''The 6th Marine Division on Okinawa'' is a 1945

Kodachrome Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935. It was one of the first successful color materials and was used for both cinematography and still photography. For many years Kodachrome was widely used ...

color

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

produced about the action of the 6th Division during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. The film was released shortly after the event. The film begins by outlining the strategic and psychological importance of

Okinawa 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 ...

, including its use as a supply base for Japanese forces in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, the

Marianas The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, as well as a "choke hold" over China. It also informs the audience that Okinawa is an actual part of the Japanese homeland, only a few hundred miles south of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

. The movements of the units and their order of battle is carefully traced, from the landings on April 1 to the assault on

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...

. Some interesting footage is also shown on life in northern Okinawa soon after liberation, with the locals setting up a democratic government under the US military and opening up schools while battle is raging in the south. Some of the footage includes the use of flame-throwing tanks and close air support in an attempt to dislodge heavily dug-in Japanese defenders. The film ends with a eulogy for all those who died attempting to secure the island, as Marines visit a gigantic graveyard prior to departing for their next objective.

References

External links

* * 1945 films American World War II propaganda films American documentary films 1940s English-language films Films about the United States Marine Corps 1945 documentary films Battle of Okinawa {{WWII-documentary-film-stub

See also

References

External links