Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign 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
Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands too small to be effective. As it was not possible to allocate additional aircraft to bolster these missions, the GDC directed that the offensive cease and that the 6th Air Army be held in reserve to be used against any Allied forces which landed in the Japanese home islands. Overall, more than 80 Japanese aircraft were dispatched against Saipan and Tinian between November 1944 and the end of the offensive in February 1945. The Japanese destroyed 11 B-29s, caused major damage to eight and minor damage to another 35. American casualties were 45 dead and over 200 wounded. USAAF fighters