Geographic LocationIwo Jima is located about 700 miles from Japan and sits in the Pacific Ocean. Iwo Jima translates to "Sulfur Island". Iwo Jima is a small volcanic island, it is approximately 8 square miles and is a member of the Volcano Islands. There wasn't a harbor at Iwo Jima which made it hard for attackers, ships had to unload smaller boats a long way from land. The most important feature is Mount Suribachi, this volcano is the highest point of the island. It has minor volcanic activity a few times a year. One of the objectives from the beginning of the battle was the taking of Mount Suribachi. Due to it being a volcanic island there is many steep, rocky slopes, caves and tunnels. The land on the island was mainly flat except for the volcano. The sand on the island made it hard for the tanks and soldiers to move quickly, the sand didn't pack. Many parts of the island were steep so soldiers even had to climb up walls of sand. The natural terrain hid the Japanese Army very well, many guns were in concrete bunkers. The Japanese positions on the island were very strong, with loads of bunkers, hidden artillery, and 16 miles of tunnels. The tunnel system was used for the attack on the U.S. and it was very hot even with ventilation holes.
|
Battle conditionsThe Japanese were prepared for this battle, they built tunnels so the enemy couldn't see them.The battle was the first US attack on the Japanese Home Islands and the Japanese soldiers defended their land tenaciously. There was gun fire and artillery fire left and right. The conditions for both sides of the war were rough. The Japanese soldiers were not getting resupplied because Japan was sacrificing them to buy more time at home. No resupply meant there would be no water refill which was not good in the hot weather. Iwo Jima smelled of sulfur, gunpowder, and death. The U.S. soldiers didn't get much sleep because the Japanese would surprisingly attack at night. The Japanese were safe from the bombings because of their ability to hide in their tunnels underground. The Japanese would try to damage the U.S. morale by removing the dead Japanese bodies off of the battlefield at night, to make the Americans think they weren't doing much. Bodies of soldiers were lying everywhere you looked. Japan kept fighting but the U.S. soldiers were an unstoppable force that was too much for them to take. Once the Japanese had surrendered about three thousand Japanese
soldiers were left alive in the island's caves and tunnels. |