The Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the most major and symbolic battles in the Pacific during World War II. After four days, the U.S. had captured most of the island while the Japanese were still resisting
Event Information
69 years ago, on February 16th, 1945, the U.S assaulted the island of Iwo Jima by air and sea.
When?
Friday, Feb 16, 1945, 07:00 AM
Where?
Iwo Jima, Ogasawara, Tokyo, Japan
American soldiers raising the U.S. flag on top of Mount Suribachi
Nearly five thousand Americans and twenty thousand Japanese soldiers died. Iwo Jima was the start of one of the most deadliest battles
A memorial located here in the United States honoring the soldiers who raised the flag and fought on the island of Iwo Jima
Who & Why?
The U.S. and Japan were fighting for several days on the island of Iwo Jima because if the U.S. captured the island (which they did) they would have the advantage of attacking agressively
General
General Holland Smith directed the attack on Iwo Jima for the marines. However, due to the underground tunnels constructed by the Japanese, it was not an easy task to take Iwo Jima by sea.
Goal
The main goal of capturing the island was not for land, it was so the U.S. could station troops closer to Japan. This helped the U.S. make stronger attacks on the main land of Japan and, eventually drop the atomic bomb on them.
Strategies Used
The U.S. began by bombing the island for three days. When those days passed, the marines landed on the 16th of February. Japan had many underground tunnels so using the navy for attacking was not the best idea.
Impact
If the U.S. had lost the Battle of Iwo Jima, we could not have guaranteed a solid win against Japan. Even when we dropped both bombs on Japan, we were still unsure whether Japan would surrender or not. Iwo Jima gave the United States a chance to send more troops safely without taking the risk of forcing soldiers to travel several hundreds of miles from Hawaii just to be unprepared for an unexpected attack. The capturing of the island played a crucial role in WWII