Battle of Iwo Jima

way to end it. Two major options were provided, one that would cost a potential half-million American lives, and the other would unleash the destructive power of the A-bomb, killing thousands of Japanese civilians. America had already taken over Iwo Jima and Okinawa and was bombing Japanese cities, but Japan would not accept a surrender,…

Despite having many challenges and being overlooked, China's role in World War Two was one of the most important and had a great impact on the war and all of the countries participating in it. China's role is often overlooked because people focus on the fighting in Europe between the Allied and Axis powers. While this fighting was important, the fighting in Asia was just as important. If China had not fended off Japan with the help of some of the Allied powers, Japan would have taken over China…

large naval battles such as the Battle of Midway with Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the island hopping campaigns, and the Battle of Iwo Jima taking a toll on countless American lives. Henry L. Stimson, the US Secretary of War, believed that the operations to “destroy… an armed force of five million men… might be expected to cost over a million casualties, to American forces alone” (Doc A). The prospects for the future of the war were devastating, the Japanese not giving up their battle for their…

commanders that no amount of naval and aerial bombardment would have significant effect on entrenched Japanese positions. Unlike Europe which had been fighting and surrendering for centuries, it was believed that the Japanese would not surrender. Iwo Jima, being much closer to Japan, the P-51 fighter aircraft could be stationed there to escort the bombers to and from the targets (Doc E). And later, to roam freely on their own to attack infrastructure at low altitude. The Enola Gay’s crew was…

It was the spring of 1945 and the German forces had been defeated by Allied troops. World War II was now a one front war in the Pacific when President Truman moved into office and was informed of the Manhattan project’s success; America now had the first atomic bombs. While American soldiers and civilians were weary from four years of war, the Japanese military was unwilling to give up their fight. This left President Truman with as he said, “The most difficult decision of my life.” On…

On August 6 1945, the world had seen the first use of one of if not the deadliest weapon off all-time; The United States of America had dropped the first Atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both cities were completely and utterly decimated and the death toll is around two hundred thousand and fifty people. The dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945 by the Americans still lies a very controversial issue with no definite answer. Both sides of the…

bullets, pilot’s last mission was to turn into a target-seeking torpedo and crush into enemies’ forces. As this crushes were intentional, they usually caused much more destruction than bombs. One successful kamikaze was able to sink the whole U.S. battle ship after damaging a couple of other ships with bombs and…

After the Battle of Okinawa with more than 150,000 casualties, America pictured a bloody preview of the invasion of Japan. To avoid the mass number of fatality, Truman believed in order to save his military, the dropping of the atomic bomb was necessary. In his 1955…

07:25 hours. It was cold. It normally was that high in the sky. Ocima Iwominso was a Japanese pilot of a torpedo bomber in 1941. He flew in formation with many other planes. They all knew their target a military base on a small Pacific chain in the middle of the ocean.Ocima knew he only had one order, aim for the ships. They wanted to cripple the fleet of the country that controlled this island. He looked at the clock in his plane, the time was 07:55. They were only a few minutes away from the…

country, there was over 5,000 kamikazes (suicide planes) that destroyed ships and men (Document #4). In the battle of Okinawa facts shows that the Japanese did not surrender often and fought to the last man. Of the 110,000 soldiers only 10,000 were captured or wounded. There was also another deadly battle on Iwo Jima, an island that was five and a half miles by two and a half miles. In that battle 26,000 Americans were killed and wounded too Japan’s 19,000 killed and wounded. This gave a scare…