Iwo Jima Battle Analysis

At approximately 8 o’clock in the morning on the 7th of Dec 1941, the United States of America faced for the first time in history, an attack on US soil. The Empire of Japan had strategically planned and executed a swift blow to the state of Hawaii, located in the mid-Pacific Ocean. Hawaii was our first line of defense from any westerly attack of an Asian country. By the end of the almost 2 hour ordeal, our Naval and Air Corps assets’ were brutally crippled preventing the ability of the US to conduct an immediate retaliation. In this study we will cover many of the events that led up to that moment in time, the actual attack and show the result that were to follow.

Despite all the success Japan had early in the war, they did not do as much damage to the United States Pacific fleet as they would have like to have done. This gave America a false sense of security at the time when Japan was preparing to take stronger action. Rear Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s plan was to draw in the remaining American ships into an area where they could be attacked and destroyed by a much greater number of Japanese vessels. Admiral Yamamoto thought that if Japan captured valuable territory like the Midway Islands that the United States could not afford to give up, he could destroy the remaining American ships with ease because the Americans would have no supply chain.

In the first 5 chapters of this story it talks about a kid named James Bradley and his father John Bradley and how his father was one of the 6 men to help raise the flag in Iwo Jima. John Bradley barely survived the battle and came home with scrap metal in his leg that he got from a explosion. James said that his father never spoke of what happened during his time on Iwo Jima. The only thing the family got from him was saying that the real heroes died fighting to protect our country. Once James father passed away James started doing more research into why his father didn't wanna talk about what happened at Iwo Jima and what the other boys in that group where like. The first guy he talked about was Mike Strank who was the leader of the group.

6 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor on June 4-7 1942, America was able to counter Japan’s planned ambush on American Aircraft Carriers near Midway Island . The victory was the decisive moment in the war that allowed the Allied forces to move into more favorable positions during the battle. Around May 2nd, radio messages from the Japanese were intercepted, which enabled us to find out the Japanese plan. The Japanese wanted to attack any American Aircraft carriers that had not been destroyed at Pearl Harbor. Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku wanted to draw American naval fleets out, so the Japanese could destroy them. U.S Carriers were placed near Midway Island to surprise the Japanese and foil their plans. American combat forces took over, and

The Battle of Iwo Jima took place on the volcanic island of Iwo Jima, which consisted of seven and one-half square miles. The battle was fought between the United States and Japan during February 19 and March 26, 1945. It was fought during the Pacific campaign led by General MacArthur during World War II.

Japan was running low on resources, and they looked toward Southeast Asian colonies. Americans knew about the plans Japan had for Asia. The United States decoded one of Japan’s secret messages. The United States though if Japan took over European Colonies it could also threaten the United States controlled areas. We sent troops over to China so we could strengthen the resistance against Japan. Japan’s leader Isoroku Yamamoto decided to attack the fleet in Hawaii because they felt threatened by it. In the morning of December 7, 1941 the bombs were dropped on Pearl Harbor by Japanese bombers. Pearl harbor is the headquarters for the United States Pacific Fleet. This attack was a total surprise. No one knew on this day that bombs would

Hence, it took long to learn about an imminent attack. More so, their offensive and defensive strengths came from the ground troops as it was challenging to use air assault. The underground tunnels were as success for the Japanese as they acted as a great holding out location. The bombing by the Americans also made it easy to dig deeper and erect anti-aircraft artillery. The Battle of Iwo Jima was indeed overwhelming as the Americans had a team of 70,000 well trained soldiers, vast air and naval power and immeasurable communication technology. Surprisingly, 21,000 Japanese troops were able to hold a much huge American force. Most of the Japanese soldiers fought to death and many never let it go

In 1937, Japan invaded North China and in response, the United States imposed hefty trade sanctions and eventually an embargo with the intent to restrain Japan’s aggression in China (Feis, 1971). Then in January 1941, Admiral Yamamoto began communicating with other Japanese officials about planning an attack against the United States Pacific Fleet housed at Pearl Harbor. That same month, Joseph C. Grew, the United States Ambassador to Japan, sent word via wire to Washington stating that he learned Japan was planning a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. All senior officials in Washington disregard the information due to disbelief, and figured a Japanese offensive in the Philippines was more likely. In February 1941, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel assumes command of the United States Pacific Fleet and Lieutenant General Walter C. Short assumes command of the United States Army element in charge of the island’s defense. Both officials are weary of an attack and begin planning for a defensive but a request to Washington for additional men, weapons, and equipment goes unanswered (NPR,

into committing large scale forces during World War II. Although the attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack, Japan and the U.S. had been edging towards war for decades. The United States was unhappy with Japan’s aggression towards China as they were trying to monopolize the import market, expanding their territory into China was their attempt to do so. As negotiations between Japan and the U.S. broke down it seemed war was inevitable. Japan’s plan was simple; destroy the pacific fleet so that the U.S. would not be able to fight back while Japan spread across the South

Japan had thought of a very simple plan to attack Midway, but it would be difficult to execute perfectly. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was given permission to come up with the plan and lead the attack on Midway. He was the one to do this because he thought of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japansese plan consisted of two parts, Operation AL and Operation MI. Operation AL was actually hundreds of miles away from Midway. This part of the plan was a strategy that was made to pull in many ships to the Aleution Islands. If this were to happen successfully, many American forces would be in the north and not defending Midway. Operation MI was the attack on Midway. The Japanese would destroy Midway and then would attack any other U.S. forces that came later to help defend Midway (White 5).

Many battles have been lost and won on American soil. Pearl Harbor was a tragic day for the U.S. Many people around the world were devastated about the Japanese attacking us. ''The Americans already knew that the war was going towards the pacific("Was the U.S..."). On august 9, 1945'' the U.S had dropped the second bomb on Nagasaki. ''In the selection of the article title a propaganda font,'' japan had efforts of trying to attack again.

In early November 1941, the Imperial Japanese Government had already committed itself to attacking the United States, Great Britain, and even the Netherlands if no solution to the issue of the Pacific arrived by December. By the time of this decision, preparations of military officials had already commenced. In the September Imperial Conference, it was decided that these preparations be hurriedly rushed to completion by no later than the end of October. Thus, shipping was mobilized for Japanese army and navy use, and strong invasion forces formed in Japan Proper. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief of the Combined Fleet, in January 1941, originally came up with the plan of a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in the event of war. Plans immediately started forming, and by June of 1941, the major spines of the project were formed. Admiral Yamamoto pressed navy leaders to convince the Navy General Staff into accepting his plan, and it was officially put into place on October 20th.

The historical importance of the Japenese’s attack on the U.S. naval base territory at Pearl Harbor is one with results that would last through history. Although it was was forseeable, no effort was took to arm the base due to the commanders unimagining nature and the fleets lack of preperation and vulnerability under him. Rather than prevent involvement Japan’s effort to strike first against them sparked the U.S’s entry into World War 2. The amount of impact and loss due to the attack and overall further involvement in WW2 greatly shaped the world.

Manchester vividly describes the conditions in which the marines had fought. Okinawa, the island that was invaded in the mainland of japan. This essay helps Americans to understand why it was necessary to use the atomic bomb. The statistics of the lives lost after the terror. This essay describes the realities of war and the emotional and physical feelings people went through. Near the end of the essay, Manchester walks away from joining the Japanese counterpart, this action shows the effects from previous war had on him.

Yamamoto had plans on neutralizing and sinking the U.S. Fleet in Hawaii Waters, this would allow japan the time to consolidate its empire. The war would begin with a massive blow against the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Americans were unaware of the plan and they see the Japanese to be inferior to them and unsuited as soldiers and aviators.