Significance of Iwo Jima to Japan and the US
Significance of Iwo Jima to Japan and the US
The year was 1945, and the war was winding down. The US was working on rooting out Japan and ending the war. Because they were dealing with an island country, they had to find a way to get at them without flying long distances. Japan was trying to defend their land while still waging war on other countries. The meeting point then for both objectives was Iwo Jima, a small island about 650 miles away from Tokyo on Japanese soil. Both countries were determined to fight long and hard for the island.
Importance of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima was vital to the American assault on the Japanese. The US had decided that the island was vital to their success in the war, because they were to far away at that point with their bombers to reach Japan effectively. Up to that point, they had to send out long-range bombers like the B-29s from the Marianas for any kind of assault on Japan. The only way to escort the planes safely though was to send short-range fighters with them. To do this required a closer base to reach Japan more efficiently. Up to that point, the US bombers would be attacked by Japanese and usually defeated because of the lack of fighter support. The US felt that the island was the key to their offense against Japan.
The Japanese on the other hand were defending their homeland. Not only did they feel that they had to keep the US from the island for the same reasons that the US wanted the island, but principle and nationality was at stake as well. No foreign army had been on Japanese soil in over 5000 years, and they felt that had to be maintained, therefore they sent one of their greatest generals to hold an even greater defense against the assault to come.
Japanese Preparations
From the Japanese perspective, Iwo Jima had to be protected with all the force that could be mustered. As a part of Japanese soil, Iwo Jima was considered a point of pride and very important to the country. In over 5000 years no foreign army had set foot on and held Japanese soil, and therefore the base of the Japanese defense was to maintain that at all costs. ...