![]() ![]() The troops quickly secured both Kadena and Yontan airfields. Wave after wave of troops, tanks, ammunition and supplies went ashore almost effortlessly within hours. On D-Day along the shores of northern France, American troops fought hard for every inch of beachhead-but troops landing on Okinawa’s beaches surged inland with little resistance. ![]() But the Fifth Fleet’s offensive onslaught was almost pointless and landing troops could have literally swum to shore-surprisingly, the expected mass of awaiting Japanese troops wasn’t there. Soldiers and Army brass alike expected the beach landings to be a massacre worse than D-Day. As dawn arrived on April 1, morale was low among American troops as the Fifth Fleet launched the largest bombardment ever to support a troop landing to soften Japanese defenses. ![]()
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