The Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II was a major battle in the Pacific Theater and occurred from February 19th to March 26th, 1945. The battle was an American amphibious invasion of the Japan-held island of Iwo Jima which was approximately 575 miles from the homeland islands of Japan. The United States wanted to take control over the island of Iwo Jima, and its three airfields, in hopes of using the island as a staging ground for the United States’ attack against mainland Japan.
BATTLE OF IWO JIMA IN WORLD WAR II – BACKGROUND
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a major event in World War II. The Second World War began on September 1st, 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded the country of Poland. In the years that followed, Europe underwent a series of significant battles, including: Battle of France, Battle of Britain and Operation Barbarossa. During this time, though, the United States remained out of the direct fighting in the war. Instead, the United States, under the leadership of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, practised a policy of isolationism. This saw the United States limit its involvement in international affairs. As such, when World War II began in Europe in 1939, the United States remained on the sidelines, expect for its supplies shipments under the Lend-Lease Act.
At the same time, the United States opposed Japan’s expansionism, and viewed Japan as a legitimate threat in the Pacific Ocean. In response to this perceived threat, the United States imposed economic sanctions against Japan and stopped all oil exports to Japan in 1941. This was devastating to the Japanese Empire, because Japan lacked the necessary oil reserves to continue its expansion in the Pacific. As such, Japan viewed these sanctions as a direct threat to its national survival and economic stability. This ultimately was one of several factors that pushed Japan to surprise attack the United States at Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 was the event that ultimately brought the United States into the fighting of World War II. As well, it essentially launched the Pacific Theater of World War II, which resulted in many more conflicts, such as: the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Guadalcanal. Furthermore, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan rapidly expanded across the Pacific, capturing key territories including the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, and parts of New Guinea. In fact, by mid-1942, Japanese forces threatened to isolate Australia and dominate the entire Pacific.
However, by 1945, Japan was struggling due to significant losses at both the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Guadalcanal. In fact, these losses allowed the American forces to advance towards the Japanese home-islands through the use of ‘island-hopping’. As such, this eventually led to the arrival of American forces on the island of Iwo Jima, which is a small island with three airfields and close to the Japanese home-islands. This made Iwo Jima an important strategic asset in the Pacific Theater of the war. For instance, it provided an emergency landing site for American bombers returning from missions over Japan.
BATTLE OF IWO JIMA IN WORLD WAR II – SUMMARY
The Battle of Iwo Jima began with an American bombardment of the island. However, the 23,000 Japanese defenders moved to the interior of the island and defended themselves in a series of tunnels and caves from in which they could hide. As such, the Americans easily captured the beaches of Iwo Jima but soon were faced with intense and bloody fighting against the Japanese defenders in the interior.
Nearly 70,000 American soldiers from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions landed on Iwo Jima’s southern beaches. The terrain made movement difficult, and the Marines were immediately pinned down by heavy fire from the fortified Japanese positions. This led to a period of brutal fighting. In fact, American progress was slow and costly, with intense close-quarters combat in bunkers, caves, and trenches. The fight to capture Mount Suribachi, the island’s highest point, on February 23rd, where Marines famously raised the American flag was an important point in the battle.
For their part, the Japanese forces fought a war of attrition, and refused to surrender even as supplies dwindled. In fact, by March 26th, the island was officially declared secured by the Americans, although isolated resistance continued for weeks. As such, despite the Japanese resistance, the United States was able to obtain victory relatively quickly due to its overwhelming control over the air of Iwo Jima and due to its military superiority on the island. For example, the 23,000 Japanese defenders had to face over 110,000 United States Marines as well as the United States Air Force.
BATTLE OF IWO JIMA IN WORLD WAR II – SIGNIFICANCE
Today, the Battle of Iwo Jima is remembered for several different reasons. First, it had some of the fiercest fighting of World War II in the Pacific. For example, the United States suffered over 6,800 dead in the battle and another 19,200 were wounded. However, of the original 23,000 Japanese defenders, approximately less than 1000 were taken prisoner or wounded, meaning that the vast majority died in battle. It was common practise for Japanese soldiers to charge the American infantry when their supplies were gone. The Japanese code of fighting, bushido, held that the soldiers should fight to defend their homeland until their death and not surrender. This view caused the death of most of the Japanese on the island.
The Battle of Iwo Jima is also remembered for the famous photograph of 6 American soldiers (5 marines and 1 navy corpsman) raising the American flag on top of Mount Suribachi, the highest point on the island. The image has become iconic and has been widely used in popular culture and for war memorials. Finally, the Battle of Iwo Jima is also notable for the odd story of 2 Japanese soldiers that hide in the caves and tunnels of the island after the battle ended.
