invasion fleet of nearly 1,500 ships, and a landing force of 182,000 people which is 75,000 more than normandy approached okinawa. what came next was what okinawans called the typhoon of steel. having island hopped across the pacific, allied forces saw okinawa as a key base for fleet anchorage and troop push for the japanese mainland and victory. the fighting was brutal for both sides and the cost of lives and resources for the allied forces was tremendous, and when it was over, the military planners look ed at the mainland and looked at what okinawa had cost them, and projected even more appalling losses. what came next, we all know. what is not widely known is that