During the Battle of Okinawa in the Pacific War, on April 19, 1945, a grenade was thrown into a turtle tomb, and when the hidden Japanese soldiers jumped out, the surrounding American soldiers shot at them, aiming and killing them.

During the Battle of Okinawa in the Pacific War, on April 19, 1945, a grenade was thrown into a turtle tomb, and when a hidden Japanese soldier jumped out, the surrounding American soldiers shot at him, aiming and killing him at once. The bodies of dead Japanese soldiers were scattered at the entrance to the tomb. The Americans swept up and eliminated the resisting Japanese soldiers as if they were lice. Numerous natural caves and turtle tombs, which are unique to Okinawa, were used as tochkas and became part of the Japanese military positions because of their robust structures. On April 19, three U.S. divisions assaulted the Japanese lines, but the assault ended in chaos. The Japanese launched a counterattack on the steep slopes of Makishi, Naha, raining artillery and mortars on the relatively exposed lowlands.

　Surrounding American soldiers stood by with rifles ready to shoot to kill while the Japanese threw grenades into the turtle tombs of Okinawa's tochka. The bodies of Japanese soldiers who were shot dead were also scattered. U.S. troops cleared out the tochka of Japanese graves. American soldiers threw grenades into the wreckage. Surrounding American soldiers stood guard with rifles. In Okinawa, Japanese troops used graves as tochkas. The bodies of dead Japanese soldiers lay in front of the graves, which were made of thick concrete.

　The terrain of Okinawa was favorable to the Japanese. The terrain of ridges and sheer cliffs turned the battlefield into a series of small, vicious firefights. The Japanese were able to reconnoiter the Americans with less dense vegetation. Caves scattered along the ridgelines and the concreted turtle tombs of Okinawa enabled the Japanese to fire intense and combined small-arms fire. Japanese artillery focused on the attacking Americans with numerous artillery barrages concealed in the hills and along the flanks of the ridge.

　The American forces engaged the marauding Japanese forces in a fierce meat-and-potatoes battle. The battlefield was littered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers. Japanese soldiers were stabbed in the chest with battle knives or had their internal organs removed with bayonets. They were hit by American grenades or muzzled by rifle and machine gun bullets.

　The Battle of Okinawa lasted nearly three months and included the worst kamikaze attack of the war, and on June 22, 1945, Okinawa was occupied by U.S. forces. The U.S. forces suffered over 49,000 casualties, including more than 12,500 dead or missing. The loss to the Okinawans involved in the Battle of Okinawa was enormous, with an estimated 150,000 civilians killed. An estimated 110,000 Japanese soldiers defending the island of Okinawa were killed.