Many in the West know the word kamikaze as translating to “divine wind”. It’s worth reminding people of the phrase’s contextual origin.
“13th century Mongolian ship Kublai Khan sent to invade Japan found”
Two armadas sent by the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty to invade Japan decimated by legendary ‘kamikaze’
Several times in history a great storm has wiped out or broken up an invasion fleet meant for Japan. The climax of World War Two was no different.
American commanders really should not have been surprised when the greatest typhoon in living memory set upon the epic invasion support fleet assembled at Okinawa just three weeks before it was due to deliver millions of tons of support materials to the Greatest Invasion. With hundreds of ships taken out of action, a disproportionate number of them assault transports and technical support ships, tough choices had to be made. They made the choices and pushed on ahead.
