Iwo Jima Research Paper

Iwo Jima was known for one of the most bloody battles in not just the Marine but American history too. The battle began on February 19, 1945 as part of the campaign of the Pacific theatre, and lasted for thirty-six days. Around twenty six-thousand Marines were wounded, which caused Union losses during the battle at Gettysburg. Near the beginning of summer of 1944, American B-29 bombers were ruining the islands. “Iwo Jima proved itself an indispensable asset to the Pacific command.” “Thousands of fighters took off from its runways, and this ‘stepping stone’ served as a staging ground for countless Allied advances.”

The Japanese had it made. They had all they needed in their caves. You would of thought that the Japanese would have paid a bunch of money to fortify the island but they really did not. The had many of the Empire's most gifted mining engineers to dig tunnels throughout the volcanic mountains. It took them no time to have miles of tunnels running through the mountains. These tunnels made it easy for the Japanese to move from one position to the other. But life was not to great in the caves because the United States Seventh Air Force bombers dropped bombs on them daily in hope to soften them up before the massive invasion. Another helpful aspect to the Japanese was the sand on the beaches. The sand wasn't like in paradise. It was black and loose making running across the beachhead very difficult. The only flaw to the island that did not help the Japanese was the surf. The surf was too rough to plant anti boat mines. "The entire island is flat except for the promontory of Mount Suribachi, and extinct volcano, which is 556 feet high in the southern portion of the island."(Siefring 117)

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 U.S believed that the island would be able to be taken in a few weeks time due to the fact that it looked very un-fortified from aerial photos. This, however, was a grave mistake. The Japanese General, Tadamichi Kuribayashi, had built the underground tunnels for the effect of making the island look vulnerable. Knowing that defeat was unavoidable, the General had created the entrenchments to inflict as many casualties as possible on the U.S before they captured the island, and to discourage the U.S from attacking Japan.

The war in Europe was finished and America was still fighting Japan in the Pacific. The American people’s will to continue the war effort was falling and the government had to think of a way to end the war. They needed to take some of the Pacific to be able to get close enough to Japan to finish the war. They started by taking islands but ran into heavy Japanese resistance; soldier’s that were almost all willing to die for their emperor. That included fake surrendering, making and then hiding in elaborate cave systems, and killing other Japanese who were trying to surrender. This weighed heavily on the soldiers and made fighting incredibly hard. Even when they had an island there were Japanese who had hidden and still tried to kill the

The battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were two of the most important American operations in the Pacific Theatre against the Empire of Japan during World War Two. The goal of the two operations was to secure strategically important islands close to Japan to use for bombing campaigns. The battles for Iwo Jima(February-March 1945) and Okinawa f(April-June 1945) killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians and helped to win the war for the United States.

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

The Battle of Iwo Jima, February 19th through March 17th of 1945, was one of the most significant battles in World War II. Part of the Japanese island chain, it was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific Theater.

In the 1930s the United Stated and Japan had a turbulent relationship as the result of Japan trying to expand into China and take their territory as well as take over their economy by force resulting in a variety of horrible events done to the Chinese. To reprimand Japan for their aggression towards China and to try to force them to end their aggression the United States put in place a system of economic sanctions and trade embargoes to cut off essential goods. Instead, this only made the Japanese more determined and after months of discussion no peaceful conclusion could be reached. This in turn led to the events on an island 2,000 miles from the U.S. mainland and 4,000 miles from Japan. The name of this island is Pearl Harbor, which was

The United States did not want the British controlling all of the trade in the Asian countries which in return, make the British even more powerful. So, the United States decided to spread its influence to Japan, as it was one of the few Asian countries that was not controlled by the British. Japan was weak because of its isolation and it was next to china so the U.S. would be able to participate in trade easier in the Asian region. The U.S. wanted to control Japan to gain many of its benefits, which are “The combination of it, advantageous geographic position and rumors that Japan held vast deposits of coal increased the appeal of establishing commercial and diplomatic contacts with the Japanese.” (Office of the Historian) The Japanese islands were just about everything the United States needed; the perfect geographic position, land in Asia, and a possible abundance of fuel. The U.S. was in need for more power and wanted to spread its influence to Japan in order to gain benefits. Japan was weak due to isolation and had no choice but to agree to what the United States wanted.

The battle for Iwo Jima was very important to the U.S during the second world war. The island became very important later on during the war due to its near proximity to the Japanese mainland, the islands. Also, the three airfields already constructed could be used as runways so any planes which were damaged near Japan could make an emergency landing. One of the most important events of the battle was the photograph which also became a huge morale booster for the U.S. It helped American morale because It symbolized American bravery. The famous picture was taken of U.S marines raising the U.S flag on top of Mt. Surabachi. The battle for Iwo Jima was very important because without the troops the island and its many assets could not

It was fought in 1942 and 1943 between the Japanese and the United States. This World War II battle was unique. When the U.S. Finally won the battle of Guadalcanal it was the first defeat the Japanese had suffered in the Pacific islands. After this victory, the U.S. Was finally on the offensive for the first time. They battle for control of Guadalcanal was a fierce one that lasted six months and was fought on land, the sea and in the air. There were many battles fought in August 1945, but winning the battle for control of Guadalcanal made it possible for the U.S to win finally in the South

Some of the bloodiest fight of World War II came in the Pacific. Much of that fighting came at the Battle of Guadalcanal. A remote island in the Solomons Island chain, Guadalcanal was not thought of as important, prior to 1942. For several reasons, Guadalcanal was the most significant battle of the war in the Pacific. The Battle of Guadalcanal was the first offensive the United States took in World War II. Because of its location, Guadalcanal pushed back the Japanese defensive ring, and put the U.S. in an aggressive mindset. As an intangible factor, the victory at Guadalcanal provided a much needed morale boost to U.S. servicemen, who had not had a decisive triumph against the Japanese. Most importantly, the U.S. gained control of an important airstrip on Guadalcanal that the Japanese had been trying to utilize.

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

Okinawa had trees that was littered on hills that had a reach of 505 meters high. This was advantage for the Japanese that was above the American troop. Japanese also used coral and limestone to blend in with the environment as a camouflage.They used the island’s natural obstacles and enhanced them , to throw their enemy off