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Leaders:

United States: Admiral Raymond A. Spruance

Japan: General Tadamichi Kuribayashi

Groups in the war: Japan and the United States

"Battle of Iwo Jima." - World War II. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.

Video: https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/John-Basilone-Death-at-Iwo-Jima

More Cites: http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=12

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The United States fought to take Iwo Jima because of its close distance to Japan’s major islands. The allied forces wanted to launch an aerial campaign against Japanese forces, and they needed the strategic site because of its landing fields, which they wanted to use for bombers and fighter planes. The United States military felt that by capturing Iwo Jima, the United States Military would have a better chance of attacking major Japanese islands and deciding checkpoints such as Okinawa. Having control of the island also meant that the United States would have a strategic position for launching sea and air blocks against Japan’s Navy and Air Force.

Video: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima

More sites: http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,NI_Iwo_Jima2,00.html

Works Cited: "The Battle of Iwo Jima". HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. 2014. Web

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The battle strategies used on Iwo Jima were very similar to strategies on all of the other islands during the war.

The US army was the invader and their strategy was to deploy thousands of troops to the beach shores using small soldier carrying ships. Once on the shores the soldiers would rush the bunkers and machine gun nests and start invading the trenches and underground tunnels. The Japanese soldiers were in a defensive formation hunkered down in bunkers and trenches that were lined with machine gun nests and heavy artillary. The Japanese soldiers were also buried deep inside of underground tunnels that they had dug to keep themselves well sheltered from US artillary fire. This was a good time consuming method that had slowed the advance of the US soldiers greatly due to the fact that they could not clear tunnels at a quick rate

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Iwo Jima is a small speck in the Pacific; it is 4.5 miles long and at its broadest point 2.5 miles wide.

The earth, and the island distinctly smells like rotten eggs.

Japanese defenders of the island were dug into bunkers deep within the volcanic rocks.

Japanese did most of their fighting underground

Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FwHO0JEJuE

Works Cited

Alexander, Joseph. “Battle of Iwo Jima.” History net.com. Weider History, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. <http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-iwo-jima.htm>.

“The Battle for Iwo Jima.” The National WWII Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. <http://www.nationalww2museum.org/focus-on/iwo-jima-fact-sheet.pdf>.