When this episode of "NAZI Mega Weapons" began, I thought 'Wait...this is about the Imperial Japanese Army...not the Nazis'...and I was right. I guess the makers ran out of German topics to cover and took on those of their allies, the Japanese. Perhaps in the future, they'll also do one or two on the Italians...also allies of the Nazis.
Despite NOT being about the Nazis in any way, this is a very good and harrowing episode about the doomed defense of Okinawa against the Americans during the late stages of the war. The documentary is very well done and provides many exciting and disturbing details about the defenders. Ultimately, however, the entire defense backfired horribly. Normally, defenders have a huge advantage and the attacking force's losses are far greater (the US Civil War gives us many examples of Union victories at VERY high costs), but here so many of the deaths seemed useless. And, ultimately, the ferocity of the defense and the unwillingness of the enemy to surrender made dropping atomic bombs a more likely thing...something the show did point out clearly towards the end.
Very well made and a bit disturbing at times...so think twice about watching this or letting your kids watch it (though I have seen documentaries on Okinawa that were much more brutal to watch).
Despite NOT being about the Nazis in any way, this is a very good and harrowing episode about the doomed defense of Okinawa against the Americans during the late stages of the war. The documentary is very well done and provides many exciting and disturbing details about the defenders. Ultimately, however, the entire defense backfired horribly. Normally, defenders have a huge advantage and the attacking force's losses are far greater (the US Civil War gives us many examples of Union victories at VERY high costs), but here so many of the deaths seemed useless. And, ultimately, the ferocity of the defense and the unwillingness of the enemy to surrender made dropping atomic bombs a more likely thing...something the show did point out clearly towards the end.
Very well made and a bit disturbing at times...so think twice about watching this or letting your kids watch it (though I have seen documentaries on Okinawa that were much more brutal to watch).
