Okinawa and Iwo Jima

Bloody Battles of the Pacific Theater

Where is Iwo Jima?Like Okinawa, Iwo Jima

is an island not that far from the coast of Japan.

Iwo Jima was considered important because there were two airfields under Japanese control.

If these airfields became captured by the US they could easily be used to fly against Japan.

Battle of Iwo JimaThe battle lasted from

Feb. 1945 – March 1945.Although the battle didn’t

last long it was very fierce because the Japanese knew the consequences if they lost.

The Americans also knew the significance and fought hard. On the first day they took over half the island and had 2400 casualties.

Where is Okinawa?Okinawa was a

Japanese controlled island not that far from Japan.

The Japanese feared the Allies (mostly US) were moving in too close to their homeland so they fought fiercely to defend Okinawa.

What type of battle was Okinawa?

Enter the kamikaze!Kamikazes – are Japanese pilots who perform

suicide missions.During the battle of Okinawa the Japanese flew

1,900 kamikaze missions. They didn’t manage to sink any major ships, but they did cause damage to some aircraft carriers.

The British began using armored flight decks which made the kamikaze attacks less damaging.

Even though the use of kamikazes wasn’t the most effective war tactic it frightened the Allies that the Japanese were so ready to give up their lives.

OutcomesThe Japanese General on the island was told to

hold the island at all costs. When he failed to do so he committed suicide.

Americans lost about 12,373 men and about 46,600 were wounded. The Japanese lost about 107,00 – 130,000 troops.

Americans lost 36 ships and 763 aircraft.The Japanese lost 16 ships and 4000 aircraft.While both sides suffered casualties the victory

was American/Allies and brought us one step closer to mainland Japan.

Questions to ConsiderWhat did these battles show the Allies about the Japanese fighting tactics and determination?

How would these battles make the Allies feel about a ground invasion of Japan?