The Battle of Iwo Jima was fought between U.S. Marines led by General Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith and the Imperial Army of Japan led by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi. Iwo Jima was located 750 miles off of Japan. It was important because Iwo Jima contained three airfields and could be crucial in launching an attack on mainland Japan. U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima on February 19,1945 and lasted for 5 weeks. It was one of the most bloodiest battles of WW2. It is believed that all but 200 of 21,000 Japanese men were killed and only 7,000 marines were killed. Americans thought that the battle would last no more than a few days. Japan used Iwo Jima's mountains and jungles to camouflage artillery.
Americans bombarded Iwo Jima with bombs from planes and gunfire from ships off the coast. When the marines landed on the beach they were met with no opposition forces at all. Iwo Jima's beaches were made up of steep dunes of volcanic ash which made it difficult for people and vehicles. As the marines were struggling to climb the beach, Japan's artillery fired on the marines. Despite the charges from the Japanese men and artillery fire, the marines were able to seize on out of the three airfields on Iwo Jima. Over the next couple of days over 70,000 marines landed on the island. Japan was running low on supplies, but started to attack at night. Four days into the fighting, Americans captured Mount Suribachi and famously raised the American flag. March 25, 1945 the last 300 Japanese men mounted a final attack. After the Americans suffered a number of casualties they were able to defeat all the Japanese forces on the island. On March 26, 1945 American forces declared victory on Iwo Jima. In the end, the Americans were never able to use Iwo Jima as a staging area to launch an attack on mainland Japan.
Americans bombarded Iwo Jima with bombs from planes and gunfire from ships off the coast. When the marines landed on the beach they were met with no opposition forces at all. Iwo Jima's beaches were made up of steep dunes of volcanic ash which made it difficult for people and vehicles. As the marines were struggling to climb the beach, Japan's artillery fired on the marines. Despite the charges from the Japanese men and artillery fire, the marines were able to seize on out of the three airfields on Iwo Jima. Over the next couple of days over 70,000 marines landed on the island. Japan was running low on supplies, but started to attack at night. Four days into the fighting, Americans captured Mount Suribachi and famously raised the American flag. March 25, 1945 the last 300 Japanese men mounted a final attack. After the Americans suffered a number of casualties they were able to defeat all the Japanese forces on the island. On March 26, 1945 American forces declared victory on Iwo Jima. In the end, the Americans were never able to use Iwo Jima as a staging area to launch an attack on mainland Japan.