Iwo Jima And Okinawa Kiran Klubock

Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, the Okinawa campaign (April 1—June 22, 1945) involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan ("Battle of Okinawa," 1996). The Battle of Okinawa remembered more for its iconic photograph of US Marines raising the US flag on Okinawa more so than any other war or battle ever fought. Okinawa the largest of the Ryukus islands played a major role in the American forces overall strategic efforts to advance to the mainland’s of Japan. Because it was the last major battle of WWII, the battle of Okinawa used lessons learned and TTP’s from all previous

The fight for control of Iwo Jima lasted thirty eight days. Over that course of time the U.S. lost almost six thousand Marines with another eighteen thousand men wounded. The Japanese however lost around twenty one thousand men. This was the only battle during the war with Japan when the U.S. suffered more casualties than the Japanese. Being one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the taking of Iwo Jima served as a valuable lesson for the upcoming Okinawa campaign. In the weeks following, the battle fell under heavy scrutiny from the press and the public. Many viewed it as an unnecessary fight and loss of

he Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest and fiercest battles of the Second World War in which the US Armed Forces captured the Iwo Jima Island from the Japanese. More than 6800 American servicemen lost their lives in the battle and thus the battle has come to known as the deadliest battle in Marine Corps history. Iwo Jima was an island strategically positioned and highly fortified as its three airfields were used to stage attacks on the US at the Pacific War. It was therefore Americas target to capture the island and use it to stage attacks on Japans mainland and use the airfields as emergency landing strips for the US Navy planes damaged during war. According to The Washington Post a small group gathered on Thursday February 18th

General Kuribayashi knew all too well the size of the American force that was arrayed against him and also knew that his defeat was virtually assured. However, being an excellent commander, he could not allow his troops to believe this and made morale a high priority by promising victory. He departed from conventional defensive tactics, which normally would have advocated a concentration of forces on the beach. Instead he chose the high ground and based his operations to a large extent on the highest point on the island, __Mt. Suribachi__. He had miles of tunnels dug inside the mountain, which included big artillery pieces that would fire down on the beach. So ingenious were his preparations that he had large steel doors close each time the gun fired so Marines could not fire on the position.

Iwo Jima remains the Marine Corps’s deadliest campaign. February 19, 1945 was the day of the initial assault on Iwo Jima. That morning nearly eight hundred vessels, ranging from battleships, cruisers, and destroyers to

The American forces plan consisted of a “divide and conquer” methodology. The U.S. focused on landing its assault force expediently and quickly and securing Mt. Suribachi and dominant high ground of the island. The Americans expected victory in less than a week. Their forces consisted of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions. The 4th and 5th Marine Divisions were to land on the eastern beaches the 4th on the right and the 5th on the left. The 3rd Marines would either land on the eastern beaches or assume a defensive role, which ever was called (Planning for the Battle of Iwo Jima, n.d.).

The island of Iwo Jima is located in the volcanic islands locate 750 miles south of mainland Japan. The island is small covering an area of only 21km2 consisting of a combination of volcanic rock and limestone. (GSI of Japan, 2015) The topography of the island is unique to many others in the area, it has Mt. Suribachi a volcanic vent dominating the southern portion of the island reaching the islands highest point of elevation at 582ft. (GSI of Japan, 2015) The remained of the island is extremely flat and lacks features which allowed the construction of two airfields on the island. The island continues be raised from volcanic uplift, this uplift beaches

Even before the Battle of Iwo Jima took place, Iwo Jima was already described as “hell” reaching degrees higher than 100 and there was no underground drinkable water. Iwo Jima was dangerous as is. The Japanese defenders were already doomed being in those underground tunnels breathing dangerous fumes and having all their supplies cut off before the battle even started. Yet, both the Americans and the Japanese wanted control of Iwo Jima. (John W. Dower, Historians.org)

Who knows if we would have beaten the Japanese had we not gained Iwo Jima? Americans needed a naval base and the Japanese island of Iwo Jima had two. The Japanese were controlling the air, and we needed a base to send our naval aircraft carriers out to sea in order to take down the Imperial Japanese Air Force. Plus, Iwo Jima being very close to Japan was of “great strategic importance.”

The battle for Iwo Jima was a bloody battle against the Japanese forces. The island took the heaviest and longest bombardment compared to any battles in the Pacific during the war ("Battle for Iwo Jima, 1945", 1960). The battle for Iwo Jima started in June of 1944 but the invasion of the island didn't start until February 19,

On the Pacific front, however, American forces were still painstakingly conquering Japan’s Home Islands, one after another. After obliterating Japanese troops in the brutal Battle of Iwo Jima, they set their sights on the isolated island of Okinawa, their last stop before reaching Japan. The invasion was part of Operation Iceberg, a complex plan to invade and occupy the Ryukyu Islands. Planning of this operation began in September 1944. They had to draft and develop plans for Iceberg

After the Battle of Midway, the United States and Douglas MacArthur launched a counter-offensive strike known as "island-hopping,". Hopefully by doing this, a line of forces would come together. Establishing a line of overlapping island bases, as well as air control for the people. The idea was to capture certain key islands, one after another, until Japan came within range of American bombers. Basically this would help the people “divide and conquer”. Led by General douglas MaCarthur, Commander of the Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, the first stage of the offensive began with the Navy under Nimitz. Marine landings on Guadalcanal and nearby islands in the Solomons

According to Okinawa survivor and native Kinya Taira, the Japanese, who controlled the island of Okinawa during World War II “lied to us about the fate that would be facing us if we surrendered to the Allies, so we were confused, utterly paranoid, and just wanted to survive and see our families. We were, essentially, being used by the Imperial Army as body shields, as puppets, forced to go into the most dangerous areas knowing we wouldn’t make it back alive.” (“Okinawans Remember”) Despite the effects of the Battle of Okinawa on the natives of the land and the Allied soldiers who fought in it, this battle was the most crucial in ending World War II efficiently, thus the claim that the Battle of Okinawa was the most important battle in the war against the Japanese during World War II.

By October 1944, the US had strung together a series of victories successfully pushing the Japanese troops further and further back. It was clear that the US had the upper hand Naval wise and it was apparent. Japan for the first time in the war, began using kamikaze suicide bombers in an attempt to destroy American support vessels. The last major campaigns of the Pacific war were Luzon and Okinawa. The battle at Luzon lasted a total of 7 months and was the army's longest land campaign of the Pacific War. MacArthur’s army took nearly 40,000 casualties before successfully subduing the Japanese troops there. The battle at Okinawa was headed up by Admiral Nimitz who was in charge of the POA. The battle began on April 1, 1945 and would last 3 months.

Imagine a tiny, rocky island. You’ve been preparing to fight for over two months, digging out a cave along with thousands of similar soldiers. On D-Day, you see the American ships, each carrying hundreds of American soldiers. No one says it, but everyone knows that it’s hopeless. Not even the general believes that victory is possible, but he defends the island anyway. All is quiet, until you’re given the order to fire. Hundreds of guns shoot their rounds right at the enemy. However, more and more Americans are getting closer. Soon they’ll reach the caves. That was the Battle for Iwo Jima. It took place on an island sandwiched between Japan and the Marianas island. It is one of the bloodiest battles of the entire Pacific theater occurred there