It also meant American bombers could fly over Japan with fighter escorts. Iwo Jima is a small island, covering roughly eight square miles. It was defended by 20, Japanese soldiers who spent a year digging in, creating miles of tunnels beneath the volcanic rock, and who were ready to fight to the last man.
When the battle was over, 6, Americans were dead and a further 26, wounded or missing. This means Americans died for every square mile of the island fortress.
Only Japanese troops were taken prisoner. More gallantry was on display at Iwo Jima than any other battle before or since. Iwo Jima saw more Medals of Honor awarded for actions there than any other single battle in American history. A total of 27 were awarded, 22 to Marines and five to Navy Corpsmen. The U.
And though the armed forces weren't fully integrated until , the U. The Marines at Iwo Jima came from every background. While African Americans were still not allowed on frontline duty because of segregation, they piloted amphibious trucks full of White and Latino Marines to the beaches at Iwo Jima, moved ammunition and supplies to the front, buried the dead and fought off surprise attacks from Japanese defenders.
Navajo Code Talkers were instrumental in taking the island. They were all Marines. First, there would be images of preparations for the invasion warplanes dropping bombs, ships approaching the island. Then, newspapers would publish photos of troops fighting their way past the beaches. Finally, the American triumph would be signaled by a photo of Old Glory raised in victory.
Such flag-raising images routinely appeared in newspaper coverage of island battles such as Tarawa , Guam and Leyte. The newsreels that millions of American moviegoers watched each week also used footage of flag-raisings to punctuate their reports for example, those depicting the U.
This was a home front, in other words, that was quite used to images of flag-raisings. But the invasion of Iwo Jima had a special meaning for the American public. It was the first soil in the island-hopping campaign that was technically part of Japan. Although it was miles from Tokyo and its small civilian population had been evacuated earlier in the war, the rocky island was administered as part of the Tokyo prefecture. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present.
By the time they splashed their way onto its southeastern beach on February 19, , many of the U. Marine invasion force wondered if there were any Japanese left alive on Iwo Jima. Allied aircraft, battleships and cruisers had spent the previous two and a half months The instability created in Europe by the First World War set the stage for another international conflict—World War II—which broke out two decades later and would prove even more devastating.
Rising to power in an economically and politically unstable Germany, Adolf Getting the perfect shot in wartime is not only about weapons. With over 30 countries involved in World War II and the loss of over 50 million lives, war photography captured the destruction and victories of the deadliest war in history.
Lead by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, over one Here are major events from history that have inflicted a devastating toll on On September 15, , U. Over the next several weeks, ferocious Japanese resistance inflicted heavy casualties on U. Army and U. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa But fighting continued for another month as the Marines advanced foot by foot, usually having to kill the Japanese soldiers within their entrenchments by the use of flamethrowers, satchel charges, and other heavy weapons.
By the time the fighting ended on March 24, all but of the Japanese garrison of approximately 20, troops had been killed. The Marines suffered terrible casualties as well; 6, were killed and about 25, wounded. The Japanese had succeeded in slowing the inexorable American advance toward the home islands. One group, however, had failed to achieve its anticipated impact: the kamikaze. But the Japanese took note, and when American forces invaded the island of Okinawa in April , the kamikaze were ready and inflicted serious losses.
For the Americans, the lessons of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were clear: invading Japan would entail total devastation on both sides because Japan would put up a suicidal defense of the islands to the last man. This realization played an important role in the later decision to use the atomic bomb at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. American forces launched an assault to capture the island of Iwo Jima in February because.
Jacobs, Raymond. First Flag Raising. Chambers, John Whiteclay, ed. Hammel, Eric. Paul, MN: Zenith Press, Hastings, Max. Retribution: The Battle for Japan, New York: Vintage,
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