The island of Iwo Jima was significants to U.S. army because it provided a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands known by the name of Operation Downfall. It was also a Japanese air base from which they attacked the Mariana Islands. By conquering the island they would eliminate that problem and also cut in half the B-29s raid distance for the Operation.
The battle took place between the 19 of February and the 26 of March of 1945 under the name of Operation Detachment , it´s goal was the capture of the island along with its three airfields by the United States Marine Corps.
This five week battle was one of the fiercest and bloodiest of the Pacific War during the World War II. After having heavy losses there was a controversy about the strategic value of the island, it was no good for the U.S army and the U.S. navy, but after having capture it the Navy Seabees rebuilt the landing strips to be used in case of an emergency landing of the B-29s.
Althought the justification given for the capture of the "strategic" island of Iwo Jima, the used of it was proved both impractical and unnecessary. Only ten missions were ever flown from that island.
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Answer:
Because it was a strategic point. Beyond the fact that it was a safe base for the B-29, Iwo Jima was an open door to Tokyo. The US invasion, called Operation Detachment, aimed to conquer the island, including its three airports, in order to use the region as a base to launch more effective attacks on the main Japanese islands.
Explanation:
The United States expected the confrontation to last 3 weeks but faced strong Japanese resistance. 35 days of battle followed - considered the bloodiest of the Pacific War during World War II. At the end of the confrontation, 6 891 Marines were killed and 18 070 wounded. On the Japanese side, 212 surviving soldiers were left, who were taken, prisoner. As for the Japanese, surrender was shameful, and never done before, those who remained, surrendered only in 1949.
