Erin+--+Iwo+Jima


 * __[[image:http://drkatesview.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/iwo-jima-picture1.jpg width="424" height="324"]]

United States Comanders:__** Holland Smith Marc Mitscher

Tadamichi Kuribayashi Takeichi Nishi
 * __Japaneese Comanders:__**

1. The Japanese didn't fight above ground. They fought the battle entirely from beneath the ground. They dug 1,500 rooms into the rock. These were connected with 16 miles of tunnels. 2. Japanese strategy called for "no Japanese survivors." They planned not to survive. 3. Japanese strategy was for each soldier to kill 10 Americans before they themselves are killed. ​ __**American Strategy:**__ The third, fourth, and fifth divisions of the U.S. Marine Group were going to fight the Japanese. Twenty thousand marines armed with rifles, machine guns, and cannons would be sent in to kill and capture as many of the Japanese as possible. Since the marines knew that Iwo Jima had strong defenses, they decided to weaken the defenses before actually fighting for the island.
 * __Japanese Strategy:__**

__**Outcome:**__ It was an American victory over the Japanese. Iwo Jima became a base and fueling station for planes heading to Japan.

__**Purpose:**__ Japan was creating an empire. They called it the "Co-Prosperity Sphere", when US declared war on Japan they began an island hopping campaign to take some of these islands because of there key locations; iwo jima is one of these islands

__**Importance:**__ Was the greatest (and bloodiest) battle in US Marine Corps history. Iwo Jima gave the US a vital airbase from which to get B-29s in range of the Japanese mainland.