AllMovie

In the decades following its rise at the tail-end of World War II, Okinawa has justifiably earned a reputation as the nastiest and most gruesome battle in the Second World War. The last stand of the Japanese saw fleets and fleets of kamikaze pilots careening to their death, female reinforcements dropped in to deter the advancing Allies, and the unexpected appearance of guerrilla fighters - all of which, in toto, razed a quarter million soldiers by half. Via rare and invaluable archival footage and countless on camera interviews with surviving veterans and contemporary historians, The History Channel's program Okinawa: The Last Battle travels back to these fateful moments for a harrowing glimpse of this conflict that its participants would never forget.