Iwo Jima Research Paper

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The Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the deadliest battles of World War II and even in American history itself. Joe Rosenthal captured the grueling battle inside one image and this image will forever be stamped into American history for decades to come. The image shows the hardship the Americans went through during the battle, the courage and tenacity was of the marines, the great sacrifices, and even the American pride and victory. The picture’s significance shows how this battle was the bloodiest in Marine history. The battle took the lives of about 6,000 marines, which accounted for approximately one third of the total number of marines who died in all of World War II. The image shows the victory of the United States, which ultimately led to …show more content…

Iwo Jima gave the United States a strategic air base within striking distance of Japan. The United States really had no way of accessing the Pacific around Japan. Iwo Jima would give the Americans an attack line in the Pacific area and later will become one of the most significant Pacific bomber bases for the United States. During the time of the conflicts with the Japanese and other Pacific countries, about Boeing B-29 Superfortress, a propeller-driven heavy bomber, were stationed there at some point in time. The B-29 was the most advanced multi-engine aircraft of its age and a technical feat in its own right. The United States wanted the volcanic islands of Japan to be able to control the mainland of Japan and with Japan’s navy being weakened due to multiple situations, such as a lack of oil. The United States say this as a sign of weakness and began to attack the volcanic islands south of Japan. These attacks took out the Japanese navy fronts stationed in the islands and put the Japanese navy in a standstill in terms of being effective in the war efforts. The United States gained control of the Mariana Islands and Guam. The B-29s that were stationed in the Mariana Islands would help aid the American forces when they decided to try to conquer Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945. Before landing, the United States Navy did an excellent job of adding suppress fire towards Iwo Jima which would cause the Japanese Army to fall back slightly. Just enough for the American Marines to come in and rush the island of Iwo Jima. Meeting little resistance, the American troops could storm the beaches of Iwo Jima and delayed the Japanese troops attack for a bit as the Japanese were waiting for the Americans to attack. Which allowed American troops to gather more troops on the beaches than they thought. 6,000 marines dead and over 18,000 Japanese troops were dead just days after the landing of Iwo

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