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American air forces pounded Iwo in the longest sustained aerial offensive of the war.
"No other island received as much preliminary pounding as did Iwo Jima."
Incredibly, this ferocious bombardment had little effect. Hardly any of the Japanese underground fortresses were touched. Twenty-one thousand defenders of Japanese soil, burrowed in the volcanic rock of Iwo Jima, anxiously awaited the American invaders. |
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The US sent more Marines to Iwo than to any other battle, 110,000 Marines in 880 Ships. The convoy of 880 US Ships sailed from Hawaii to Iwo in 40 days. |
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It was the largest armada invasion up to that time in the Pacific War. |