With no retreat and no possibility of reinforcements, the Japanese had dug in and prepared to fight until they died. Ībout 3,000 Japanese soldiers kept fighting for weeks. There were 22,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima at the beginning of the battle, and only 216 were taken prisoner at the end. He and his officers said they would fight until they died. The Japanese general, Tadamichi Kuribayashi, and his soldiers refused to surrender. This invasion was the first American attack on Japanese home territory. The Americans had ships that could fire on the island and total control of the air. The Imperial Japanese Army had thick defenses and underground tunnels for cover. The island was not useful for the Navy or Air Force. This five-week battle had violent fighting.Īfter suffering such heavy losses, people questioned why the US went into the battle. ![]() ![]() The Americans wanted to capture the island, including its three airfields, and use this area for attacks on the Japanese main islands. It was a major battle in which the United States Armed Forces captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Empire. It lasted from 19 February – 26 March 1945. Many films were made about it, for example Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, that were both directed by Clint Eastwood. The USA needed to capture Iwo Jima to be able to defeat Japan. The Battle of Iwo Jima was the American capture of the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during the Pacific Campaign of World War II.
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