The day the battle of Iwo Jima started – level 2

19-02-1945

At the beginning of 1945, it was clear that the Japanese army couldn’t win the war for the Japanese emperor. Step by step, the Americans controlled more and more islands in the Pacific Ocean.

In February 1945, the Americans wanted to attack a small Japanese island of Iwo Jima. The island was only 1,200 kilometers from Tokyo. There was a strategic airport on the island. The Americans wanted that airport for better attacks on Japan.

The Japanese had 21,000 soldiers on the island and they were ready to fight to the last man. The Japanese used special tactics to defend the island. They had many hidden places on the island connected by underground passages.

On February 19, 1945, many Americans soldiers landed on the island and a battle for every meter of the land started. The fighting took 5 weeks. 20,000 Japanese and 6,800 Americans died. The Americans finally got the island.

Difficult words: emperor (a leader of an empire – a big kingdom), step by step (in small amounts), to fight to the last man (to fight until everyone is dead), tactic (a strategy, a method), defend (to protect), passage (a way with walls on both sides).

Why did the Americans want to attack Iwo Jima?

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