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The Japan campaign was a series of battles and engagements between Allied forces and Imperial Japanese forces during the Pacific campaign of World War II from around June, 1944 until September, 1945. The campaign consisted of two major land battles, the Battle of Iwo Jima (February 16, 1945 – March 26, 1945) and the Battle of Okinawa (April 1, 1945 - June 21, 1945). One major naval battle occurred, called Operation Ten-Go (April 7, 1945) after the operational title given to it by the Japanese. The campaign also included a strategic bombing campaign against military and civilian targets on "mainland" Japan, a campaign of placing air and submarine-delivered mines into Japanese shipping lanes, naval surface interdiction of Tokyo Bay, and concluded with the dropping of atomic weapons on two Japanese cities. The campaign was intended to provide staging areas and preparation for a possible Allied armed invasion of Japan or to support Allied air and naval campaigns against the Japanese mainlaind. Japan's surrender after the atomic bombings ended World War II before an armed invasion of the Japanese mainland was carried out.
