The Battle of Iwo Jima
On February 19, 1945, after
three days of heavy bombing to secure the beaches, US Marines landed on the
small island of Iwo Jima. The island of Iwo Jima was a Japanese military
base being used by Japanese fighter planes to attack American bombers on the way
to Japan. With its two airfields it was of great tactical importance to the
Americans because it was the perfect place to destroy Japanese merchant
fleets and keeping the Japanese mainland from getting food, war materials,
and reinforcements. The commanding officers also knew that this small but
strategic island could be used as an emergency landing base for
damaged airplanes and for escorting bombers into Japan. Iwo Jima
was not an easy win. It took over one month to take over this small island with
a loss of 6,891 men and 18,000 wounded. This battle taught
the American and Allied forces how dedicated the Japanese were
to defend their homeland of Japan. This dedication to defending
their homeland at all cost seen at Iwo Jima led to the first atomic bombs
being dropped on Hiroshima, and Nagasaki Japan thus forcing Japanese surrender and finally ending World War II.
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