Battle of Iwo Jima 1945
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 8 February 1945 – 26 March 1945 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1945 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Japan | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Empire of Japan, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 24.7800, 141.3200 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Iwo Jima (硫黄島の戦い, Iōtō no Tatakai,or Iōjima no Tatakai; 19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC), United States Navy (USN), and United States Army (USA) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, designated Operation Detachment, had the goal of capturing the island with its two airfields: South Field and Central Field.
The Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with a dense network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions, and 18 km (11 mi) of tunnels. American ground forces were supported by extensive naval artillery, and enjoyed complete air supremacy provided by US Navy, Army, and Marine Corps aviators throughout. The five-week battle saw some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the Pacific War.
Unique among Pacific War battles involving amphibious island landings, total American casualties exceeded those of the Japanese, with a ratio of three American casualties for every two Japanese. Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima at the beginning of the battle, only 216 were taken prisoner, some only captured because they had been knocked unconscious or otherwise disabled.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Iwo Jima (revision 1380174523), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle for Outpost Vegas 1953 · 0 km
Other battles of the Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign
- Battle of Attu 1943
- Battle of Okinawa 1945
All 3 battles of the Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign →
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