. On July 2, the Americans declared Okinawa secure. The Battle of Okinawa proved to be a colossal military defeat for Japan, one of its worst of the entirety of World War Two. Well over 100,000 Japanese troops were killed, with another 7,000 taken as prisoners of war. Japanese aircraft losses totaled over 4,000. Despite its victory, the U.S. had also suffered substantial losses: on land and at sea together, over 12,000 Americans were killed and over 36,000 wounded. 36 American ships and nearly 800 aircraft were also destroyed. Despite the humiliation of having been crushed in battle at Okinawa, Japan resolved to fight on. At one point, it seemed as though a full-scale land invasion of the Japanese mainland might be necessary, an operation which would undoubtedly have cost enormous numbers of lives. In the event, Japan was forced to announce its surrender in early August, after the U.S. had dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

WWI President Woodrow Wilson

 President Woodrow Wilson

The 28^th President in American history is Woodrow Wilson. His presidency lasted between the years of 1856 until 1924. Wilson was the president of the University of Princeton and later became the governor of the state of New Jersey. Wilson was entirely in favor of the Progressive Movements and argued that America should have a strong central government. Wilson also fought for anti-trust legislation and labor rights. During his presidency, he ratified an important legislation on trust and labor rights and multiple other issues as well. Upon the time for re-election in 1916, he pledged winning to keep the United States from entering into the war. The foreign policies of his were noted for its testament to ensure support and help for others; declared his Fourteen Points. From this, came his account of goals that envisioned international structure after the World War ended. But, this entirely failed. Although, in retrospect, it did capture the clearest expressions of American values. Unfortunately, during his presidency, President Wilson suffered from severe strokes during his second term and died in 1924.

Disregarding his pledge to avoid involvement in the war, Woodrow Wilson wasn’t hesitant to declare war on Germany after their use of submarine warfare. Wilson was almost entirely disinterested in the topic of military and war policies, but yet organized the economy so that American soldiers would be supported during their war efforts. As the war came to an end, Wilson became the first American president to leave the United States and to negotiate the Treaty of Versailles, which would ultimately end the war. The Fourteen Points advocating for democratic rights and human rights were not to be adopted in the treaty, for France and Britain sought punishment for Germany. However, from Wilson’s Fourteen Points, came the creation of the League of Nations. The treaty ironically was never approved by the United States Senate and never actually joined the League of Nations.

Facial Hair

Civil War:

Facial Hair

 

Facial hair was one of the most common forms of fashion during the Civil War era. Not only were the wavy beards and handlebar mustaches the most common trends, they were designed (especially for generals and those of higher power) to daunt the enemy by flaunting the ferocious whiskers of immense power… and the enemy ran in terror primarily because most of those beards were downright ugly!

Like many materials made of metal, razor blades were scarce during wartime. Not every soldier would necessarily have a blade of his own, and even civilians had trouble finding them for purchase. Yet the Union Army's official guidelines were quite particular 100. Where conveniences for bathing are to be had, the men should bathe once or twice a week. The feet to be washed at least twice a week. The hair kept short, and the beard neatly trimmed. 1662.The hair to be short; the beard to be worn at the pleasure of the individual; but, when worn, to be kept short and neatly trimmed.

However, this rule wasn't necessarily enforced. You may be able to discern from the fact that more than 1,662 rules existed that not all of them could possibly be enforced (the Revised United States Army Regulations of 1861 amounted to more than 500 pages of rules). As we shall see, some of the very highest ranking individuals in the Union Army ignored this rule.

            Some of these haggard haircuts include: the handlebar, a trimmed beard, the two horned beard, the burnside (side burns), the goatee, the handlebar with a goatee, the texas ranger, the almost Hitler with a goatee (Aldelbert Ames), and etc. Some of these famous leaders include Ambrose Burnside, George Crook, and Alpheus Williams (below.)

  

Also, from 1861 to 1913, the common trends among the presidents were included with facial hair. Starting from the king of trends, Abraham Lincoln, the destructor of the Confederacy, won not only the war, but also the 19^th century beard contest.

This reign of bushy magnificence ended after nearly fifty years by the infamous William Taft. Now, we all know that Taft went through a stressful time in his life but that did not phase his mustache. Though, it did sadly demotivate the latter presidents of having facial hair

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-civil-war-beards-and-mustaches-2013-11

http://h2g2.com/approved_entry/A39115334

Battle of the Second Bull Run

Battle of the Second Bull Run

Battle Background:

After compelling Union Gen. George B. McClellan to withdraw from the outskirts of Richmond to Harrison’s Landing on the lower James River, Gen. Robert E. Lee turned his attention to the threat posed by the newly formed Union Army of Virginia, under the command of Gen. John Pope.  The Lincoln administration had chosen Pope to lead the reorganized forces in northern Virginia with the dual task of shielding Washington and operating northwest of Richmond to take pressure off McClellan’s army.  To counter Pope’s movement into central Virginia, Lee sent Gen. T. J. “Stonewall” Jackson to Gordonsville on July 13.  Jackson’s force crossed the Rapidan River and clashed with the vanguard of Pope’s army at Cedar Mountain, south of Culpeper, on August 9.  Jackson’s narrow tactical victory proved sufficient to instill caution in the Union high command. 

Military Leadership:

For the Union the main General was John Pope. The other General was George McClellan He was a United States Army officer, John Pope was appointed on June 14, 1861 to brigadier general of volunteers by President Abraham Lincoln. In March of 1862 Pope was ordered to command  the Army of Virginia by President Lincoln.  In late August 1862 Pope met with Confederate General Robert E. Lee, General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and General James Longstreet. The main General that led the Confederate’s initial attack was Robert E. Lee.

   

Plans and Objectives:

     General John Pope ascertained Robert E. Lee’s plan to trap him against the Rappahannock and withdraw to the north bank astride the railroad. Lee, learning that two corps from the Army of the Potomac would join Pope within days, to act quickly and boldly.

Execution:

    On July 13 General Lee sent Jackson with forces eventually totaling 24,000 men to watch Pope. After an initial sparring action at Cedar Mountain on August 9, Jackson and Pope stood watching each other for nearly a week. Pope’s Army of Virginia was ordered to divert pressure from McClellan on the peninsula of Virginia. But General Jackson had left the valley, and Federal forces were scattered. On August 3 Halleck ordered General George McClellan to withdraw by water from the peninsula to Aquia Creek on the Potomac and to enact in a speedy junction at Fredericksburg with Pope. Meanwhile, Pope was to post the Army of Virginia along the Orange and Alexandria Railroads to the west of Fredericksburg.

Results:

    This battle was a great victory for the Confederates. There was about 22,177 casualties. For the Union there was 1,716 deaths, 8,215 wounded, 3893 missing or captured for a total 13,824. For the Confederates there was 1,305 killed, 7,048 wounded for a total of 8,353. At the time, the staggering Union loss at Second Manassas was blamed on Pope, McClellan, McDowell, and Porter. All of their reputations were stained by what had happened, but Porter and McDowell were, for all intents and purposes, ruined. McDowell was exonerated of any wrong-doing but would never fully escape the opinion that he was incompetent and disloyal. Pope squarely blamed the defeat on Porter for disobeying the order to attack on August 29. Porter was court-martialed and discharged from the army, spending much of the rest of his life trying to restore his reputation.

General Charles Lee

General Charles Lee

        Charles Lee was born in Britain. He was somewhat eccentric, slovenly in appearance, coarse in language, and perhaps most of all, he wanted to be paid. By joining the rebellion, he forfeited all his properties in England, and wanted to be compensated. George Washington, on the other hand, was sober, steady, calm, and best of all, would work without pay, asking only that the Continental Congress should cover his expenses.
        Later in the year of 1776, he was captured by British cavalry under Banastre Tarleton and held as a prisoner until exchanged in 1778. During the decisive Battle of Monmouth later that year, Lee led an assault on the British which miscarried.Charles Lee served as a General of the Continental Army during the American War of Independence.During 1776, forces under his command repulsed a British attempt to capture Charleston, which boosted his standing with the army and Congress. When war appeared inevitable he resigned his Royal commission and volunteered his services to the colonies. He expected to be named Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, being the most experienced candidate.