Insider Details About Iwo Jima Are Shedding The Brutal Battle In A Whole New Light
At the start of 1945 the ferocious six-year global conflict that was World War II was beginning to move towards its conclusion. France had been liberated by the Allies the previous year, and the Soviet Union was now edging closer and closer to Berlin, ultimately forcing the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. But the work of the Soviet and United States forces was far from done. Indeed, the Americans were about to become embroiled in an epic battle for a small volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean. That island was, of course, Iwo Jima. The 36-day battle that followed would be one of the most intense of the entire war for the Americans. Overcoming the Japanese enemy to take the island was militarily vital, but what ensued was one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history.
Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway
By February 1945 the United States had gained a strong foothold in the Pacific theater. After the surprise attack by Imperial Japan at Pearl Harbor in December 1941 that had catapulted the nation into World War II and direct conflict with the Japanese, the U.S. had routed the Asian country’s naval and air forces in numerous battles.
These military skirmishes included the June 1942 Battle of Midway, six months on from the shock Pearl Harbor assault. The U.S. was able to score a major victory, and gain a considerable measure of revenge. It sank all four of the Japanese carriers — Soryu, Hiryu, Akagi, and Kaga — which had been involved in that unprovoked attack.
America goes on the offensive
The Battle of Midway success enabled the U.S. to go on the offensive in the Pacific theater, turning the tables on Japan after that initial wave of aggression. The U.S. was emboldened after its victory and was making serious headway in the Pacific, but the Japanese would not give up without a serious fight.
Indeed, like the numerous battles that had come before it, the Battle of Iwo Jima proved a major but not decisive victory. Japanese naval and air forces had taken a considerable beating, but the empire’s men were determined to stop the U.S. and Allied forces from reaching their mainland.
Earmarking Iwo Jima
In order to be able to strike at the Japanese mainland, the U.S. would have to make an incursion that brought them significantly nearer, securing them a platform for a sustained assault. As a result, U.S. commanders set their sights on one of the small, rocky islands some 1,300 km south of the Japanese mainland.
That island was Iwo Jima. One of the Japanese Volcano Islands lying south of the Bonin Islands that together make up the Ogasawara Archipelago, Iwo Jima is situated halfway between the mainland of Japan and the Mariana Islands. Its favorable location saw it eyed up as a potentially significant capture for the American — and by extension the Allied — cause.
Strategic importance
Why did the U.S. want Iwo Jima so badly? Well, for starters, if they could take it over, the Americans would be able to stop the Japanese from intercepting their Boeing B-29 Superfortresses when they were out on bombing raids.
Not only that, control over Iwo Jima would enable the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) to set up a strategic military base, from which those aircraft could attack the Japanese mainland, and make emergency landings when necessary. Taking it could turn the tide of the war still further in favor of America and the Allies.