Let me lead up to the answer. The Blue Whale is the largest creature known to ever have inhabited the Earth; an yet it’s esophagus is only the side of a silver dollar; and do you know why? “CAUSE THAT’S THE WAY IT IS”.
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Unfortunately wars are often “necessary” and unavoidable and casualties will always be a part of them.
Exactly. The attack on Pearl Harbor makes no sense at all.
We need to look for a real reason, not written in school textbooks.
Why did America pay such a high price (in terms of US soldiers) in conquering the silly island of Iwo Jima?
It takes an analytical mind, free from school textbook narratives.
@montecresto1
FDR was a 33rd degree mason.
Some researchers believe he was accorded a revolutionary degree. A badge of honor, so to speak, for those who have caused major bloodsheds, like a war and a revolution.
Japan sought its surrender through neutral governments of Sweden, Vatican and Switzerland.
Even Wikipedia has the following to say:
“After the heavy losses incurred in the battle, the strategic value of the island became controversial. It was useless to the U.S. Army as a staging base and useless to the U.S.”
and
“… among Pacific War Marine battles, American total casualties (dead and wounded) exceeded those of the Japanese.”
Obviously, somebody wanted the war to continue.
That obviously disqualifies you since you can’t understand either the strategic importance of PH and the destruction of the US Fleet or the tactical and strategic importance of Iwo Jima as a base.
Explain this. If Iwo was of no particular value why would the Japanese be willing to sacrifice so much of their remaining military power attempting to defend it?
Hint, Iwo wasn’t essential as a base to either the Army or Navy as a staging base but it was essential to the AF as an emergency landing base and as a base for long range fighters necessary to provide cover for the bombers attacking Mainland Japan.
No dumbass, it is quite normal for the forces attacking fortified positions to lose 3-5x as many troops as the defending force. That is why you need overwhelming numbers to succeed in most circumstances.
Didge, it’s always funny to me that for all the hate that the right has for FDR, they defend his intrigue with regards to WW2. Running for his third term, while he was deep in cooperation with Churchill on getting the US further into the mix, he was promising Americans that he WOULD NOT send their boys to war. All along engaging in provocations to the Japanese in the Pacific, and to the Germans in the Atlantic. Hitler never took the bait while Americans had no idea that FDR was sinking German Uboats.
SOW Stimson’s diaries are a treasure trove of documentation on the various ways FDR was provoking the Japanese to hit us first. Gallup’s poll in April of 1941 put 80% of Americans AGAINST US involvement in another world war. FDR knew we had to take the first punch and he provided the dispensable target. Gallup’s poll the week following PH put Americans 80% in favor of a declaration of war against Japan and FDR had his war.
Because Japan was not allowed to surrender.
That’s why US military experts figured Iwo Jima wasn’t worth the trouble.
The US could have easily skipped the silly, useless island.
Pure fabrications.
What other Island provided the same value as a launching and recover base for our long range fighters escorting the bombers to and from mainland Japan?
What other Island base provided the same value as and emergency landing base for the wounded Bombers that could not make it back to their base?
Don’t dodge, give us a straight answer.
What dodging?
Guam wasn’t enough as a launching base?
Iwo Jima was fortified to the teeth all right by the Japanese, but there was no supply coming in from mainland Japan.
The US could have skipped Iwo Jima and waited for the Japanese defenders to surrender running out of food and other supplies.
I do not think the Japs would surrender. It is a well known fact the Japs would resort to cannibalism ( and did when Tokyo abandoned them).
I think the Battle of Peleliu was the greatest waste of American lives!
Guam is over 1,600 miles from the Japanese mainland. Iwo Jima just 750.
The maximum range of the P51 was 1,350 miles with drop tanks and that was a brutally taxing flight time for both planes and pilots.
Iwo had 3 air bases capable of handling all of our long range fighters and one that was more than adequate for handling the B-29 mission.
Iwo was the ideal strategic location because of it’s relative closeness to the Japanese Mainland.
There was no other candidate with all of what Iwo Jima had to offer.
Even more importantly it provided a safe land base for fighters and bombers to protect the fleet in the event we went forward with the land invasion of Japan. Again, no other potential island base offered everything Iwo Jima did.
Further in spite of it’s hellish terrain and fortifications the Japanese lost almost 3x as many troops defending it as we did in taking it.
That’s a well known and understood fact ignored by the conspiracy nuts and apologists.
It doesn’t matter what YOU THINK. The Japanese DID surrender. And the post war survey group commissioned by Truman concluded they would have done so by late 45 even if there had been no invasion planned, even if Russia hadn’t entered and even if the atomic bombs hadn’t been dropped.
Due to the negative response the White House received from Eisenhower when he was informed of the plans to target two cities in japan, Mac Arthur wasn’t even informed.
How many bombing missions started out of Iwo Jima?
That’s not what wikipedia says.
Do you really not read well? It wasn’t used as a launching base for the B29’s it was used as a recovery base for wounded B-29’s that could not make it back to their home base.
Wikipedia isn’t known for it’s accuracy but then you didn’t bother reading.
US Losses
6,822 killed/missing[2]
19,217 wounded[[1]]
Japanese losses
(Battle of Iwo Jima - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
17,845–18,375 killed/missing[[1]]216 captured[1]
To what advantage???