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Cactus Ridge
In the Battle of Okinawa, Cactus Ridge was the name U.S. forces gave to a rise of land approximately southeast of Mashiki, Okinawa which commanded much of the ground between Uchitomari and Oyama, both of which lie along Highway No. 1. The defense of Cactus Ridge to the west, and The Pinnacle to the east, marked the start of resistance by Japanese land forces on Okinawa. Assault on Cactus Ridge 4 April 1945 As the US 96th Infantry Division advanced south along Okinawa's Highway 1 on 4 April, it came under increasing fire from the south and from the ridges on their left (east). Three medium tanks from the 763rd Tank Battalion were destroyed by a carefully sited and well-concealed 47 mm anti-tank gun. Firing twenty rounds, Japanese gunners set the three tanks afire. Japanese Army commanders later described this feat as an illustration of the effectiveness of 47 mm guns. "Great results," Japanese combat instructions stated, "can be obtained by concealing the guns and opening ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million Military personnel, personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Air warfare of World War II, Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mortar (weapons)
A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. They launch explosive shells (technically called bombs) in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition. History Mortars have been used for hundreds of years. The earliest mortars were used in Korea in a 1413 naval battle when Korean gunsmiths developed the ''wan'gu'' (gourd-shaped mortar) (완구, 碗口). The earliest version of the ''wan'gu'' dates back to 1407. Choi Hae-san (최해산, 崔海山) (1380–1443), the son of Choe Mu-seon (최무선, 崔茂宣) (1325–1395), is generally credited with inventing the ''wan'gu''. In the Ming dynasty, general Qi Jiguang recorded the use of a mini cannon called the Hu dun pao that was simi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geography Of Okinawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city of Okinawa Prefecture, with other major cities including Okinawa, Uruma, and Urasoe. Okinawa Prefecture encompasses two thirds of the Ryukyu Islands, including the Okinawa, Daitō and Sakishima groups, extending southwest from the Satsunan Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture to Taiwan ( Hualien and Yilan Counties). Okinawa Prefecture's largest island, Okinawa Island, is the home to a majority of Okinawa's population. Okinawa Prefecture's indigenous ethnic group are the Ryukyuan people, who also live in the Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture. Okinawa Prefecture was ruled by the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1429 and unofficially annexed by Japan after the Invasion of Ryukyu in 1609. Okinawa Prefecture was officially founded in 1879 by the Empir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banzai Charge
Banzai charge is the term that was used by the Allied forces of World War II to refer to Japanese human wave attacks and swarming staged by infantry units. This term came from the Japanese battle cry , and was shortened to banzai, specifically referring to the tactic used by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War. This tactic was used when the Japanese commanders of infantry battalions foresaw that a battle was about to be lost, as a last ditch effort in thwarting Allied Forces. Origin The banzai charge is considered to be one method of , a suicide attack, or suicide before being captured by the enemy such as ''seppuku''. The origin of the term is a classical Chinese phrase in the 7th-century ''Book of Northern Qi'', which states "", "A true man would atherbe the shattered jewel, ashamed to be the intact tile." Among the rules there existed a code of honor that was later used by Japanese military governments. With the revolutionary change in the Meiji Restorati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frontal Assault
The military tactic of frontal assault is a direct, full-force attack on the front line of an enemy force, rather than to the flanks or rear of the enemy. It allows for a quick and decisive victory, but at the cost of subjecting the attackers to the maximum defensive power of the enemy; this can make frontal assaults costly even if successful, and often disastrously costly if unsuccessful. It may be used as a last resort when time, terrain, limited command control, or low troop quality do not allow for any battlefield flexibility. The risks of a frontal assault can be mitigated by the use of heavy supporting fire, diversionary attacks, the use of cover (such as smokescreens or the darkness of night), or infiltration tactics. Frontal assaults were common in ancient warfare, where heavy infantry made up the core of armies such as the Greek phalanx and the Roman legion. These dense formations, many ranks deep, would utilize their weight in numbers to press forward and break enemy lin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airstrike
An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The official definition includes all sorts of targets, including enemy air targets, but in popular usage the term is usually narrowed to a tactical (small-scale) attack on a ground or naval objective as opposed to a larger, more general attack such as carpet bombing. Weapons used in an airstrike can range from direct-fire aircraft-mounted cannons and machine guns, rockets and air-to-surface missiles, to various types of aerial bombs, glide bombs, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and even directed-energy weapons such as laser weapons. In close air support, air strikes are usually controlled by trained observers on the ground for coordination with ground troops and intelligence in a manner derived from artillery tactics. History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Company (military Unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are formed of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure. Usually several companies are grouped as a battalion or regiment, the latter of which is sometimes formed by several battalions. Occasionally, ''independent'' or ''separate'' companies are organized for special purposes, such as the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company or the 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company. These companies are not organic to a battalion or regiment, but rather report directly to a higher level organization such as a Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters (i.e., a corps-level command). Historical background The modern military company became popularized during the reorganization of the Swedish Army in 1631 under King Gustav II Adolph. For administrative purposes, the infantry was divided into companies consisti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combined Arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects (for example by using infantry and armour in an urban environment in which each supports the other). According to the strategist William S. Lind, combined arms can be distinguished from the concept of "supporting arms" as follows: Combined arms hits the enemy with two or more arms simultaneously in such a manner that the actions he must take to defend himself from one make him more vulnerable to another. In contrast, supporting arms is hitting the enemy with two or more arms in sequence, or if simultaneously, then in such combination that the actions the enemy must take to defend himself from one also defends himself from the other(s). Though the lower-echelon units of a combined arms team may be of similar types, a balanced mixture of such units are combined into an effective higher-echelon unit, whether formally in a table of organiz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
382nd Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 382nd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. The unit served as a reserve regiment until it was called to active duty during World War II, whereupon it saw action in the Pacific theater as part of the 96th Infantry Division. The unit returned to reserve status after the war until being deactivated in 1952. The regiment was reactivated as a training unit in 1999. Service history The 382nd Infantry Regiment was first constituted on 5 September 1918, in the National Army and assigned to the 96th Division. It was demobilized less than three months later, on 30 November 1918. The regiment was reconstituted on 24 June 1921, in the Organized Reserves (predecessor of the U.S. Army Reserve) and was assigned to the 96th Division (later re-designated as the 96th Infantry Division). The 382nd was organized in December 1921 with its headquarters at Medford, Oregon. Ordered into active-duty service on 15 August 1942, the unit was reorganized at Camp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Envelopment
Envelopment is the military tactic of seizing objectives in the enemy's rear with the goal of destroying specific enemy forces and denying them the ability to withdraw. Rather than attacking an enemy head-on as in a frontal assault an envelopment seeks to exploit the enemy's flanks, attacking them from multiple directions and avoiding where their defenses are strongest. A successful envelopment lessens the number of casualties suffered by the attacker while inducing a psychological shock on the defender and improving the chances to destroy them.US Army, ''FM 3-90 (Tactics)'', July 2001, 3-12 An envelopment will consist of one or more ''enveloping forces'', which attacks the enemy's flank(s), and a ''fixing force'', which attacks the enemy's front and "fixes" them in place so that they cannot withdraw or shift their focus on the enveloping forces. While a successful tactic, there are risks involved with performing an envelopment. The enveloping force can become overextended and c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minefield
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automatically by way of pressure when a target steps on it or drives over it, although other detonation mechanisms are also sometimes used. A land mine may cause damage by direct blast effect, by fragments that are thrown by the blast, or by both. Landmines are typically laid throughout an area, creating a ''minefield'' which is dangerous to cross. The use of land mines is controversial because of their potential as indiscriminate weapons. They can remain dangerous many years after a conflict has ended, harming civilians and the economy. Seventy-eight countries are contaminated with land mines and 15,000–20,000 people are killed every year while many more are injured. Approximately 80% of land mine casualties are civilians, with children as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
