Iwo Jima

Reasons for the Invasion of Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima is an island in the pacific. The American invasion of this island was part of the island-hopping in the pacific.

There were several reasons for the invasion of Iwo Jima:

To continue the B-29(bombers) raid on Japan

It contained airstrips the Japanese Kamikazes used.

The airfields provided a base that could be used as emergency landing strips for B-29s coming from Japan.

Invasion of Iwo Jima

The Battle of Iwo Jima began on February 19, 1945.

The Marines mission was to secure airfields on the island.

When they invaded, they had to climb Mt. Suribachi on the southern island and it was really tough terrain.

Iwo Jima was mostly barren land and Japanese hid in tunnels, attacking soldiers, then retreating.

This was the most intense fighting in the battle.

The marines had to climb through volcanic ash, carrying 100 pound bags.

Raising the Flag

By February 22nd, marines surrounded the mountain and on February 23rd, they had captured it.

They raised an American flag at 10:20 AM.

They later brought a bigger flag.It was raised by Ira Hayes, Mike Strank, Rene Gagnon, Harlon Block, Franklin Sonsley, and John Bradley.

A picture was taken by Joe Rosenthal, who won a Pulitzer prize for it later.

The picture is the most reproduced photo of all time.

The Pulitzer prize-winning photograph taken by Joe RosenthalThe photograph of the first

flag raised at Iwo Jima

Invading the North End of the Island

February 24th

Marines started to invade the north end of the island but only gained 500 yards because Japanese were able to stop their tanks.

February 25th Marine division starts to attack center of Japanese line at 9:30 AM. Brought in flame throwing tanks to kill Japanese, but the advance was very slow.

Invading North End of Island Continued-February 28th

-Marines get on high ground looking over airfield #3, but need to capture hills around it.

-March 4th

-The first damaged B-29 landed in the captured airfields.

End of the Battle of Iwo Jima

March 25th

Resistance on the island continued until then. The battle ended at Kitano Point.

The island was declared secure on March 26th.

The island was then used for landing spots for B-29s that were raiding Japan.

American Casualties

Americans killed during Battle of Iwo Jima: 6,821

Americans wounded during the battle: 19,217

More U.S. Marines received the medal of honor in the Battle of Iwo Jima than any other battle in U.S. history.

Japanese Casualties

-Japanese prisoners of war from the Battle of Iwo Jima: 1,083-Japanese killed during the battle: an estimated 20,000

-Japanese strength on the island was underestimated by U.S. forces.

Pictures of the Battle

Citations"Battle of Iwo Jima." History web pages. 25 Apr. 2009

<http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/LUTZ/iwo.html>.

"The Marine Corps War Memorial." National Park Service - Experience Your America. 25 May 2009 <http://www.nps.gov/archive/gwmp/usmc.htm>.

"Battle of Iwo Jima." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 25 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima >.

American Nation in the Modern Era. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2005.