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 sea invasion of Iwo Jima was and still is the largest of any in all the years of the United States Marine Corps history. This invasion was also the most devastating. More than 26,000 Marines lost their lives while when trying to take over this small volcanic island. Pretty much all of the twenty-one thousand Japanese soldiers protecting the island were killed only two thousand were

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

Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is a historic photograph by Joe Rosenthal taken on February 23, 1945. The photograph depicts six men, five United States Marines and one United States Navy corpsman, raising the United States flag on Mount Suribachi, during the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. Raising the flag on Iwo Jima was the second flag-raising of the day, the first being raised early in the morning after the area was secure. Joe Rosenthal's photo was printed thousands of times, won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography, and has been made into stamps and statutes. Rosenthal uses color, lines, and structure to convey the message that the United States won the war.

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.

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

The purpose of this investigation is to go beyond the perceived thoughts and facts about Iwo Jima, but instead, looking at first person accounts and eyewitnesses. Iwo Jima is known as “Thirty Six Days of Hell” which takes place from the 19th of February in 1945 to the 26th of March, 1945. During these thirty six days the goal of this battle was to obtain the island because of the location and how they would be able to utilize it for a landing strip for damaged aircrafts and replenishment. The scope of the investigation will be understanding what life was like for the soldiers on both sides throughout the battle. The method of this investigation will be using interviews, secondary sources with eyewitness accounts,

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

3) Japanese strategy was for each Soldier to kill 10 Americans before they themselves are killed (The Battle – Japan’s Iwo Jima Strategy, n.d.). On top of that, Iwo Jima would have to be reinforced significantly if it were going to be held for any length of time, and preparations were made to send sizable numbers of men and quantities of materiel to that island.

We have all seen the famous photograph; four Marines and one Navy Sailor raising the flag on Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima. This lasting image has come to represent the Marine Corps, the Pacific campaign, and for many World War II. Eventually becoming the inspiration for the Iwo Jima memorial outside Arlington cemetery overlooking Washington D.C. Geography has left it marks all over the battle for Iwo Jima, influencing everything from the strategic impact on the region to the propaganda and psychological warfare. Military geography was an important factor in the planning of the operation like most and also had a direct effect during operations. To understand the battle we must first understand the state of the Pacific conflict at

In the beginning of war, Japanese victory in Pacific terrified West Cost Americans. Partial victory for Americans appeared when Japanese capital Tokyo was bombed. It was less of a material loss but huge in terms of psychological attack. It was followed by the Battle of Coral Sea in May 1942 and after that the decisive Battle of Midway Island took place. U.S. aircraft carriers destroyed three out of four Japanese carriers that sabotaged their further plans of invasion and they adopted a defensive strategy.

The Battle of Iwo Jima started February 19, 1945 and ended in late March. It was a battle fought between right around 70,000 U.S. soldiers and about 20,000 Japanese soldiers. Three divisions of U.S. Marines invaded the island with one goal, to capture the Japanese airfields. This battle was a huge turning point in World War II and helped end the war.

Operation Detachment (19 February – 26 March 1945) - The thirty six days of unforgiving hell on a small, wretched patch of volcanic sand and rock named "Sulfur Island " ( Iōjima - Iwo Jima in Japanese), will forever be immortalized in the iconic photo of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi. The American invasion of Iwo Jima had the goal of capturing the island, including its three airfields. Owning operational airfields, across the vast Pacific Ocean en route to the Japanese mainland was an invaluable commodity. American

On February 19, 1945, four years after Japanese fighters attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, U.S. Marines landed on the Island of Iwo Jima, launching Operation Detachment. The Marines trudged through the heavily occupied island in an effort to make a stronghold atop the island’s highest point: Mt. Suribachi. Marines were certain that capturing this part of the island would give them the advantage over the Japanese troops that occupied the island. Destruction from the pre-invasion bombing by U.S. B-24 and B-25 bombers, as well as rapid fire from Japanese battalions, made advancement across the island nearly impossible. Then, on February 23, 1945, Marines reached the summit of Mt. Suribachi. A symbol of victory, strength and valor was

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.