Killing Ground on Okinawa : The battle for sugar loaf hill

* Compelling account of the last major battle of WWII *Dramatically evokes the scale and ferocity of the fighting The Battle of Okinawa, fought on the Japanese island of Okinawa, was the largest amphibious assault during the Pacific campaigns of World War II, and the last major ground battle of the war. The battle has been referred to as the`Typhoon of Steel' in English, and tetsu no ame (`rain of steel') in Japanese. The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of gunfire involved, and sheer numbers of Allied ships and armoured vehicles that assaulted the island. US losses were over 72,000 casualties, of whom 12,513 were killed or missing, over twice the number killed at Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal combined. There were about 66,000 Japanese combatants and at least 150,000 local civilians killed during the battle. A key point in the Japanese defensive line on Okinawa was Sugar Loaf Hill which became the site of a tenacious seven-day battle that inflicted heavy casualties on the attacking US Marines. In this emotionally compelling account of the fierce fight, Hallas chronicles the extraordinary courage and tactical skills of the 6th Marine Division's junior officers and enlisted men as they captured a network of sophisticated Japanese defences on Sugar Loaf while under heavy artillery fire from surrounding hills. James H. Hallas is the author of three other books, including an account of the assault on Peleliu. He lives in Portland, Connecticut.