Iwo Jima Research Paper

There were 26,000 casualties and 6,800 dead Americans at Iwo Jima, with 20,000 casualties and 1083 dead Japanese. (1. "Battle for Iwo Jima, 1945." The Navy Department Library) At Okinawa there were 65,000 American casualties and 14,000 dead, while the Japanese lost 70,000 soldiers out of the 130,000 stationed on Okinawa. (2. "Battle of Okinawa." History.com) The bloodshed from these two battles gave the Americans a taste of the militaristic Japanese, and that a battle for the homeland of Japan would be astronomically worse. The Japanese were prepared to use any means necessary to stop the Americans because of “Yamato Damashii”, which was a virtue of the samurai that went hand in hand with the Bushido code, and it made the Japanese value the country and the emperor above all else, and that fighting to the death was greater than surrender. and it came in the form of Kamikaze attacks, suicide troops, and guerilla warfare. At Okinawa, 193 kamikaze attacks were launched at the Americans damaging 368 ships and destroying 36. (3. "The Battle of Okinawa." History Learning Site) The Japanese were prepared to sacrifice everything they had to destroy American ships and troops. The Japanese also used their own people to fight against the Americans.

holes, carry their own weapons, and fight against the enemies. “In fact, the Navajo Marines were involved in every assault in the Pacific that included the Soloman Islands, Tarawa, Saipan and even Iwo Jima. At Iwo Jima there were more than 100 Navajo Code Talkers. Iwo Jima proved to be one of the most pivotal battles in the history of the United States and probably the most important engagement in the Pacific during World War II.” (Kowal) The Navajo Code Talkers were a major turning point during the war, without them the US would have had no ways to communicate movements or secrets. A Major once said that because of the Navajo Code Talkers, the Marines never would have taken Iwo Jima. The Japanese, who were skilled code breakers, could not

(Morison, 2002) Being able to establish bomber in the Marianas allow the US to begin Operation Scavenger conducting bombing runs on mainland Japan. (Morison, 2002) The start of these mission greatly increased the strategic value of Iwo Jima as it served as the early detection position for the mainland Japan air defense system radioing any approaching US bombers. These early warnings and the amassing of near 21,000 men to bolsters Japan inner line of defense made Iwo Jima a must have the planners by February 1944. (Morison, 2002) Before the planners could develop an amphibious assault they had to understand the island of Iwo Jima.

The battle of Iwo Jima started off as an amphibious invasion by the Americans; a strong desire for claiming the island to create a base on the land flourishing with the ever-growing American spirit. Three U.S. marine divisions executed a carefully well thought plan during February of 1945. The Japanese were not very well prepared, having roughly 23,000 people defending Iwo Jima, a fifth of how many Americans there were. However, they did have strong beliefs and would refuse to surrender, giving their all to the battle until they died.

The Island was approximately 760 miles away from south Japan. This was an advantage the US wanted because they could easily attack Japan. The Japanese island was heavily fortified with heavy artillery weapons, countless

"Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue." Those were the words of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who served as an Admiral on the island of Iwo Jima. He was a man who knew many,many soldiers to be his friends on the island. Admiral Nimitz, who he watched fight and die in one of the bloodiest battles of World War ll, was a man of honor and always tried to put his men in the best position possible. This battle is well worth knowing about. Especially because if it hadn’t happened, at least 24,000 lives would not have been saved. The U.S marines secured Iwo Jima after sacrificing everything they had to save the lives of others. The heart of these soldiers cannot be described in a simple essay so here is just a little bit of what these courageous troops gave up.

Before World War Il, Iwo Jima had no importance to Japan. Once World War Il began,

In 1945, the United States declared war in Japan after the Japanese attacked the Pearl Harbor. They did not directly attack Japan because they were on the island. By them being too far away for an Air attack and naval attacks which became unsuccessful. At that time, Japan was still at war with other countries while defending their land against America. The Japanese tried to get something that would make it difficult to defend them. The perfect place for the Americans to attack Japan is Iwo Jima; a small island about 8 sq. miles large and 650 miles away from Tokyo on the Japanese soil. The outcome of the war would be a decision by the United States Marines. They tried to take the Japanese out which lead to violence, death, and destruction.

The American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima, was sparked by the desire for a place where B-29 bombers damaged over Japan could land without returning all the way to the Marianas. The battle was between the U.S. and Japan. Iwo Jima was defended by 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, and it was attacked by three marine divisions after preparatory air and naval bombardment. The Battle of Iwo Jima Took place on the island of Iwo Jima. The significance of the battle is that it got us closer to the Japanese mainland, and therefore, defeating

The Battle of Guadalcanal was a very important battleground that ended the Japanese ground advancement in the Pacific area of operations. Also, after they were defeated and removed from the island it showed that they were not an unstoppable foe that resulted in boasting the confidence of the United States and its allies. The amphibious assault that occurred on Guadalcanal was the first amphibious counteroffensive for the United States after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese were attempting to build an airfield on the island and gain a foothold that would help to protect their flanks as they continued their offensive campaign through the Pacific. Having an established foothold on Guadalcanal would also give the

There were many hidden reasons for the battle of Iwo Jima, but both countries were tangled to the idea of capturing the Iwo Jima Island and surrounding territories. Japanese saw the island as a great way to stop the Americans bombing campaign. Evidently, Iwo Jima was located under the flight path for several B-29 bombers used by Americans in air attack; hence taking control of the island will make it easy to see the imminent attacks. Destroying the B-29 bombers presented a great chance to control the island and overwhelm the U.S troops. On the other side, the island was

The United States invaded Okinawa because it gave a crucial base of operations in the Pacific Theater. With the island being so close to the main island of Japan, it allowed a tactical advantage in that the Americans could provide air support to the ground troops (Chen).

Before fighting had even ensued our advantage in equipment and resources was evident. As quickly had the Japanese Commander given his orders we knew what their move was because we had decrypted all of their codes following Pearl Harbor. We also had a foot up on their location and advancements because of our strategic placement of submarines. “Americans soon learned the fleet’s location, and their submarines converged upon the area in such numbers that Ozawa dared not leave port for maneuvers. His Aviators, who had been sent to the carriers with minimum basic training, ceased training all together.” This also contributed greatly to the lack of training Japanese soldiers received.

The United States lost eight battleships, 14 smaller ships, and over 300 aircrafts. the Japanese had planned their attack perfectly when the U.S. was not ready right before 8:00 am. Japan had only lost 29 planes and five smaller submarines. President Roosevelt recognized the Japanese forces had pulled off an unbelievable plan, but next time the United States would be ready.

Part of the Japanese army in Okinawa was sent to China to fight the hostile Nationalists in China. After this, a majority of the energy and focus went towards Iwo Jima as many of the Japanese forces were sent to protect the island. Afterall, the Japanese were, “...aware of the strategic advantage the Allies would have if they were to succeed in Iwo Jima,” (“Battle of Okinawa: Summary...”). The Allies were to capture Iwo Jima so U.S. fighters could escort the B-29 bombers to mainland Japan.