Lauren+Pardi

__The Battle of Iwo Jima__
 * __World War 2__

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**-- Iwo Jima was a small Pacific island which had 2 airfields on the island under the Japanese control. These airfields were used by fighter planes to attack American bombers on their way to attack the main land of Japan.The objective of the American's was pretty straightforward. The 4th and 5th Marine Divisions were planning to land on the southeastern beach and focus on capturing Mount Suribachi.They then planned to move onto capturing the southern airfields and the western part of Iwo Jima.**

[|Click here] for more on the battle of Iwo Jima!

**-- Lieutenant-General Tadamichi Kuribayshi was in charge of defending the island of Iwo Jima. He created a vast system of tunnels that all led to the southeastern part of the island where Mount Suribachi stood. These tunnels greatly favored the Japanese because it was the heart of their artillery. Kuribayshi received a great deal of his defense from the kamikaze pilots. Kamikaze pilots were trained to crash into any American Naval ship they saw.** Wanna learn more on General Tadamichi Kuribayshi? [|click here!]



**-- The battle of Iwo Jima took place on February 19th, 1945 and ended just 36 days after on March 26, 1945. The Americans suffered 27,909 casualties, 6,825 of who were killed in the defense of the United States, and 21,084 were injured. The Japanese suffered 21,703 deaths of those who were killed in combat or those who were part in ritual suicide like General Kuribayshi and the kamikaze pilots of Japan. There were also 216 Japanese soldiers that were captured by the Americans and they were eventually released at the end of the war.**

** __Lets see what you learned.__

What was America's overall objective? What was General Tadamichi Kuribayshi known for? What did Kamikaze pilots do? **

Wanna see more maps,medal of honor winners,timeline, and even learn about the plans and preparations? go [|here]!

[|Click here] to see a video of the Americans raising the flag in Iwo Jima!